London Calling: January 2026

Mon Jan 26 15:23:49 GMT 2026

January 2026

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Meta executive Aditi Banga ’05 finds energy in the blank slate

Aditi Banga ’05 , who serves as Head of Fashion x Innovation Strategy and Partnerships at Meta, focusing on wearable technologies such as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.ray-ban.com%2fuk%2fray-ban-meta-ai-glasses&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>, loves the open questions at the start of a project. She likes building a product from the ground up, and as soon as it has the legs to run (and grow) on its own, she can likely be found at a fresh drawing board, dreaming up, with her teammates, a new product entirely. Read on <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f4qxLMX4&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> to learn more about Aditi’s eye-opening years at ASL in Grades 4, 5 and 7, and her path to the US, where her bachelor’s degree from Harvard and MBA from Stanford have given way to a sweeping, creative career in entertainment, media and e-commerce.

Alumni events light up the start of 2026!

More than 150 ASL alumni, guests, and current and former faculty kicked off 2026 at our annual New Year’s pub social <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f49QjL62&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> at the Warrington, reconnecting with old friends and toasting to the year ahead. The celebrations continued just 10 days later as London hosted the first-ever all- ISST <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.isst-sports.org%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> alumni reunion, welcoming alumni, heads of school, and friends from all eight ISST schools for an evening of nostalgia and new friendships. We owe a huge thank-you to ASL alum Jonathan Woollard ’00 for hosting this exciting new event at his fantastic Fulham bar, Amuse Bouche <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2famusebouchelondon.com&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>. Make sure your city of residence is up to date at asl.org/update <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fasl.org%2fupdate&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> so you don’t miss the next alumni gathering in a city near you!

<mailto:alumni at asl.org>

Class of 1974: Did you lose a class ring around Buckingham Palace?

The alumni team recently heard from somebody who found an ASL ’74 class ring with initials “GNP” engraved on the inside (pictured) while walking near Buckingham Palace about three months ago. Do you think this ring belongs to you or someone you know? Email us <mailto:alumni at asl.org?subject=Class ring> to help solve the mystery and reclaim your lost ring, thanks to the care and kindness of a stranger!

Based in London? Join us at an upcoming Parent Community Association (PCA) event on campus!

Eagles and Eagle parents past and present are warmly welcomed to join the School and PCA for any (or all!) of three upcoming events here on Waverley Place:

	* Speakers Series: Jennifer B. Wallace
Monday, 9 February, School Center, 6–7 pm
Jennifer Wallace <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.jenniferbwallace.com%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—And What We Can Do About It , which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Wallace has contributed to the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. Jennifer began her journalism career in television at 60 Minutes. RSVP <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.asl.org%2fabout%2fnews-publications-and-speakers%2fspeakers-series%2fjennifer-breheny-wallace&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>.
	* Speakers Series: Dr. Michael Rich
Wednesday, 25 February, School Center, 6–7 pm
Known as the “mediatrician” owing to his acclaimed work as a pediatrician, child health researcher, and children's media specialist, Dr. Rich presents a compassionate and realistic look at growing up in a screen-saturated world—and how you can help your kids emerge from a technology-rich environment as happy, well-informed, empathetic adults. RSVP <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.asl.org%2fabout%2fnews-publications-and-speakers%2fspeakers-series%2fmichael-rich&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>.
	* PCA Community Events: Quiz Night
Thursday, 26 February, Cafeteria, 6:30–9:30 pm
Join ASL parents and employees for an evening of quizzing in ASL’s cafeteria! Teams go head-to-head answering questions from professional quizmasters, including drinks and dinner, and prizes for the winning team. Form your own group of eight, or get matched up with other ASL folk to make up a team. Buy your tickets now <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.asl.org%2fasl-families%2fpca%2fget-involved%2fcommunity-events%2fquiz-night-2026&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>! (Just as a reminder, our popular annual alumni quiz night will be back on Tuesday, 5 May, in the Mellon Library! Alumni, please feel free to attend either quiz night event—or, better yet, both!)

We love hearing what our Eagles are up to! Submit your own class notes <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.asl.org%2falumni%2fget-in-touch%2fclass-notes&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>, or email alumni at asl.org <mailto:alumni at asl.org?subject=Class note> to keep us in the loop.

In the 22 years since he founded London’s iconic Hummingbird Bakery, Tarek Malouf ’91 has set down a very different professional path: He is now a qualified humanistic psychotherapeutic counselor, currently in advanced training toward his master’s in psychotherapy, which he expects to complete next year. Registered with the BACP <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bacp.co.uk%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> and a trainee member of the UKCP <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.psychotherapy.org.uk%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>, Tarek works in private practice with adults, offering in-person sessions in central London as well as online. His website is tarekmalouf.com <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.tarekmalouf.com&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>!

