Whirling dervishes in Istanbul
HAPPY HOLIDAYS 2008
Dear Family and Friends:
Embarking on the cruise from VeniceI begin this holiday letter as we sit with a mass of humanity in Chicago-O’Hare Airport, waiting for the final leg of our travel from Kyoto, Japan. It’s snowing heavily and we’re eager to get home….both because we’ve been traveling about 21 hours now and Brian awaits us at home. Our trip to Japan—for business and pleasure—included multi-day stays in Tokyo and Kyoto. The simple, elegant and beautiful Japanese esthetic, the multitude of Shinto and Buddhist temples, the culture of Kabuki theater, traditional crafts and geishas, and the incredible variety of food, along with outstanding service and helpful people, made this a terrific trip for us.
Geisha in the Gion district of KyotoWe also enjoyed our first cruise in July. We flew to Venice where we spent several days in a lovely little hotel in Dorsoduro, far from the maddening crowds of San Marco. We also travelled to Verona to see the opera, Aida, in a roman arena; it was a spectacular setting. Our cruise took us along the coast of Greece with stops in Santorini (how beautiful), Katakolon and ancient Olympia, Samos, then on to Kusadasi, Ephesus and Istanbul, Turkey, ending with several days in Athens. We enjoyed the cruise more than we, or at least I, had anticipated; the convenience of traveling to multiple locations without packing, unpacking or driving made for some true relaxation. In fact, it was so easy that we have planned to do another one in the Baltic next summer…stay tuned for that next year.
Dear Family and Friends:
Embarking on the cruise from VeniceI begin this holiday letter as we sit with a mass of humanity in Chicago-O’Hare Airport, waiting for the final leg of our travel from Kyoto, Japan. It’s snowing heavily and we’re eager to get home….both because we’ve been traveling about 21 hours now and Brian awaits us at home. Our trip to Japan—for business and pleasure—included multi-day stays in Tokyo and Kyoto. The simple, elegant and beautiful Japanese esthetic, the multitude of Shinto and Buddhist temples, the culture of Kabuki theater, traditional crafts and geishas, and the incredible variety of food, along with outstanding service and helpful people, made this a terrific trip for us.
Geisha in the Gion district of KyotoWe also enjoyed our first cruise in July. We flew to Venice where we spent several days in a lovely little hotel in Dorsoduro, far from the maddening crowds of San Marco. We also travelled to Verona to see the opera, Aida, in a roman arena; it was a spectacular setting. Our cruise took us along the coast of Greece with stops in Santorini (how beautiful), Katakolon and ancient Olympia, Samos, then on to Kusadasi, Ephesus and Istanbul, Turkey, ending with several days in Athens. We enjoyed the cruise more than we, or at least I, had anticipated; the convenience of traveling to multiple locations without packing, unpacking or driving made for some true relaxation. In fact, it was so easy that we have planned to do another one in the Baltic next summer…stay tuned for that next year.
We also had several family trips including to Tampa for Sandra to see sister Paula and brother Jeff in April, a Thomas family wedding in Kentucky in October, and Thanksgiving in Tampa with the Crouse and Thomas clans combined.
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Santorini, GreeceOf course, the biggest news of the year is that the long dark period of the Bush-Cheney years is finally coming to a close with the election of such an inspirational leader, Barack Obama. We campaigned and raised funds for Obama, and hosted a lawyer from NY for 5 weeks while he worked on voter protection in Western PA. I was honored and thrilled to meet Michelle Obama in October when she visited the home of the Rooneys, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers. She is warm, genuine and an inspiring figure in her own right. We’ll be amongst the crowd at the Inauguration, and we fantasize about being part of an Obama administration.
Wearing our yukatas from JapanBrian continues to live and work in MA, where he is the mainstay of quality control at Intrinsiq Research. He has made a group of friends in the area and is looking to move into the city early in the next year, if possible. He continues to be an avid reader of a diverse set of books and participates in the St. John’s alumni activities, including Seminar, in Boston.
Stephen’s work in the Center for Minority Health continues to break new territory. The Center for Minority Health partnership with Adventure Cycling Association to create the nationally acclaimed Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (2,100 miles) won the American Trails National Partnership Award. The Healthy Black Family Project (HBFP) has enrolled over 8,000 participants and this year the program was selected, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ), to enroll in their Sustainability Initiative. This RWJ effort provides Stephen’s team with business consultants and training designed to transition the HBFP, a grant funded effort, into a sustainable intervention with a business plan. His team successfully raised $1Million to meet the challenge grant from the DSF Charitable Foundation resulting in an additional $1.5M award. The timing could not be better considering the national economic meltdown, which is having an impact across all of our efforts. The year ahead will be most challenging and yet full of new opportunities.
