President Michelle J. Anderson

Dear Alumni and Friends,

I am pleased to share with you this new issue of 今日吃瓜 Magazine, which captures how your alma mater is creating powerful pathways to careers and shaping the future of our city.

In these stories, you鈥檒l see 今日吃瓜 at its best: students and faculty learning directly from our beautiful campus and New York City itself, translating knowledge into bold solutions to urgent challenges like flooding and climate change.

You鈥檒l also meet alumni and donors whose leadership, generosity, and love for the college help prepare our students for every opportunity. From BCAA President Trina Yearwood 鈥�00, to our faculty mentors, to David Hochman, whose parents鈥� love story is intertwined with 今日吃瓜, this issue reflects what makes our community special: a sense of connection and shared purpose.

This issue also highlights how, across academic departments, we are reimagining access to education and careers through new online degrees, accelerated master鈥檚 programs, and other flexible pathways that meet students where they are. These offerings reflect our enduring commitment to high鈥憅uality public education and access to that excellence.

One theme unites the stories in this issue: 今日吃瓜 remains a place where opportunity is created, shared, and expanded, thanks to support from alumni like you. We are grateful to have you as part of our story, and we hope this issue reconnects you with your alma mater.

Warm regards,

Michelle J. Anderson
President, 今日吃瓜

The post From the President鈥檚 Desk appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

