RansomEverglades SPRING 2017 LOG

Transcription

1 RansomEverglades SPRING 2017 LOG

2 ALUMNI WEEKEND 2017 Celebrating the Classes of 1967, 1977, 1987, 1992 and All alumni and guests are welcome THURSDAY, APRIL 27, p.m. Upper School Spring Band Concert Including Band Director Jon Hamm and alumni guest musicians Ransom Campus, Lewis Family Auditorium FRIDAY, APRIL 28, a.m. Everglades School for Girls Brunch Honoring the Class of Year Reunion Local alumnae and former Everglades faculty invited; brunch followed by campus tours Everglades Campus, Murphy Activities Room 11:30 a.m. 50-Year Reunion Luncheon for Ransom Class of 1967 Special guests include Dan Leslie Bowden, Mike Stokes and Louis De Carlo Ransom Campus, Pagoda 6-8 p.m. Alumni Spring Cocktail Honoring All Reunion Classes All alumni (ages 21 and above) Ransom Campus, Quad 8 p.m. Class of 1992 Reunion Party Watch for reunion updates on class Facebook pages: Everglades School for Girls Ransom Everglades Class of 1977 Ransom Everglades Class of 1987 Ransom Everglades Class of 1992 Ransom Everglades Class of 97 For more information contact the Alumni Office: Vicki Carbonell Williamson 88 [email protected] Danielle Phillips Retchless [email protected] Thomas Willis 04 [email protected] SATURDAY, APRIL 29, a.m. Alumni Regatta Ransom Campus, Anderson Waterfront Michiel van de Kreeke 88 ([email protected]) 10 a.m. Alumni Soccer Game Ransom Campus, Walker Field Coach David Villano 79 ([email protected]) or James Beverley 62 ([email protected]) 10:30 a.m. Alumni Water Polo Ransom Campus, Ansin Aquatic Center Coach Eric Lefebvre ([email protected]) 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Children s Crafts, Activities and Poolside Snacks 10 a.m p.m. Organized pool activities for children (signed waiver and adult supervision required) 12-2 p.m. Crafts and scheduled activities Ransom Campus, Broad REACH Pool at the Ansin Aquatic Center 12-1:30 p.m. Head of School Luncheon Official welcome from Head of School Penny Townsend Attendees include: all alumni and their guests, reunion classes, faculty emeriti, current faculty, the Class of 2017 and the 2017 alumni award recipients. Children welcome. Ransom Campus, Anderson Gymnasium (No pool access available without adult supervision.) 2 p.m. Classes with RE Master Teachers Ransom Campus 6:30 p.m. 50-Year Reunion Dinner for Everglades Class of 1967 Miami Shores Country Club 7 p.m. Individual Reunion Parties Class of 1977 Class of 1987 Class of 1997

3 Table of Contents 4 Ransom Everglades Log Spring 2017 Link to the photo galleries: FEATURES Summerbridge to Breakthrough 4 Inspiring students for 25 years. Making a Difference 12 Five members of the RE community who ha e made a di erence thro h ser ice. Expanding our REach 24 As RE grows, it will never loose sight of its mission DEPARTMENTS From the Pagoda 2 From the Everglades Campus 34 From the Archives 35 Service on Campus 36 Student News 38 Sports 42 Alumni Events 44 Class Notes - Alumni 48 In Loving Memory 62 ac lty Sta otes 63 The Ransom Everglades Log aims to connect, inform and engage readers in the life of Ransom Everglades School. It is published by the Ransom Everglades Office of Communications. Executive Editor: Amy Shipley Associate Editor / Photography Director: Suzanne Kores Art & Design: Kim Foster Contributing Editors: Thomas Willis 04, Vicki Carbonell Williamson 88 Contributing Writers: Penny Townsend, Rachel Rodriguez Photographers: Carl Kafka, Suzanne Kores, Joshua Prezant Contact Us: Ransom Everglades School Office of Communications 3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL T: E: [email protected] To send a letter to the editor, change your address or remove yourself from our mailing list, please send an to [email protected]. W: Archives SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 1

4 From the Pagoda Making a difference in the world In this issue of the RE Log magazine, we celebrate just a few of the many in our Ransom Everglades community who are following the words of Paul Ransom and putting more into the world than they take from it. They are, in many ways, unsung heroes. Headlines rarely come to those who spend their lives trying to improve circumstances for the financially stressed, forgotten, under-resourced or sick. Yet at Ransom Everglades, such efforts stir pride. They matter. They are vivid expressions of our core mission, energizing all of us who devote our lives to guiding students, preparing them to succeed in college and life. We start with Willy Foote 86, who left a job on Wall Street and a chance to attend Harvard Business School to assist rural farmers worldwide who struggle to make ends meet. Willy s company, Root Capital, not only loans money so that farmers get paid on time, but also provides much needed job training, equipment and counsel on environmental best practices. When he travels around the global to meet his business partners, he is as likely to spend the night in a hammock as a Hilton. We feature Wendell Graham 74, a Miami-Dade County Court judge for nearly a quarter of a century who has made it his personal mission to ensure that everyone who sets foot in his courtroom is treated with respect and the highest level of professionalism. Judge Graham cites some amazing mentors: he learned under the late Janet Reno and, as a youngster, studied violin at the academy created by locally renowned civil rights leader Ruth Greenfield, mother of our 2017 Commencement speaker Timothy Greenfield- Sanders 70. We highlight the achievements of Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber 85, who has used her passion for scientific inquiry to devise a methodology for those at risk for suicide a methodology now used by governments and agencies around the world. Dr. Posner s interest in the serious issue was aroused when, as a young professor at Columbia University, she undertook a study of adolescent suicide, discovering a need in identification and prevention. Her findings led her to create the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, which has helped to save countless lives and spared families heartbreak and suffering. 2 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

5 We also recognize the good works of current student Joshua Williams 18, who has been deeply troubled by the plight of the impoverished since before he arrived to kindergarten. As a little boy, Joshua begged his mother and aunts to make dinners in individual containers that he helped hand out to the homeless in Miami. Those small family projects blossomed into the Joshua s Heart Foundation, a 100-percent volunteer-run organization that provides food to thousands of people every year. Twenty-five years ago, lifelong friends, John Flickinger 74 and Doug Weiser 74, started Summerbridge on the Ransom Campus. Their goal to provide educational opportunities to underserved students in Miami-Dade County has grown beyond anyone s wildest dreams. Today, Breakthrough Miami transforms the lives of promising young men and women across the city, and it is very much at the heart of all we do at Ransom Everglades. Beginning on page 24 you can read the summary of some of the community service and local outreach that originates on our campus every day, and that in many ways follows the examples set by those we have profiled in this magazine. The summary was created for the documentation associated with the SAP (Special Area Plan) that we are engaged in with the City of Miami as we seek to permanently unite the La Brisa property with the Ransom Campus. Finally, I am privileged to share with you a beautiful tribute to the late Sue Miller, a gracious and generous woman who never sought the spotlight and brought joy to the lives of those fortunate to have known her. Sue was one of the first people to write me when I was appointed head of Ransom Everglades, extending to me the warm and caring spirit that characterized her. The reminiscences provided by her three children, Stuart Miller 75, Leslie Miller Saiontz 77 and RE Board Member Jeffrey Miller 79 remind us how much Sue and her late husband Lenny contributed to the greater good. Sue made life better for us at Ransom Everglades, and we miss her dearly. Headlines rarely come to those who spend their lives trying to improve circumstances for the financially stressed, forgotten, under-resourced or sick. Yet at Ransom Everglades, such efforts stir pride. They matter. Penny Townsend Head of School SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 3

6 Summerbridge to Doug Weiser, John Flickinger 4 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

7 Breakthrough Miami Inspiring Students for 25 Years By Amy Shipley John Flickinger 74 arrived to the Ransom School on financial aid, one of six children of a Catholic widow who struggled to make ends meet after the death of her Air Force pilot husband. Doug Weiser 74 hailed from a wellto-do Jewish family from an exclusive bayfront neighborhood, his father Woody Weiser a noted attorney, hotel developer and philanthropist. Different worlds, Flickinger said. Yet not long after they met in eighth grade, Flickinger and Weiser became the best of friends, learning first-hand how common educational goals can break down barriers. As students, they followed nearly identical paths. They ran track, and shared the football team co-captaincy with Wendell Graham 74, the first African-American student at Ransom Everglades and now a Miami- Dade County judge (see story, page 16). Flickinger served as Student Council president; Weiser directed the Key Club. I m forever grateful for this special program Angeliki P. La Bianca, V.P./ manager, TD Bank Weiser family sailboat. A few years later, their love for the water inspired them to join two others on a three-week Atlantic crossing on a 50-foot sloop. They even attended the same college, Colgate University. The lessons learned at Ransom Everglades School guided them for years after graduation. The two pals reunited in the summer of 1992 to found a program that harked back to their schoolboy days, and which has since transformed the lives of thousands of students in South Florida. The program, then known as Summerbridge Miami, brought underserved middle-school kids (now grades 5-12) from around Miami- Dade County onto the Ransom Everglades campus during the summers and on Saturdays, aiming to use a rigorous academic program and inspiring collegeage role models to help them graduate high school and get into college. Twenty-five years later, Breakthrough Miami it was renamed in the mid- They jointly protested the Vietnam John Flickinger 2000s 74 remains a significant piece of War, championed numerous local civic campus life at Ransom Everglades, a causes and spent hours on the bay in the lifeline for many local students and a SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 5

8 The Miami Herald has chronicled the growth of Summerbridge/Breakthrough Miami in a number of stories, some front page, in the 90s and 2000s. The first class of Summerbridge scholars. As a Summerbridge scholar, I fell in love with learning. Janelle Bravo-San Pedro, Assistant Principal, Southwest Miami High School testament to the power of education, community spirit and, perhaps most of all, the bond between two lifelong friends. It was a whole community effort, Flickinger said. It really engaged everyone at Ransom Everglades. The program that began with 40 students on just one campus has grown to more than 1,200 at six sites. A budget of $80,000 in its first summer now stands at nearly $3 million. Modeled off of a successful program launched at University High School in San Francisco, Summerbridge lured talented middle-school students from around Miami including its poorest communities into its ranks and recruited ambitious students from colleges around the nation to teach them. The goal was 100-percent high school graduation rates, and 100-percent college matriculation rates. Elissa Vanaver, the chief executive officer of Breakthrough Miami, said the organization has achieved nearly perfect marks consistently above 90 percent among students who remain in the program since the very beginning. It has been just so tremendously successful on so many fronts, said Jeffrey Miller 79, a former Breakthrough Miami board chairman and current member. The kids are special. Back when we were just 40 strong it was good, but it has evolved into a much, much bigger good. What it has done is much bigger and more global. One of 24 Breakthrough sites throughout the nation, Miami s is the largest in terms of student participation. Miller and others say Miami s program is considered among the nation s finest, providing a blueprint that other regions have tried to emulate. 6 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

9 Brian Braddy 05 Breakthrough student and teacher BS in Finance at Florida State University JD at Florida State University College of Law Ransom Everglades Class of 2005 Notable job history City of Atlanta Municipal Court, Director of Probation Services Verizon, Legal Analyst, Orlando Teach For America, Atlanta, 2009 Corps John Flickinger with student-teachers in the early 90s. We did, said Flickinger, what we said we were going to do. They didn t do it alone. Ransom Everglades and its friends and families helped every step of the way. Two Friends and a Great Idea Flickinger said he and Weiser wanted to change the world from the time they became friends in the eighth grade they just weren t sure quite how. Flickinger majored in religious studies at Colgate, then went on to Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan where he earned his master s in divinity. He worked in Mississippi as a labor organizer before returning to New York City to serve as a community organizer for a Brookyn-based grassroots economic development organization of churches, synagogues and labor unions. After 10 years in the inner city, Flickinger was ready for a change. His annual salary stood at about $12,000, he was married, and he had a baby on the way in 1990 when he ran into one of his former RE teachers, Michael Stokes, at Weiser s summer wedding in Colorado. Stokes tipped him off to a program in San Francisco that had won acclaim for offering enrichment to students lacking access to great educational resources. Stokes told Flickinger Summerbridge would be a great fit at Ransom Everglades if only it had a competent leader and motivated steward. Flickinger, immediately interested, decided to take the matter up with Ransom Head of School Frank Hogan. Hogan promised to offer Summerbridge, now known as Breakthrough, allowed me to use education to remove myself and my family from poverty. Growing up in Liberty City, most of our opportunities come through athletics. Programs like this show kids that there is more than one way to succeed no matter where you come from. Breakthrough meant that I didn t have to have a subpar education just because of where I lived. Breakthrough allowed me to explore a side of my city/community that I didn t even know existed. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 7

10 Paul Natland 02 Breakthrough student and teacher BS in Physics at George Washington University Ransom Everglades Class of 2002 Notable Job History Physics teacher, Ransom Everglades School Physics teacher, Gulliver Preparatory School It s hard for me to overstate how much the program has meant to my life. It s probably one of the single biggest things that influenced the trajectory of my life I had really enthusiastic, motivating teachers who made learning more fun than it had been in the past. I realized how much I enjoyed math, and the logical thinking that came with it. I went from feeling so-so about my math skills, to almost majoring in math in college. I was empowered in math because of Breakthrough. It wasn t outside of Breakthrough that I got this empowerment. Summerbridge students at the RE Middle School in the early days. Summerbridge his unbridled support, an office on campus, and classroom and activity space. But there was one catch: Flickinger would have to raise all of the money to pay for the program. Flickinger immediately called Weiser, then a non-practicing attorney who was working as a filmmaker and real-estate developer in Los Angeles and Colorado, but increasingly spending more time in Miami. After Hurricane Andrew devastated the region in August 1992, Weiser moved back to Florida full-time to re-develop the Sheraton Royal Biscayne Hotel, which became The Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne. He agreed to help, hoping that he and Flickinger could successfully establish the Summerbridge program in the Ransom Everglades community. I never dreamed that the program would evolve into what it is today, Weiser said, but John did. He brought the vision and the magic. The pair reached out to local schools, companies and RE families, scouring the community for students who would benefit from the program, and people willing to help. Terron Ferguson 04, now an attorney with the Equal Justice Initiative in Birmingham, Ala., recalled the day Flickinger showed up to his fifth-grade classroom at Olinda Elementary School in Liberty City. When he heard about the educational program offered in the summer and on Saturdays, he thought, No way am I doing that. His teacher, however, was so enamored of Flickinger and his message that she forced her entire class to apply, and Ferguson found himself with an offer of admission. It was a decision made for me and it turned out to be a game-changer. It changed my life. Breakthrough Miami teachers in Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

11 Renee Sterling 00 Breakthrough student MS and BS in Accounting at the University of Florida Ransom Everglades Class of 2000 Notable Job History Regulatory Reporting Vice President, Goldman Sachs, London Regulatory Reporting Analyst in Controllers in the Finance Division, Goldman Sachs, London External Auditor for Deloitte and Touche in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. As students signed on, many RE families put up cash or offered summer housing for the arriving college-student teachers. Adria Rasken, an early Summerbridge board member and mother of three RE graduates, spent seven years helping Flickinger and Weiser raise funds for the program. The mix of community goodwill and enthusiastic salesmanship allowed Flickinger and Weiser to invite some 40 rising sixth-grade students from around Miami for the program s launch in the summer of By 1993, the number of students had doubled. It was always a challenge to raise the money every year, said Weiser, who joined the Summerbridge board in 1993, eventually becoming board chair, but the support of Ransom Everglades was really key. Summerbridge made me a well-rounded student of life. Jennifer D. Delma, Director of Firm Operations, EoA Inc. Growing Up Fast Brian Braddy 05 and John Flickinger flank Terron Ferguson 04 after his New York University Law School graduation It didn t take long for progress to become measurable. Ferguson and several others were accepted into Ransom Everglades as full-time students, most receiving full scholarships. In 1999, the first class of Summerbridge students received high school diplomas after seven years in the program. The Miami Herald chronicled the achievement. Every single student who remained in Breakthrough graduated. Ninety percent went on to four-year colleges or universities. The program thrived so fast and so thoroughly, it soon outgrew Ransom Everglades grounds. In the early 2000s, sites were opened at the Liberty City Charter School and Corpus Christi Catholic School, allowing for an expansion of 150 students. Many Breakthrough scholars who had gone off to college began returning to Miami during the summers to teach. That was a major touch-point, when our students started coming back as teachers, said Flickinger, who now works with several RE alums at Beacon College Prep, a high-performing public charter school for underserved children in Opa-locka. They could say, If I could do it, you can do it. Unlike with other summer internships, Breakthrough teachers received primary instructional responsibilities. Mentored throughout the summer by professional educators from Ransom Everglades and other local schools, the student-teachers were handed Summerbridge opened my eyes to the infinite possibilities that the world has to offer and introduced me to some of my closest friends. I was exposed to great schools and am fortunate to have been accepted into Ransom Everglades. Both Breakthrough and Ransom Everglades are the reason I was able to appreciate and capitalize on opportunities as they were presented. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 9

12 Terron Ferguson 04 Breakthrough student and teacher BA in Philosophy at Morehouse College London School of Economics JD at New York University School of Law Ransom Everglades Class of 2004 Notable Work History Legal Fellow, Equal Justice Initiative, Birmingham Teach for America, Miami Special Education Teacher, College Park Elementary, Atlanta I grew up in Liberty City, and Breakthrough surrounded me with like-minded kids for the first time. That was the magical thing about Breakthrough: It takes a lot of kids who don t really have a lot of educational opportunities; it puts them all together; and it makes education cool. That was a really powerful thing for me The more practical way Breakthrough helped me was offering the opportunity to go to Ransom Everglades. That just changed my life. I wasn t even thinking about college until I went to Ransom Everglades. Breakthrough scholars surround special guest Franklin Sirmans, director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, in July classrooms of children, full course loads and the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences. The teachers didn t merely inspire, they made it fun. You have these college-student teachers who are energized and young and vibrant, Miller said. You are motivating the students, and making education cool. You are making it something that doesn t feel onerous and rigid like most public education. Awards and recognition rained down. The National Association of Independent Schools recognized the national program with its Leading Edge Award in 2003 for achievements in equity and justice, and Columbia University s Klingenstein Center honored it with the Klingenstein Leadership Award in Teach for America, the non-profit that places recent college graduates into teaching positions in inner cities, signed on for a partnership. A challenge I was happy to undertake, Magaly Pena, Project Designer, D Asign Source In Miami, the Knight Foundation awarded Breakthrough Miami a $3.25 million grant, which called for an expansion to 1,000 students and new sites at additional schools. Breakthrough also received its first significant grant from The Children s Trust, a local government agency that provides funding for worthy children s programs. Those grants allowed the program to expand to Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Gulliver Preparatory School, Miami Country Day, Palmer Trinity and the University of Miami. Even as Breakthrough expanded, families from Ransom Everglades returned year after year, offering help. We relied heavily on the generosity of families from Ransom Everglades from the start and we still do, Vanaver said. We are so grateful that the school and its families continue to see the value in the Breakthrough program. The RE community s embrace of Breakthrough has been critical in attracting the support of the other schools. 10 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