Lori Miller Trujillo ’76 writes: “Mario and I relocated to a rural northeastern New Mexico village, population 250, five years ago. Cattle-ranching is the name of the game for us here. We have five daughters between us: four are in New Mexico and one in Colorado. Mario will be put on a double-lung transplant list in the next couple of months. We will need to relocate to Phoenix for three to six months for that game-changer. It will probably preempt my attendance at the Class of 1976 reunion in September… but he's worth it!”

Jeannine Saba ’93 , whom we profiled <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.asl.org%2fabout%2fnews-publications-and-speakers%2fnews-and-blogs%2fnews-post%2f%7eboard%2fnews-stories%2fpost%2fwepiero-publishing&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> in London Calling in 2024, is delighted to be continuing Magazine Club, a hands-on publishing program for young creatives aged 9–17, based out of the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London! The club costs £30 for six creative, hands-on sessions. To inquire or apply, email editors at thecoventgardener.com <mailto:editors at thecoventgardener.com?subject=Magazine Club inquiry>.

Jeannine and her Covent Gardener magazine are also currently running an art competition <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fthecoventgardener.com%2fcovent-garden-art-competition-2026%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> (open through 13 February!) to celebrate the legacy of artist J.M.W. Turner, and ASL community members (including alumni, parents of alumni, and former employees) are very welcome to participate!

Christian Stevens ’75 writes: “Greetings from sunny old London! You read that right: Ten consecutive cloudless days. Freezing, of course, but dry for once! I had occasion to lunch in St. John's Wood and took some time to walk our old stomping grounds, such as Panzers Deli—which, in the early ’70s, was a quaint purveyor of odd foods, known mainly for stocking quite a selection of American goods. Abbey Road is now so crowded you can hardly cross the street without getting run over by influencers! They even have an app so families abroad can watch loved ones via CCTV. In typical British fashion, there is a queue, and everyone is very polite as they wait their turn. The tea room on the high street, where we snuck off to have something sweet (spoiling our lunch and rotting our teeth), didn't keep pace with the millennial-ification of the area... All swanky shops and Chelsea Tractors (Range Rovers)—but didn't we just have some fun back then?”

Jennifer Nelson ’81 writes, “I'm looking forward to this year. I will leave teaching high school French in June, and work full-time as a ghostwriter for my company, Your Stories. I'm also delighted to announce that my daughter Emily Rojvall got engaged, and is planning a Fall 2027 wedding in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. I would love to reconnect <mailto:jennifernelson at comcast.net>with ASLers in the Northeast.”

Congratulations to Adil Farooq ’21 on graduating from Georgia Tech in May with a BSc in computer science! Adil is now back in London, pursuing his MSc in advanced computing at Imperial College London.

Lawrence Hanley ’79 writes: “After almost 40 years in higher education—20 years as a faculty member at City University of New York, followed by 15 years as a professor at San Francisco State University—I retired into emeritus status last year. My forever-ladyfriend and I have since relocated from the Bay Area to Portland, Oregon, where I'm enjoying my new career as a gentleman farmer, and occasional gigs as a blues and jazz piano player. I get back to London on a semi-regular basis to meet up with friends and co-conspirators.”

This past fall, Kyle Moore ’25 performed at a NFL game with his university marching band, Rutgers University’s Marching Scarlet Knights. Go, Kyle!

Rondi Frey ’73 writes: “Hello fellow alumni from 1973! Happy New Year and wishing you all a wonderful year ahead. We finished 2025 strong with a magnificent adventure to the Galapagos Islands, and news that a new grandson will make his debut in our family in mid-April. We are blessed and grateful. If you are ever in or passing through Trumbull, Connecticut, I would love to reconnect!”

Stephen Dietrich ’68 retired in 2020 after spending 50 years in the hotel industry, and writes, “My wife Mary and I live in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, and have been in Phoenix going on 24 years, after time in New York, DC, Chicago and Cincinnati. Since retiring, I have worked for the Maricopa County Elections department, completing my 10th election this past November. After almost 60 years, my time and stories of ASL are always of great interest to people.”