1930鈥�1939

Julian Dorsky ’36

Evelyn Cummins Lang ’36

Thelma Bearman Turetzky ’37

Margaret Hochhauser Weissbluth ’38

Matthew (Kupfer) Cooper ’39

Edith Goldenberg Gilitos ’39

Vivian Hochhauser Levy ’39

Dorothy Hutter Waldman ’39

1940鈥�1949

Sora Hinder Frankel ’40

Jean Wohl Zamore ’40

Rhoda Fisher Lemlein ’42

Cynthia Agrin Raabe ’42

Alice Glaser Huberman ’43

Samuel Kintzer ’43

Sylvia Leiffer Rein ’43

Marion Baron Ullman ’44

Anna Hankin Leder ’45

Adele Goldberg Schneider ’45

Evelyn Rome Tabas ’45

Nina Rubin Tamber ’45

Rosaine 鈥淩onnie鈥� Schwartz Gold ’46

Marion Sperling Blumberg ’47

Emanuel A. Friedman ’47

Gilda Scheyer Gittleman ’47

Thelma Hutt Goldstein ’47

Florence Unterberg Goold ’47

Joseph Kimmel ’47

Leah Siderowitz Koenig ’47

Milton Rein ’47

Saul (Sol) Sackel ’47

Seena Shevlowitz (Sheldon) Solomon ’47

Murray H. Warschauer ’47

Irma Lifshitz Beilinson ’48

Robert J. Glickman ’48

Bernard J. Lyttle ’48

Estelle Kalechstein Meislich ’48

Rhoda Abrahams Schoenbaum ’48

Sara Padwe Simon ’48

Adrienne Spiegelman Sonnenmark ’48

Beatrice Friedman Weinstein ’48

Gilbert Wortsmann ’48

Pearl (Cele) Kestenbaum Zucker ’48

Norman Adler ’49

Leah Woolwich Bernstein ’49

Marvin Burstein ’49

Ann Berg Colucio ’49

Norman Erdos ’49

Joseph H. Fishman ’49

Alice Rosenfeld Fass Korwan ’49

Kenneth (Kronenblatt) Kronen ’49

Henrietta Gersoni Mandel ’49

Bertram M. Metter ’49

Marvin Roth ’49

Sidney Rutberg ’49

Roselyn Greenberg Shiffman ’49

Sally Greenbaum Siegel ’49

1950鈥�1959

Shirley Eisner Abrams ’50

Gilda Kugler Aronovic ’50

Lois Herschkowitz Edwards ’50

Herbert M. Fried ’50

Aaron I. Galonsky ’50

Raymond Harary ’50

Inez Yondorf Lerner ’50

Leonard Matin ’50

Abe Shenitzer ’50

Myra Weiss Silver ’50

Mina Blumberg Sweet ’50

Arnold W. Webb ’50

Peggy Jacobson Wesley ’50

Elizabeth D’Agostino Barbano ’51

Bernice Halpern Bernstein ’51

Robert H. Bernstein ’51

Jack M. Deitch ’51

James P. Gaeta ’51

Roberta Firsty Harkavy ’51

Yale Hirsch ’51

Greta Buchwald Hogan ’51

Phyllis Gross Jaffe ’51

Eva Kollisch ’51

Henry Saltzman ’51

Constance Gerulackos Thomas ’51

Aldo C. Zocchi ’51

Carmella Villano Agugliaro ’52

Edward Alterman ’52

Gerald W. Deas ’52

Shirley Emmer Eckstein ’52

Martin A. Goetz ’52

Morton S. Greenberg ’52

Helene Schiff Landau ’52

Paula R. Levine ’52

Edwin J. Reis ’52

Ruth Beller Rosenbaum ’52

Herbert Slomowitz ’52

Nat Yalowitz ’52

Barbara Aronstein Black ’53

James G. Carrubba ’53

Reva Rosenberg Ehrlich ’53

Jean Solomon Eisner ’53

Liboria Gruppuso ’53

Reva Fishelman Karinsky ’53

Arlene Lichterman ’53

Leatrice Goldberg Baron ’54

Betty Tepper Gordon ’54

Eugene B. Griffel ’54

June Quint Koch ’54

Eva Kanner Rosenzweig Kugler ’54

Mollie Levy Leibowitz ’54

Helen Bogoff O’Connell ’54

Leonard R. Pellettiri ’54

Ruth Turkel Wolosoff ’54

Arthur Bernhardt ’55

Lila Friedman Levy Dino ’55

Martin Freundlich ’55

Jay Gold ’55

Norman Goodman ’55

Sheldon A. Grand ’55

Marjorie Balick Gruverman ’55

June Drumm Hillis ’55

Avraham (Albert) Holtz ’55

Marcia Moelis Kaskel ’55

Marcia Josephy Kastan ’55

Joseph Katz ’55

Elaine Sommers Kaufman ’55

Marcia Carlin Keisler ’55

Eileen Gubitz Kowal ’55

Allan M. Levine ’55

Robert Shlasko ’55

Richard N. Stadin ’55

Barry G. Baranoff ’56

Lillian Bancala Bond ’56

Robert H. Chanin ’56

Herbert A. Finkston ’56

Carl L. Ginsberg ’56

Ruth Bernstein Weissman Katz ’56

Elisa Testa Kennedy ’56

Julian M. Kien ’56

Louise Mendes Mason ’56

1. Jo (Deborah) Sharefkin Schaffer ’56

Jay M. Sommer ’56

Zoe Jane Schwager Spielman ’56

Diana Best Anderson ’57

Valentine Carlucci ’57

Paul Creditor ’57

Isobel Milligan Davis ’57

Barbara deWeever ’57

Patrick J. Gallagher ’57

Toby Shapiro Hart ’57

Mildred Ruhmer Jacoby ’57

Nina Marmorino Kuscsik ’57

Rita Cohen Linder ’57

Marion Axelrod Lipton ’57

Florence Juro Morgan ’57

Joel Ollander ’57

Aleza Goldstein Rosenberg ’57

Maria Conti Sprizzo ’57

Alan Bergstein ’58

Martin J. Blank ’58

Edythe Marks Stamer Kosakow Dranoff ’58

Stephen R. Goldenberg ’58

John K. Kelly ’58

Norman I. Klein ’58

David S. Kristol ’58

Sheldon Lobel ’58

Donald Pomerantz ’58

Joseph A. Sucamele ’58

Phyllis Boren Thurm ’58

Benjamin B. Bortnick ’59

Frances Feldman Harnick ’59

Yvonne D. Mahoney ’59

Barbara Goldberg Platt ’59

Cynthia Fink Racer ’59

Donald D. Singer ’59

Harvey Tabor ’59

Jay L. Turoff ’59

Barnett J. Yukolis ’59

1960鈥�1969

Lois Morris Cohen ’60

Jacqueline Marcus Foil ’60

Robert J. Goldstein ’60

William L. Higgins ’60

Lawrence D. Jurgensen ’60

Howard R. Knohl ’60

Barbara Alexander Leder ’60

Theodore 鈥淭ed鈥� Malek ’60

Jane Kaner Reifler ’60

Rita Neufeld Rubinstein ’60

Arlene Kipperman Wolk ’60

William M. Yellin ’60

Michael L. Alaimo ’61

Edmund T. Austin ’61

Bart (Bartholomew) Balsino ’61

Naomi Maizel Berne ’61

Deanne Wolferman Bernstein ’61

David E. Bishop ’61

Stephen B. Blackwell ’61

Steven J. Braunstein ’61

Brenda Cooperman Cohen ’61

Barbara Lubitz Finkelstein ’61

Carlos Isaac Goldberg ’61

Merle Ehrenrich Harris ’61

Theodora Kern ’61

Joseph C. Lentini ’61

Joseph A. Magri ’61

Elizabeth McCann McCarthy ’61

Roslyn Rosinsky Rosenblum ’61

Susan Menkes Sassower ’61

Marilyn Brown Adamo ’62

Joseph S. Brownman ’62

Edith Romantz Charet ’62

Frank L. Delman ’62

Jon M. Elkow ’62

Marvyn B. Garber ’62

Joel Katz ’62

Jane Rosenberg Malakoff ’62

Iris Abrams Fox Mitchell ’62

Sylvia Eisenstadt Pafenyk ’62

Bonnie Theodore Sontupe ’62

Albert I. Spielman ’62

Eleanor Rosen Broner ’63

Gerald (Jerry) DePace ’63

1. Bruce Donoff ’63

Theodore 鈥淭ed鈥� Edelson ’63

Eileen Signal Heckerling ’63

Diane Costello Lenahan ’63

William O. McCabe ’63

Neal J. Morse ’63

Martin Obler ’63

Sheila Kanowitz Rabinowitz ’63

Beverly Stein Sanders ’63

Kenneth S. Sherrill ’63

Barbara Drillings Tisch ’63

Eileen Wilk Wasserstein Walsh ’63

George I. Balch ’64

Cilia Lidzki Borenstein-Gamm ’64

John P. Devlin ’64

George S. Hamada ’64

Antoinette 鈥楾oni鈥� Parsons Lamb ’64

Bruce Ogin ’64

Jerold (Jerry) Oshinsky ’64

Natalie Resnick Sillen ’64

Maria Macca Rizzi ’64

Ronald M. Weiner ’64

William J. Buchbaum 鈥�65

Linda Silverstein Gordon ’65

Sherry Kaplan Gordon ’65

Judith D. Guttsman ’65

Lois (Libby) Hovitz Harris ’65

Sandra Cutler Sherry Pilatsky ’65

Helene C. Rohan ’65

Linda Vogel Segal ’65

Daniel S. Williams ’65

Laurence R. Aronson ’66

Marilyn Milstein Blier ’66

Diana Rogovin Davidow ’66

Margie Rudisel Harper ’66

Rochelle Rosenberg Lipton ’66

Elaine Perlman Paris ’66

Barbara A. Puzanskas ’66

Ellen Arkin Runde ’66

Rosalie Scaglione Alfieri ’67

Gary S. Basek ’67

Sydelle Beiner ’67

Carole J. Brand ’67

Gary I. Green ’67

Susan Hecker Kostick ’67

Leonard S. Lopate ’67

Kathryn Kiernan O’Malley ’67

Robert P. Rifkin ’67

Martin P. Slyman ’67

Steven R. Swerdlick ’67

Lloyd D. Watnik ’67

Menashe (Manasse) Winkler ’67

Herbert M. Cohen ’68

Ronald B. Goodman ’68

Gideon (Karlovsky) Kay ’68

Shalom Kornblum ’68

David I. Korngut ’68

Keith W. Mahoney ’68

Rita Monaghan Maloney ’68

Stanley J. Pinkwas ’68

Larry Rapaport ’68

William Shapiro ’68

Eric H. Shonz ’68

William (Bill) J. Sproule ’68

Sandra Butka Carle ’69

Edward J. Ellien ’69

Agnes Ford ’69

Ann Darragh Liscinsky ’69

Stewart B. Lyons ’69

Abraham J. Mensch ’69

David G. Ross ’69

Stuart M. Rothman ’69

Barbara J. Silver ’69

Sheldon Snyder ’69

Anne Kutner Teicher ’69

Ronald H. Weiner ’69

1970鈥�1979

Miriam K. Altman ’70

Bradley N. Bartel ’70

Mary Goyena Payne ’70

Norma Edelman (Penchansky) Penn ’70

David Y. Schonbrun ’70

Arlene Blavatnik Sevrinsky ’70

Rhoda A. Baker ’71

Seamus N. Black ’71

Susan Cohen Gaynor ’71

Arthur J. Goyena ’71

Howard S. Platzman ’71

Norman J. Axelrod ’72

Paul E. Bhaerman ’72

Mona Reich MacPhail ’72

Ruth Margules Orland ’72

Karen Silverman Thurston ’72

Anita Karkenny Bain ’73

Rhoda Bergman Reece Goldstein ’73

Adrian Poholsky Gottlieb Goodson ’73

Eileen G. Horn ’73

Eleanor Owen Lee ’73

Barton M. Nassberg ’73

Gerald I. Rothman ’73

Larry S. Wolfson ’73

Irving Adams ’74

Mary Angarano Brown ’74

Winifred I. Critchlow ’74

Sandra L. Curtis ’74

Jean Mantone Fochetta ’74

Ellen Gurzinsky ’74

Gwen Stevens Nelson ’74

Isaac Rothman ’74

Rose Goyena Van Tol ’74

Roberta E. Willard ’74

Joanne Aquilino Ziegelbaum ’74

Joan Zammit Gordon ’75

William E. Hall ’75

Henry P. Kelly ’75

Carol Standerwick ’75

Edmund G. Steinberger ’75

Ingeborg E. Utech ’75

Steven M. Adams ’76

Manfred A. Antoine ’76

Shari Zeeman Balasiano ’76

Marina Cajiao ’76

John S. Cartey ’76

Anna Chiofolo DeMay ’76

Thomas P. Devico ’76

Henry Dizenhaus ’76

Ellen Blau Eisman ’76

Virginia Cacciolo Ferrone ’76

Esther Reiter Balber Hoffman Goldberg ’76

Francine Winder Goldwasser ’76

Bruce N. Hadley ’76

Charles F. Ingulli ’76

Angela Wilson Lawton ’76