13 Dwanita Fields 00 Breakthrough student and teacher Breakthrough Miami s Flagship: Ransom Everglades Even as other schools have expanded their programs, Ransom Everglades remains Breakthrough Miami s flagship and largest site with more than 240 scholars. RE s program, led by senior site director Webber Charles, has honed its recruiting to ensure that it consistently unearths both academic superstars and hidden talents. Paul Natland 02, now a physics teacher at Ransom Everglades, said he didn t realize he loved math and was good at it until he got into Breakthrough Miami. I kept getting excited about different topics, he said. After my second summer in the program, I had the confidence to move into a more advanced math class. I was empowered in math because of Breakthrough. It wasn t outside of Breakthrough that I got this empowerment. Breakthrough scholars on RE s campus are also exposed to specialized programs in sailing, swimming, drama and other areas, ensuring that they have opportunities to learn and excel even in non-academic realms. RE s Breakthrough team also advises parents, serves as an ad hoc consultant to the Miami-Dade public school system and prides itself on the workforce training it gives aspiring teachers. Breakthrough Miami now attracts students from more than 100 schools from throughout the county from Miami Gardens to Homestead to Liberty City to Hialeah. More than 80 percent of Breakthrough scholars qualify for the National School Lunch Program. Nearly 50 percent speak a primary language besides English. More than a third will be the first generation in their families to attend college. Nearly half come from single-parent households. I Tita-Nefartari Alexander grew up in Liberty City with a single mother and two sisters. By most accounts and predictions based on statistics, she said, we were not expected to aspire to much. Her fortunes changed, she said, when she landed in Breakthrough, still called Summerbridge at the time. After graduating from the program, she earned teaching degrees at Florida State and St. Thomas University. She is now a public-school teacher in Miami-Dade County, and director of operations and programming at DIBIA Dream, a youth education non-profit. I still believe education is the most powerful tool you can use to change the world, Alexander said. When you add elements of exposure, recreation, collegiality, leadership and genuine love all of which Summerbridge provided me the possibilities are endless. MBA in International Business at Nova Southeastern University BS at Howard University Ransom Everglades Class of 2000 Notable job history Senior Site Director at Gulliver Schools, Breakthrough Miami Fellow, 2015 New Leaders Council Co-Chair, Junior League of Miami for the CHARLEE Project Middle-School Math Teacher, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Summerbridge/Breakthrough opened up a world of opportunities for me. I am so thankful to have been a student in the program because I believe it changed the my life by placing like-minded individuals around me and introducing me to one of the most prestigious educational experiences, attending Ransom Everglades. This educational experience overly prepared me for college and my future professional path. Breakthrough students at the RE Middle School this winter. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 11

14 SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY TO THE PUBLIC TO THE WORLD TO THE HUNGRY Through Science 12 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

15 Making a Difference From the day they arrive as sixth graders, Ransom Everglades students learn about founder Paul C. Ransom s promise to produce graduates who put more into the world than they take from it. The following pages highlight members of the Ransom Everglades community who have truly lived out Ransom s noble mission, devoting their lives to serving others. Meet Willy Foote 86, Wendell Graham 74, Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber 85, Joshua Williams 18 and the late Sue Miller. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 13

16 Serving the World You moved to Miami when your late father, Tad Foote, became the president of the University of Miami. You entered Ransom Everglades as an eighth grader. How did that experience shape you? I think I was probably a late bloomer when it comes to global citizenship and having a life of purpose. One of the events that profoundly shaped my journey was moving from Missouri to Miami in Dad became president of the University of Miami. It was an interesting time to live in South Florida, and I quickly became fascinated by Latin America: its culture, music, history and politics. I ve been looking south ever since. I was coming of age as a student at Ransom Everglades and learned early on that you must have empathy and appreciation for other cultures. The liberal arts, holistic approach to education at Ransom was perfect for me. I felt like I was a sponge. After your years at Ransom Everglades, you took a traditional path to success: Yale, the London School of Economics, a job on Wall Street. How did you transition into rural farming? I traded my job on Wall Street, where I focused on Latin American corporate finance, for a twoyear business journalism fellowship. I wanted to see what the business world looked like from the ground. The fellowship took my then-girlfriend, now-wife, and me on a journey throughout rural Mexico. Almost overnight, I went from wearing a suit and tie to driving a four-wheel drive. We were bumping around on backroads in our truck, spending time in mud-floored homes with thatched roofs, and meeting families that lacked the very basics. How did that journalism fellowship change you? I was very distressed by what I saw among hard-working small-scale farmers. I met with leaders of cooperatives and agricultural businesses that would bring these farmers together by the hundreds or thousands and link them to markets, but many of these businesses would fail to thrive or just fail, period. They failed because they lacked access to many things the formal economy provides: capital, business skills, training, market, and trade partners. For two years in my early 30s, I witnessed real poverty and the tremendous opportunity that agriculture can and does offer to help the world s rural poor lift themselves out of poverty. Did you really take a pass on Harvard Business School? After our two years in Mexico, my wife and I drove to Boston, where we both planned to enroll at Harvard Business School. Then I had what I call my moment of existential clarity. I needed to follow my instincts. I thought to myself, I don t really know what it s like to be an entrepreneur, but I m going to jump in. 14 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

17 Willy Foote 86 Education London School of Economics, MS Development Economics Yale University, BA history Honors Ransom Everglades Commencement Speaker, 2014 Council on Foreign Relations, Life Member Henry Crown Fellow, Aspen Institute, 2012 Forbes Impact 30, 2011 Young Presidents Organization, 2009 Young Global Leader, World Economic Forums, 2008 Ashoka Fellow, 2007 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2005 Founder and CEO of Root Capital Willy Foote left his job on Wall Street to learn about the plight of family farmers in remote villages in Mexico, then bypassed a chance to attend Harvard Business School to start a non-profit organization that launched him into 17 years of global service. Through Root Capital, Foote and his colleagues around the world identify under-resourced agricultural-based businesses, and provide them with what they need to grow: access to capital and trade partners, business skills and environmental training. Since its inception, Root Capital has made more than $1 billion in loans to 630 agricultural businesses in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Together, those businesses have generated more than $6 billion in revenue and connected more than a million small-scale farmers to markets. I m going to try to find a creative solution to this chronic problem. I never made it to Harvard Business School (my wife did). At the time, everybody including my parents thought I was nuts. How did you get your idea off the ground? The way I started was by approaching the companies that purchase these farmers products, asking if they ll work with me. I literally pleaded with Green Mountain Coffee, Starbucks and importers selling to Whole Foods. I told them that I have an idea for how I can finance their otherwise un-bankable suppliers in the forests of the Andes or in Africa. Those suppliers don t have assets that banks require as collateral to make a loan like registered land titles, equipment, and buildings. Instead, I said Root Capital would lend against their purchase orders and contracts. What does that mean, exactly? If you went to Starbucks this morning, then thank you you indirectly provided collateral for the loans that we make to farmer cooperatives that grow that coffee. We provide these rural businesses with cash so that they can pay farmers up front when they deliver their crops, not at the end of the season. We also provide financing to help businesses expand their operations, buy equipment, and build factories. Simply put, we act as a bank in remote farming communities that rarely benefit from banks. And to be as close as possible to our clients, we have hub offices in Costa Rica, Peru, Kenya and Senegal. I m traveling 40 percent of the time, sleeping in hammocks and playing my guitar in the villages where we work. What else does Root Capital do? It s not enough to provide capital in order to address this market failure; we also need to provide education and workforce training. For example, we share expertise and financial management know-how through Story continues, page 65 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 15

18 Public Service Wendell Graham 74 County Judge in Miami-Dade County Wendell Graham, the first African-American student at Ransom Everglades, arrived to the school as an aspiring violinist and left it a multi-sport athlete and top-tier student. He matriculated at Columbia University, then returned to Miami to learn the legal trade as an Assistant State Attorney under Janet Reno. In 1994, then-governor Lawton Chiles appointed Graham to the Dade County Court. For the past 23 years, Graham has been a devoted public servant. He has worked in virtually every division of the state trial court system and currently is handling civil disputes involving $15,000 or less, striving to bring honor and dignity to every case he hears, and demanding the same from everyone in his courtroom. EDUCATION Columbia University, BA in English University of Miami, JD Career Path County Court Judge, 1994 to present Nominated to Country Court, Lawton Chiles, 1994 Sole Practitioner, Criminal and Administrative Law, Hearing Officer, Dade County Public Schools, Traffic Magistrate, Assistant State Attorney, Admitted to Florida Bar, 1983 How did you get interested in the violin? My mother took me to the Fine Arts Conservatory (in Liberty City) when I was three or four. I learned the piano, took dance, fooled around with other instruments. Ruth Greenfield, an established musician and Ransom parent, founded the conservatory with the goal of bringing the fine arts to black kids in Dade County. I didn t start playing the violin until the summer going into sixth grade at Charles Drew (Charles R. Drew Middle School). In fact, I didn t want to play the violin; I wanted to play guitar. I liked the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix. They said when the guitars come in, you can play guitar, but for now, here s a violin. When I started playing it, I never looked back. I liked it. It was instantaneous. I took off with it. Music was almost second nature to me by junior high. The next summer, I made it to a very prestigious music festival, the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, N.C. From there, I got a scholarship offer to attend The North Carolina School of The Arts. My mother said, There s no way you re going to North Carolina. So how did you get to Ransom School? My mother, full of exasperation, talked to Ruth Greenfield. Ruth told her about Ransom. She had four children who went to the school: Charlie 68, Timothy [Greenfield-Sanders] 70, Frankie 71 and Alice 76. My mother was simply looking for a palatable alternative to my going to North Carolina. She was OK with Ransom, and so was I. Ransom didn t have a music program, but the notion that I could actually play high school football sounded great to me. I couldn t have played at Miami Northwestern High. I wasn t a great athlete, but I played everything at Ransom: football, basketball, track and even water polo for one season. Like any other kid, I was just having fun. You were the first African-American student at Ransom Everglades. Was that difficult? I was so young; that s one of the reasons I didn t think about it a whole lot, and the school administration itself didn t allow it to be a focal point of my experience. The transition was a lot smoother than most folks expected. I remember a Miami Herald reporter interviewing me about it when I was about 13 years old. I d probably been there six months. He said, How s it going? I said: Just fine. It was a very good experience. People like Mike Stokes, Dan Bowden and Geoff Pietsch, a history teacher there, and Jim Beverley 62, who also taught there, I kind of likened them to the three musketeers. They were, the four of them, always around, always available, and for some reason, they were particularly warm. The student body was really nice. 16 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

19 Photos by Joshua Prezant You went from Ransom Everglades to Columbia University. Was that a challenging transition? Ransom was the adjustment, not Columbia. I learned, if you can get through Ransom, you can go anywhere. Ransom was just a good place. It gave a kid a real-life idea of what he or she needed to do academically to be in the running. There was no cutting corners. Every instructor expected the most of you. For those children that weren t up to par, they just weren t there the next year. One of the things that s critical for Ransom Everglades if it wants to remain one of the best schools in the country, is to continue to increase its diversity. Diversity improves the quality of the classroom and campus experience. How did you land in the State Attorney s Office under Janet Reno after law school? My mother got a full scholarship to the Pratt Institute (in Brooklyn) for clothing design, then got her master s in education at Columbia Teacher s College. She taught home economics at Florida A&M in Tallahassee before I was born. When she came to Miami, she got very involved. She was involved with the Miami-Dade Heritage Trust; the Black Archives, a historical foundation in Dade County. My mother had been supporting Janet Reno s campaign nancially as far as a teacher co ld support her. When I met Janet Reno, it opened up the notion of being a prosecutor as a good thing. In the neighborhood I grew up, the concept of a prosecutor was not necessarily a good thing. After Columbia, I went to wor at the State ttorney s Office Working for Janet Reno turned out to o er an ideal start to nderstandin the importance of fairness. Story continues, page 67 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 17

20 Service through Science How did Ransom Everglades influence your career choices? I was always a scientist but service was always connected to that. For as long as I can remember I have been about really wanting to take whatever abilities I have been given, whatever strengths I have in this world to try to make this world a better place, whatever that means. How can I help the most people? My family had instilled these kind of values, but I would say my time at Ransom Everglades nourished that desire to give back. As a high schooler, what did you aspire to do? I originally thought I would become a lawyer and free innocent people from ail eca se there was nothin more horri c to me than an innocent life thrown away. As a graduate student I worked with young children in psychiatric settings, disadvantaged communities and many schools. In all of these training experiences I was evaluating mental illness and suicidal issues. I discovered that we need to ask, we have to ask and we can ask the only question: how do we do that? Did you have a personal connection to the issue of suicide? It wasn t personal for me. Somewhere along the line of my intellectual path and professional journey, it became very clear to me that was passionate a o t identi cation of ris 18 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 denti cation of anythin has to e the rst ey to helpin to pre ention f we can t diagnose colon cancer we certainly can t treat it. When did you direct that interest to suicide prevention? n a o t started to reali e what a ery si ni cant p lic health crisis we were dealing with. Currently, it is the leading cause of death in adolescent girls across the globe. It kills more people in the United States than car accidents. It is the secondleading cause of death in year olds. But the very good news is, we know this is a preventable cause of death. It s something we can impact. The biggest cause of suicide is a treatable medical heritable illness called depression, but we don t think about depression the way we think about cancer or asthma. You would never hear the word choice when it comes to cancer. Did you know that 50 percent of people who die by suicide see their primary care doctor one month before they die? We need to be asking questions like we monitor for blood pressure. What happened next? I took the ball and I ran with it. We saw a reat need and addressed it scienti cally with the ol m ia method of identi cation The ol m ia S icide Se erity Ratin Scale, C-SSRS.) Then I took everything I knew about advocacy and messaging, without fear and trepidation, and did everything I was able to optimize its potential impact. I am so very grateful

21 Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber 85 EDUCATION Brown University, BS in psychology Yeshiva University, PhD in clinical psychology HONORS Anne Vanderbilt Award, 2016 Responsible 100, 2016 Spero Award for Excellence and Profound Commitment to Community Psychiatry, 2014 Save a Child s Heart Honoree, 2013 Education Leadership Award, Kaufman Music Center, 2013 New York State Suicide Prevention Award, 2013 Turnaround Impact Award, Turnaround for Children, 2011 Education Philanthropist of the Year, AVENUE and New York Family, 2010 Most distinguished alumna of graduate school for past 50 years, Yeshiva University, Most Influential New Yorkers, New York Magazine, 2006 Founder and Principal Investigator of the Columbia Lighthouse Project Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber s work has been presented to Congress, discussed in White House and Pentagon keynotes, adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and mandated by the FDA. As a young professor at Columbia, Posner Gerstenhaber was helping to lead a National Institute of Mental Health study of adolescent suicide when she identi ed a critical ap there was no scienti c strategy for identifying those at risk of taking their own lives. Posner and her team of experts led the e ort to the pro lem creatin a scienti c method to identify those li ely to attempt suicide so lives could be saved with intervention. Her questionnaire has been compared to the introduction of antibiotics and is saving lives in 45 nations on six continents, helping make a dent in a seemingly intractable problem. Posner has also been lauded for her philanthropic involvement and education reform impact. to actually be able to begin to help address this humanitarian crisis and reduce this preventable loss of life. Just to give some perspective to the public health meaning of the issue, the CDC has just let our nation know that life expectancy in the United States has gone down, with suicide being a major contributor, rendering us the only developed nation in the world where it is not increasing. We do not yet have cures for cancer or heart disease, but we have seen that suicide is curable. The state of Utah announced that since asking these questions they have lowered their state suicide rate, reversing an alarming upward trend over the past decade. It is humbling to have any part of reducing a leading cause of death and contributing at all to alleviating one of the greatest tragedies we face as a nation. We read every day about mass violence and we know that screening can help here. The former deputy secretary of the Department of Education under President Obama has noted that these questions can keep our 64 million children safe and I am incredibly grateful to have just entered into a partnership with the NRA to work on suicide prevention to put these questions in the hands of gun owners and their families. How did word spread about the Columbia method of identification? It started very bottom-up and grass roots. I went from Army base to Army base, community to community, to do trainings. Now 48 states and many countries have implemented policy and that took a tremendous amount of advocacy and word-of-mouth. It is exciting to see that top-down has met bottom-up, and when there is something that works it can and will spread with the right partners (like Story continues, page 65 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 19

22 Feeding the Hungry Joshua Williams 18 EDUCATION Ransom Everglades Class of 2018 HONORS Nickelodeon Halo Award Honoree, 2015 CNN Heroes Young Wonder award, 2015 Global Teen Leader, Three Dot Dash, 2014 Walter B. Arnold Jr. Youth Hall of Fame, 2013 The Prudential Spirit of Community National Award, 2013 Black Entertainment Television Shine A Light Honoree, 2013 White House Champion of Change award, 2012 Presidential Volunteer Service Award, 2011 Florida Governor s Points of Light Award, 2010 City of Miami Beach Proclamation Joshua Williams Day, 2010 Founder, CEO and Chief Changemaker of the Joshua s Heart Foundation Joshua Williams discovered his passion for philanthropy at age four and a half when he observed a panhandler on the streets of Miami. He handed the man a $20 gift he had just received from his grandmother. Deeply troubled by the idea that people did not have food or housing, Joshua persuaded his mom, aunts and grandmother to start preparing meals for the homeless in Miami. That effort grew into the Joshua s Heart Foundation, a youth-focused organization that distributes groceries to needy people throughout South Florida, Connecticut, Jamaica, Africa and India and strives to provide education about global hunger issues. As Joshua balances his studies at Ransom Everglades with his work at his foundation and frequent requests for speeches or interviews, he hopes to eliminate world hunger one community at a time. How did you get started? I remember this very vividly. We lived on Miami Beach. I was four-and-a-half years old, and we were going to church. My grandmother had just given me $20. On the way, we stopped at a red light. I was sitting in the back left, and there was a man sitting on the median with a cardboard sign. It said: Need food, need money, lost my job. I asked my mom: Why is he hungry? Why is he asking for food? I wasn t aware that there were hungry and homeless people in our community. I really couldn t grasp it at that age. I couldn t understand why he couldn t have the meal I just had during breakfast. That impacted me. At that moment, I wanted to help. I gave him the $20. I remember the light turning green it was a long red light, and I actually dropped the $20 bill. I saw that he was able to grab it. That was the first time I helped somebody. So what happened next? A few weeks later I was watching TV and there was an infomercial from Feed the Children, the organization. We actually partner with them now. They were showing an infomercial about the lives of kids in Africa, the fact they have no clean water, no food, their housing is horrible, they re dealing with wars, child soldiers, a bunch of things. It ended by saying, Adopt now. That was also a big hit for me. It made me more aware of the realities of the world. I had this kind of realization, a call that I should do something, a reminder that people need help. I went to my mom right after I saw the commercial. I m an only child; I was thinking, Oh, I can have a little brother or something. But then I went to my mom and asked if we could adopt all of the kids. And she said no, we can t really do that. Were you discouraged? I kept thinking about it. I decided to be a little more firm in my resolve so that my mom would know that I wanted to do something. It actually took a couple months of persistence, every single day on the way to school. Every morning I would be nagging her, reminding her. That persistence went on maybe two months, before she said, All right, all right, I ll help you. The first thing we did was start a project. It was just a family project. We re Jamaicans, so we cook a lot of curry, rice and peas, jerk kitchen and vegetables. We just started cooking these meals in our kitchen. It was me, my mom, five aunts, my grandma. My little cousin who was two at the time, he would come over. We got tin foil, Styrofoam containers. I remember running around the kitchen trying to help out, but they were all trying to keep me at bay from the hot things. I remember packing things up, taking them to the cars, and we would go to the Julia Tuttle and some other bridges in downtown Miami where the homeless people used to live. We would take the food in the containers and we 20 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

