CL AS S NO T E S CREATIVE THOUGHT Earth and heaven M


artha Kirkpatrick ’78 has traveled an un- usual career path, from lawyer to environ-


mental policymaker to priest. Not only does it make sense to her, she says, but it all evolved out of her grounding in the liberal arts at Skid- more. “My professors really taught me how to think,” she says. A history and government major, Kirkpatrick


first went on to earn a law degree. Unemployed and “at a loss” about what to do with her life, she made a chance connection that led her to the Environmental Protection Agency. “So I became a lawyer at EPA in Washington,” she recalls. She moved to Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection, working in the land and water bureau, and was appointed commissioner in 1998.


Meanwhile, she had joined the Episcopal Church and was getting interested in deeper ques- tions of theol- ogy, particu-


larly as they related to environmental issues. In 2003 she left Maine to attend Harvard Divinity School and delve into those questions as a scholar. An advisor there encouraged her to get church experience, and after a couple of intern- ships she settled in as rector of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Belfast, Maine, in 2009. Kirkpatrick is still actively working with con- nections between religion and environmental stewardship. Last July she was part of an inter- faith group that lobbied Congress in support of renewing the Clean Air Act. “It's an equity issue,” she says, “because of the unequal im- pact of environmental degradation on the poor. People of many faiths are called to these ques- tions as a matter of social justice.” Closer to home, Kirkpatrick leads efforts to help neighbors with weatherization upgrades and to support locally grown food. And she tries to make sure her church is conserving energy wherever possible. —Jill U. Adams


ing in TV production. (Sue encourages classmates with contacts in TV or film to contact her at dwsbwhalen1@verizon.net.) Husband Daniel is doing well at BNP Pari- bas. The family resides in Chelsea and Rumson, NJ. Martha VanGelder is now living full- time at her home in Tucson, AZ, in pursuit of a better work/life balance. She directs the University of Arizona’s Lundgren Cen- ter for Retailing, fostering partnerships across academia, student development, and the industry needs of 35 leading retail firms. Recently named a professor of prac- tice there, Martha teaches a course that helps students better transition from cam- pus to career life. Husband John Gypton continues to produce reality TV. Sheila Killeen had lunch with Muffy


King Fox and Liz Flavin Daly; she says it was wonderful catching up with them. Sue Pfeiffer is well in Chicago, IL. I was planning to meet up with her while trav- eling in the area this spring. Congratulations to class president Jenny Charlesworth Thomas, who welcomed her first grandchild, Jackson, in Novem- ber in Boca Raton, FL. The new family is adjusting well. Jenny is working toward her nursing degree. She picked up on an error in the last issue of Scope, which cited Lisa Lavieri as class president. Lisa is a former class president, but Jenny currently holds that position. Maura Connelly lives in Beaufort, SC, with Marlena Smalls, an internationally acclaimed vocalist who founded the Hal- lelujah Singers in 1990 to preserve the Gullah culture of South Carolina’s Sea Islands. Last year Maura helped Marlena stage a very successful Christmas concert featuring local children. Maura’s oldest son, Thor, lives in Charleston; daughter Maren is working in Beaufort for a few months before heading to France; and daughter Connelly is a freshman at the College of Charleston. Lisa Ochs Arnold was in Boston last September. We spent a great afternoon walking, talking, and dining. It was great to see her, and yes, she does look the same as she did back then Lisa recon- nected recently with Yanick Powell, who lived on our floor in Moore Hall freshman year. Yanick lives in Haiti. Laura Phair-Rudin loves life in Center- port, NY. She was recently named VP of the Centerport Greenlawn Historical As- sociation. She is happy working in bio- tech for patients with HIV/AIDS, noting that it’s “very rewarding and challenging.” I had dinner with Patty Abbott Michl when she and her husband were in town


46 SCOPE SPRING 2012


this past winter. It was great to see her and catch up on Skidmore gossip as well as news of her daughters and life in Ver- mont. She, too, looks exactly the same as she did during Skidmore days. Patty and I met our very first week there, on the sixth floor of Moore Hall. Many of my close friendships began in the Pink Palace: Lisa Ochs, Maura Connelly, Linda Winnard, Martha Van Gelder, and Abbie Kennedy Swift are also people with whom I share great memories of that old place DEBBIE MONOSSON 16 PERRY STREET CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139-3912 DEBBIE@BFEC.COM


In October Linda Dufford Jewett and her husband spent a great weekend in Saratoga watching daughter Lauren participate in the Head of the Fish Regatta. Lauren is a crew coach for Ithaca High School students through the Casca- dilla Boat Club. Stacey Brown Segil lives in Lee, NH, with her husband and three children. She is a speech tutor at Mohanmet Elemen- tary School. Last summer she enjoyed vis- iting Sue Schiro ’81 at the Home Kitchen Café, owned by Sue’s husband, in Rock- land, ME. Stacey also met up with Judy Wood Gordon ’80 and her husband for some sailing in Marblehead, MA. Michele Dunkerley authored Houses Made of Wood and Light: The Life and Architecture of Hank Schubart. The book incorporates photos and site plans from the work of noted modernist architect Schubart (1916–98), who apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright and designed more than 230 homes and other struc- tures on Salt Spring Island off British Columbia. Michele is a Skidmore trustee and sits on the alumni board. She is a business attorney whose recent work involves revitalizing the historic down- town square in Stephenville, TX. PERI SNYDERMAN SPECIALCAT@MSN.COM


’80 ’81


Ann Harlan and husband Ron Neill are happily retired and living in Cleveland Heights, OH, and Prescott, AZ. Ann left the JM Smucker Company in 2011 after 12 years as VP, general counsel, and corporate secretary. Earlier she was a mergers and acquisitions partner at a Cleveland law firm. Ann and Ron enjoy traveling and spending time with friends. She attended an Arizona mini-reunion in 2010 with Stacey Raider, Tracey Lee Crit- tenberger, Susy Kepler Schneider, Clare Dennis Gregory, Sue Kirby Sanderson,


AT WORK


MARTI STONE


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