Bruce S. Mednick ’76

Clyde L. Meltzer ’76

Providence Antico Mitchell ’76

Lois V. Paulson ’76

Kenneth F. Peterson ’76

Charles J. Ragusa ’76

Ruben Rojas ’76

Sharon M. Rothstein ’76

Gerald A. Schneider ’76

Patricia Arcodia Sciranka ’76

Bradley E. Simmons ’76

Eleanor G. Sparaco ’76

Ira Stern ’76

Sally Tucker ’76

Debra A. Weiner ’76

Harriete Dorfman Birnbaum ’77

Reena Katz Fields ’77

John H. Johnston ’77

James A. McCue Jr. ’77

Julia M. Roache ’77

Shelley Stein ’77

James D. Werner ’77

Jeffrey E. Wolmetz ’77

Peter J. Alborano ’78

Linda Barash Beeber ’78

Jeffrey J. Blustein ’78

Mary E. Galenski ’78

Richard D. Grimolizzi ’78

Grace Hooper Akom-Ofori ’79

Daniel Feldman ’79

Phyllis Cummings James ’79

Anthony J. Ribaudo ’79

1980鈥�1989

David S. Cohen ’80

Anthony T. DoCampo ’80

Frances Naro Ficco ’80

Lydia Esson Sinclair ’80

Karen Weinstein Tenenbaum ’80

Marie R. Bayerle ’81

Margaret Jansen Guadagni ’81

Marvin R. Jacobson ’81

Joan Richens Morris ’81

Stephen J. Fox ’82

Rose Jacobson ’82

Maria Socorro Caquias ’83

Shelley Berman Freeman ’83

Felise S. Baruch ’84

Evelyn Filippi Bitz ’84

Ethel Fisch Goldberg ’84

Patricia Grimes Grant ’84

Mary Stillwell Kassebaum ’84

William J. Keane ’84

Thomas McCullough ’84

Joseph Poulin ’84

Howard E. Williams ’84

Lotess Priestley Cright ’85

Anthony A. Degenaro ’85

Lillian Campisi Mongiove ’85

Peter R. Naranjo ’85

Ada Hallem ’86

Robert J. Johnson ’86

Myra Rivadeneira Kirby ’86

Garret Kurtz ’86

Ruth Levin Cohen ’87

Sally Garrett ’87

Mary Garrett Simmen ’86

Reesha Smith Solot ’88

Matthew Cassidy ’89

Regina Hall Leonard ’89

Clifton A. McDonald ’89

Jonathan Nash ’89

After 1990

Edward Clarkson-Farrell ’91

Flora Iannarelli ’91

Katherine M. McKay ’91

Jeanne M. King ’92

Robert P. Napoli ’92

Fred L. Carnavon ’94

Ilya Golburt ’97

Omer Moussako ’97

Jay Joseph ’99

Karen Greenidge Ward ’99

Raphael J. Hall ’00

Gerard R. Vern ’00

Debbie Kemp ’04

Euphemia B. Lewis ’06

Nicholas R. Nelson ’10

Michael J. Balukas ’14

Previous Lists

If you know of alumni who have recently died, contact us at 718.951.5065 or submit this form.聽 Their names will be included in the next digital edition of the alumni magazine.

In Memoriam: April 2025鈥揘ovember 2025
In Memoriam: October 2024鈥揂pril 2025

The post In Memoriam appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

今日吃瓜
2900 Bedford Avenue
今日吃瓜, NY 11210-2889
BCMag@brooklyn.cuny.edu
www.brooklyn.edu
漏 2026 今日吃瓜

President
Michelle J. Anderson

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
April Bedford

Interim Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director, 今日吃瓜 Foundation
Ludovic Leroy

Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Catherine Freeland

Editor-in-Chief
Sue Landers

Contributing Writers
Elinore Longobardi
Audrey Peterson
Rich Pietras
Jamilah Simmons

Copyeditor
Stephen Garone 鈥�90

Design Director
Victor Sanabria

Graphic Design
Lisa Panazzolo

Photography
Salim Hasbini 鈥�11
David Rozenblyum 鈥�07
Craig Stokle

The post Masthead appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Recent news

If you have news you wish to share in a future edition of the alumni magazine, submit this form.

1956

Franklin Stein, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, recently published two books, Research in Occupational Therapy 7th edition (2025) and Occupational Therapy and Stress (2026), both from Taylor and Francis.

1959

As one of the Peace Corps鈥� earliest acolytes, Judith Guskin is celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Corps by raising money for The Peace Corps Park in Washington, D.C.

1962

Carol Zimmerman Brody鈥檚 artwork is featured in the March 2026 issue of The Art of Watercolor, which also includes an interview with the artist.

1963

Bertram Gordon shares that war tourism remains one of the fastest鈥慻rowing areas of the tourism industry, a topic explored in his forthcoming Routledge book Tourism and War: Their Links through History, which traces connections from ancient visitors to Troy to today鈥檚 online spectators of what has been called the world鈥檚 first 鈥淭ikTok War.鈥� He also continues his work on the history of chocolate and delivered his talk 鈥淰alentines and Chocolate: Their Connections Through History鈥� at the Contra Costa County Library in Orinda, California, on February 14, 2026. His earlier research on chocolate appeared in Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage (Wiley, 2009).

Michael Lowenberg and his wife, Julie, recently celebrated their 60th anniversary and marked their 45th year as Texas Rangers season鈥憈icket holders. A retired attorney who still occasionally serves as an arbitrator, he and Julie鈥攚ho met in law school鈥攈ave lived in Dallas since 1966, remain active in community nonprofits, and continue their efforts to turn Texas 鈥渂lue.鈥� They enjoy visits with their three children, now in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, and seven grandchildren鈥攁nd keep several 今日吃瓜 T鈥憇hirts and a 今日吃瓜 Dodgers cap close at hand.

Melvin H. Nutig has self鈥憄ublished a memoir, Code Blues: A Surgeon鈥檚 Journey With Depression, available on Amazon in hardback and paperback. The book recounts his childhood in Coney Island, his years at 今日吃瓜, medical school in Bologna, and his career as an orthopedic surgeon in Beverly Hills, alongside his long struggle with depression, which he ultimately overcame through talk therapy and medication. He hopes the story will inspire 今日吃瓜 students who face similar challenges.

1964

Stephen Lewis鈥檚 novel From Infamy to Hope has been selected as one of the Best Indie Books and will be featured in the April edition of Kirkus.

1965

Charles Randolph founded the largest mobile dental and health company in the country, serving poor and rural communities in New York and many other states at the request of Governor Pataki. The organization has provided this care for 21 years.

1966

Gregory Salamo retired on January 31, 2026, after 51 years as a Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Arkansas. He notes that his research and teaching awards were made possible by the exceptional faculty he studied with at 今日吃瓜 and extends his heartfelt thanks to them.

1967

Alan Pearlmutter, DMA, teaches original music history courses at Bristol and Quinsigamond community colleges as well as world music for Fitchburg State University and jazz history for Quinsigamond. With his wife, clarinetist Linda Poland, he performs Nostalgia Songfests for senior communities in Massachusetts, and from 2011 to 2022 he conducted rarely known repertoire for Kammerwerke, a professional double wind quintet.

1969

Ernestine 鈥淭ina鈥� Volpe earned an M.A. in education after completing her B.A. from New Paltz in 1964 and taught at Glen Head Elementary School until 1969 before taking maternity leave. She later returned to the New York City school system, became assistant鈥憈o鈥憄rincipal at P.S. 172K, and eventually served as principal of P.S. 295. She is now retired in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Martin Eisenberg recently exhibited his watercolor paintings at his local Jewish community center.

1972

In 2025, Arnold Saltzman received second place in the American Prize for a professional composer of a major choral work for A Choral Symphony: Halevi and also earned the Thomas Putsche Prize for his opera Geniza: Hidden Fragments. His choral symphony had its European premiere at the Alba Music Festival and its North American premiere with the American University Orchestra and Chorus.

Gary Shulman, M.S.Ed., spent his career supporting vulnerable families and children, beginning in an inclusive Head Start program in 今日吃瓜 and later serving as special needs and early childhood coordinator at the 今日吃瓜 Children鈥檚 Museum. He spent 24 years as social services and training director for Resources for Children with Special Needs, then worked as a private special鈥憂eeds consultant conducting hundreds of trainings. Now retired in Arlington, Virginia, he continues to support families as an advisory commissioner and shares his poetry with the aim of making the world better 鈥渙ne word at a time.鈥�

1973

William Trimarco, performing as Bill Turner, has built a lifelong career as a full-time musician since founding his band Blue Smoke after graduation鈥攁 group that remains active today. In 2025 alone, he completed his 12th through 14th European tours, adding to more than 12,000 performances worldwide.

1974

Edith Berry, founder of The Berry Professional Services, was invited by Amazing Grace Etiquette to serve as an empowerment speaker for parents at the Marriott Raleigh Hotel. In 2025 she earned a doctorate in education from Fayetteville State University, was inducted into Phi Lambda Theta, and continues to advocate for educational empowerment.