Since spring 2023, Margaret Farmer Pringle ’91 P ’27 ’31 (ASL 2015–22) , who went by Polly during her ASL days, has been volunteering at the Children’s Book Project <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fchildrensbookproject.co.uk%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>(CBP), a small but mighty charity based in North Kensington and with hubs in Leeds and Birmingham. On a mission to end book poverty among the 1 million children in the UK who don’t own a book, CBP collects pre-loved book donations and redistributes them to children who don’t have many, or any, books of their own. (This school year, CBP will give 1 million books to more than 230,000 children across the UK—all free of cost to participating schools and organizations.) Margaret has recently taken on a broader role at CBP, as lead volunteer liaising with football clubs across the UK. “We are slowly building our relationships with football clubs and their foundations, and we are currently working toward organizing book collections from fans and gifting initiatives to local schools with Liverpool FC, Arsenal, Manchester United, Brentford, Fulham, Leeds United, Charlton and Aston Villa, to name a few,” writes Margaret. “It's a fantastic lens through which to reach our mission and audience, and it’s great to be able to combine two of my passions: local engagement and football. (Shout out to all the members of ASL’s first girls varsity soccer teams!)” If you would like to know more, have ideas to share, or want to get involved, please contact Margaret <mailto:margaret at childrensbookproject.co.uk>!

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This month, we enjoyed fly-bys from: Dasha Rahman and Luisa Marcotti (both ’25) , Addison Crump ’17 , Kanak Roy ’25 and Nathan de Botton ’25 !

Will you be back in St. John’s Wood soon!? Book your own alumni tour today. <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fcalendly.com%2fasl-alumni%2falumni-tour&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>

	* Tuesday, 28 April 2026: New York City social
Save the date for our popular annual NYC social for alumni, parents of alumni and former employees! More details to come.
	* Tuesday, 5 May 2026: London alumni quiz night
Save the date—and start memorizing facts!—for our yearly alumni quiz night here in ASL’s Mellon Library. More details to come.

	* Friday–Sunday, 4–6 September 2026: ASL’s first Milestone Reunion weekend (in London!)
50th reunion: Class of 1976 (with ’75 and ’77!) – RSVP <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.asl.org%2falumni%2fevents-calendar%2f1970sreunion-dinner&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>
40th reunion: Class of 1986 – Register your interest <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f4pTBq2E&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>
10th reunion: Class of 2016 – More details to come.
	* Class of 2016: Your classmate Emily Gossett has been working with the alumni office to plan a New York event sometime in June 2026 to celebrate your 10th reunion, ahead of the class’s milestone reunion in London in September! Keep an eye out for more information on both.
	* Weekend TBD, fall 2026: Class of 2001 reunion weekend, London – Register your interest <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f4sX2b94&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>

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Help celebrate 20 years of Harkness at ASL!

ASL’s high school English department still wants your stories and memories from around the Harkness table to help celebrate 20 years of the Harkness method here at One Waverley Place! Watch Mr. Potchatek, Mr. Mazzenga, and Ms. Mears star in a Harkness video here <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f4pVzWoH&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>, and submit your own Harkness method memories here <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f49TR6x4&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>!

The ASL Book Club meets monthly on campus, and is open to alumni and parents of alumni! Read the club newsletter <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fbit.ly%2f3YzrQXs&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20>, which contains RSVP links for upcoming meetings and information about what the group is currently reading. (Please note that the newsletter will be updated with February information after Wednesday, 28 January.)

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Check out our alumni merch offerings!

ASLAlumniStore.com <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2faslalumnistore.com&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> is our one-stop, US-based online shop for all of your ASL alumni merch wants and needs! We will launch more products as we go along, but for now, check out a wide selection of shirts, sweatshirts, outerwear, accessories, and clothing and onesies for your little Eaglets, and send photos of you repping your Eagle pride. For alumni not based in the US, this website will work for you, too, though shipping costs and taxes vary by region. Happy shopping!

Network with fellow Eagles!

ASL Connects <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2faslconnects.org&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> is our ASL-exclusive platform for finding professional contacts and mentors, joining and creating groups based on shared ASL experiences, viewing and uploading photos, planning events, promoting your business, and more! Join more than 1,000 fellow Eagles by registering <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2faslconnects.org&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> today.

Plus, remember to add ASL <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.linkedin.com%2fschool%2famerican-school-in-london%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> as an education experience of yours on LinkedIn, if it isn’t there already, to help fellow alumni find you and connect! Join our ASL alumni group <https://bbox.blackbaudhosting.com/webforms/service/page.redir?target=https%3a%2f%2fwww.linkedin.com%2fgroups%2f161244%2f&srcid=61535391&srctid=1&erid=-939955510&trid=9b5ef72a-1f71-46ac-8202-72a7024c7b20> on there, too, while you’re at it!

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