Class Notes

Name: Erin Purington

Class Year(s): 2010

Note: Jonathan Purington BS ’10 (COS) and Erin (Schmidtmann) Purington BS ’10 (COS), welcomed their third son, Wesley Thomas, in March 2022. Wes has already demonstrated true Tiger fighting spirit!

Submitted on: September 1, 2022

Name: Lisa Bennett

Class Year(s): 2001

Note: RIT Welcomes Lisa Bennett MS ’01 (CAST) author of "Just Keep Living: Conversations with Granny." Join us on September 15 from 5-7 p.m. at the Osher Lifelong Learning Center at RIT located at 50 Fairwood Drive, Suite 100. Lisa is an alumna, former faculty member, speaker, entrepreneur, YouTube personality, author and former executive of a multinational Fortune 500 company. Fearless Coaching LLC helps everyday dreamers seeking to find their path and maximize their potential. She is also a partner and executive coach with C-Crets Podcast, a coaching and corporate training platform and podcast focused on providing career advice to underrepresented employees seeking to reach the C-Suite.

Submitted on: August 29, 2022

Name: Laura Carbonneau

Class Year(s): 2010, 2012

Note: Laura Carbonneau ’10 (CLA), ’12 (CAST), was named the Artistic Director for Theatre and C.A.K.E. (a summer arts program) for MoCo Arts, located in Keene, N.H.

Submitted on: August 28, 2022

Name: Matt LaFever

Class Year(s): 1998, 2005

Note: Matt LaFever ’98 (CAST) is a hospitality management and health systems administration grad/nurse practitioner. He opened the third medical aesthetics practice in Franklin, M.A. As a pioneer in his field, his skin and laser centers are the area’s largest provider of medical aesthetics and rank in the top 2% nationwide.

Submitted on: August 27, 2022

Name: Jonathan Thomas

Class Year(s): 2008

Note: Jonathan Thomas ’08 (CLA) successfully passed the Komuna Eŭropa Referenckadro por Lingvoj (Common European Framework for Languages) exam at the C1 (fluent as a non-native speaker) exam for the constructed language, Esperanto in less than two years of starting studying the language.

Submitted on: August 23, 2022

Name: Rebecca Oesterle

Class Year(s): 2009

Note: Becchi Oesterle MS ’09 (CAST) has been named a Leadership Training Committee National Vice Chair for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR.) She will be responsible for creating new curriculum for DAR members. DAR, founded in 1890 is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children. There are over 190,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally. Retired from a successful career in packaging leadership, she is also the board chair for the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP.)

Submitted on: August 18, 2022

Name: Phyllis Bryce Ely

Class Year(s): 1981

Note: Phyllis Bryce Ely ’81 (FAA) and Patrice McPeak announce the opening of their exhibit PLACE/DISPLACE: Points of Connection on view September 2 to October 28 at at the Geisel Gallery, Bausch+Lomb Place, Rochester, NY. The exhibit is free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend the artists’ reception Wednesday, September 7, 5:00–7:00 PM. Gallery hours are Mon–Fri, 7:00 AM–7:00 PM. At first glance, visitors to the exhibit will notice that the work of the two artists differs greatly in subject matter, but they will soon recognize that both are inspired by powerful connections to places in their worlds. For Phyllis Bryce Ely, “place” is expressed through energized observations of regional landscapes, especially her daily exposure to Lake Ontario in all its seasons and conditions. She employs gestural shapes, lines, and bold color to capture the spirit of the places she paints. Phyllis paints en plein air and in the studio using oil, encaustic wax, and has recently done a series of graphite drawings that are included in this exhibit. She has had a lifelong attraction to painting the shoreline, skies, and dramatic storms of Lake Ontario and also goes on painting adventures throughout Rochester and the Finger Lakes region with fellow members of the Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters. Her plein air paintings often become source material for studio work in oil and encaustic wax, as seen in this body of work. Patrice McPeak deftly connects us to places by way of the people who occupy them. She shows us that the iconic setting of Washington, DC is a place where people can belong, aspire, and engage. But she also shows us that our relationship to a place can be fragile and impermanent, leading to displacement. McPeak, working skillfully in pastel, brings viewers along on her daily walk to work on the streets of DC and introduces us to the people she discovers in her orbit. By engaging with these individuals, McPeak uses informal portraiture to help us recognize people we may otherwise fail to see—and she makes us want to know more about their stories. Four portraits in this exhibit do just that. McPeak also delivers the vibe of DC in her paintings of people as commuters, protestors, and solemn visitors. Although her prominent subject matter is people, McPeak leverages place to give context to the stories she tells. Phyllis and Patrice share a personal connection through their friendship that began as art students at Rochester Institute of Technology, where they earned their BFAs in Painting in 1981 and 1982, respectively. In the forty years since graduating, both have continued to work in creative careers. Phyllis has established herself in Rochester, NY where she is represented by the Oxford Gallery and works from a studio at The Hungerford. And after more than 30 years living and working in Nashville and Washington, DC in film production and broadcast news design, Patrice has recently resettled in Rochester, making this exhibit an important creative reunion for the two painters. Paintings in the exhibit may be purchased directly from each artist but must remain in the gallery for the duration of the exhibit.

Submitted on: August 18, 2022

Name: Michael Kleper

Class Year(s): 69, 74

Note: Michael Kleper MS ’74 (CCE), Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and former Paul and Louise Miller Professor in the College of Graphic Arts and Photography, is the author of Focusing on Laser Engraving and Decorating: Affordable, Versatile, and Creative Marking, Engraving and Cutting (https://tinyurl.com/2j2kmyc4) recently published on Amazon.

Submitted on: August 14, 2022

Name: Scott Bureau

Class Year(s): 2011, 2016

Note: Scott Bureau ’11 (CLA), MBA ’16 (SCB) and Lindsay Power ’10 (KGCOE), ME ’10 (KGCOE) welcomed Colin Bureau into the world in July 2022.

Submitted on: August 12, 2022

Name: Michael E. Pollock

Class Year(s): 1977

Note: Michael E. Pollock ’77 (GAP) received the 2022 Rochester Business Journal Health Care Heroes Lifetime Achievement Award based on his lifelong dedication to public service. He was recognized for a combination of activities, including 35 years with Brighton Volunteer Ambulance, serving as a volunteer EMT, PIO, lieutenant, government liaison, and board member. In addition, he raised over $500,000 for their recent base expansion project. He has also worked for 36 years between the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, NYS Department of Correctional Services, and Brighton Police Department. Additionally, he serves on the STEP Council of the Genesee Valley board. During the initial COVID-19 outbreak, Michael contacted Gov. Andrew Cuomo and convinced him that EMS workers were "essential workers" and should be included in his executive order. He also serves as an ex-officio member of the NYS EMS Memorial Service. Further, he has saved the lives of two neighbors; one, a senior who’d been electrocuted and was in cardiac arrest, and the other, an infant in respiratory. In addition, Michael played a pivotal role in Ezras Nashim of Boro Park - Brooklyn, the only all-women Orthodox Jewish ambulance service in the U.S., receiving their NYS license (CON), and is an advisor to their president and executive director, the Hon. Ruchie Freier.

Submitted on: August 10, 2022