1975

Beth Anna MoonRay Ferguson聽published her first book,聽Shhhhhhh, in 2024, reflecting on personal trauma and encouraging healing through forgiveness. An intercultural choreographer, she has worked in the mental health field for 19 years with Transitional Services for New York, using dance to support individuals in recovery. While at 今日吃瓜, she participated in Royal Shakespeare Company workshops and received private lessons from the late Cicely Berry. Now 74 and still dancing, she is launching a venture to bring dance back into city schools. Her next book will be titled Since I鈥檓 Shrinking, Why Can鈥檛 I Find My Toes!?

1976

Rosa Linda (Rosie) Guadarrama received her D.M. from Claremont School of Theology in 2016 with a 4.3 average and an award from By Faith Magazine.

Andrew Kass announces the release of his Civil War spy thriller A Woman of Agency, published by Holand Press.

1978

James Crescitelli has launched a small publishing company and released Around the Corner and Up the Block, an autobiographical fiction collection of 14 stories set in 1960s Bay Ridge, now available on Amazon. He continues to work full time at a historical society in Winter Garden, Florida, and lives in nearby Winter Park.

1979

Madlyn Epstein Steinhart, ’79, ’81 M.S., has published her fourth book, a memoir titled Found at Last, which explores discovering previously unknown family and a sense of belonging.

Allison B. Reiss, M.D., a board鈥慶ertified physician and molecular biologist, studies Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and other dementias and serves as head of the Inflammation Laboratory and associate professor of medicine at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine. She has published widely, appears regularly in media as a field expert, and remains dedicated to improving health care for older adults.

1982

Paul J. Richman, Chief Government and Political Affairs Officer at the Insured Retirement Institute, was named to Washingtonian鈥檚 2026 鈥�500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy鈥� list for the fifth consecutive year. He was recognized for advocating for workers and retirees and for leading efforts behind the SECURE Act (2019) and SECURE 2.0 Act (2022), landmark retirement security laws.

Joshua A. Sky, M.A., SPHR, SHRM鈥慡CP, recently earned the IAC Masteries鈥慞ractitioner credential, adding to his HRCI and SHRM certifications. President of The Sky鈥檚 The Limit Consulting, Inc. since 1999, he provides training, facilitation, and coaching across sectors nationwide and globally, following an 11鈥憏ear teaching career in 今日吃瓜.

1991

Loraine Alderman recently published her fourth book, Breast Cancer: Guidance, Advice, & Personal Journeys.聽After graduating from 今日吃瓜, she earned her doctorate in psychology from Pace University.

1995

Ellen Levitt鈥檚 seventh book, Former Synagogues of the United States, was published by Wipf & Stock in February 2026. In 2025 she contributed an essay to the anthology Manna Songs from ELJ Editions.

1998

Stephen Rutenberg has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the Miami office, where his work focuses on digital assets, blockchain technology, fintech, and special鈥憇ituations investing.

2000

Melissa Eleftherion Carr has two poetry collections forthcoming in 2026. Suture (Cooper Dillon) uses erasure and persona poems drawn from V.C. Andrews to explore trauma, women鈥檚 agency, and identity through fragmentation, while Malocchia (White Stag) is a narrative collection about lineage and the refusal to abandon the self.

2001

Christopher Grosso, M.F.A., serves as executive director of The Center for Loss and Bereavement, a nonprofit providing grief counseling, groups, and education to individuals and families in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, for more than 25 years.

2003

Rosario Cardenas credits 今日吃瓜 with preparing her to face life鈥檚 challenges as a single mother of four, earning both her bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees before becoming a licensed New York City teacher. She retired during COVID and continues to advocate passionately for 鈥渢he beacon of light鈥� that is 今日吃瓜.

2004

Vincent Cobb recently earned a Ph.D. in economics at Howard University and serves as a full-time economics lecturer at Morgan State University.

Danielle Silverman uses her degree in accounting and her master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology (2011) to support community mobilization initiatives in underrepresented New York neighborhoods.

2011

Malcolm Brewer will run the 2026 Boston Marathon as part of his quest to earn the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Medal, having already completed the New York, London, and Chicago marathons. He has spent over a decade in business leadership and now serves as owner/operator of a Chick鈥慺il鈥慉, employing more than 60 New Yorkers.

2012

Jordan E. Franklin, ’12, ’20 M.S.Ed., is the Spring 2026 Philip Roth Creative Writer-in-Residence at Bucknell University. Her second poetry collection, make it to the end (of the movie), was chosen by Evie Shockley for the 2025 Blessing the Boats Selection and will be published by BOA Editions Ltd. in Fall 2027.

Maria Vera has been reflecting on the way a lifetime of daily walking can add up to roughly five trips around the Earth and challenges her fellow alumni to think about how life鈥檚 journeys accumulate and how our actions shape outcomes.

2014

After earning degrees in psychology and Africana studies at 今日吃瓜, Taleisia Edwards Babatunde completed an M.S. in business management and leadership at CUNY SPS and recently transitioned into health care. She earned her B.S.N. from the Phillips School of Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in December and became licensed in New York in February, fulfilling her goal of providing direct care to her community.

2017

Rachel Lima earned an M.A. in Community Health Education and now manages chronic disease prevention programs as a senior leader at NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, applying her training to improve community health outcomes citywide.

2018

Aron Kontorovich has been named a Yamaha 40 Under 40 honoree, recognizing outstanding music educators under age 40. The award highlights his leadership, creativity, and impact in building and strengthening music education programs in his school community.

Nicole Palmer鈥檚 consulting and marketing firm, the Nicole Williams Collective, received a 2025 Global Recognition Award for excellence in service and mentoring within the entrepreneurial and small鈥慴usiness community, earning perfect scores across all evaluation categories.

2019

Lovette Aneke, who earned her master鈥檚 in early childhood special education in 2019, continues to work with young children with developmental and learning needs, focusing particularly on supporting communication and social skills for children with autism. She is especially interested in incorporating musical activities to enhance engagement and participation.

2021

Jonathan Dalloo was recognized by the MSI Business Leadership Council for leadership, strategic excellence, and continuous鈥慽mprovement advocacy. A 今日吃瓜 graduate student from 2020 to 2021, he earned CCSP庐 and DCSP庐 certifications, completed FEMA鈥檚 Professional Development Series in 2023, and has been active with the Kingsbridge Historical Society since 2025, along with completing multiple professional programs during the COVID鈥�19 pandemic. As an undergraduate (2016鈥�18), he received several scholarships and academic honors.

Share Your News

Use the Class Notes form to share your news in our next issue.

The post Class Notes appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Aleah N. Ranjitsingh

At 今日吃瓜, Assistant Professor Aleah N. Ranjitsingh, Department of Africana Studies and the Caribbean Studies Program, is reshaping how we think about knowledge, identity, and the Caribbean itself.

A proud alumna of the college who earned a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in comparative politics, Ranjitsingh centers her scholarship on the Greater Caribbean as an epistemological space鈥攐ne where Caribbean and other diverse populations are not merely subjects of study, but knowledge producers whose lived realities, family histories, and cultural practices are legitimate sites of inquiry. Across her inter- and multidisciplinary work, she challenges monolithic narratives of the Caribbean and foregrounds the complexity of identity formation, gender, mixedness, and racialization both 鈥渁t home鈥� and across the diaspora.

Through projects such as 鈥淏ecoming Black: Afro-Caribbean and/in 鈥楤lack America,鈥欌�� 鈥淒ougla Lives: At the Intersections,鈥� and 鈥淐hinese Caribbean Narratives: Migration, Identity, and Belonging at Home and Diaspora,鈥� she documents how Caribbean peoples navigate race, belonging, and migration in shifting social contexts.

Just as vital to her work is mentorship. Through programs including the Tow Mentorship Initiative and Mellon Mays, as well as sustained independent study, Ranjitsingh positions students as knowledge producers in their own right, encouraging them to claim their intellectual lineage and recognize that what they think, know, and create truly matters.

How does working across disciplines allow you to tell fuller stories?

I am a political scientist and a gender scholar, but more importantly I am a Caribbean scholar. Caribbean studies is inherently interdisciplinary, and here at 今日吃瓜, the Caribbean Studies Program, directed by Associate Professor Dale Byam, reflects this breadth鈥攆rom classes on the steelpan, to climate justice, to Carnival, and much more. My own research is shaped by this interdisciplinarity, and it has deeply informed the oral history projects I undertake.