23 would give it out to people. It started out kind of small. At first, we d give out 10 takeaway containers. But over the weeks doing it more and more, eventually we got 200 individuals. We d cook the food on Saturday mornings and give it out on Saturday evenings, every weekend. My whole family would help out and bring food. They were used to working together. It was just a family project, but we loved it. It brought us even closer together. We felt from those people appreciation, gratitude, thankfulness. We learned a lot. When did this informal giving become the Joshua s Heart Foundation? When I was seven, my aunt heard about 501(c)(3)s and incorporating on the radio. She told us about it, and we decided to fill the forms out and register for it, and Joshua s Heart was born. Around that time, we were actually stopped from giving food out in downtown Miami. We had become pretty popular, and the city told us we had to stop because of local ordinances. We were giving out Styrofoam containers and there was a littering ordinance, and there were also special rules on feeding the hungry in public places. I had to figure out a way we could continue doing what we re doing to help people. And that s where the idea of the distribution, which is our main program, came from. How do distributions work? We distribute food mostly nonperishables to people in need. We do distributions across South Florida in different locations: schools, community centers, churches, gymnasiums, auditoriums, parking lots anywhere they have a big enough spaces. We sometimes pay for the locations, often find ourselves partnering with other organizations. Working with others who want to change the world is really powerful. Coming together helps us make a greater change. The only thing we have to buy are the food supplies, and the U-Haul to pick up and transport the supplies from our warehouse to the distribution site. If the event is outside, we have a tent where we place the food under. Sometimes Story continues, page 66 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 21

24 Service to the Community Stuart Miller 75 Leslie Miller Saointz 77 Sue Miller Jeffrey Miller 79 Sue Miller s children, Stuart Miller 75, Leslie Miller Saointz 77 and Jeffrey Miller 79, say their mother taught them about service from their earliest days, displaying a deep interest in education, healthcare, the arts and the underserved while exhibiting a seemingly limitless compassion. As a newlywed, Sue Miller followed her Harvard-educated husband Leonard Miller from her home state of Massachusetts to Miami, where he co-founded the Lennar Corp. Her children watched her volunteer with their school PTAs, put countless hours into the family s synagogue, get involved with local charities and warmly welcome their school friends. They later witnessed her evolution from enthusiastic volunteer to impassioned community leader, one who led by e ample pers aded many to oin her e orts and inspired millions of dollars in donations mon the most si ni cant her family s landmark $100-million gift to the University of Miami in 2004, which created the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. She also helped raise millions for the United Way of Miami- Dade, an organization in which she played an active role for four decades, eventually helping to found the organization s Million Dollar Roundtable and Tocqueville Society. She encouraged her family s substantial and consistent support for RE s endowment, fellowships, capital improvements, the annual fund and more, and was actively involved in the Council for Educational Change, Bass Museum of Art, New World Symphony and Funding Arts Network. Each of her children has followed in her footsteps: St art now O of ennar helps direct the non pro t ennar Foundation and has served as chairman of the University of Miami s board of trustees and on the boards of the Alonzo Mourning Charities and Overtown Youth Center. Leslie chairs the board of Teach For America Miami-Dade; founded and runs Achieve Miami, a foundation that launches and manages a portfolio of organizations focused on educational equity; and worked with her mother in the United Way s Women s Leadership group. e rey co fo nder alon with R al m Melissa Krinzman 86 of a million ent re capital in estment rm rillion Ventures, served as chair of the board for Ransom Everglades and Breakthrough Miami (see story, page 4) and founded the Beacon College Prep charter school in Opa-locka. Leslie: When we all look at our lives, our commitment to our own service, our own communities, we so much in our own ways and ointly re ect what om instilled in s at an early age, back when she was involved with the PTA at North Beach Elementary and Temple Beth Sholom across the street. Our mom came from very, very simple means. My grandparents did not 22 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

25 Sue Miller ( ) Education Boston University Ransom Everglades ties Children Stuart Miller 75, Leslie Miller Saiontz 77, Jeffrey Miller 79 Grandchildren Jennifer Ozar 01, Lauren R. Miller 03, Brad A. Miller 06, Brent Saiontz 01, Amanda Saiontz Gluck 03, Melissa Luse 06, Rachel L. Saiontz 08, Matt B. Saiontz 11, Anthony J. Miller 15 and Lenny Miller 21 Honors United Way Worldwide National Tocqueville Award, 2012 United Way of Miami-Dade Tocqueville Award, with husband Leonard Miller, 1996 Founder, United Way of Miami-Dade Tocqueville Society Founder, United Way of Miami-Dade Million Dollar Roundtable Founder, United Way of Miami-Dade Women s Leadership program Beloved mother, community servant, philanthropist Sue Miller left behind a powerful legacy of community service and generosity when she died in November 2016 at the age of 81. She became the inspirational leader of her family and a philanthropic trailblazer in South Florida after the death of her husband Leonard Miller, co-founder of the Lennar Corp., in Her children, Stuart Miller 75, Leslie Miller Saiontz 77 and Jeffrey Miller 79 jointly won the Tocqueville Award for Outstanding Philanthropy from the Miami-Dade United Way in 2015, three years after she earned the national Tocqueville award and nearly two decades after she and her husband shared the local award. Known for her joyful devotion to her community and family, Miller set an example for generations, driving her family s long history of deep involvement in important local institutions, including Ransom Everglades School, and spearheading record-breaking donations to the University of Miami and United Way of Miami-Dade. have a lot, yet they were still active in charitable endeavors. They kept a Tzedakah box, and every week they would put money in there. Despite the fact she didn t have much growing up, she was always reminded by my grandparents: you have a roof over your head, you have food to eat, you do have. So many others don t have anything, and it s our responsibility to take care of those in need. Stuart: People would sometimes ask how much to give; her answer was: Give until it hurts. Give until you feel like you have given too much. She felt it was equally important, just as much of a responsibility, to also give of your time and talent. People would ask: how much time will this require? Her answer Sue and Leonard Miller was: You give of your time until you re tired, and then you give some more. There was very much a balance of those two things in her composition. Jeffrey: There was never a display or spoken lesson of giving. I always felt the greatest lesson we learned from her was through action. We would learn through osmosis. We gave because we felt blessed. Stuart: The way my mother lived her life, her example, was something that was a constant drumbeat. It was a primary driver. However, she was also not shy about telling you how she felt. For example, one of her children namely myself just doesn t have a cultural bone in his body. My mother clearly felt that arts and culture were an important part of community, and she wasn t shy or quiet about letting me know I had to develop more culture No question, kicking and screaming, I have supported the arts. It was a combination: The way she lived, dealt with the world, was lesson enough, but she also had a thing or two to say. Jeffrey: If you asked her, or any of us, the greatest value in what she did, it was less about checks we wrote and more about the energy and time we put into things. It was always what she felt passionate about, not about the money she gave to any organization. In fact, she was so heart-filled and Story continues, page 68 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 23

26 Expanding our REach As RE grows it will never lose sight of its mission Ransom Everglades students read books to preschoolers and tutor elementary school children. They collect canned goods for nearby food banks, diapers for young mothers, and books for local families. They participate in beach clean-ups, mangrove re-planting and home building. They play music in hospitals and help underserved students navigate the college application process. The school itself lends its facilities to worthwhile causes and non-profit entities. As Ransom Everglades seeks to enhance its Upper School campus by uniting it with the recently acquired La Brisa property to its north, the school also plans to nurture and strengthen its service-oriented bond with the local community. Ransom Everglades has been pursuing the necessary approvals from the City of Miami to incorporate the La Brisa property into the overall Master Plan for the development of the Upper School campus. As part of that process, the school has crafted a 30-year vision of a new Ransom Campus that includes the creation of additional green, open space, preservation of the existing tree canopies, the development of innovative LEED certified state-of-the-art classrooms, an improved circulation plan, and an allegiance and enthusiasm to a sustainable campus. Ransom Everglades also provided the city with a formal summary of the school s extensive public and community service. That document serves as a snapshot of current activities at the school, as well as the starting point for expanded service opportunities. By this summer, Ransom Everglades hopes to have successfully completed the approval process so it can launch the eagerly awaited rejuvenation of its Upper School campus as early as next winter, and continue to build on the school s long tradition of public and community service. What follows is taken from the public benefits statement provided in its application: 24 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

27 Ransom Everglades School is at home in Coconut Grove. The school takes pride in its responsibilities as a neighbor, community resource, and pillar of education and environmental stewardship. The following statement is a description of Ransom Everglades School s activities and partnerships demonstrating the public benefits it provides and will continue to provide to the community. The school is a coeducational, private educational institution for students in grades 6-12 that operates on two campuses. Ransom Everglades students hail from nearly 40 elementary schools from throughout Miami-Dade County, including more than 20 public schools. The school, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools and National Association of Independent Schools, awards $5.3 million in financial aid to 17.5 percent of its students annually, providing for approximately 190 financial aid grants. Public service has always been a part of Ransom Everglades mission. When Paul Ransom founded the school in 1903, he promised to produce graduates who would put more into the world than they took from it. Students and school leaders take that pledge to heart to this day. To ensure that service is meaningful and intrinsic to the educational experience, Ransom Everglades unlike many other schools does not require its students to count and record their service hours. Students learn that public service is not a box to be checked for credit, but a fundamental and rewarding part of living within a community. At Ransom Everglades, every sports team voluntarily conducts local service projects. More than 20 extra-curricular clubs perform community service. Students spend after-school hours and weekends volunteering as tutors, reading to local school children, building homes, performing at hospitals and engaging in many other worthy efforts throughout Miami. The school itself donates facilities and resources to a host of non-profits, including Breakthrough Miami and the Children s Bereavement Center. It picked up the tab for significant renovations on an unusable track oval at Coral Gables High, and revamped the ball fields at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade. Ransom Everglades students utilize those facilities, and the school pays to maintain both. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 25

28 Expanding our REach Many individual RE students have been recognized for service efforts they conduct entirely on their own. One Ransom Everglades student founded a non-profit foundation that feeds an average of 150 needy families a month. Another was honored for distributing dolls to cancer patients. A middle-school student was recognized for her conservation and environmental protection efforts on Key Biscayne. Another student started a charity flag football tournament that has raised more than $30,000 for abused and neglected children. At right we highlight a few of our many partnerships and events, but note that this list is always changing and growing. Community Partnerships Children s Bereavement Center The Children s Bereavement Center provides free Peer Support Groups for children, young adults, and adult caregivers after the death of a loved one. Groups are open to anyone who has lost a parent, sibling, grandparent, relative, or friend as a result of illness, accident, suicide, or homicide. Losses can be recent or in years past. Ransom Everglades provides its facilities free of charge on Monday evening for these groups. The Children s Bereavement Center also holds its annual gala at the campus. Ransom Everglades is designing a three-story Multidisciplinary Center + STEM Institute for the center of its current Upper School campus. 26 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

29 Overtown Youth Center Some four dozen RE alumni, family, and students participate in the REACH Too (Ransom Everglades Alumni Can Help Too) event, a Day of Play at the Overtown Youth Center. More than 65 children enjoy basketball, wiffle ball, football, board games, jewelry-making, water-balloon games, sidewalk-chalk drawing, and hula-hooping with the RE family. This event grew out of the RE Alumni Connections Event with Alonzo Mourning, a former RE parent and Miami Heat star who co-founded the Overtown Youth Center in Blessings in a Backpack RE students have volunteered with Blessings in a Backpack to pack approximately 400 parcels each week to send home with students at Tucker Elementary School so that they have healthy snacks over the weekend. TEDx Coconut Grove Ransom Everglades has partnered with TEDx Coconut Grove since 2012, providing a stage, school resources and assistance with fundraising for the independent, self-organized performance event that relies on engaging speakers to spark deep discussion and local connection. Activists, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, musicians, CEOs, philanthropists and others have enthralled thousands at the Lewis Family Auditorium with thought-provoking talks. Ransom Everglades School has supported TEDx Coconut Grove, which is organized independently and without supervision or financial support from TED, and donates the resources of its advancement and business offices to assist with operations. Onehundred percent of donated funds are directed to a holding account used exclusively by TEDx Coconut Grove. The relationship began when a parent, student and faculty member each inspired by TED in different ways shared their interest in hosting a TEDx conference on the RE campus. The goal since then has been to engage the community in a discussion of ideas, expand perspectives and make a philanthropic impact. The event brings more than 1,000 Miamians annually to Ransom Everglades, and offers complimentary tickets to students from Breakthrough Miami, Empowered Youth, Booker T. Washington, Best Buddies and other groups. Each year, TEDx Coconut Grove sponsors present a Hope Award in the amount of $5,000 to one deserving student. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 27

30 Expanding our REach The Next 100 Years at Ransom Everglades Ransom Everglades is taking the first step in a long-planned rejuvenation of its Upper School campus by designing an already-approved multidisciplinary center for the heart of its current Upper School campus. The school also plans to gradually incorporate the lush La Brisa property to the north, eventually creating expansive quads and new gathering spaces for students, tree-lined walkways, more green space and eco-friendly new facilities. Here s a glimpse at what the future Ransom Campus could look like. 1. Lewis Family Auditorium 2. Proposed Student Commons/Dining Building 3. Fine Arts Building 4. Proposed Multidisciplinary + STEM Center 5. Dan Leslie Bowden Library and Cameron Hall 6. Ludington Hall 7. La Brisa Mansion 8. The Pagoda 9. Henry H. Anderson, Jr. 38 Gymnasium 28 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

31 A conceptual interior vision of the proposed multidisciplinary + STEM center. Academic Partnerships Breakthrough Miami Calling upon the community service ideals they learned as students at Ransom Everglades, two lifelong friends founded a program they hoped would inspire at-risk middle school students to recognize and reach their full potential. Twentyfive years later, that program Breakthrough Miami serves more than 1,200 students from Miami-Dade County at multiple sites including Ransom Everglades School, where it operates year-round out of a rent-free office on the Middle School campus. The school offers Breakthrough Miami (see page 4) exclusive use of the Middle School during the summer months, and allows ready access to the Upper School s aquatic, athletic and sailing facilities in the summer and on Saturdays throughout the school year. RE students and teachers serve as volunteers. Ransom Everglades envisions lush tropical landscaping between the pool and the Pagoda and a convenient ramp connecting the La Brisa land with the current Upper School. Booker T. Washington Exchange Ransom Everglades and Booker T. Washington partner for a student exchange each year for two weeks. Two dozen students from Ransom Everglades participate, some attending classes at Booker T. Washington, others accompanying Booker students on the RE campus. The program, which culminates in a celebratory dinner for all participants on the RE campus, is currently being expanded to include an SAT/ACT book drive, graphing calculator support, SAT/ACT tutoring and college counseling. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 29

32 Expanding our REach Tucker Elementary Tutoring Program Ransom Everglades students travel just down the road to Tucker Elementary school to tutor its students several days each week. Ransom Everglades absorbs the cost of paying teachers from Tucker Elementary to stay late to provide the required supervision and guidance during the after-school sessions. The Barnyard The Barnyard is a neighborhood community center located in the heart of Coconut Grove Village West. RE students spend time with neighborhood kids at this community center operated by Coconut Grove Cares, assisting them with homework, sharing healthy snacks and providing general academic support. Athletic Partnerships Coral Gables High School Ransom Everglades has a partnership with Coral Gables High School whereby the Gables High water polo and swim teams utilize the Ansin Aquatics Center for practices, matches and meets. Ransom Everglades overhauled an unusable track oval at the school, and pays to keep it in competition condition. RE track and eld teams train and compete on the trac sharin it with oral Gables High students. Boys & Girls Club of Miami-Dade Ransom Everglades funded massive improvements to the baseball facility and ilt a new eld at the oys irls l of iami Dade. The junior varsity and varsity baseball teams use the facility as their home eld t its o erwhelmin se is y nei h orhood kids and their families. Broad REACH Pool At least 500 local children from underserved areas have learned to swim at the Broad REACH Pool, a shallow, 25-yard pool with si lanes that opened e years a o at R s nsin atic enter 30 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

33 Environmental Efforts Mangrove Program Ransom Everglades seniors plant approximately 700 mangrove seedlings on Virginia Key during their annual Senior Service Day with the goal of helping to restore the coastline. The resiliency effort has become an annual participatory eco-art project. In the fall, students collect mangrove propagules that fall into the water but have nowhere to take root because of sea walls and other barriers to the coastline. The propagules are placed in clear, water-filled cups that have been displayed in rows on the exterior of the Ransom Everglades Visual Arts Building. As the year goes on, the propagules grow into seedlings that can be re-planted. Nearly every senior participates, using hand trowels and other tools to assist. Ransom Everglades offers the pool for swimming lessons for underserved children from throughout Miami. Without access to the pool and the free swimming lessons offered there, many Miamians might never learn how to swim. Ansin Aquatic Center Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue utilizes the Ansin Aquatic Center for its fire and rescue training throughout the year. The Orange Bowl, Paralympic swimmers and Special Olympians also use the center s 50-meter competition pool. MAST Academy Ransom Everglades allows Miami-Dade County s MAST Academy to utilize its gymnasium for volleyball and basketball practices and games. RE crew athletes travel to MAST to use its waterfront facilities for training. Other Sports Programming Lacrossing Borders is a lacrosse camp for Coconut Grove youth on RE s turf playing fields, founded by a current student S.C.O.R.E. is a program where RE students host a soccer program for children with autism Million Orchid Project Environmental Science classes participated in The Million Orchid Project on Biscayne Bay s Island E last spring. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden asked local schools to help it reintroduce native orchids into South Florida s urban landscapes. Fairchild s lab supplied RE with tiny, baby native orchids to raise in the lab, and students tended to the flowers before re-planting them in a natural environment. Ransom Everglades students planted orchids on acacias, choosing them because of their dense crown to provide shelter and humidity for the young plants. They also cleaned up the boat trash they encountered around the perimeter of the island before heading back to campus. Local Coastal Cleanups Bill Baggs State Park Island E on Biscayne Bay SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 31

34 Expanding our REach Community Events Rock 4 Relief More than 20 student musicians entertain the RE community with frequent Rock 4 Reliefs that raise money for various causes. More than 150 turned out to the Lewis Family Auditorium this fall to enjoy more than a dozen new and old classic hits from Aerosmith to Amy Winehouse to Cage the Elephant. The more than $2,000 raised was designated for Mind & Melody, a local charity focusing on the enrichment of those with dementia and neurological impairments. St. Alban s Day The annual Ransom Everglades St. Alban s Day celebration brings together approximately 400 local children from St. Alban s Child Enrichment Center and Miami- Dade County Public Schools, including Tucker, Holmes, Santa Clara and Phyllis Wheatley elementary schools. Children enjoy a free carnival with games, treats, arts and crafts, and barn animals hosted by the RE community. Other Fundraisers and Drives VSO x ARC Carnival supports The Arc s ACE Academy in Kendall Thanksgiving food drives generate baskets for the Rolle Community Center in Miami Pack the Pantry assists the Miami Rescue Mission Students raised nearly $6,000 for the United Way s Haiti hurricane relief fund Camillus House Feed the Grove Shower House Ministry Rising Tide Car Wash Urban Greenworks Service Groups est ddies rea thro h iami l harita le rts OS ro e O tr ach HealthcaR Heart Strin s l H man Ri hts oalition P microlendin R lyers R ild iami Red ross l S S pport O r Soldiers Techo l Toy Story l Tri nited ere ral Palsy ol nteer Ser ices Or ani ation Women mpowered 32 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