As for me, I continue as Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Education, and I am pleased that as of this fall, we have increased our enrollment by 48% since I took the position in 2002. I am also very pleased to have written a successful proposal for a Peace Corps’ Master’s International program for our school, for which we began work toward enrolling the first class in 2009. In September, we learned that a team for which I am co-Principal Investigator, had just received five years of funding for research on public health systems’ preparedness for emergencies and disasters. My newest and most interesting endeavor this year has been as an instructor in a week-long Senior Crisis Management Seminar, run by American University for the US State Department. High ranking officials from various offices and ministries from a single country come in to Washington; I teach a 4 hour communications portion of the course. This year, I’ve worked with Mozambique and Jordan, and will teach the seminar for India in February.
Kinkakaji, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, KyotoI finish this letter on the first day of 2009, which always prompts some reflection. Although we continue to work a bit too much, we have a good life here in Pittsburgh with a little time for photography, some music, and visits with friends. We make a renewed commitment to doing a better job of caring for our own health in 2009 with our exercise program and yoga. Please always know that we hold our friends and family close to our hearts even when our paths do not cross as often as we would like. As our nation, and in fact, the world faces tremendous challenges in this new year, we wish you good health, financial security, and vital energy to make a positive difference in your world.
Fallingwater in May
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Santorini, GreeceOf course, the biggest news of the year is that the long dark period of the Bush-Cheney years is finally coming to a close with the election of such an inspirational leader, Barack Obama. We campaigned and raised funds for Obama, and hosted a lawyer from NY for 5 weeks while he worked on voter protection in Western PA. I was honored and thrilled to meet Michelle Obama in October when she visited the home of the Rooneys, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers. She is warm, genuine and an inspiring figure in her own right. We’ll be amongst the crowd at the Inauguration, and we fantasize about being part of an Obama administration.
Wearing our yukatas from JapanBrian continues to live and work in MA, where he is the mainstay of quality control at Intrinsiq Research. He has made a group of friends in the area and is looking to move into the city early in the next year, if possible. He continues to be an avid reader of a diverse set of books and participates in the St. John’s alumni activities, including Seminar, in Boston.
Stephen’s work in the Center for Minority Health continues to break new territory. The Center for Minority Health partnership with Adventure Cycling Association to create the nationally acclaimed Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (2,100 miles) won the American Trails National Partnership Award. The Healthy Black Family Project (HBFP) has enrolled over 8,000 participants and this year the program was selected, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ), to enroll in their Sustainability Initiative. This RWJ effort provides Stephen’s team with business consultants and training designed to transition the HBFP, a grant funded effort, into a sustainable intervention with a business plan. His team successfully raised $1Million to meet the challenge grant from the DSF Charitable Foundation resulting in an additional $1.5M award. The timing could not be better considering the national economic meltdown, which is having an impact across all of our efforts. The year ahead will be most challenging and yet full of new opportunities.
As for me, I continue as Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Education, and I am pleased that as of this fall, we have increased our enrollment by 48% since I took the position in 2002. I am also very pleased to have written a successful proposal for a Peace Corps’ Master’s International program for our school, for which we began work toward enrolling the first class in 2009. In September, we learned that a team for which I am co-Principal Investigator, had just received five years of funding for research on public health systems’ preparedness for emergencies and disasters. My newest and most interesting endeavor this year has been as an instructor in a week-long Senior Crisis Management Seminar, run by American University for the US State Department. High ranking officials from various offices and ministries from a single country come in to Washington; I teach a 4 hour communications portion of the course. This year, I’ve worked with Mozambique and Jordan, and will teach the seminar for India in February.
Kinkakaji, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, KyotoI finish this letter on the first day of 2009, which always prompts some reflection. Although we continue to work a bit too much, we have a good life here in Pittsburgh with a little time for photography, some music, and visits with friends. We make a renewed commitment to doing a better job of caring for our own health in 2009 with our exercise program and yoga. Please always know that we hold our friends and family close to our hearts even when our paths do not cross as often as we would like. As our nation, and in fact, the world faces tremendous challenges in this new year, we wish you good health, financial security, and vital energy to make a positive difference in your world.
Fallingwater in May