Oral history is about the stories of those whose voices are often marginalized; it is about memory, and how the same moment can be remembered differently depending on one鈥檚 lived experience.

In my first oral history project, 鈥淏ecoming Black: Afro-Caribbean and/in 鈥楤lack America,鈥欌�� which centers Afro-Caribbean immigrants in New York City, I was interested in how Afro-Caribbean immigrants re/construct identity as Black and/or African American. I was also deeply interested in how these immigrants understood the 2020 moment when Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States and globally. Understanding how people experience a shared historical moment鈥攚hile also situating that moment within broader political histories鈥攔equired me to move across disciplines, drawing from political science, Africana studies, and history.

Before my third project, on Caribbean people of Chinese and mixed-Chinese ancestry, I was reading Caribbean literature and history whenever I could鈥擪erry Young鈥檚 Pao and the work of historian Walton Look Lai. Literature and history both inform my oral history practice because I am interested in how Caribbean people write themselves into being, and how meaning is made through narrative.

I also draw heavily from institutional and intellectual communities. Professor Joseph Entin and colleagues who founded the 今日吃瓜 Listening Project have been central in shaping oral history work at the college. Likewise, Dean Philip Napoli, an oral historian and faculty member in the Department of History, met with me when I was first simply curious about doing oral histories. These mentors helped me understand that students鈥� stories matter鈥攁nd that those stories are themselves knowledge.

Was there a moment when you realized lived experience could function as scholarship?

I do not think there was a single moment. Rather, over the last decade鈥攅specially after completing my Ph.D.鈥攖here was a gradual but clear shift in my research toward the personal and toward lived experience, including my own as a Black, Dougla, Caribbean woman in the Caribbean and New York City.

Even in my doctoral work on gender and the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela, I conducted more than 70 interviews with women in Caracas and M茅rida. I knew then that to understand whether participatory democracy and 21^st聽century socialism had expanded citizenship and political agency, I had to speak directly with women themselves. That commitment reflects feminist standpoint theory, which holds that knowledge is socially situated and produced from multiple social locations.

Later, in conversations with colleagues at the University of the West Indies鈥攑articularly within the Institute for Gender and Development Studies鈥攚e began reflecting on mixedness and Douglaness in Trinidad and the diaspora. These conversations affirmed that our stories were not just personal reflections; they were also scholarly interventions. The Dougla identity鈥擟aribbean people of African and Indian ancestry鈥攂ecame a central site of inquiry.

From those discussions, Sue Ann Barratt and I co-authored Dougla in the Twenty-First Century: Adding to the Mix (2021), based on interviews with more than 100 Douglas in Trinidad and Tobago and in New York. The project foregrounded lived experience as theory, showing how people narrate identity, race, and belonging in their own words.

From there, my work has continued to move in that direction: treating lived experience not as anecdote, but as method, archive, and scholarship.

How is mentorship part of your scholarship?

For students to believe that what they think, know, and create matters, I first had to believe that for myself. When I tell students to 鈥渉ave the audacity,鈥� I am also reminding myself.

Mentorship, for me, is a form of radical care. It is about telling and showing students that their intellectual lives are valid鈥攅ven when their projects do not fit neatly within disciplinary boundaries.

I think of students like Cynthia Leung, Katryna Alexis, Marisha Sampson, Maciel Rosario, and Brandon Abram, each of whom developed projects that emerged from their own lived realities: oral histories of church communities, Afro-Guyanese Kwe Kwe traditions, interrogating the displacement caused by foreign-owned mining companies in the Dominican Republic, explorations of mixedness and Black radical thought. In each case, my role was not to define the limits of their work, but to affirm that their questions were worth pursuing.

With Brandon Abram, for example, we developed a project that began with his desire to write about himself in relation to Blackness and identity. I introduced him to autoethnography as a method, and we read Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde together. What began as uncertainty became a conference presentation and is now developing into a published duoethnography.

This is what mentorship looks like in practice: shared intellectual risk, collaborative reading, and mutual learning. Students are not simply recipients of knowledge鈥攖hey are co-producers of it.

This philosophy is reflected institutionally as well. At 今日吃瓜, I serve as chair of Black Faculty and Staff (BFS), where we launched the Sankofa Excellence Program to support student mentorship, recognition, and retention. Alongside the members of the executive board, which is composed of Assistant Professor Lawrence Johnson, Crystal Schloss-Allen, Sherome Stone, Assistant Professor Donna-Lee Granville, and the BFS community, we also continue traditions like the Donning of the Kente pre-graduation ceremony, which celebrates students as they approach graduation. I am also grateful for incredible faculty mentors such as my chair, Associate Professor Prudence Cumberbatch of the Africana Studies Department.

Mentorship is not separate from scholarship. It is scholarship鈥攂ecause it produces knowledge, relationships, and intellectual communities.

What do you hope students carry with them?

Long after students leave my classroom, I want them to remember that their lives are connected to broader histories and communities.

I want them to see critical thinking not as an abstract skill, but as a daily practice: questioning assumptions, reading widely, and reflecting honestly on their own experiences.

I hope they continue to 鈥渉ave the audacity鈥� to take up space, to dream, and to speak鈥攅ven when they are the only ones in the room with their particular voice, accent, or perspective.

In a world that is often unjust and uneven, I hope they choose kindness without losing intellectual rigor. Most of all, I hope they trust that their stories matter.

And I hope they remember 今日吃瓜鈥攏ot only as an institution, but as a place where they were supported, challenged, and cared for; a place where they belonged.

The post Stories as Scholarship appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Trina Yearwood 鈥�00

On a spring afternoon in the 今日吃瓜 Student Center, Trina Yearwood 鈥�00 stood at the back of a crowded room, watching middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students lean forward in their seats at the first鈥慹ver Future Educators Summit鈥攁n event devoted to imagining lives, education, mentoring, and youth advocacy. As the room buzzed with questions, Yearwood felt a lump in her throat.

鈥淭hose were tears of joy,鈥� she said later. 鈥淚 think about our young people who are often counted out before they even have an opportunity. It makes me happy that I鈥檓 doing something meaningful.鈥�

That sense of meaning has always been her compass. Now, as the newly appointed president of the 今日吃瓜 Alumni Association (BCAA), Yearwood is bringing that same purpose to an organization charged with sustaining the college community long after graduation.

Yearwood assumes the presidency following the passing of Arlene Lichterman 鈥�53, whose devotion helped shape the association for decades. Having served as first vice president, Yearwood steps into her new role with a deep understanding of the BCAA鈥檚 mission and a clear vision for its future.

Her platform is simple and resonant: 今日吃瓜, Always.

鈥淚t echoes the college鈥檚 watchwords: All In,鈥� Yearwood explains. 鈥淭he BCAA also embraces 今日吃瓜鈥檚 spirit鈥攈ow all alumni carry its values into their workplaces, their leadership, and how they show up for our communities and our students.鈥�

Where Purpose Took Root

That spirit shaped Yearwood long before she held any titles. Growing up in 今日吃瓜, she learned early what it meant to advocate. At five years old, she watched police officers pull over her mother鈥檚 car and wrongly accuse her of running a stop sign. With guns drawn.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to court to tell the judge you鈥檙e lying on my mom,鈥� Yearwood announced, before her grandmother silenced her. It became family lore that she might become a lawyer.

High school rewrote that plan. A young Black English teacher changed her life by teaching 鈥渢o our humanity,鈥� says Yearwood, introducing Black authors, demanding excellence, and making students feel deeply cared for. By the end of the year, Yearwood knew she wanted to teach.

今日吃瓜 was not her first choice; her teenage wish was to leave home for a far鈥憃ff campus. But teachers鈥攎any 今日吃瓜 alumni鈥攅ncouraged her to consider its education program. Her mother, also an alumna, added a practical note: staying local meant tuition would be covered.