35 INSPIRE STUDENTS TO LEARN. SERVE. EXPLORE. EXCEL. And join our esteemed Swenson Society Your planned gift, such as a charitable bequest, trust, or gift annuity, helps support current and future students as they experiment and explore ways to challenge themselves personally, academically and physically for future achievement in college, careers and life. When you choose to extend your generosity in this way, you become a member for life of Ransom Everglades Swenson Society. Your Ransom Everglades legacy will live on through their limitless potential. To learn more about planned giving opportunities at Ransom Everglades School, please contact Greg Pollard, Director of Advancement, at or [email protected]. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 33

36 From the Everglades Campus At the Middle School Instilling a Service Ethic Paul Ransom promised that Ransom Everglades graduates would leave the world better than they find it, but the instinct to be service-oriented leaders isn t something, like a diploma, students collect when they cross the stage at Commencement. It s something they develop, and it starts on the Everglades Campus the day they arrive. At the Middle School, community and public service are as entwined with the curriculum as are math and English. I am proud that every sixth- and eighth- grade advisory is creating and executing a novel service project. Some are raising money for good causes, others are heading outside of our gates, still others are serving on campus. Our students also are encouraged to join a number of service-oriented clubs. We have a Storytime club that travels to the West Grove once a week to read books to school children. We have a craft group that knits items for those in need. Techo, a club founded by two Middle School students, annually organizes its own overseas service trip. We have an eighth-grade group, The Ibis and Egret Club, that prioritizes community service. All of our students come together as hosts for St. Alban s Day, the annual festival that brings hundreds of pre-school children onto our campus for a morning of holiday fun. We have found that students who engage in service get far more back than they surrender in time and energy. Service doesn t merely improve our communities and make our students better citizens; it seems to make them better, period. When students look outward rather than inward, they develop empathy and compassion that help them mature into well-rounded, grounded young adults. The healthy perspective and sense of gratitude that accompany this process help them excel in all realms. It probably won t surprise you to learn that we are seeking to become a member of Ashoka s Changemaker Schools Network, a global community of elementary, middle and high schools that prioritize empathy, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and changemaking. This will provide an opportunity for us to expand the service elements that are so integral to the Ransom Everglades experience, and to further hone critical character traits in our students. I love watching our students grow while they are on our campus. You may notice how many shoot up in height; I notice how they evolve as citizens of the world. We like to think we were building changemakers long before there was even a name for it. Rachel Rodriguez Head of the Middle School 34 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

37 From the Archives How many students can you identify in the following photos from the Ransom and Everglades schools in 1965? your guesses to We will reveal the answers in our next issue, and award RE T-shirts to the winners for each photo. Submission deadline is April 21, Two hints: The girls are Sandpiper Edits. The boys are prefects. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 35

38 Service On Campus Hearts Wide Open Students extend special friendships at holiday party Members of the United Cerebral Palsy club spent a day during the school s holiday break at the UCP Center of South Florida, delivering personalized holiday gifts and extending what has become a deep friendship with some of the children. Each UCP of South Florida student had previously written a holiday wish list; the requests included a make-up set for one of the girls, a gold chain for a boy who loves hip-hop, a Christmas animal book for another boy, a number of Lego sets and Miami Heat T-shirts. The RE club also brought guitars (for caroling) and holidaythemed desserts, refreshments and snacks. The kids enjoyed the gifts, munchies and music, and spent much of the time singing and dancing. RE students who attended were Delilah Lubarsky 17, club president; Raquel Coronell 18, vice president; Armando Brito 17, treasurer; Matthew Sclar 17; Cristina Otero 17; Ben Arriola 18; and Benji Freeman 17. Club secretary Tatiana Pereira 17 could not make it. As always, it s a pleasure for the members of the club to see the UCP students, whom we have become very close with since we ve been going to visit for about five years now, Coronell said. For both them and us, it s reuniting with old friends who overcome barriers to grow and have fun together. Teaming Up Boys soccer reaches out to Miami Jackson Senior High The boys soccer team invited soccer players from Miami Jackson Senior High to Ransom Everglades for a college application workshop in January. The Jackson students were paired up with RE seniors and, under the guidance of an outside college counseling consultant, the visiting students created Common App accounts, filled out applications, drafted personal essay statements, and learned a bit about navigating the college-application process and financial-aid maze. The RE students were familiar with the program, so they sought to assist their peers at Jackson. The RE-Jackson pairs exchanged phone numbers to allow the RE students to continue to offer support throughout the college process, extending the REACH (Ransom Everglades Athletes Can Help) project. The RE kids loved being so engaged with other students, Raiders Coach Dave Villano 79 said. We d like to expand the program eventually. 36 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

39 A Gift for Haiti Student body raises money for hurricane relief RE students collected $5, to provide relief to hurricane-stricken Haiti during a school-wide fundraising drive on both campuses as students recognized that Haiti would need help long after Hurricane Matthew had passed in October. The Upper School raised $3, and the Middle School, $2, Gaby Jadotte 18, Anyssa Francis 17, Gigi Parra 17 and Veronica Pedraza 17 presented a check to Claudia Grillo, chief financial officer of the United Way of Miami-Dade. Faculty members Paul Elkins and Pete DiPace helped organize the drive. Middle School students celebrated their fundraising success during an assembly Oct. 28; Jadotte and Francis announced the Upper School s totals during a Nov. 1 assembly. Books and More Books Latin American Student Association supplies children s storybooks The Latin American Student Association collected nearly 1,000 children s story books for students of the Jesse J. McCrary Elementary School in Miami through the nonprofit Achieve Miami. LASA members regularly volunteer on Saturdays with Achieve Miami, mentoring elementary school students in reading and writing. LASA officers Tomas Gomez 18, Skylar Scharer 18, Carlos Esber 18 and Hannah Tacher Lois 18 organized the drive urging students on with the promise of a donut party for the most generous advisory and delivered the books in early January. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 37

40 Student News Perfect Score Mistele 17 one of 11 in world to ace Calculus BC exam More than 120,000 students took the AP Calculus BC exam in Only 11 worldwide percent answered every question correctly. John Mistele 17 was one of them. Mistele received a perfect score on the threehour, 15-minute exam, which includes 45 multiple choice questions as well as six free-response questions. He received a standing ovation from his peers during an assembly announcing the news in October. I ve worked in independent schools for 36 years, and I ve never seen an achievement like this, Head of School Penny Townsend said. We are so proud of John, who works very hard to make the most of his exceptional gifts, and we are also grateful to our outstanding teachers. All of us share in his joy. Mistele, a math student of Henry Stavisky 85, finished ranked No. 1 in Florida last year in statistics, and earned a perfect score at the Mu Alpha Theta State Championship Conference in Orlando in April. His current courseload: AP Physics, AP French Language and Culture, AP U.S. Government, AP English Literature, Linear Algebra and Photography. Every year, I tell my students that I ve heard of these letters that go out to different people when they get a perfect score, but I ve never received one, Stavisky said. That accomplishment was one of my dreams and he did it. Bigger and Better Math team re-writes record books in Ransom Everglades math team has set records in participation and success during a year that s been as bright as the club s distinctive pink T-shirts. Led by math teacher Karen Key, the team posted a host of top-five team finishes in both individual subject areas and combined sweepstakes results at regional or state events in Tallahassee, Boca Raton and Naples as it worked towards the April FAMAT State Championships. At the midseason mark of , the calculus team of John Mistele 17, Joon Kim 17, Eric Cai 17, Timmy O Brien 17 and Thor Andreassen 17 was ranked fourth in the state (Mistele stands first overall); the statistics team of Guillermo Wenrich 17, Pancho Cabrera 17, Ryan Tie Shue 18 and Patrick Visan 17 was ranked fifth; and overall the team was ranked ninth its first ever top-10 ranking. 38 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

41 Outward Bound Freshmen return from trek through Everglades Freshmen camped on beaches, slept on canoes on the bay and ate packaged burritos and macaroni and cheese. They observed dolphins, manatees, sharks, pelicans, osprey, ibis and herons by day, and shooting stars and bioluminescence in the water at night. They came back from their Outward Bound trips to the Everglades scruffy, grubby and craving hot showers. Everyone had a great time. Seventy-four freshmen traveled from Everglades City into the Ten Thousand Islands area of the Gulf from Jan ; 71 students made the same trip Jan In Everglades City, they split into eight crews of eight to 10 students with two Outward Bound instructors per crew. Ninth graders prepared for this annual trip with the North-Carolinabased Outward Bound during their first-semester physical education classes. Faculty Penny Matthews and Paul Elkins led the freshman Bay Studies Program, teaching students about the physical, tactical and emotional challenges they would face. They also emphasized teamwork and independence to ensure that students would be able to take care of themselves and others when they arrived to Everglades City sans smart phones. Karen Thompson, 9th-Grade Class Dean, helped organize the adventure. Photo gallery at: Juniors lead new peer-to-peer counseling program Twenty-three juniors have counseled freshmen in as part of a new health education program at Ransom Everglades that provides peer-to-peer instruction on a variety of physical, mental and emotional health topics. Junior Peer Health Educators meet with groups of freshmen during the weekly advisory periods to talk about issues such as abuse, alcohol, nutrition, sex, drugs and depression. Ransom Everglades was one of only two independent schools from among 45 in Miami-Dade County selected to join this year s program by the Health Information Project, a Miami-based education non-profit. Libby Meland 18 serves as the president of RE s HIP board along with Gilles Gouraige 18 and Cecilia Lopez-Jordan 18. Alberto Adatto has been assisting as faculty advisor. The following RE juniors make up the rest of the school s Peer Health Educator team: Austin Acosta, Ben Arriola, Jasper Beardslee, Noelle Burke, Casi Cobb, Ande Edmunds, Falyn Goldstein, Rebecca Hadwen, Rhona He, Leo Menninger, Zach Miller, Ellie Moret, Paulina Pages, Jake Pearson, Fernando Perez- Hickman, Briana Pottinger, Noa Richard, Stella Sable, Lauren San Martin, Hannah Tacher. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 39

42 On Campus AP science class engages in real research RE s AP Environmental Science classes have assisted with water-quality sampling in Biscayne Bay and the Coral Gables waterway as part of a novel partnership with a research university and environmental nonprofit. The students set out aboard the school s research skiff about once a month to visit three locations in the Coral Gables waterway and one at a Biscayne Bay station near Mercy Hospital. RE science classes have done similar sampling previously, but never as part of real-world research projects. The students of Cecilia Calleros 94 and Scott Erdmann agreed to help with a Biscayne Bay watersampling effort that recently saw a funding cut, volunteering to collect samples for the Biscayne Bay Water Watch, a communitybased non-profit devoted to the environmental health of the bay. The organization has organized volunteers throughout Miami- Dade County to ensure a continuation of the critical water-quality sampling. The students are also contributing to an entirely new sampling effort in the Coral Gables waterway, partnering with the Coastal Systems Program at the University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology and Biscayne Bay Water Watch. The goal is to learn more about waste seeping into that waterway in the hope of implementing protective measures. Roland Samimy 86, senior research manager at the UMass Coastal Systems Program, and Lisa Krimsky, director of the Biscayne Bay Water Watch and Florida Sea Grant agent with University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension in Miami-Dade County, have assisted RE s classes, teaching students how to properly collect and catalogue the samples. The students get to use this data for the purposes of their classes, but at the same time they put it into a real-world context, Samimy said. This has to be done a very specific way. They have to do it correctly, otherwise the data becomes meaningless. The students will take measurements monthly through the end of the school year and perhaps beyond. They are collecting data on temperature, ph, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Water samples will be analyzed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, ammonia, silica and chlorophyll A. We need multiple years of data in order to show trends, Samimy said. We re looking to have the AP Environmental Science kids do this year after year after year. RE Band thrives in 20th-anniversary season The 20th-anniversary season of the Ransom Everglades band program under director Jon Hamm has been marked by great music and achievements. The RE Combo won honorable mention for the second year in a row at the prestigious Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston in February, distinguishing itself among 127 schools from 15 states, just weeks after two RE Combo members Jacob Tie- Shue 18 and Joon Kim 17 performed in All- State concerts in Tampa. Ben Arriola 18, Rafi Jimenez 17, Ryan Tie-Shue 18, Luca Gonzalez-Abreu 18, Leo Menninger 18, Jacob Tie-Shue and Kim traveled to Boston, helping Ransom Everglades on Feb. 11 become one of only two schools from Florida to win a medal. At the Florida Music Association conference in Tampa Jan. 14, Jacob Tie-Shue performed on bassoon with the symphony orchestra and Kim played with the jazz band on tenor sax. The RE Combo also earned straight A s at the district championship for the eighth consecutive year, advancing to the state event in Pompano Beach on March 31, and 21 Ransom Everglades musicians showcased their talents during the District 20 High School Honor Band concert Jan. 21 at the Lewis Family Auditorium. The concert included a guest appearance by renowned conductor Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel. 40 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

43 Students benefit from Booker T. Washington exchange Two dozen Ransom Everglades juniors and seniors and their Booker T. Washington partners so enjoyed their week-long exchange that many promised not to let the experience end after the concluding program on social justice Feb. 3 at Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus. Anybody who has been remotely involved with the program has benefited from the energy that just happens when you put it all together, Dean of Students Joshua Stone said at the wrap-up dinner at the Upper School to the visiting students. You enrich us. You make us better at Ransom Everglades. Half of the group spent that week at Ransom Everglades, attending classes with their campus hosts. The other half did the same at Booker T. Washington Senior High in Overtown. The week is designed to break through cultural, socioeconomic and other barriers; it seems also to create lifelong friendships. Both schools are historically significant in Miami: Ransom Everglades was founded in 1903; Booker T. Washington in Sophia Elliott 18 said the entire RE student body appreciated the presence of the exchange students, several of whom attended the Winter Formal in the quad at the end of the week. I immediately felt loved, said Booker T. Washington student Jada Williams. I felt the welcome from the teachers, staff and students. When you feel love, it s easier to give love. I felt at home here. I m sad it s coming to an end. Dancers bring world to Swenson Hall under new director More than 50 Middle School dance students brought music from as far as Asia and Africa to the Everglades Campus Dec. 15 in the debut performance of first-year dance teacher Julie Pappas Smith. Erika Siblesz 23, Rachel Weissman 23, Manu Murra 21 and Ana Martin 22 were featured as students showed off a range of dance styles. In the Holiday Celebrations from Around the World recital, the sixth grade danced to Tarentella from southern Italy, the seventh grade performed a traditional Chinese Christmas fan dance; the eighth grade offered an interpretation of Bolingo by the African Children s Choir; and all three classes took the stage for the finale: Go Tell it on the Mountain. Pappas Smith arrived to the Middle School last summer from the Miami City Ballet and Miami Performing Arts Studio. During her wide-ranging career in theater and dance, she served on the faculty of the Miami City Ballet; taught tap, ballet and musical theater at the University of Miami; and assisted as summer faculty at the Boston Conservatory of Music, where she earned her BFA. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 41

44 RE Sports Launching from RE Raiders earn major college scholarships as they collect state titles Debbie Ajagbe 17 and Kyla Valls 17 signed National Letters of Intent in front of a crowd of some 200 students and faculty on the first day of the NCAA fall signing period last November. Ajagbe agreed to attend the University of Miami on a track and field scholarship; Valls will attend the University of Virginia on a swimming scholarship. Interim Athletic Director Andy De Angulo got choked up in the Anderson Gymnasium as he introduced the pair, who have been classmates and friends since their pre-school days at St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School in Coral Gables. Ajagbe was joined by parents Adetutu and Augustine Ajagbe; Valls by Nicolas and Meg Valls. Ajagbe is seeking her third straight state championship in discus this spring; in 2016, she was a state runner-up in the shot put. She holds the school record in both events (42 feet, 3 inches in the shot put and in the discus) and was a first-team All-Dade selection in She also won a state championship in 2013 with the volleyball team and was RE Female Athlete of the Year in Valls won state titles in the 200 medley relay (2013) and 200 freestyle (2016 and 2015). She was a state runner-up in the 100 free in 2015 and got third last Debbie Ajagbe 17, Kyla Valls 17 fall. She broke Olympic water polo champion Ashleigh Johnson 12 s school record in the 50 freestyle record (23.03 seconds) last fall, giving her a sweep of RE s freestyle records. She has been first-team All-Dade every year since 2013 and was The Miami Herald Swimmer of the Year in As this issue went to press, 11 other senior student-athletes had decided to play intercollegiate athletics at the following schools: O Jhonte Armstrong, football, Tufts University; J.J. Arteaga, soccer, Washington University in St. Louis; Antonio Ferrer, football, Princeton University; Shawn Harvey, sailing, Yale University; Jon Michael Holtmann, tennis, University of Connecticut; Paul Kalandiak, water polo, Brown University; Jaqueline Kirk, track and field, Tufts University; Miguel Lamar, water polo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Gabriel Paniagua, soccer, Princeton University; Nico Ramos, football, Princeton University; Alex Stuart, soccer, Babson College. Antonio Ferrer 17, Princeton Miguel Lamar 17, MIT Alex Stuart 17, Babson College 42 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

45 Smooth Sailing Under first-year coach, RE sailors post stellar results RE s sailors have excelled under first-year Captain Joseph L. Logan III, spending the season near the top of the South Atlantic Interscholastic Association rankings as they prepared to host and compete in a national championship qualifying event at RE s docks on April The Raiders entered the final regularseason regatta trailing Tampa s H.B. Plant High for first place by just two points. Gulliver Preparatory sat in third place, six points behind RE. The final regatta look place after this issue went to press. The Raiders positioned themselves for a final run at the top of the SAISA South rankings by claiming first place at the South Points 6 regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla., Jan. 28, topping 26 teams from around the state and South Carolina thanks to the efforts of two varsity boats and a host of talented sailors: Shawn Harvey 17, Delilah Lubarsky 17 and Bernat Miro 19 (A division) and Tucker Weed 18, Alex Sidi 17, Maddie Sharp 18 and Anthony All-Dade RE Athletes Spring 2017 FIRST Team Aryanah Diaz 19, volleyball Jake Beber-Frankel 20, golf Phoebe Beber-Frankel 20, golf Beatriz Ruan 17, cross country Kyla Valls 17, swimming Second Team O.J. Armstrong 17, football, offense Nico Ramos 17, football, offense Michael Colonna 17, football, defense Rachel DeAngulo 20, golf Megan Houchin 19, golf James Cusack 19, cross country THIRD Team Kyla Valls 17, Camryn Grussmark 17, Mattie Barfield 21, Ande Edmunds 18, swimming, 200 freestyle relay Sydney Bent 18, volleyball Claire Irigoyen 19, cross country Kennedy 19 (B division). South Fork High in Stuart, Fla., got second, 28 points behind RE, and Westminster Christian claimed third over H.B. Plant High. Gulliver earned fifth place. The RE sailing team also defended its title at the 2016 Larry White ISSA Invitational in October at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and Paul Lobree 18 qualified for the Cressy Trophy High School Singlehanded National Championship in Galveston, Tex., where he finished 11th. Logan III joined RE s physical education department and sailing program at the start of the school year, extending a diverse career on the water that included captaining catamarans, racing sailboats and serving as a sailing instructor for yachts up to 50 feet. He also directed sailing programs for youths in Manhasset Bay, N.Y.; Greenwich, Conn.; Darien, Conn.; Miami Beach; and in Coconut Grove at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. Phoebe Berber-Frankel 20 Aryanah Diaz 19 Beatriz Ruan 17 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 43

