David Luria and Lynne McKelvey, France 1953 (above), each independently got married, had children and grandchildren, and many years later reconnected and became life partners. In 2003, they organized a 50th reunion of their, 1953 group to Delle, France, which included the late Ed Boyd as group leader. Lynne has published a novel, A Real Daughter, and David is director of one of the largest photography training programs in the country. If any members of the 1953 group would like to reconnect, please write to [email protected].

Nancy (Frame) Sveden, Norway 1960, recalls much laughter throughout her journey by boat and by land through Denmark and Sweden on the group’s way to Norway. So profound was her connection with her host family that she used their surname as her son’s middle name. Today’s technology helps Nancy stay in touch with her Norwegian sister via weekly digital messages. She says her entire family has a wonderful sense of adventure and continues to use Experiment founder Donald Watt’s motto, “Expect the unexpected.”

Rachel (Neff) Neville, Switzerland 1960, sent in a packet of photos and slides of her experience. Images included scenes of the group traveling by boat to Europe, passing luggage through train windows, and the beautiful landscapes they saw enroute. Rachel shared a memory of her group preparing a hamburger cookout for the host families and an adventure to find sweet corn with her groupmate, Betty Jo Lanier. Rachel had such a positive experience that summer that her family in the United States decided to host a junior executive group from Switzerland the following fall.

Rev. Anita M Marshall, United Kingdom 1961, is an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Church and has been on missionary trips to South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Canada, Guyana, and Ghana. In South Africa, she toured education facilities from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

Several members of the India 1962 group worked on a memoir of their experience which can be read here. Contributions to the memoir were made by Jon Darrah, Frances (Yates) Handler, James Meadowcroft, Linda (Russack) Tobin, and Anthony Elite as group leader (below).

Steve Moore, India 1968, joined the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and trained in public health and epidemiology. He spent his career in international health. He married a Chinese woman from Malaysia and when their two children were 12, they all lived in China for two years. Though now retired from public health, Steve still travels to Africa and Asia to help train doctors and to assist with health and education programs in Kenya and Myanmar. He and his wife have celebrated 51 years of marriage and have five grandchildren who have all spent time in China.

Kathy Hanaway, Sweden 1968, reports that the Swedish Meatballs, as her group calls itself, has been meeting virtually each month since April 2020, when they reconnected 52 years after their experience. Their online gatherings often have special themes, and they even have special hats (above). It turns out two group members, Lucia Cies and Dorothea Meneely, found out they live within 10 minutes of each other! They and a few others have met in person. The group, which also includes Mary Harris Dibble, Frank LaMonica, Sally Lumm Trussell, Tom Whittier, Denby Klass Webb, and Linda Brandenburger as group leader, has high hopes of a full group in-person reunion this year.

James Brooks, Ireland 1972, an academic historian and anthropologist, is the Gable Distinguished Chair in History at the University of Georgia. He has held professorial appointments at the University of Maryland, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Berkeley. He recently concluded 10 years of service on the board of directors of the Western National Parks Association, which supports research, preservation, and education in 67 national parks. James has published several books, and his 2002 “Triple-Crown” winning (Bancroft, Parkman, and Turner Prizes) Captives & Cousins: Slavery, Kinship and Community in the Southwest Borderlands, focused on the traffic in women and children as expressions of intercultural violence and accommodation. He is currently working on a new book that blends his academic disciplines with elements of memoir, including his time in Ireland, which led to many return visits and experiences.

Ann Sturley, group leader Nepal 1974, 1975, 1981, and Switzerland 1979, has a long history with The Experiment, starting with her grandmother, Winifred Sturley who was a friend of Experiment founder Donald Watt. Winifred and her son, Eric Sturley, led some of the earliest groups to France and Germany. In 1956, Eric again led to Germany, this time accompanied by Jeanne “Bette” Sturley, Ann’s mother. It’s no surprise that Ann’s brother, John Sturley, became an Experimenter to France in 1975. The Sturley family had lived in Nepal for some time and Ann became the group leader or co-director of The Experiment’s college semester programs there. The Experiment’s 1977 publication Letters to the Founder includes a letter from Eric and a photo of Ann (above) during her time in Nepal.

Andrea (Strimling) Yodsampa, Switzerland 1979, lives with her husband, Tsering, and their 15-year-old son, Yeshe Dorje, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Their adult children, Dinah and Rinchen Dorje (Andrea’s kids through marriage), live in Europe. After many years working in the international peacebuilding field, in 2015 Andrea founded a nonpartisan nonprofit, Deploy/Us, focused on advancing bipartisan U.S. leadership on climate change. Tsering is a Tibetan Buddhist lama and works as a hospital chaplain and teacher of Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Andrea remembers her time with The Experiment as incredibly special and learning-rich.

Brandon Lee, Spain 1996 and SIT Graduate Institute MAT 41 2009, has published Community Conscious Policing: a Guide for People’s Justice and Law Enforcement Solutions. The book is a public health response model intended to end unnecessary law enforcement violence. It shares examples of how to navigate real-life police stops and reveals holistic ways to heal from racial profiling and the trauma of police brutality based on indigenous wisdom. Watch a brief TMZ interview with Brandon.

Janie Kaiser, Morocco 2010 and SIT Study Abroad Nepal 2014, studied child development in college. As part of her research project during her semester with SIT, she saw a gaps in the education system in the remote area where she was located. Upon sharing her findings, her local partner suggested they start their own program, which is now known as the Education Concern Center Nepal. Read more about Janie and the program.

Part of The Experiment Digital experience includes designing a project that creates positive change. Participants have the opportunity to apply for a small grant to help implement that project. Through a collaboration with The Stevens Initiative, World Learning supported 15 alumni small grants in 2021. Watch this 4-minute video featuring seven of the projects by 2020 and 2021 alumni.

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