Even so, the transition was not easy. Early in her college career, one professor dismissed her writing as 鈥済ibberish,鈥� shaking her confidence. Everything changed when she found her way to Africana studies.

鈥淎fricana studies resuscitated me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t gave me back belief in myself.鈥�

In the Classroom, Full Circle

Yearwood graduated with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in English and Africana studies, then returned to Samuel J. Tilden High School鈥攈er alma mater鈥攁s an English teacher, working alongside the mentor who had inspired her.

鈥淭eaching is the most noble and sacred profession,鈥� Yearwood often says. 鈥淲hen students know you care, they rise.鈥�

Her students never forgot the care she showed them. Years later, many returned to tell her so. At one 今日吃瓜 event she organized, a former student opened the keynote by saying, 鈥淒r. Yearwood, my success is a return on your investment.鈥� Another went on to become a teacher, crediting Yearwood鈥檚 belief in her with altering the course of her life.

Answering a Need

Yearwood鈥檚 career eventually expanded beyond the classroom into higher education leadership. She earned an M.Ed. from Cambridge College in Boston, an Ed.D. in educational leadership and higher education administration from West Virginia University, and a certificate in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University. She directed the Teacher Opportunity Corps II at 今日吃瓜, served as associate dean at Long Island University and interim associate dean at Queens College (CUNY), and has been an adjunct assistant professor at 今日吃瓜 since 2011.

Along the way, Yearwood noticed a troubling pattern: talented educators leaving the profession. In response, she founded TREAT鈥擳eachers Ready to Educate, Advocate, and Transform鈥攊n 2018. What began as a small professional learning community grew to reach more than 12,000 teachers, counselors, administrators, and families. During the pandemic, TREAT became a lifeline, offering mental鈥慼ealth workshops and honest conversation. In 2024, Yearwood went on to lead TREAT full time.

鈥淪tepping away from academic leadership was scary,鈥� she admits. 鈥淏ut I knew it was time to fully step into the work that I had been building, work that is both meaningful and transformative.鈥�

Leading the Alumni Community Forward

She brings the same resolve to her leadership of the BCAA, with a vision to connect alumni to one another and to the college through mentorship and other strategic programming.

For Yearwood, becoming president of the BCAA is not a culmination鈥攊t is a continuation.

鈥溄袢粘怨�, Always,鈥� she says, 鈥渋s about who we are and who we commit to being鈥攖ogether.鈥�

The post 今日吃瓜, Always. appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Data analytics students

By fall 2023, about one-quarter of all students鈥攁nd a significantly higher share of graduate students鈥攚ere studying fully online. In response, colleges and universities are redesigning degree offerings with adult learners in mind, expanding fully online master鈥檚 programs, hybrid course models, accelerated and stackable credentials, and year鈥憆ound scheduling that better fits work and family responsibilities.

For 今日吃瓜鈥檚 graduate students, college is not a beginning, it鈥檚 a return.

Students arrive with r茅sum茅s, responsibilities, and a clear-eyed sense of urgency. They want education that respects their time and opens the door to meaningful work. To meet those realities, we have created a variety of flexible pathways that help adult learners reinvent their careers without putting the rest of their lives on hold.

Across business, education, journalism, and urban sustainability, the college has rolled out and expanded programs that can often be completed in a year, taken online or in the evenings, and closely align with workforce demand. Together, they reflect a strategic shift rooted in 今日吃瓜鈥檚 long-standing mission of access and rigor, updated for a world of nonlinear careers.

Credentials Built for Working Lives

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing students who already have careers, or who started one path and realized it wasn鈥檛 right,鈥� says Professor Seungho Baek, who directs the M.S. in Finance program. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to start from zero. They want something efficient, rigorous, and directly connected to opportunity.鈥�

That thinking drives the M.S. in Finance, which can be completed in as little as one year and is offered both online and face鈥憈o鈥慺ace. Students choose between specializations in quantitative finance and risk management or investment management and asset valuation. The program鈥檚 in鈥憄erson courses are held at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, a deliberate decision intended to bring working professionals and industry experts into the classroom.

鈥淲e wanted to make it easy for people who are already working in the financial sector to participate,鈥� Baek says.

Professor Seungho Baek leads the new finance master’s programs at 今日吃瓜.

Industry professionals teach select courses, grounding theory in real鈥憌orld practice. Beginning next fall, eligible undergraduates will also be able to opt into a 4+1 pathway in finance, earning both bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in five years by taking graduate鈥憀evel coursework during their senior year.

The business school has applied the same model to accounting, launching a fully online M.S. in Accounting that can also be completed in a year, an especially appealing option for professionals seeking a credential with clear licensure and career outcomes.

Meeting a Citywide Need, One Teacher at a Time

In education, many graduate students are working professionals for whom flexibility can be the difference between persistence and attrition.

According to Mar铆a R. Scharr贸n-del R铆o, dean of the School of Education, 今日吃瓜鈥檚 approach has been shaped by both student realities and the urgency of citywide need.

鈥淣ew York City Public Schools is facing a massive staffing challenge,鈥� she says, pointing to that will significantly reduce class sizes by 2028. 鈥淭hat means thousands of additional teachers will be needed, far more than the current pipeline can provide.鈥�

今日吃瓜 has long partnered with the city through Teaching Fellows programs, but in recent years those pathways have expanded and evolved. New alternative鈥慶ertification initiatives, including , are designed to help paraprofessionals and substitute teachers鈥攎any already working in classrooms鈥攂ecome certified teachers of record while completing their degrees.

鈥淭hese are adult learners who know exactly what they鈥檙e getting into,鈥� says Roberto Mart铆nez, who oversees the Teaching Fellows and Ed Prep programs. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e already in schools. They鈥檙e parents. They鈥檙e career鈥慶hangers looking for stability and meaning.鈥�

A key factor in 今日吃瓜鈥檚 success, Scharr贸n-del R铆o notes, is modality. 今日吃瓜 was the only CUNY campus to offer its Ed Prep programs fully online (with required in鈥憄erson fieldwork), a distinction that quickly translated into demand.

鈥淏y word of mouth and because of the quality of our programs,鈥� she says, 鈥渨e received more applications than all the other CUNY campuses combined.鈥�

The School of Education has also launched a new online advanced certificate program in reading science, designed to be completed in a year. The program responds to growing demand for teachers trained in evidence鈥慴ased literacy instruction, particularly in early grades鈥攁nother area of acute need.

Katie Pace Miles, director of the Reading Science program, which addresses the growing demand for teachers trained in evidence鈥慴ased literacy instruction.

The Fast Track to a Master鈥檚

Beyond education and business, 今日吃瓜 has expanded accelerated options in fields tied to civic life.

A 4+1 in journalism allows students to earn a master鈥檚 degree in one additional year, while a newly launched 4+1 partnership in city planning with Baruch College creates a streamlined pathway for 今日吃瓜 urban sustainability majors to earn a master鈥檚 in city planning.

鈥淎 lot of our students are returning students,鈥� says Professor Tammy Lewis, who heads the urban sustainability program. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e here because this work matters to them. The master鈥檚 degree opens up more opportunity.鈥�

Tammy Lewis shown here with students participating in the Tow Mentorship Initiative.

While each program is distinct, the common thread is intentional design: online delivery where possible, evening schedules, accelerated timelines, and curricula shaped in conversation with employers and communities.

Taken together, these programs signal an evolution in how 今日吃瓜 understands its role鈥攏ot just as a place of first chances, but of second and third ones, too.

鈥淧eople are reinventing themselves multiple times now,鈥� Mart铆nez says. 鈥溄袢粘怨� has always made that possible. We鈥檙e just building clearer, more flexible routes to get there.鈥�

The post Reinventing What鈥檚 Next appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Jolie Tong

At the center of Jolie Tong鈥檚 current research lies the guiding question: How can directors build community and support the agency of collaborators so they may realize their highest artistic potential?

Influenced by scholar Amanda Rose Villarreal, the theater professor’s work explores the principles of consent鈥慴ased practice鈥攁n approach that weaves the concept of consent into every layer of artistic creation.