46 Alumni Events Link to the photo galleries: Thirty-three RE Young Alumni turned out to a networking event hosted by Tina Chartouni de Calle 99 and Connie Collarte de Bezsonoff 99 at building.co in October Alumni heard from Wifi Fernandez 05, Director of Innovation and Economic Development at FIU and cofounder of The LAB Miami; building.co resident and co-founder of Iron Hack Ariel Quinones; Alumni Board Member Pablo Tamayo 00; and Chartouni de Calle. Building.co offers shared workspace for tech companies and was founded by Juan Calle, husband of event co-chair Chartouni de Calle. L to R: Gian Traina 99, Tina Chartouni de Calle 99, Ben Brodsky 99, Connie Collarte de Bezsonoff 99 and Enrique Conde 97 at building.co Alumni Fund Chair Todd Mestepey 91 and former Alumni Fund Chair Michiel van de Kreeke 88 led a team of alumni volunteers at the Alumni Fund Kick-Off in September The goal of 31-percent participation is within reach. Over 50 attendees gathered for the Class of Year Reunion in November Alums traveled from California, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta and even London. Class President Brad Skaf 06 and Class Representative Sebastian Gregg 06 greeted guests. 44 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

47 More than 150 braved a stormy night in December 2016 to attend Dan Leslie Bowden s annual reading of Truman Capote s A Christmas Memory, then gave the legendary teacher two standing ovations at the conclusion of the event. Mr. Bowden offered the reading in appreciation for the late Sue Miller (see story page 22). He personally greeted members of the audience on the Swenson Hall stage after. RE alumni musicians Max Weiss 12, Alex Hamm 09, Lucas Messore 11 and Anthony Miller 15 (not pictured) along with RE Band Director Jon Hamm (second from right) added a new dimension to the November 2016 Young Alumni Cocktail Party at the Taurus, providing live music. L-R: Kevin Grossfeld 95, Alicia Gerrits Hawkins 90 and Anthony Rolle 79 The Annual Alumni Holiday Party returned to campus with great success in December Head of School Penny Townsend, Board Chair Rudy Prio Touzet 76 and the alumni board members helped spread cheer as over 200 guests gathered to celebrate the holidays. The REACH Too (Ransom Everglades Alumni Can Help Too) committee collected 125 gifts to benefit the children of Centro Mater. L-R: Sergio Mendoza 96, Alex Maddalozzo 96, Indi Avila 96, Bjørn Jensen 96, Veronica Alcorta 96, Brett Rothfield 96 and Claudia Miyar Angles 96 L to R: Rachel Greer Narvaez 99, Board Chair Rudy Prio Touzet 76, Penny Townsend, John Fleeman 75 and Diana Fleeman SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 45

48 Alumni Events Experience once again trumped youth as RE s baseball alums defeated a squad of current players by a 6-0 score in an annual game that attracted three decades of Ransom Everglades alums. Thomas Willis 04, Alex Hyde 11, Toto Collazo 07 and Drew Hague 05 combined to pitch the shutout at the January 2017 event, and Jason Katz 06 drove in the winning run with a third-inning double. Southern California reception, Charles Toppino 77 and wife Kathy More than 60 people attended the Southern California Regional Reunion in February 2017 hosted by Charlie Toppino 77 and his wife Kathy at the Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Trustee Elana Oberstein-Harris 93, Alumni Board out-of-town members Curtis Porterfield 74 and Ben Quevedo 98 were in attendance to help formally introduce Head of School Penny Townsend to the Southern California alums for the first time. Special guests included former RE Head of School Frank Hogan and his wife Nancie. Mark Basick, Curtis Porterfield 74 and Head of School Penny Townsend 46 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

49 Thirty RE alums and guests attended the Northern California Regional Reunion hosted in February 2017 by Tom Griggs 64 and his wife Janet at The Press Club in San Francisco. L to R: David Benjamin 06, Ezequiel Politzer 07 and Monica Burgos 08 L to R: Amber Sime 12, Raphael Correa 12, Greg Siegler and Saroj Siegler Quinn 99 Female alumni entrepreneurs Cary Miller Caster 77, Marisa Toccin Lucas 96, Isabel Merritt 67, Arden Magoon Karson 80 and Valerie Nahmad Schimel 96 were joined by current parent Elle Macpherson (third from right) to share their personal stories at Dream, Girl in November Moderator Melissa Krinzman 86 (second from left) led the various discussions. Current RE students were involved via the Women Empowered club. Krillion Ventures underwrote the event. Over 125 guests gathered at the Yale Club for the New York City Annual Alumni Reunion in January Board Chair Rudy Prio Touzet 76, Head of School Penny Townsend, Trustee Jeffrey Miller 79, Alumni Board President Ricky Stokes 94, and Alumni Board Member Melissa Krinzman 86 traveled to Manhattan to share news about various upcoming projects for RE, including the STEM building and the Dan Leslie Bowden Endowment for the Humanities. L to R: Alex Bezjian 94, Jonathan Pollack 94, Ana Aguilar 94, Ricky Stokes 94, David Schimmel 94 and Andrew Bilzin 94 SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 47

50 Class Notes Ransom School 1953 Bob Pendleton and his wife of 59 years invite old friends to see their website www. bobandelsa.com and drop them an at The Pendletons chronicle their travels in retirement, and even offer dozens of book reviews! 1961 Jon Maksik s author-son, Alexander Maksik, was introduced by Dan Leslie Bowden, his father s former teacher, at Books & Books in Coral Gables on Nov. 3. The younger Maksik spoke about his new book, Shelter in Place. Mr. Bowden played an influential role in Jon s love of literature, which was passed down to Alexander. In attendance were several RE community members, including Head of School Penny Townsend and Charles Sands 61 with his wife Linda. L-R: Charles Sands 61, Dan Leslie Bowden, Alexander Maksik, Jon Maksik The Council of Independent College s annual report honored Ned Moore with the Distinguished Service Award for his effective service as Executive Director of State Council Programs and CIC vice president beginning in Moore was a key member of CIC s senior staff until his retirement in June 2016; he now serves CIC as Senior Advisor, State Council Programs. Among his many achievements, Moore guided, with skill and insight, the successful merger of the former Foundation for Independent Higher Education into CIC and helped expand CIC s grant programs in support of its state councils. Previously, he was president of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and earlier 48 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 served as Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Randolph-Macon College. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and holds a master s degree from the University of North Texas. Dean X. Parmelee, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and Associate Dean for Medical Education at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, was recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges for his outstanding contributions to academic medicine with the Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award on Nov. 13, Parmelee received the award in Seattle, Wash., at the organization s annual convention. He has been an early pioneer of team-based learning (TBL) and medical education innovation for more than three decades. In 2001, he joined the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. David McCrea visited campus with his wife Janet, his daughter Jessica 98 and her fiancé. David retired at the end of 2016 and has moved to North Carolina with Janet as full-time residents. Jessica lives in Washington state where she practices veterinary medicine. Michael Wohlfeld writes, I attended Indiana University in Bloomington, and graduated from FSU in special education. I attended a Naturopathic College in Indiana about 15 years ago and took the position of staff naturopath for Organic By Nature, Long Beach, CA. Since 1979 I have lived in Encinitas, CA, and am now married to my second wife of 16 years, Nora, after my first wife passed away from cancer many years ago. We live one mile from the Pacific Ocean and enjoy swimming daily as it helps my feet which were operated on as a child. I definitely prefer warm Atlantic water, but it is very beautiful here and one gets accustomed to cooler water all year. We are very involved in our church, which promotes meditation rather than dogma. I have traveled extensively for business in the past and now travel locally in a van and love camping while on business or pleasure trips. Since I get to help people every day and get paid for it there is no intent to retire as my work is fun and rewarding. Hopefully I will attend our 50th reunion next year, God willing Lane Warren writes, I am alive and well and living in Lower Manhattan with my wife, Sandy, playing tennis and music. I recently visited my dad, 92-year-old Gib Warren, retired Ransom faculty member and Florida State champion tennis team coach. Gib is now living in Nashville, near my brother, Charlie Warren CBS Sunday Morning featured filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders on its Dec. 4 show, highlighting the debut of his latest project, The Trans List, a film released on HBO that examines the stories of transgender people. Reporter Serena Altschul provided the report, which you can watch here: Works from Greenfield-Sanders List series, which has included The Black List, The Latino List, The Women s List, The Out List and The Trans List, were on display through February at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. The exhibition, IDENTITY: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders The List Portraits, offered a look into race, gender, class, sexuality and ethnicity in America through 151 large-format photographs of pioneers in five distinct-but-often-overlapping groups. Greenfield-Sanders was named the RE 2017 Commencement speaker as this issue went to press.

51 Chris Haub writes, In early January, while in Los Angeles, I enjoyed Timothy Greenfield-Sanders stunning photo exhibition, IDENTITY, at the Annenberg Space for Photography. While there, I was thrilled, after 50 years, to track down 1970s Timothy Knipe (pictured with me on the left). I was recently privileged to have class legend, Lee Stockdale 70, (pictured below) in my Chinatown studio. No one in our class could forget Lee, who is now a writer and poet living outside of Asheville, N.C. Timothy Knipe writes, I have been teaching English and journalism at an inner city high school that I, and a team of colleagues, started six years ago. In our short existence we have been able to break many stereotypes. In a community rife with poverty and gang violence, we have been able to achieve a 97-percent graduation rate, with students matriculating to Berkeley, UCLA and private colleges and universities such as USC, Dickinson and MIT. Prior to my career in education, I worked in the environmental field as a writer and speaker, and before that I was in the entertainment industry on the production side. Currently I am living in Los Angeles, CA, with my wife, Nancy, who is an artist and my daughter, Nathalie, who recently graduated from Berkeley Mark Harrison shared the following picture with his dogs at his ranch in central Florida while wearing some RE gear! 1972 Paul Curtin (See Steve Miller 73) 1973 Dan Ellison, an arts attorney and advocate in Durham, N.C., spearheaded the DADA (Durham Audio Described Art) project in 2016 to provide audio descriptions of public art and architecture so those works would be accessible to people who are blind. Ellison s service-learning class at Duke University assisted with the creation of the project, a collaborative effort of Duke University, the City of Durham s Cultural Advisory Board, Durham Arts Place and Arts Access, Inc. The first iteration of the DADA project included audio descriptions of nine works of public art in downtown Durham. Each spring semester, students in the service-learning class will create audio descriptions of additional works of public art and architecture to be added to DADA, including works on the Duke campus and at the school s Nasher Museum of Art. Audio description has been used for specific live theatrical performances at numerous theaters for more than 35 years, both on Broadway and at local theaters. Adapting the concept to works of visual art remains in the nascent stages. Audio description enables a person who is blind to share the artistic experience. Steve Miller is alive and well in South Hero, VT, practicing and teaching law. Steve is in regular contact with Paul Curtin 72, and he was happy to catch up recently with Florida State champion tennis teammate John Geraghty 73. Everglades School for Girls 1961 Chris Rosenman writes, I have been married for 40 years to Douglas and we have three grown children: Hilary (Mo) in Brooklyn Heights with grandchild Ruby, who is two and a half; Tim (Whitney Port), who lives in LA; and Alexis, who lives in NYC. We lived in NYC for years and now reside in Warren, VT, and Juno Beach, Fla. We are kept pretty busy visiting kids, and playing tennis and golf. I have kept in touch with some of the girls from our class and was sad to lose Sandy McKay this year Darrow Dutch Hodges writes, We old girls are still motivated by equal rights, gun safety, preserving our planet, fairness to immigrants, equitable wages for all, and compassion and civility with our leadership. Still based in Denver, but do the interpretive history on Florida Native Americans with birding travelers Liz Cowen writes, One of the things I am passionate about is a program I started three SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 49

52 Class Notes years ago, READING WITH GRACIE at Brockway Memorial Library in Miami Shores. Children are scheduled for 20-minute segments to read to Gracie. She is the hook to get them in and reading on their own. I help children learn to read or read more effectively with comprehension. It has been very successful. I am politically active in the Miami Shores local government and on the state and federal levels. Classmate Una Hutton Newman 67, her Atlanta friend, and I traveled to the Women s March in Washington on Jan. 20 to stand with 3 million others worldwide for protecting civil liberties Taffy Gould said, In terms of giving back, for the past 20 years I ve been giving to every child who is a member of a church in Overtown and is admitted to college or a trade school. I ve also recently begun working with The Education Fund Deborah Wright writes, A highlight of my holidays was reconnecting after 46 years with a classmate who was one 50 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 of my best friends while at Everglades Dorothy Matheson! Turns out I live a mere block away from her stepson and family here in Sausalito, CA. We went out for drinks overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge with yearbook in hand and spent hours remembering and catching up about each of our classmates! Dorothy isn t on Facebook, but many of us are and it has been wonderful reconnecting with so many classmates from my six years there who are living such inspiring lives! All of this is to say that I can t wait for our 50th reunion! As for a personal history note, I came to the Bay Area for grad school many moons ago, became the first clergy woman in San Francisco, ran into Carol Norton Rogers 65 through the Junior League right away, and have enjoyed making the Bay Area my home ever since Debi Yohn writes, Light House Dragons SOS (Save Our Sisters) is a new dragonboat team paddling out of the Jupiter Outdoor Center, in Jupiter, Fla. The team is composed of breast cancer survivors of all ages, shapes and sizes. I am not a survivor but I am their coach. This has been an incredible experience because of the energy the team shares. The love, the optimism and the fortitude are shared by all. I began dragon boating in 2000 when I moved to Shanghai, China, where I lived for 16 years. I raced throughout China, Korea, the Philippines and Thailand. When I repatriated, I joined Puff, a strong racing team that practices out of the Miami Rowing Center on Key Biscayne where Miami SOS paddles. I am currently trying out for Team USA Senior Women s C, Dragon Boat Team that will compete in the world s race being held for the first time in China, summer of Whether I make the team or not, I will continue to coach my favorite winners, The Light House Dragons. If anyone is interested in trying dragon boating, please get in touch with me. You could get hooked by the dragon! 1972 Tiffany Bell was the guest curator of the successful exhibition of paintings by American abstract painter, Agnes Martin, which just closed at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Ransom Everglades 1975 Merry Cole Bender says As RE taught us, and was continually reinforced in my young adult life, I believe we are to give back to those less fortunate, the disenfranchised. I loved that that was a part of the Ransom Everglades education. I have been quite fortunate to belong to, or be on staff of, two very progressive, forward-thinking churches. In these experiences I have been given the opportunity to participate in or lead quite a few mission trips both nationally and internationally. Leading high school and college groups to build houses in the slums in Kenya and Mexico and repair homes in Pittsburgh has given me so much more that I can ever give in my time or presence there. I am headed to Haiti to help with rebuilding and assisting doctors with medical needs. I am excited about going to a new place but I also know that the people of Haiti, like the people of so many other places, will gift me a sense of hope, an understanding of resilience, and a sense of gratitude that is to be practiced at every turn. We are very fortunate to be given an education (most especially the one from RE!) and the opportunities and freedoms we have. It is our responsibility as humans in this race to take this empowerment and go out and do good. Jeffrey Frantz writes, I have one paragraph to update you on 41 years! Let s see I m married for 27 years to the love of my life, Marcia, and have three great kids (two boys and a girl). They attended Pine Crest School because we live in the Aventura area; two are college graduates and the youngest is a sophomore at Emory. I got a law degree, MBA, Master in Tax Law, and earned (but never used) the CPA designation. I am a

53 successful entrepreneur and own two companies that do two totally different things. I was a tax and corporate lawyer for some time, but I have not practiced law for more than 20 years. Stephen Lackey has become vice chairman of BNY Mellon, Pennsylvania region, and taken a new strategic client management role within its global client management group. Jeri L. Wolfson unveiled special works from her collection as part of an exhibit entitled The Pursuit of Abstraction at the Wolfsonian on Oct. 13, Head of School Penny Townsend attended the event sponsored by Bacardi, Funding Arts Network and Northern Trust. Wolfson introduced the show and Wolfsonian Curator Matthew Abess explained the collection. Among those in attendance: Terry Schechter (Parent of Alumni - PAL), Louis Wolfson (PAL), Jeri Helfman (PAL), Jenna Helfman 10, Jayne Abess (PAL), Arthur Agatston (PAL), Marianne Divine (PAL), Eric Vainder (CP), RE Director of Alumni Relations Vicki Carbonell Williamson 88 and RE Director of Advancement Greg Pollard. Caron Cole 75 provided the delicious catering Robert First writes, I am a software engineer working at LexisNexis and live in Raleigh, NC. I have been married to a fantastic women for 30 years and we do not have any children. We met practicing the martial arts at the University of Florida back in 1980 and we have been teaching martial arts together, after work, for the past 30 years. We do this as our labor of love; we have never charged for any of our classes. She is also a software engineer. My life since RE has been full and exciting. After college I lived in Boca Raton, Fla., until 1995 when I moved to Raleigh in the dot com craze. I have had several careers including owning a beach service, a health club and a restaurant all while being a stock broker and finally a software engineer for the past 18 years. I was not a great or even a good student in my days at RE but even so, RE allowed me to be me and I will always cherish that. Joanna Rago writes, I ve been trying to recall the roots of my service work. I believe it began when I attended St. Stephens Episcopal Day School and our 6th-grade class ( ) went to Key Biscayne to pick up trash. (Betsy Burnett Knoblock 76, Sue Crocker Hansen 76, Debbie Turner 76 and Tommy Noto 76 were classmates there and at RE.) I can t recall if this was connected to the first Earth Day in 1970 but it was the end of my being a litterbug and perhaps the seeds of my work in environmental stewardship. Since then I have volunteered throughout most of my life at Everglades School with the St. Alban s school project and in a variety of schools and organizations in college and beyond. One of the most memorable opportunities was serving for many years as a volunteer massage therapist with Boulder County Hospice in the 80s. In 1996, I started Loveland Youth Gardeners (a nonprofit organization in Loveland, CO) to serve young people, primarily at-risk and special needs youth, who face extra challenges in their lives. I served as Executive Director until the end of January The mission of LYG is to cultivate skills, stewardship and service in young people through sustainable gardening and healthy living practices. I m very proud that LYG continues to grow and thrive and I m especially proud of former students who have continued to serve their communities beyond their participation in LYG. Environmental stewardship has been a lifelong passion for me, and much of my current paid and volunteer work is focused in this area by assisting local organizations with conservation and stewardship efforts. In addition, I am involved with the local Episcopal church community garden, providing fresh produce for low-income residents. I recently helped with the Homeless Count in our community. It is connected to the annual national project with Coalition for the Homeless. Like a multitude of others who give their time, I know that my life is richer because of these opportunities! 1977 Tom Flipse writes, We have a new baby. Thomas Matthew Flipse born August 11, 2016, 7.8 lbs., 21 inches. Lisa Shaw writes, I m living in Barcelona with my three kids, Sophia (16), and twins Owen and Charlotte (12), and savoring lots of fun adventures, European travel and good eats. We re enjoying the exposure to new cultures, languages and a different perspective on the U.S. from afar. Call us if you come to town! I m looking forward to our April year reunion event! I hope most of you will join, too, since this milestone promises to be a relaxed weekend filled with fun memories Marina Angleton writes, I am the Founder/Lead Writer of The Write Essay. As the recipient of nine Emmy Awards, I believe that television writers are powerful storytellers. I assembled a talented group of writers and founded my company 11 years ago with two goals: help students tell their stories and realize their college acceptance goals. We ve been very successful, but I felt the need to aid those who are less fortunate. Recently, I learned that many inner-city schools do not have the capacity to help students navigate the process. Some high schools have only one adviser for 400 high school seniors! I arranged to have our writers donate time to help these students write their essays and fill out applications. The stories they tell us and the obstacles they have overcome are heartwarming. As we watch our kids head off to college, I am proud that we are able to play a small part in helping them reach their dreams! SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 51

54 Class Notes Meg Daly and a host of RE friends won $50 million in promised support from the City of Miami last September for an urban trail and parks project known as The Underline, bringing it closer to its goal of breaking ground in the fall of Daly, the President and CEO of Friends of The Underline, has spearheaded the project that is intended to turn the land below Miami s Metrorail from Dadeland South Station to the Miami River into a 10-mile linear park, urban trail and living art destination This is a huge demonstration of public support for this transformative project, Daly said. From the county, state, cities and DOT, we are overwhelmed by the positive feedback and support. Many RE alums have contributed; among the most notable: Debi Wechsler 78, board member and chair of art advisory for Friends of The Underline; Arden Karson 80, executive committee board member and development chair for Friends of The Underline; Georgia Penn Noble 74, development committee member; Rudy Prio Touzet 76, chair of the RE Board of Trustees and Banyan Street Capital, Brickell Backyard Founder; Leslie Miller Saiontz 77, donor; and Raymond Fort 06, Friends of The Underline Young Professionals. Shari Sirkin Kaplan writes, I ve been in volunteer administration for the past 30 years and currently am directing an exciting and extremely meaningful program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York called C.A.R.E. (Care and Respect for Elders in Emergencies). I ve just hit our five-year anniversary, and have countless heartwarming stories to share. Moreover, the program has received much national and international interest. In brief, I am a social worker with expertise in geriatrics and train primarily young student volunteers to work bedside with geriatric (65 years and above) patients who are making emergency department visits. We ve published our preliminary findings, and know that simple person-to-person comfort can help prevent many avoidable complications typically associated with 52 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 elder visits to the ED (falls, delirium, anxiety, inappropriate medication). In countless cases, we have seen how a person actually can be more powerful than medication (e.g., a patient who declines pain medication after being comforted by a C.A.R.E. volunteer). The program has been so successful, Mount Sinai has just given major hospital funding so we can replicate the program on inpatient units. And I m going to UNC-Chapel Hill (where my son is in medical school) to present the C.A.R.E. model there. I began volunteering while at RE (technically, at Everglades visiting with St. Alban s children) and it has become the central focus of my career. I went on to Northwestern where I became a student volunteer and then headed up the NCAAsponsored Big Brother Big Sister program and went on to do this in my professional life, beginning as a Big Brother Big Sister Coordinator and eventually Director of Volunteer Services for a major mental health and social service agency in NYC Jeffrey Miller welcomed 500 friends and supporters of Breakthrough Miami to his home on Sept. 17, 2016, for the organization s 4th-Annual Support-a- Scholar Celebration. Head of School Penny Townsend, RE Board Chair Rudy Prio Touzet 76 and other prominent members of the RE community attended the event, which highlighted Breakthrough s incredible work while honoring its generous donors. Guests sampled paella, sushi and gourmet pizza while enjoying entertainment provided by dueling pianos. Two RE graduates founded Breakthrough Miami under another name decades ago; it now assists more than 1,200 under-resourced students annually on six campuses throughout Miami-Dade, including at Ransom Everglades. Read more about Breakthrough Miami on page 4. Christopher Pearson writes, After exciting careers in public relations and law enforcement, I am dedicating my time to making Miami teens the best defensive drivers in the country (in a city where it s needed). As president of DrivingCoachChris. com, I ve recently taught a bunch of RE students, including Paul Lobree 18, Carter Freeland 19, Erin Bakes 18, Dylan Glottmann 20, Jonas Janette 18 and Samson Bienstock 19, among others. John S. Trabold lives in Dallas, Tex., where he is Managing Director and Partner at VMG Health. He was nominated as a finalist for the National Healthcare Executive of the Year by HREI in He and his wife, Kelly, have raised two young men, Baxter, an employee of Duff & Phelps in Austin, and Brooks, an employee of VMG Health. Kelly and John love empty nesting (sort of), skiing in Telluride and fishing in the Keys Clarence Cryer was in Miami from Feb 18-25, 2017, to promote the book entitled Health Disparities, Diversity and Inclusion: Context, Controversies and Solutions, First Edition, by Dr. Patti Rose. He is a contributing author on this publication and attended the release/book signing at Books & Books in Coral Gables and the subsequent private event. Nancy Jacobson is founder and chief executive officer of No Labels, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit whose purpose is to bring Republicans and Democrats together so bi-partisan action can occur. The organization offers a non-partisan National Strategic Agenda: create 25 million new jobs over the next ten years; secure Social Security and Medicare for the next 75 years; balance the federal budget by 2030; make American energy secure by No Labels has a congressional caucus of 40 members, half from each party. Joe Lieberman and Jon Huntsman are co-chairs. Jacobson, the sister of Mindfultime owner Alice Lash 78, founded the group in You can find more information here Arden Karson went from senior vice president at South Florida s largest condominium developer to the head of the region s largest commercial brokerage. In January, CBRE Group lured Karson from Related Group to leads its South Florida office as senior managing director. CBRE ranked No. 1 on the South Florida Business Journal s list of largest Commercial Real Estate Brokerages with $4.9 billion in sales and leases in 2015.

55 It also ranked No. 2 on the list of Commercial Property Management Firms with 18 million square feet under management as of July The brokerage has about 200 employees in its Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton offices. Karson was responsible for about $1 billion in sales and development while at Related Group, in addition to helping the company acquire distressed assets. With more than 25 years of experience in real estate, Karson previously worked for Lennar/LNR, Advenir, Tate Capital, CREC, Barrow Street Capital and Bank of America. She holds a bachelor s degree from Tufts University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Maggie Pearson writes, Just a quick note to let you know that I have moved to Baltimore and am now Director of the Annual Fund and Stewardship at St. Timothy s School, John Tawa lives in West Linn, OR, near Portland, with his wife and three sons. A former attorney, John has operated PrepVolleyball.com for the past 13 years. It is the most popular volleyball website in the U.S. The big Tawa news revolves around his son Tim, a high school senior, who is considered one of the top five outfielders in the country. Tim also is quite a decorated high school quarterback. He led West Linn to an undefeated largeclass state title in 2016, owns every single-season and career passing record in the state of Oregon and is the only football player in the 32-year history of the Gatorade Player of the Year program to win state Player of the Year in any state three times. Tim also recently was named First Team All-American by Max Preps, one of only 30 players so recognized. (A story on the website maxpreps.com asked last fall Is Oregon s Tim Tawa the top all-around athlete in high school sports? ) 1981 Andy Ansin writes, My wife, Tanya, and I are cornering the education market. Tanya is currently the co-chair of the board of directors at Lehrman School and I am vice-chair at RE. Both of us are deeply involved in seeing the schools improve and expand their buildings and campuses. At RE, I am actively involved in re-zoning the recently acquired La Brisa property and the design and construction of the new STEM building. Exciting times! Tanya and I both enjoy working with the schools leadership teams Jeanne Rosner says, After completing medical school at University of Miami and an anesthesia residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital, I moved to California where I practiced as a pediatric anesthesiologist at Stanford University Medical Center. In 2011, I began teaching nutrition, health and wellness classes at our local middle schools. This was a life-changing experience for me. I have since retired from anesthesia and now teach and learn full time about nutrition. In addition, in 2014 I started SOUL Food Salon (soulfoodsalon.com) where I host monthly events featuring experts in the health and wellness community. My mission is to educate and empower us all to be healthier. Follow us on soulfoodsalon and contact me jeanne@ soulfoodsalon.com if you want to be on our distribution list Victoria Beach writes I recently finished a term in elected office as vice-mayor and council member in Carmel, Calif. As a practicing architect and moral philosopher (yes, you can get paid for that), it often surprised me to see how an unusual background could bring new dimensions to our community discussions. I found it fascinating to see how principles of good design and good ethics can unlock the intractable, so-called wicked problems of the public sector. I certainly recommend the experience of getting involved, or even elected, to anyone especially to those who don t think that their experience applies! Scott Tornek writes, Quick update from Alex 86 and me: I m starting my second year as chief strategy officer for Penn Medicine s Center for Community Health Workers. My primary role is to partner with other health systems in implementing our IMPaCT model for their high-risk patient populations. Alex continues her eighth year as president of Tornek Design Associates, a boutique graphic design and branding firm. She s worked with some really cool clients, including Jillian Michaels and most recently a manufacturer of jet packs. Kids update: both attend Wilmington Friends School. Kaely is now 12; her passions are competitive rock climbing and anything related to our dog Henry. Matt is in his senior year of high school and will be attending Penn next year. We know no one actually visits Delaware, but if you re passing through on your way to Philly or New York, please say hi! SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 53

56 Class Notes 1984 Karen Beber, the founder of MEO, which creates and manufactures artistic labels designed uniquely for laptops, smartphones and smart watches, writes, I m so proud of MEO! Not only of my incredible team and our fantastic products, but, more importantly, of our commitment to social responsibility. Founding a startup especially one that introduces a new product category and new brand is hard, and the support I have received from my kids (Zander 15, Elle 17 and Nik 19) is something for which I am eternally grateful. It definitely fuels the fire! MEO products have been incredibly well received, and we re now planning to obtain licenses from universities and professional sports teams, to produce logo d merchandise, as well as to provide online customization and personalization. The most satisfying product of the MEO brand is the Good, in our triad, Function. Style. Good. It s great to be functional, in that we are solving a problem; it s good to have style, of course! But it s really best and most satisfying to be able to make a difference in people s lives. Social responsibility is woven in to the fabric of our brand, and of this I am most proud. Kenny Broad 84, University of Miami marine anthropologist, participated in a panel discussion with actor Leonardo DiCaprio after an Oct. 4 screening of DiCaprio s Before the Flood a National Geographic documentary on climate change at the New World Center on Miami Beach. Broad and DiCaprio were joined by producer Brett Ratner, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, marine biologist and Miami Waterkeeper Executive Director Rachel Silverstein and Before the Flood Director Fisher Stevens. The documentary premiered Oct Alexandra Campbell-Howe is shown here at her son s graduation in Darien, 54 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 Conn., this past May, where she has resided with her husband James Howe, and three children, Nicholas (21), Jeremy (18) and Isabella (17) since Also pictured are her in-laws, Robert and Jo-Ann Howe and her mother, Leonor Campbell. The RE alum continues her career as a journalist in New York City, and is currently a contributing writer for NBCNews.com. Ashley Brinson Cusack writes, While I am involved in many areas of the community, my most fun area of volunteering right now is coaching the girl s lacrosse team at RE. This is my fourth year with the team. I got involved when the team began and have loved watching it grow and thrive! This is our fourth season and we have a great group of girls and should be a force to be reckoned with again this year. Maria (Asako) Toyoda writes, Some quick updates: I moved to Boston last year to become Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Government at Suffolk University. My two sons are now 11 and 15 and enjoy being closer to their cousins in Newport, RI. Aunt Yoko Toyoda 87 is in Denver and I should probably ship them off to her this spring for a visit. We ve booked tickets to Portland, OR, in August to visit friends and see the total solar eclipse, about a once-in-a century event in North America. Otherwise, I m on the road for work a bit and will get to China and Japan this spring. We have a campus in Madrid that I have not visited yet, but looking forward to that maybe in the fall David Arnold reports: We just celebrated Elanah s Bat Mitzvah. She and Eliza are very busy with basketball at Ransom Everglades and Beth Am and Ella is right behind cheering them on. Mary keeps us all on track while I continue to practice head and neck surgery at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami Hospital where I am the chief of the head and neck surgery service. I have also been asked to serve as the Chief of Surgery at The Lennar Foundation Medical Center on the Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami. I continue to stay in touch with Ransom Everglades on the alumni board, and Mary and I thoroughly enjoy being RE parents! Franklin Einspruch While maintaining a studio practice as a painter in Boston, Franklin Einspruch is also active in art criticism and comics, and has long experience in alternative publishing. His art has appeared in 18 solo exhibitions and 37 group exhibitions. He has been an artist in residence at programs in Italy, Greece, Taiwan, and around the United States. Einspruch has authored 182 essays and art reviews for many publications including The New Criterion and Art in America. He produces one of the longest-running blogs about visual art, Artblog.net, and a webcomic, The Moon Fell On Me. His imprint, New Modern Press, publishes the anthology Comics as Poetry. Inspired by a successful workshop with Annie Bissett over the summer, he returned to Zea Mays Printmaking last fall to work in silkscreen with Daniel Chiaccio. He also crafted the following new writings: On Walter Darby Bannard, , at artcritical. On Art Basel Miami Beach, at The New Critierion. On fake news in the New York Times, at American Greatness. On Gustav Klimt at the Neue Galerie, in the January 2017 issue of The New Critierion. Online version available though paywalled. On Guido Cagnacci at the Frick Collection, published at The New Criterion. Nick Ferber writes, I very recently made a HUGE career change. After spending the past sixteen years as an executive recruiter, I was finally enticed to join one of my clients. I now head up the talent acquisition team for Integrated Dermatology Group, IDG owns, manages and

57 operates dermatology practices throughout the United States, and is growing like a dotcom company! The company is aggressively pursuing rapid expansion by acquiring and partnering with dermatology practices. I am working harder and having more fun than at any point in my adult life. Any RE grads who are in the dermatology world, give me a call! Willy Foote reflected on higher-purpose leadership in a Dec. 15 Forbes magazine essay that honored Foote s late parents, Edward T. Foote and Roberta Bosey Foote. In the story, he explained that my parents were my original mentors, and I feel like I ve been mimicking their lives since my birth. Foote is the founder and CEO of Root Capital, a social entrepreneurship company that provides rural farmers throughout the world loans and support. Story on page 14. Alex Tornek (See Scott Tornek 83) 1987 Pamela Druckerman wrote about the Perpetual Panic of American Parenthood in an op-ed piece that appeared Oct. 13 in The New York Times ms/2hcznj3. Druckerman is the author of Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. Scott Jaffee started a community association collection company eight years ago. It has grown to 25 employees in four offices throughout Florida. He has enjoyed seeing the tremendous success of so many of his classmates. Andy Reinach writes, I live in Westborough, MA, with my wife, Beth, and two kids (A.J., 15, and Maddie, 3) and work for a REIT (real estate investment trust) focused on real estate for the life science community. In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my family, piloting and thinking about the day I can retire to a warmer climate. Carlos Watson, a former MSNBC news anchor who launched the digital news and culture magazine Ozy.com in 2013, landed on the cover of Silicon Valley Modern Luxury magazine in January ly/2hmlvyp. With more than 20 million unique visitors each month and over 1.5 million subscribers, Ozy.com has grown rapidly in just three years. The magazine said Watson wants you to love the media again Lisa Arky Buchwald and Joely Kaufman 88 continued their quest to raise awareness of suicide prevention by participating in the Out of Darkness Walk on the University of Miami Campus on October 16, Their team Legacy of Love was out in full force once again. Ransom Everglades students from the HealthcaRE club and Diversity Council formed the team Walk for Life. For more information on the Out of Darkness Walk visit Last September, Floyd Fales, Bubba Drody, Victor Mendoza and Monkey van de Kreeke traveled to Atlanta to watch the University of Miami take on Georgia Tech. Pictured are the guys on the sideline where they helped cheer the Canes on to a victory! Elizabeth Dreyer Geay writes that she is living in Paris since 2002; head of international co-productions for Gaumont Television; married to Nicolas Geay, lawyer and sometime restaurateur; two boys Emeric, and Damien, 9, who laugh whenever I tell them the un oeuf is enough rule I learned in Mr. Bell s French class. Jeremy Haft addressed the Upper School student body during an assembly in October just weeks before the Nov. 8 election. During his talk at the Lewis Family Auditorium, he disputed the popular notion that China has surpassed the United States as the world s No. 1 economic power, contending that outdated measures, flawed trade counts and fabricated export numbers have led to an inaccurate picture of an economically declining America. Haft, author of All the Tea in China and an adjunct professor at Georgetown s School of Foreign Service and McDonough School of Business, also spoke to individual government and history classes at the Upper School. Haft claimed the flawed idea of China as the world s economic powerhouse has grown out of an overreliance on the Gross Domestic Product as a metric, and a constant miscalculation of the trade imbalance between the two nations. Claimed Haft: A total opposite dynamic is going on to what Trump and others are saying. He said a better measure of economic growth is comparing balance sheets of various nations: what they own, compared to what they owe. In that analysis, the United States has a huge advantage over China, Haft contended. He noted that China struggles so substantially with food, water and product safety issues that it remains reliant on importing such products. The United States is $35 trillion wealthier than China, and that includes our debt, he told students. That gap is widening; it s not shrinking. Heidi Howard Tandy will watch her eldest child graduate from Ransom Everglades this May (he s heading to the University of Pennsylvania in the fall). In between attending his wrestling matches and Academic Bowl competitions, Heidi has been doing pro bono work with the legal committee for the Organization for Transformative Works and the ReCreate Copyright coalition. Both organizations focus on copyright issues, specifically fair use of copyrighted works in connection with news reporting, transformative works, commentary and criticism. Heidi also focuses on supporting follow-on creators like the team behind Axanar, the Star Trek fanfilm, as well as fanfic writers, fanartists, crafters and recappers. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 55

58 Class Notes 1989 Brett Harris is the proud father of Evita D. Harris born August 24, Melissa Mobley writes, I helped organize the Women s March on Washington on January 21st of this year. I was proud to be part of such a historic day and proud to be part of the ongoing movement. Women s rights are human rights! Melissa O Neill Albert writes, I am a co-founder of Tousled, Seattle s leading hair and beauty on-demand service... Tousled is a rapidly growing startup using technology to disrupt the salon and spa industry with a web app that lets customers schedule their beauty services in a couple clicks and matches them with professionals for services when and where they want them. We are post-revenue, early stage and are actively fundraising now... We are looking for help in managing demand for our services across multiple sectors. With brides, hotel guests, editorial jobs and tech companies, we have unmet demand in our own backyard, as well as corporate clients that want us on the ground in multiple cities now... Our business is up 600 percent year over year and we can match a client with a professional in under three minutes! Imagine what we can do with some fuel on our fire. We may be somewhat outside your investment strategy but we are closely aligned with health and wellness. In any case, I appreciate your time and would love to know your thoughts if you have any interest in hearing more. Say hi to Miami for me. We try to go every spring break and stay on the beach. My kids love the Fontainebleau since they realized NFL players stay there, too! I can be reached at [email protected]. Thank you! 56 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING Vanessa Chartouni de la Serna continues to raise awareness for fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that causes intellectual disability, behavioral and learning challenges and various physical characteristics. She is co-founder of Families for Fragile X, which is committed to supporting scientific research for better treatments and a cure for fragile X syndrome. The group hosted its annual fundraising event at building.co in November, and an annual 5K race in March Eric Poses writes I m enjoying life in Miami Beach with my wife, Rachel, and our two daughters, Nicole (11) and Lily (8). I m still developing new games and running my board game company, All Things Equal ( I still tell people that I m 5 8, even though I m only 5 7½. Though I m a responsible adult, a good husband, and a loving father, I still listen to rap and laugh at doody jokes Phil Lord and Dartmouth pal Christopher Miller are working together on another movie, this one a stand-alone Star Wars flick featuring Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. Shooting began at the storied Pinewood Studios in London on Feb. 20; the movie is due out in Lord took a break on the set to show some love to Ransom Everglades via Twitter. Miller and Lord worked together on The LEGO Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street Class of 1994 New Yorkers had a mini reunion at the NYC regional alumni event on Jan. 17, Alex Bezjian 94, Jonathan Pollack 94, Ana Aguilar 94, Ricky Stokes 94, David Schimmel 94 and Andrew Bilzin 94. (See photo and caption on page 47.) Victoria Rothman writes, I am thrilled to announce that I am opening my own orthodontic practice, Pinecrest Orthodontics, early this spring! I currently live in Pinecrest with my husband Brent Jenkins and our two children, Ben (4) and Zoe (2) photo below. While I have been practicing as an orthodontist since 2005, I am ecstatic to be finally fulfilling my long-time goal of owning my own practice. I am especially excited to be offering my services to my Pinecrest community and surrounding areas, and hope to see many of my Ransom Everglades colleagues (current and past) in my new office. Please check out my website at pinecrestortho.com for further information!