She explains that 鈥渢he cornerstones of consent-based practice are recognizing and dismantling power dynamics, open communication, informed choice, and setting and respecting boundaries.鈥� These principles offer a framework that challenges traditional hierarchical rehearsal norms and encourages shared ownership among collaborators.

Jolie Tong working with a student during rehearsals. Photo credit: Isidora聽Farias

Tong鈥檚 interest in this methodology emerged during her training in intimacy direction with Theatrical Intimacy Education, an organization that specializes in 鈥渞esearching, developing, and teaching best practices for staging and filming intimacy.鈥�

The experience was a turning point.

鈥淚 realized that a lot of the core concepts and skills they were teaching could be applied not just to intimacy directing, but to directing theater in general,鈥� Tong recalls. This realization marked the beginning of a broader shift in her artistic practice.

Students perform in Wolf Play.

That shift became especially meaningful earlier this year as she prepared to direct聽Wolf Play聽at 今日吃瓜. The production offered 鈥渢he perfect opportunity to take what I was learning and apply it to the practice of directing.鈥�

Written by South Korean playwright Hansol Jung, Wolf Play follows a Korean child adopted by a queer couple through an online 鈥渞e-homing鈥� forum from his adoptive parents. Through the process of adapting to his unfamiliar environment, the young boy unwittingly brings about issues of identity, societal expectations, and familial norms that both families must grapple with.

Drawn in by the play鈥檚 鈥渟cope of the imagination鈥� when she first saw it at Soho Rep, Tong found a powerful alignment between the story鈥檚 exploration of self鈥慸etermination and her own interest in agency鈥慶entered rehearsal practices.

In Tong鈥檚 rehearsal room, this alignment took on a new form. She describes the space as a laboratory in which 鈥渢he students that I work with are active collaborators in the research. They engage with the skills and principles I am experimenting with, alongside me. I can鈥檛 do the work that I do without them.鈥� This collaborative ethos shaped the entire creative process, inviting students not just to perform but to participate.

Student actor Josabeth Simisterra 鈥�25 performing in Wolf Play.

One such collaborator was actor Josabeth Simisterra 鈥�25, who portrayed Ash in the production and was among the first students to work with Tong as she introduced these practices. 鈥�Wolf Play was one of the most challenging and rewarding productions I鈥檝e ever worked on,鈥� Simisterra reflects.

Simisterra describes feeling, for the first time, a true freedom to explore her artistry鈥攁n experience she attributes directly to Tong鈥檚 consent鈥慴ased approach. 鈥淚 loved the elimination of hierarchy. Every actor, stagehand, designer was on equal footing, and it created an environment that felt very communal. It wasn鈥檛 just Jolie鈥檚 show and we were helping; it was our show that we were building together.鈥�

For Tong, this kind of transformation is exactly the point. By centering consent not as a limitation but as a catalyst, she aims to cultivate rehearsal rooms where collaboration feels both empowered and ethical. Ultimately, she hopes students who engage in this work will carry its principles with them鈥攊nto future productions, artistic endeavors, and creative communities.

The post Directing With Consent appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

This year’s capstone class on a field trip to Bushwick Inlet.

Water defines New York City, this place of 鈥渉urried and sparkling waters,鈥� the city 鈥渘ested in bays.鈥� These words are Walt Whitman鈥檚, from his poem 鈥淢annahatta鈥濃�攖he original Lenape word for what we now call the island of Manhattan.

Knowing the landscape of Mannahatta, that is, New York City before European contact, is crucial to understanding present-day rivers, creeks, streams, bays, ponds, and inlets: Water carves its stubborn paths to (and from) the sea on its own terms, not ours.

This is one of the lessons graduate students learn in a new master鈥檚 capstone course developed and co-taught by Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Jennifer Cherrier.

Jennifer Cherrier

Instead of writing a thesis, students in the new, professional M.S. specialization in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences undertake a yearlong group capstone project. With Cherrier as lead instructor, they assist the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in developing a plan for watershed-scale storm resiliency. Informed by both historical and present-day data, they focus on the implementation of nature-based solutions. This year, they applied the planning process developed by last year鈥檚 inaugural capstone cohort to a specific place: the Bushwick Inlet Basin, along the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront.

Looking at that specific coastal location in the context of its larger watershed, and incorporating the use of nature-based solutions in their final site plan, these students are doing the kind of holistic work that is the future of resiliency planning in New York City鈥攁nd an example of the kind of work 今日吃瓜 helps to spearhead locally and regionally with the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRIJB), where Cherrier is associate director for integrated water research.

How the Water Used to Flow

But let鈥檚 go back to the beginning.

McCarren Park was a salt marsh. Nearby, North 14^th and 15^th streets between Nassau and Wythe鈥攚here you can now buy a motorcycle or go to a climbing gym鈥攚as open water on the marsh鈥檚 edge. Where bowlers now spill out of lanes on North 12^th Street, between Wythe and Berry, intertidal mudflats would have been submerged at high tide.

鈥淲e need to understand how the water used to flow,鈥� says Cherrier.

Using historical data from renowned ecologist Eric Sanderson鈥檚 and his book Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, students learned how 鈥渨ater tends to follow its original pathways,鈥� says Fiona Crisp, a master鈥檚 student in earth and environmental sciences who is in this year鈥檚 capstone class. This knowledge, she says, 鈥渁llows us to work with nature to develop more creative and resilient stormwater management strategies.鈥�

Combine that historical data with current information鈥攖he class employs state-of-the-art software like Scalgo, which 鈥渦ses satellite data to show where water is going to flow,鈥� says current master鈥檚 and capstone student Kevin Garcia鈥攁nd a more complete picture about flood-prone areas begins to emerge.

Thinking Bigger

Crucially, the class has been studying urban climate resiliency at what is called the watershed scale: In the case of the Bushwick Inlet Basin project, that means looking at a鈥攎anageable鈥攕ub-watershed of the larger Newtown Creek watershed in which the basin is located.

Watershed-scale research, says Cherrier, involves tracking the water along a flow path: either starting from a rain event at the highest elevation and continuing on through the landscape all the way down to the lower-elevation coastline (as in Hurricane Ida) or vice versa鈥攚hen a storm surge pushes water inland from the coast (as in Superstorm Sandy).

鈥淭aking a watershed view of the area has changed how I think about local issues by emphasizing the fact that everything is connected,鈥� says Crisp. 鈥淟ocalized flooding isn鈥檛 isolated. It is shaped by the surrounding environment and watershed as a whole.鈥� As a result, 鈥渟olutions cannot be piecemeal.鈥�

Cherrier describes the complexity of these solutions, which must address how 鈥渢o keep people safe, to keep the water clean, to enhance ecological restoration鈥nd also to provide waterfront access鈥攁nd to do this all within the lens of keeping in mind what the communities need, because the solutions are really specific鈥� to particular places.

Thus, environmental science links with the social sciences and more, requiring the study of demographics, transportation infrastructure, parks, zoning, regulatory frameworks, etc. All this, says Garcia, is part of watershed-scale planning in the capstone class: 鈥淭here are so many components that we take into account.鈥�

Developing the Process

Last year鈥檚 class 鈥渃ame up with a process鈥� for this kind of research and analysis, says Cherrier. This year鈥檚 students applied that process to the Bushwick Inlet Basin.

Co-taught by Cherrier and Simon Kates, senior project manager for planning and climate adaptation at Copenhagen-based architecture and engineering firm Ramboll (which has offices in midtown Manhattan), the course requires the group to work together as a team鈥攚hich they will need to do as professionals鈥攁nd it helps students develop real-world connections. The DEP is the client for the finished work.

Collaborating with the DEP is a key part of the class.

Cherrier, who was a 今日吃瓜 lead on the NYC Stormwater Resiliency Study, which served to inform the NYC Stormwater Resiliency Plan and whose research group has developed eco-WEIR technology to capture and treat polluted stormwater, feels strongly about ensuring that academic research鈥攊ncluding rigorous student research鈥攇ets out into the world where it can be useful. This is one of the many ways in which the class aligns with the priorities of the SRIJB, which offers students internship and research opportunities and maintains long-running and crucial collaborations with city and state agencies, industry partners, and nonprofits鈥攆or projects like , which has achieved an international reach.