59 1995 Ted Hutchinson writes, I am the Florida Organizing Director for Fwd.us. At Fwd.us, we are mobilizing the tech community in support of policies that keep the American Dream achievable in the 21st century. My work actually has me in touch with several Ransom Everglades graduates. Lorenzo Moll Parrón married Michelle Marie Pidermann at High Hampton Inn & Country Club in Cashiers, N.C., on Sept. 17, Natalie Moll Pajares 01, Louis Moll 97, Jolie Souto Dueñas 96, Alejandro Dueñas 95, Vivian Dueñas 95, Miguel Dueñas 95, Kevin Grossfeld 95 and Lucas Diaz 97 were in attendance About Taryn Pisaneschi, a Boston University graduate who works in real estate for The Valore Group, a Division of Keyes Luxury Real Estate, clients are saying: Taryn has an insider s knowledge on all of the little nooks and crannies of Palm Beach County and is an absolute expert at sniffing out a deal! We have worked with several other real estate agents and I can say, unequivocally, that Taryn is the best. She is a rockstar in terms of availability, she always answers her phone and shows up (surprising how many agents don t bother!) and her negotiating skills are bar none. She is a total shark, don t be fooled by her sweetness, and you definitely want a shark in your corner The Class of 1997 is building excitement for its 20-Year Reunion in Miami on April 28 and 29. Pictured are Giselle Ferro-Puigbo 97, Jessi Tamayo 97, Nick Werner 97, Paul Wolpe 97, Erick Bernstein 97 and Cristina Rasco Davis 97 at NYC regional alumni reunion in January. Jessi Tamayo flew up from Miami to join them. Cristina Rasco Davis hosted those in the New York City area from the Class of 1997 at her home on February 16 to continue to build the momentum. Cooper Jones shared that he is working in North Palm Beach for Trade Traffic Group, LLC, and is living in Fort Lauderdale. In April 2016, he welcomed his second girl, Ava Carolina Jones, into the world. His wife Karen, his daughter, Olivia Susan, and he are loving the new addition to the family! Roy Meyeringh writes, We just finished our home reconstruction in the Grove to make room for our two boys, Gianmarco (2) and Francesco (1). I m celebrating three-plus years at bein sports, heading sales and business development for North America. Two teachers that were influential in my life were Dan Bowden and Jose Rodriguez, who both in their unique ways helped provide structure while fostering creative expression. Karr Narula writes, I have been in San Francisco for the last eight years or so. I m a health care investor at KKR, based in Menlo Park. Loving life on the West Coast, have an awesome wife who s way better than me, and two kiddos a four-year-old daughter, Kaiy, and a one-year-old son, Knox. Looking forward to catching up with everyone at the reunion. Much love Marisa Fort with her two children, Emelia and Bear, visited Beatriz Mendoza 98 at her farm in Weaverville, N.C. Beatriz with her son, Santiago, and husband, Zac Singer, and grandparents, Enid and Sergio Mendoza. Jessica McCrea (See David McCrea 68) Beatriz Mendoza and her six-month-old son, Santiago Sol Eleazar Singer, visited with Astrid Dalins on campus in January. Beatriz and her husband, Zac Singer, have created SparkleBark Farm, an organic farm and art residency, on seven acres in Weaverville, NC. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 57

60 Class Notes Luis R. de la Vega has helped grow his family s 43-year-old Coral Gables-based translation company ProTranslating into a $20-million-per-year business with more than 300 full-time employees and 5,000 contractors worldwide providing services in more than 200 languages, the Miami Herald reported on Sept. 16. Read more at After his graduation from RE, de la Vega earned his bachelor s in finance and international business from Georgetown, and MBA from the University of Miami. In 2005, he joined the company his father founded in 1973, eventually becoming chief executive officer. His father, Luis A. de la Vega, who is fluent in nine languages, started his career as a simultaneous translator in the state court system. This is a very complicated business, Luis R. de la Vega told the Herald. You re dealing with grammar, syntax, flow, tone and voice, as well as different cultures and dialects Oliver Bernstein writes, Hi from Austin, Texas, where I am the Communications Director for the Center for Public Policy Priorities. CPPP is a non-profit, independent policy research organization working to build a Texas where everyone is healthy, well-educated and financially secure. My wife, Corrie, is a journalist. We have two energetic kids that keep us busy and inspired. Let me know if you re ever in Austin. 58 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 Ben Brodsky formed his own law firm Brodsky Fotiu-Wojtowicz, PLLC, in January The firm focuses on complex business litigation and catastrophic personal injury matters. Prior to forming the firm, Ben spent eight years with a litigation firm in Coconut Grove, where he was a partner, and clerked for the Honorable Joan A. Lenard in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Christina Chartouni de Calle and Connie Collarte de Bezsonoff organized a Young Alumni Networking event this past fall at building.co. They brought together alums involved in the Miami tech-world. (See page 44) Michelle Kanter Cohen writes that she is a voting rights attorney in Washington, DC. For almost five years, I have worked for a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization called Project Vote ( whose mission is to make sure that the electorate is representative of the diversity of our country. We fight to ensure that every eligible citizen can register, vote and cast a ballot than counts. My work focuses on advocacy and litigation around voter registration and other voting issues. For example, I worked on a case in Florida where our organization and others worked together to stop an illegal election-eve purge of the voter rolls in 2012, in order to make sure that all eligible voters had the ability to have their voice heard. I am passionate about this work because voting rights is foundational to our ability to make our society what we want it to be. Fernando Tamayo and his wife, Michelle, gave birth to Bianca Tamayo on September 16, Larry Bassuk and Justin C. Leto, Level Insurance co-founders, recently exhibited at the Florida Justice Association Masters of Justice event in Orlando, Fla., where they met with FJA members to discuss the benefits that Litigation Cost Protection can provide their practices. Scott Fuhrman and his wife, Lindsay, welcomed their second child into the world. Amelia Mia Halley Fuhrman was born on Nov. 24, Ericka Gragg was selected to participate in the Beaux Arts Festival of Art in Coral Gables in January. Ericka and her family reside in Glendale, CA. Ryan Holtzman Over the past 3½ years Luke and Gabrielle have filled our lives with so much laughter and love; however, even on our best days, we always remember how lucky we are to wake up every morning to our precious Munchkins. At just 24 weeks, and both 1 lb. 6 ounces, we never forget how hard Luke and Gabrielle fought for their lives during their 121-day journey in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at South Miami Hospital. On September 25, 2016, I participated in my first sprint-triathlon to raise awareness and funds for ICU BABY (www. icubaby.org), a non-profit organization that provides support and resources for families in the NICU at South Miami and Jackson Hospitals. We raised over $10,000. My wife Sofia spends the majority of her time volunteering at South Miami Hospital, visiting families that have babies in the NICU. See in the photo Sander Fort 00, who also participated in the triathlon. Lindsey Parker writes, My husband and I just welcomed our son, Emerson Parker, into the world on May 10, As you may remember, we are very close friends with RE math teacher Karen Key and Pancho Cabrera 17 and we thought the attached photo would be a fun submission for the alumni section of the RE Log.

61 2003 Tom Buchanan recently started Columbia University s Executive MBA program. The top two photos are me (Class of 00) holding Pancho when he was a day old and the below two photos are of Pancho holding Emerson (RE Class of 34) when he is a day old Daniel Ciraldo writes, I work in my home town of Miami Beach as the Preservation Officer for the Miami Design Preservation League, a local nonprofit. Our mission is to preserve, protect and promote Miami Beach s twelve historic districts. Blair Reinarman writes, 2017 is a time of big transitions for me and my husband, Anthony. We welcomed our first baby in November Lidia! Pictured here. And, after five years as a political appointee in the Obama Administration (at the White House, the United States Agency for International Development and the Treasury Department), I am thinking through my next steps. We are still in Washington for the moment, though we may find ourselves elsewhere in the coming months Tracy Friedlander Ley and Andrew Ley are pleased to share the news of the birth of their daughter Heather Ann Ley. Born on November 16, 2016, in Miami, Fla. Charlotte Joseph Cassel and Philip Cassel welcomed daughter Emilia Ruth on November 15, Terrin Jones Marshall currently resides in Charlotte, NC. On January 21, 2017, Terrin married Randall Marshall at the Four Seasons Miami. Terrin is a Senior Commercial Lines Underwriter for Selective Insurance and Randall recently opened a dental practice in the South Charlotte area. Janelle Milanes first young adult novel, The Victoria in My Head, is currently on pre-order and will be out in September Riveted, a website that reviews young adult works, described the book as a laugh-out-loud novel about a shy, rule-following teen who joins a local rock band. The book will be published by Simon Pulse Simon & Schuster. Dan Otero made it to the World Series with the Cleveland Indians in Though the Indians fell in seven games to the Chicago Cubs, Otero, a right-handed reliever, had a terrific season, posting a 5-1 record with a 1.53 earned-run average in 62 appearances. In the World Series, he pitched 3.1 innings in three games with a 2.70 ERA. Lorraine Pereira writes, I got married on November 12, 2016, in Coconut Grove, and wanted to share the news with the RE community. I am presently residing in Boston, Massachusetts, and returned to Miami to share in the celebration with my family and friends, including several of my Class of 2003 classmates! His name is Andrew Stark, and we are both attorneys. I specialize in divorce and probate litigation, and Andrew practices commercial litigation Alex Javelly has been living in New York City since graduating from George Washington University Law School in In November 2016, he started a new job as the Director, Business & Legal Affairs at a TV production company called Left/ Right ( It turns out a co-founder/co-president of the company is a fellow Ransom Everglades grad it s a small world! Benjamin Markus has accepted a position at his alma matter, the University of Florida, as a communications specialist for the university s Campus-Wide Modernization Program to Advance Student Services, aka: COMPASS ( Go Gators! 2005 Brian Braddy married Cristina Gerard Braddy on November 4, 2016, at the Orchid Garden on Church Street in Orlando. He notes that after graduating from law school SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 59

62 Class Notes at FSU (when was the last time the Canes beat us BTW?) I worked as corporate defense counsel for Verizon s collections and regulatory departments. Brian has moved to Atlanta with his family and is now director of probation and special programs at the City of Atlanta Municipal Court. Braddy is pictured with Terron Ferguson 04. (See more on page 7.) Bryan Corse writes, Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be offered a position at Rutherford Ranch Winery, right in the heart of Napa Valley. Since day one, it has been a dream come true. Rutherford Ranch is a family-owned winery on Silverado Trail that is committed to producing quite a few small production wines with a range of varietals and growing regions within Napa, Sonoma and Monterrey. Our estate wines are grown on property, in the Rutherford appellation, where we have a 100-percent sustainable and organic farming certification. It would be my absolute pleasure to host any current RE students, faculty or RE alumni and/or their families who are visiting in Napa or Sonoma. Our most popular tasting at the winery is a chocolate-andwine pairing that is heavenly! I have been in the valley for nine months now, and have some well-established connections both at other wineries and with hotels. In addition to hosting guests at our winery, I am also happy to assist anyone planning a trip out here with selecting other wineries to visit based on their likes and desires. Please feel free to contact me at any time I hope to see you in 2017! 2006 Jannis Brea writes, Ten years ago, I left RE convinced I would do an MD/PhD in neuroscience at Harvard. Today, instead, I am an experience designer at a healthcare startup about to launch a hospital service 60 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 to help patients navigate the health system. I am grateful for the fun classes I took Mr. Rodriguez s art history classes, Mr. DuBard s robotics class and how they ve served me in unexpectedly delightful ways. If you re ever in Boston, I d love to reconnect! Alex Daly, who was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2016 after founding the crowdfunding company Vann Alexandra, has written a book called Crowdsourceress that will be released in March. Courtney Lenner became engaged to Sean Comroe in May of 2014 and is planning a wedding in March He is an associate attorney and works in Miami. Cristina Sanchez writes, After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, I moved back to Miami and am now a real estate attorney at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A. Michael Segall is currently working in Boca Raton as an associate attorney for Beller Smith, P.L Vera Bergengruen is a national correspondent at McClatchy Washington Bureau in Washington, D.C. She is currently covering the White House and Donald Trump s transition. Last August, she was among 21 reporters who earned prestigious Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowships from The National Press Foundation Claudia Curiel is working as a reporter and anchor at Telemundo, Washington, D.C. She won an Emmy Award at the 58th Emmy Awards for The National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the story La Casa del Futuro/ The House of the Future about renewable energy. This was her first Emmy nomination as well as first win. During her time as a journalist in Washington, Claudia has served as mistress of ceremonies at several high profile events and has covered a range of stories including the recent immigration crisis, special invitations from the White House, the historic Papal visit, and the presidential election and inauguration. Sadie Kurzban was featured on WLRN for her efforts building 305 Fitness, a brand of boutique gyms inspired by Miami s culture and music that have taken New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston by storm. Kurzban, her RE class valedictorian, launched the popular fitness studios in part with the $12,000 first prize from an entrepreneurship competition she won as a Brown University senior The University of Wisconsin School of Business recognized Zena Stephens a Sugarbaker Scholar at RE for her acceptance into The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, a national academic and business network to help students of diverse backgrounds succeed in corporate America. Stephens, who specializes in strategic human resources management, is due to earn her MBA in While at RE, Stephens was a recipient of the Everett M. Sugarbaker 89 Memorial Endowment Scholarship Fund whose goal is to support academically gifted students at all grade levels who have financial challenges. Stephens started at Wisconsin s business school in the fall of 2015 and completed a summer internship with Yum! Brands KFC in Louisville, Ky. She earned her bachelor s degree in sociology and human resources at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Stephens has been a volleyball coach and helped develop a mentorship program for an Atlanta high school. She also helped create a nonprofit to gather supplies for a local school and volunteered with Breakthrough, an organization that helps urban middle school students with academics. Read more at ly/2hhggim Adrian Diaz-Granados writes, After graduating from Cornell in 2014, I went on to work as an analyst in Citigroup s Corporate & Investment Banking division in Chicago. In June 2016, I made the decision to transfer to Citi s office in Frankfurt, Germany, primarily covering German multinational corporations in a variety of industries. In January 2017, I was promoted to Associate. I look forward to continuing my career abroad in banking and welcoming any RE alumni in the area with some good German beer!

63 2011 Nick Swerdlow was featured in the November issue of Think Magazine. In the article he was referred to as a trailblazing new-wave gallerist and curator. The story which noted that his 2015 Art Basel show was very well received credited Swerdlow with having a sharp eye for scouting talent and forecasting trends before they hit the art scene Camille Duarte writes, At the beginning of January I started working for AT&T small business sales as a Client Solutions Executive in Orlando, Fla. Excited to be close to home and to be able to go to more alumni events. Ashleigh Johnson received one of the Women s Sports Foundation s most coveted awards, the 2016 Sportswoman of the Year for teams, during the foundation s 37th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Gala Oct. 19, 2016, in New York City. Johnson, an Olympic gold medal winner in water polo, was recognized along with Claressa Shields, an Olympic gold medalist in boxing, who earned the individual Sportswoman of the Year award. The award is presented to athletes who distinguish themselves through supreme athletic performances over a 12-month period. Finalists were voted on by the public in September at SportswomanoftheYear.com. Johnson, who led Team USA to gold at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, became the first water polo player to win the award. Johnson was named the top goalkeeper of the Olympic tournament after making 51 saves. The event was co-hosted by Emmy awardwinning sports announcer and former professional tennis player Mary Carillo, and two-time Olympic softball medalist Jessica Mendoza. Nicolette Roque writes, My title is Knowledge of Careers (KOC) Administrator and I do pretty much everything: working with students, organizing and carrying out career exposure lectures, assisting sophomore students on professional development lectures and exercises, etc. I got involved with KOC through the Americorps VISTA program, which I have been doing this year. After graduating RE in 2012, I received my BA from Johns Hopkins in 2015 and my MHS from Johns Hopkins in My next stop is medical school I will be starting a three-year accelerated program for primary care scholars at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. In terms of KOC and what we do, KOC is a Miami-based after-school program that encourages and guides academic and professional ambitions in public high school students. Our mission is to promote academic success and workforce readiness by exposing our students to novel career opportunities, developing their professional skills, connecting them to meaningful internships, and facilitating social impact work. Established in 2015, we have three cohorts of students in two schools, with plans to continue expanding into different grade levels and schools next year. We believe that too few students are aware of the professional opportunities available to them as adults, and of the relationship between academic success and future opportunity. KOC students work through a rigorous curriculum that teaches them the fundamental skills necessary to thrive in challenging professional settings. By connecting them to accomplished professionals, engaging internships in a variety of career fields, and highlighting the connection between professional opportunity and academic success, our students become excited by professional possibilities and invested in their own development Julian Marx, a guard at Grinnell College, was honored as the Midwest Conference Men s Basketball Performer of the Week on Dec. 12 after hitting 17-of-35 threepoint field goals and scoring an average of 28.5 points in two victories. Marx ranked fourth in the NCAA s Division III in scoring with a 29.6 average; he was also the leader in total points and three-point field goals per game (6.89). Sam Singer was recognized by the University of California, Berkeley, as Scholar-Athlete of the Week for Nov , He was lauded for incorporating the content knowledge gained through his upper division business administration courses to the development, investment, and management of a unique athletic product. He was also praised by faculty for being dedicated to meaningful engagement beyond the classroom, maximizing opportunities to establish competency in marketing, accounting, and finance. He has leveraged his skill set by serving as the co-founder of a limited liability company, demonstrating his leadership capability both on and off the court. Brandy Smith (See Lauren Archer 16) Riqui Villegas writes, I will be graduating from the University of Florida in the spring with a major in finance. I have accepted a position in PNC s Wealth Management Development Program beginning in August in Cleveland. I recently had another very successful philanthropy with my fraternity, raising over $85K for my own foundation, CHOMP Cancer, which supports Palliative Care. I began CHOMP with my family after defeating lymphoma in To date CHOMP and fraternity have raised about $250K in the past three years. Please feel free to share my story would love if some of my fellow alumni and classmates heard the news. Below is a photo of my parents and me after the event in November. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 61

64 Class Notes 2014 Franchesca Burgos (See Lauren Archer 16) Nikki Colonna of the Lynn University volleyball team made the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team in December 2016, becoming just the fifth alltournament honoree in the school s history. The sixth-seeded Fighting Knights made their first postseason appearance since 2010 but couldn t pull off an upset against No. 3 seed and 23rd-ranked University of Tampa in the quarterfinal round. Colonna, who led Ransom Everglades to a Class 4A state title in volleyball as a senior, had three 20-plus dig performances during the season, including two in the final five matches. Lynn University s women s volleyball team finished the 2016 season with a record, including a program-record-tying 11-5 mark in Sunshine State Conference play. Allegra Hanlon was featured in The Washington Post ( st/2h9rntw) and on National Public Radio for speaking out against a U.S. Tennis Association rule that penalizes players for outbursts in a foreign language. Hanlon, a junior at Cornell, drew a penalty for shouting Vamos! after winning a point in a USTA tournament in Kalamazoo, Mich. Hanlon wrote about the experience in a story that appeared in the Post on Sept. 9, 2016, and she was later interviewed on National Public Radio. During her senior year at Ransom Everglades, Hanlon won state titles in singles and doubles. Here s an excerpt from the Post story. I toss the ball and spin it out wide for an ace. My opponent smacks the side of her shoe with her racquet as we prepare to switch ends of the court, and in a moment of elation after two and a half hours of tennis, I yell, Vamos! Point penalty, Hanlon! No speaking in other languages! I m not even halfway to my chair when I turn around to see a short, round, blueshirted referee make a beeline toward me. I m sorry, what? I ask. It s 5-4 now, for me. I look at my opponent for some sign of disagreement, but she looks confused, too. You can t say bamos or whatever you said. You gotta speak English out here, not some other language. What other language? I ask. Surely there s a mistake, I think in a panic. Vamos in Spanish means, Come on. It is universally understood. It is Rafa Nadal s battle cry. More importantly, it s my word, my battle cry. I m half-colombian on my mother s side, and although I m born and raised in the United States and fully bilingual, Spanish is my first language, still my default setting in moments of joy or stress. Will Pol, a University of Chicago student majoring in physics and minoring in philosophy, came back to the Upper School campus this past October to play with the 15-member RE Guitar Ensemble. He counts the guitar, piano and harmonica as among his passions. Caro Ribeiro was named a Harvard Leader of the Week by Harvard Leadership Magazine on Oct. 13, which lauded her for her founding role in Harvard College Musical Theater, a student group dedicated to producing musical theater on the Cambridge, Mass., campus. The musical theater group offers at least one full-length show each semester as well as a small-scale cabaret performance. Ribeiro, majoring in sociology, founded the group with classmate Chris Lee after winning the lead in a campus musical and directing a number of other performances. Harrison Tafur was a utility player and captain for the record-breaking men s water polo team at Harvard University this past season. He was recently featured in a photo that accompanied a New York Times article found here The ninth-ranked Harvard men s team advanced to its first NCAA Final Four last December before losing to the top-ranked University of Southern California in Berkeley, Calif. The Crimson finished the season with a mark of 27-7, the best in program history. Harvard won two NCAA tournament games with victories over then-no. 12 Bucknell and No. 9 UC Davis to earn its spot in the Final Four. Lucas Rodriguez wrote an article for the Standford Political Journal titled The State of Disunion that was happily shared by his former teacher, Greg Cooper. ly/2kpmxba 2016 Lauren Archer ran into Brandy Smith 13 and Franchesca Burgos 14 at a track meet in the fall. The trio sent in the following picture of the former Raiders getting together at the meet that included Dartmouth College, Ithaca College and Tufts University. In Loving Memory Michael Clifford 07 died Oct. 26, Marsha Evans Jackman 72 died Dec. 27, Reverend Sandy McKay 61 died Nov. 4, 2016, in Wellington, New Zealand. Jeffrey Stewart 84 died Sept. 24, Sue Miller. See page Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

65 Faculty/Staff Nicola and Pete DiPace welcomed Luca Argyle DiPace, 8 lbs. 3 oz. and 21 inches long, on January 5, 2017, at 12:04 a.m. Rose Shumow and her husband welcomed Ruben Emanuel Shumow on Jan. 29, 2017, at 12:39 a.m., weighing in at 8 lb. 1 oz. and 20 inches long. Faculty member Matt Stock won an honorable mention in the Nature: Professional Category in the prestigious International Black and White Spider Awards. This year the contest received 7,556 entries from 71 countries with 627 title awards in 31 categories. Three Ransom Everglades teachers presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Conference in Atlanta, Ga., in November Kristin Castle, James McCrink and Jody Salzinger joined former RE teacher, Charlie Housiaux, to present a project that they had done with the seventh graders during the school year. The Voice and Empathy curriculum unit develops students descriptive and narrative writing voices and expands their capacities for empathy. The project culminated with each student creating an audiovisual piece based on his or her narrative. Several of these videos were shared at the conference, which attracts English teachers from all over the country. Karen Thompson and husband Jay Calkins, a retired RE AP Environmental Science teacher, paddled the Wilderness Waterway in Everglades National Park for eight days over the February 2017 winter break. They put in at Everglades City, northern access to the park, and after more than 100 miles, took out at Flamingo, southern access. The pair camped six of the seven nights on chickees, which are platforms in the national park used for camping. There isn t a lot of dry land (mostly mangroves, rivers and inland bays), so there s nowhere to put up a tent except for the chickees. Karen and Jay saw three other paddlers during their trip. Highlights included sighting 16 roseate spoonbills flying overhead, many dolphins hunting and trapping fish, beautiful sunsets, a baby manatee and mom, many sightings of alligators. The couple used navigational charts, a compass and tide charts to plan their route and find the chickees every night. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 63

66 Faculty Development Your gift will help fund the ongoing professional development activities that are a mainstay of RE s extraordinary faculty. Performing and Visual Arts RE offers many forms of visual and performing arts in an integrated program of coursework and co-curricular activities that develop a full range of skills and talents. Greatest Need Every aspect of RE s operation affects our overall quality. Gifts earmarked for Greatest Need often do the greatest good. Athletics Athletics are an integral part of a student s education at RE. Our goal is to foster a passion for sports while instilling a lifelong work ethic. Financial Aid RE offers generous financial support to ensure that we enroll a diverse and talented student body. The school offers $5 million annually for financial aid and tuition remission. Technology Ransom Everglades is integrating technology more comprehensively in teaching and learning. Your gift will help us accelerate this process. THE FUND FOR RANSOM EVERGLADES supports all areas of the school and makes a meaningful impact on the current needs of Ransom Everglades. Your gift touches every student and faculty member, every day. Make your gift online at For more information about making a gift to Ransom Everglades please call or [email protected]. 64 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

67 To Continue... Willy Foote 86 continued from page 15 Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber 85 continued from page 19 different advisory services that are entirely philanthropically funded. It s like a mini-mba for rural business leaders and farmers. Our clients are the lynchpins for prosperity in these regions, and they grow the food (and coffee!) on which millions of people rely. I believe that these high-impact agricultural businesses are the most powerful force for solving the most urgent social and environmental challenges. How do you describe your work to friends? In the beginning, even my parents didn t know what I was doing. You have to believe. You have to champion. You have to evangelize. By 2006, social entrepreneurship became a thing. So it wasn t until then that I had a way to describe what the hell my career was. Before that, I just was a little bit crazy. What s the best part of all this? One of the things I m proudest of is my 130 colleagues. About a third of us are located in Cambridge, Mass.; the rest are in Africa and Latin America. Our teams are local. Some colleagues are former clients. Many are farmers themselves. Last year, Root Capital loaned $160 million and provided training to nearly 300 small- and medium-sized businesses that reach about 500,000 farming families or about 2.5 million people in 20 countries, and we re especially focused on partnering with businesses that are led by women. You can find out much more at RootCapital. org! And over the years, I ve seen what happens when these businesses thrive; they become engines of impact: food security improves, family incomes rise, women get their fair share, ecosystems are sustained, young people have opportunities to lead, and rural communities are transformed. By raising philanthropic contributions here in the U.S. and blending it with investment capital, we can provide the financial resources and management training to those who need it most. What we re doing is way beyond what I had imagined originally, but now I ve realized that we re just getting started. the CDC, the Department of Defense, and the NRA), and a focus on advocacy. The Marines brought me in with a total force roll-out and training of all support workers meaning legal assistants are asking and that helped them achieve an amazing reduction in suicides: 22 percent. I would hear from schools in South Africa, the frontlines of Afghanistan. I would be on my phone at 5 a.m. training an Air Force base in Germany. At Princeton University, we re training the athletic coaches, the resident advisors, and the security. The grassroots has been incredibly exciting. All of these national and global efforts were happening at the same time. It s all happened in 12 years. It has been quite a surreal journey where one week I m meeting with heads of countries, like Israel and Cypress, and another week I m training homeless veterans. Now every school teacher in Israel has the Columbia in their hands and the power of just asking has been startling. Government officials in Israel in charge of suicide prevention... said it s literally changing the way they live their lives, breaking down barriers that have been built up over thousands of years. To be able to help affect this culture shift has been so rewarding. You have also received awards related to your work in education: At the same time, I became a philanthropist focused on education. One of the first things that I helped build was the first effort to fix failing schools which many believe is the first step to addressing the larger issue of poverty. It s called Turnaround for Children; I was the founding chair of the board. That has been incredibly impactful and it was often presented as a fundamental priority of President Obama s education platform. At the same time, after my children had an extraordinary experience attending a gifted preschool at Columbia, I ended up founding a K-8 school called the Speyer Legacy School, the first independent school in Manhattan to serve these kids, with an unprecedented commitment to diversity and aid. When I originally did this I didn t realize that this would be an issue of great education reform significance. What I realized, and many thought, is that the most underserved child in the nation is the low-income, high-achieving student, the poor, talented kid. Both of those efforts have been really meaningful. Have you been surprised by your success? Yes, surreally so! But more importantly, I am profoundly grateful. I found myself in many situations I could never have dreamed of. I had never even given a major speech [back in 2004], and suddenly I am commissioned by the FDA to set up the standards to make sense of critical questions about suicide. Here I am speaking in front of the media, and speaking for the FDA. It took an understanding of how to take information and make it meaningful, as well as courage and frankly the optimism that anything is achievable an attitude I would have to credit back to those formative years while in high school. That was an incredibly exciting time, and that began a lot of this. Suicide is preventable and I am so very grateful to be able to help us get closer to a world without suicide, and to help people across the globe and their families and communities prevent this unnecessary loss of life. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 65

68 To Continue... Joshua Williams 18 continued from page 21 under. Sometimes we have a police presence for safety. We also get companies to donate, schools to donate, students do food drives. We re not working with the homeless as much; we now focus on the impoverished and the less fortunate. We can help more people this way; it s more efficient. You don t need to cook the food, you just need to get the food. We can partner with anyone anywhere assuming the space is big enough to get food to the people who need it most. We can bring out people no matter where you are. Your foundation is very youth-oriented, correct? The foundation is very focused on youth, helping youth help youth and teaching the power of giving. It s very special seeing kids helping others. They learn a lot. It shows them a whole different world. It s very powerful. Before I even started the foundation, I thought maybe I don t want to incorporate; let me look for another foundation I can help out in. I couldn t find anything. With most service organizations, you had to be 16 or 18. So that was one of the founding principles of Joshua s Heart, to make it accessible to anyone who wanted to help out. I don t care what age you are. We ve had babies come out and carry a can of food to recipients. It s adorable, of course. We ve had elderly people come to help out. It s really a loving community of people who want to make a change. Members of my youth board, for example, assist me; represent me and the organization at events; occasionally travel with me; and even speak on my behalf. They are my right hand. Some have created their own projects. As young people, we have the ability to do so much. How has the community at Ransom Everglades helped you? The entire community has been extremely supportive. We have quite a few youth board members from Ransom Everglades, and a few leaders. The chair and vice chair of our junior advisory board are juniors at RE: Jordan Wong 18 and Martin Posada 18. They also sit on the adult board as youth representatives. Joshua Abrams 18 is our videographer; Lea Broudo 17 and Zach Miller 18 are our video editors; Gabriella Ouellette 18 is our marketing director; Maria Olloqui 18 is our assistant secretary; and Mary Logan Woolsey 22 is a board member who started her own project at the Middle School. Recently, many of our members were featured in the Canadian magazine, Owl. Explain how your foundation grew. We started to build up credibility in the community. We eventually got onto one of the local TV stations. Once we hit that news channel we started to get many volunteers, and we were able to have a rapid expansion. We were the only one at that time accepting all ages as volunteers. Schools would recommend us to people looking for volunteer opportunities and our volunteers would recommend us to others. They love the hands-on experience and being able to meet the families they are helping. As we grew, we were able to organize more. We won grants, awards, then more grants and awards. Awards are a great way to bring awareness to people. Also, the money we get from awards goes straight back to the community. We don t have any full-time staff. No one takes a salary. It s all volunteers. We have awesome volunteers. Incredibly dedicated volunteers who are helping all the time: Ransom Everglades kids, Ransom Everglades parents, students and adults outside of Ransom Everglades, my family, my mom and me. One hundred percent of the money we bring in goes back to help feed people. After all of these years, what motivates you? I feel God showed me one of my purposes at a young age, and as a fellow human being I can t go by without trying to lend a hand, even a small hand. I don t think there needs to be any pride involved in that. There just has to be a sense of kindness. You don t have to be super-charismatic or super-anything. You just have to do it. It s a crazy the amount of people who are hungry. One of four kids in America is hungry. That s insane. One in four kids! Knowing that, there s never enough to do until it s all gone, until all the hunger and poverty is gone. Where do you see yourself in 10 or 15 years? Somebody once told me to take care of others, you have to take care of yourself first. Before you can be a role model for others, you have to be role model for yourself. I see myself in business, entrepreneurship, where I can take care myself and my family and which will enable me to help more people. I will always be making a difference or having an impact; to whom much is given, much is expected. 66 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

69 Wendell Graham 74 continued from page 17 What else did you learn under Janet Reno? The rst thin she taught prosecutors was that their rst responsi ility was to ma e s re innocent people weren t prosecuted. That doesn t exactly buy votes, but that was her philosophy, and I adopted that. The second thin was to le only cases you knew could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Don t waste time on something you couldn t prove. The third thing was to prosecute the guilty vigorously. If you know you have a guilty person, you don t play around with that. We had a reat time in that office You went into private practice for a while: For years I did criminal defense. The exact opposite of what I was doin at the State ttorney s Office en oyed it t ot tired of htin with lawyers. I found too many lawyers were unprofessional in the way they dealt with each other. Governor Lawton Chiles appointed you in 1994 and you have been a judge in County Court ever since. What attracted you to that court? In some cases, it s $500 or $600 they re arguing about. It s important that the system be as responsive to those people as it is to the $5 million cases. You can t put the same resources into County Court, but you can still give those who appear the attention they need. The lawyers should do a good job. The judge should do a good job and the courtroom support personnel must be respectful of these people. They need to set the tone for dignity. I think I ve made a di erence in that respect How so? Initially, what I did not like was this sense of informality in County Court. As a lawyer, on a small scale, what I ve wanted to do was raise the level of competence in the profession in terms of the bar s sense of morality, ethics and responsibility to their clients. As a judge, you can say, no, this is not going to go like this. We re going to start over or you re not going to speak like that to another member of the bar, or you re not going to speak like that in this court room. Somebody has to stand up and do it, in particular in the County Court because the common person is going to end up there. What else? I can think of little things that have been good. I remember there was a time lawyers would walk into judges chambers and sit down and kibbitz before the calendar would start. There s not anything wrong with that, but it looked horrible. The people who were not in that insiders group didn t have a chance to talk to the judge ahead of time. I insisted that practice had to stop. BOOKSTORE Shop online at RansomEverglades.org/Bookstore Your one-stop shop for gifts and goodies We re open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and located opposite the Ansin Aquatic Center on the Upper School Campus. All students, parents and alumni are welcome. For more information, contact Katrina Patchett, Director of Bookstores, at or [email protected]. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 67

70 To Continue... She would break down every barrier and bust down every door to help the community do what it was trying to do. Jeff Miller 79 Sue Miller continued from page 23 and committed to anything she undertook, with Mom on your team you were guaranteed success. She would break down every barrier and bust down every door to help the community do what it was trying to do. She had engagement, passion and emotion. She never involved herself in anything she wasn t willing to put 100 percent into. Stuart: My mother spent some time doing real estate sales at Lennar, but I think she fo nd reater f l lment ettin in ol ed in community activities and programs that wo ld ene t the comm nity at lar e She expressed her sense of responsibility to her community in the form of both actually giving and engaging others to be involved as well. Leslie: Mom really loved her city, she loved Miami. Over time, she was able to see Ransom Everglades kids graduate, go out into the world and then come back to help build Miami into the city it s become today. Miami has made a huge transition in the last years, and Ransom Everglades has been a big part of that. Jeffrey: Ransom Everglades really is this common glue that we all share, a place her children and grandchildren passed through. She had this incredible connection with Mr. Bowden; that s where it all began. We all played water polo, and my parents never missed a game. We would always see them up in the stands, supporting the family, being there for each of their kids. And my mom never missed a Grandparents Day; she was always there to show her love and support for her grandchildren. Over time, she began to understand that Ransom Everglades was really this important place in the community, a feeder of the University of Miami and a producer of students who would make a di erence in society Leslie: Two of my earliest memories of my mom are when she broke down after [President] Kennedy was killed, and after the death of two sons of our family s gardener. The gardener would come around once a week to do the lawns at everyone s houses. He was from Liberty City and drove a beat-up truck, and he would bring his two sons and we would go out and play with them, watch TV, have sandwiches. One day the kids didn t come back. They had climbed under a fence to play near a rock pit and drowned; they didn t know how to swim. The memory I have of my mother when she heard this will never go away. She was so totally distraught. She showed us, with those reactions, that you have to care for everybody, whether a politician or a gardener. At a very young age, we became sensitized to the fact that it didn t matter who a person was, or what a person did, everybody mattered, and everybody deserved respect. Jeffrey: When I drove by the construction site next door to my mom s house [after her death], one of the workers said to me: Your mom would stop her car every day to say, Hi, how are you? If there is a memory of her that represents what she stood for, in my mind it is that. She just looked at every person as important as she is. She left such an indelible mark on people s minds every day. Stuart: She never became consumed with things or position in life; she just was consistently a very decent, loving, caring person, appreciative of the ene ts life had a orded her t not consumed by them. She always dealt with people with a great deal of respect. It didn t matter whether they were kings and queens or people of more modest backgrounds. As my parents found nancial s ccess in their endea ors and as they found themselves surprisingly nancially sec re and then nancially blessed, I think what grew inside of both of them was this sense that those who ene t from reat s ccess ha e an nspo en responsi ility to re ect that success back to the community and leave it a better place than they found it. 68 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017

71 Save the Date: Saturday, May 6, 2017 Have some reel fun at the Sixth Annual Ransom Everglades Epic Fishing Tournament. Anglers of all ages are invited to tackle the waters of Biscayne Bay in a friendly fishing competition that will benefit the Ransom Everglades waterfront. Organized by the RE Alumni Association, the R.E.E.F. Tournament engages the entire RE community to support projects that fulfill the school s mission to give back. The RE waterfront supports RE and communitywide athletic opportunities and is used year-round for classes, competitions and community service. After the last cast, join us for the final weigh-in and RE camaraderie. For registration, sponsorship opportunities and more information, go to or contact: Danielle Phillips Retchless at or [email protected]. SPRING 2017 Ransom Everglades LOG 69

72 3575 Main Highway Coconut Grove, Florida Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID Miami, Florida Permit No save the date Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29 Head of School Penny Townsend invites you to attend ALUMNI WEEKEND 2017 Reunion Classes of 1967, 1977, 1987, 1992 and 1997 will be celebrated. Weekend activities include the Upper School spring band concert, our signature spring cocktail party, athletic and family activities, tour of the Ransom and Everglades campuses, our Head of School Luncheon, the presentation of our distinguished alumni awards, the individual reunion receptions, and spending time with current and former faculty members. For more information visit: Or contact the Alumni Office Vicki Carbonell Williamson Danielle Phillips Retchless Thomas Willis