Looking to expand these already strong connections, Cherrier came up with a 鈥減itch鈥� to city government: 鈥淲e train your future workforce,鈥� it began. Then: These students do research鈥攙ia theses, dissertations, and capstone projects鈥攕o 鈥渨hat if we designed these projects in collaboration with you to ensure they align with your research needs; or in the case of the capstone, with you as a client where we could continue to build on this work so that it could be iterative year after year?鈥�

Real-World Impact

Capstone students Grace Damiano, Kevin Garcia, and Fiona Crisp

The class is structured like a professional project: Students generate a scope of work based on the needs of the client, then develop and follow a schedule to produce deliverables.

This is hugely important training for 今日吃瓜 students, says Cherrier, noting that 鈥渢he city and Ramboll have been super impressed with our students and really love the fact that they鈥檙e so multidisciplinary.鈥� Furthermore, the class 鈥渙utputs are actually being used by the DEP,鈥� she says, making the project a 鈥渨in-win for students鈥nd also for the DEP.鈥�

And students are thrilled with the experience.

鈥淣ot only did we learn academic concepts, but we also applied them,鈥� says Crisp. 鈥淲orking directly with professionals made the experience more tangible and showed how our work can have a real-world impact.鈥�

Grace Damiano, who is an earth and environmental sciences Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center and an SRIJB fellow, participated in the inaugural capstone class in 2024鈥�25. That class began by gathering information: conducting a literature review to compile research on watershed-scale planning. Next, Damiano recalled her group producing and sending to the DEP two 鈥渕assive slide decks鈥濃�攐ne of these outlined a process for watershed-scale planning in New York City and the other applied that process to the Gowanus Canal watershed (to demonstrate how such an application might work). Damiano appreciated the variety of professionals the class had contact with, both at the DEP and beyond.

Among the professional opportunities this year was participation in a coupled two-day walking tour and workshop event on March 26鈥�27 in honor of World Water Day, hosted by the SRIJB in collaboration with the DEP and co-facilitated with Ramboll. The event, organized by Cherrier with the support of SRIJB Executive Director Brett Branco, aimed to promote dialogue on urban watershed management with leads from several city agencies and鈥攊n a crossover with the class鈥攆ocused on a watershed-scale plan for the Bushwick Inlet Basin, with the ultimate goal of getting critical input to help advance urban watershed planning and action in New York City.

Prepared by their research, the capstone class was able to fully engage in conversations with representatives of government agencies, industry partners, and nonprofits who are at the forefront of tackling these water-management issues. From a professional standpoint, that kind of contact 鈥渋s very, very nice for any student who鈥檚 in a master鈥檚 program,鈥� Damiano says, 鈥渆specially someone who鈥檚 finishing up their capstone. It鈥檚 an important networking opportunity.鈥�

It was also an opportunity to be a part of the solution.

Issues surrounding storm resiliency and flood-risk management present complex problems鈥攐nes 今日吃瓜 students, both now and in their future careers, will be tasked with solving. Thanks to this kind of training, in which future scientists and civic leaders learn to think big to generate local solutions, they are prepared for the challenge.

The post What Water Remembers appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Michael Menser (second from left) with students from his environmental ethics class.

On a spring morning in 2025, students in 今日吃瓜鈥檚 Urban Sustainability Capstone course fanned out across campus with measuring tapes, field guides, and tablets in hand. Their assignment posed a deceptively simple question: How healthy are the trees on 今日吃瓜鈥檚 campus?

The answer, it turns out, is more than an inventory of trunks and canopies. What emerged was a living portrait of the campus itself鈥攊ts past, present, and future, captured through student research that bridges environmental science, campus history, and public service in the heart of New York City.

Partnering with the NYC Parks Foundation, Capstone students designed and carried out a comprehensive tree-mapping initiative, inventorying and digitally documenting the campus鈥檚 diverse urban forest. Along the way, they gained hands-on experience identifying tree species, assessing tree health, and using geographic information systems (GIS) to collect and manage ecological data鈥攑ractical skills aligned with careers in urban planning, sustainability, and environmental science.

But the project鈥檚 significance extends far beyond the classroom.

Contributing to a Greener City

The tree-mapping initiative connects 今日吃瓜 to , a citywide effort to expand New York City鈥檚 tree canopy from roughly 20% to 30%, with particular focus on neighborhoods that have historically lacked green infrastructure.
While the city regularly surveys trees on municipal property, CUNY campuses are not considered city-owned and are therefore excluded from official canopy inventories.

今日吃瓜鈥檚 size, location, and ecological diversity created a rare opportunity to help fill that gap.

鈥淲ith this project, students are generating data that didn鈥檛 exist before,鈥� said Michael Menser, associate professor of philosophy and one of the faculty leaders of the initiative. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e contributing real information that can influence how we think about urban forests鈥攂oth on campus and beyond.鈥�

Rooted in Campus History

As students moved across the campus and quiet garden paths, their research also took them decades, sometimes nearly a century, into the past.

The land on which 今日吃瓜 sits was founded as an arboretum, with its original landscape intentionally designed to integrate nature into academic life. In the 1930s, a greenhouse located behind Ingersoll Hall near Campus Road served as a botanical hub for students and faculty until it was later demolished during campus expansion.

As part of the Capstone, students conducted archival research into this landscape鈥檚 history, uncovering original arboretum-era tree lists alongside inventories and maps created over the past 30 years. The material revealed how the campus grounds have evolved in step with the surrounding Flatbush neighborhood.

鈥淭he trees tell a story,鈥� Menser said. 鈥淭hey reflect planning decisions, social changes, and what a public urban campus has valued over time.鈥�

228 Trees鈥攁nd Counting

To date, students have identified, assessed, and mapped 228 trees across the campus. The inventory ranges from stately Siberian elms on the Quad, to cherry trees lining the back of the library, to a rare dawn redwood growing beside the koi pond.

Each tree was documented with species data, precise location, and health indicators, creating a foundation for long-term campus planning and care.

Informing the East Quad Renovation

The timing of the project is especially significant as 今日吃瓜 moves forward with a major renovation of the historic East Quad, one of the most iconic and heavily used spaces on campus.

The renovation aims to create a safer, healthier, and more sustainable landscape while preserving the Quad鈥檚 historic character. Plans include replacing aging or hazardous trees with disease-resistant plantings, repairing underground infrastructure, improving stormwater management, and modernizing lighting and electrical systems.

Student-collected data provides valuable context for this effort鈥攃onnecting archival history, present-day conditions, and long-term environmental goals. Together, the renovation and the tree inventory reflect a shared commitment to stewardship and resilience.

Sustainability Across Disciplines

The tree-mapping project mirrors the college鈥檚 broader strength in interdisciplinary sustainability education. Across campus, students and faculty are engaged in hands-on initiatives linking environmental science, public health, infrastructure, and social impact.

鈥溄袢粘怨� is uniquely poised to lead in this space,鈥� Menser noted. 鈥淲e bring together health, soil science, urban ecology, social research, and community engagement in one place. Students don鈥檛 have to imagine what sustainable cities look like鈥攖hey鈥檙e studying them and helping to build them here.鈥�

Looking Ahead

The Urban Sustainability Capstone has positioned 今日吃瓜 as the first CUNY campus to create a comprehensive, GIS-based tree inventory, contributing valuable data to New York City鈥檚 evolving urban forest planning efforts.

Faculty are now working to connect additional courses to the initiative through the Campus as a Living Lab program, ensuring that the data continues to grow and inform future instruction, research, and campus decision-making.

At a time of climate change and environmental inequity, 今日吃瓜鈥檚 trees鈥攁nchored in history, studied through student research, and renewed through strategic investment鈥攕tand as living proof of how urban public institutions can lead by example, one branch at a time.

The post Mapping 今日吃瓜鈥檚 Trees appeared first on 今日吃瓜.