Brendan Sullivan on The Road

On November 11 and 12, Head of School Brendan Sullivan made the annual trip to connect with alumni in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.  In each location, Brendan, Rich Arms, Director of Advancement, and Mike Melley, Director of Alumni & Development, gathered with dozens of alumni looking to enjoy each other’s company and connect with the St. Sebastian’s spirit.

In Washington D.C., the visit overlapped with the Class of 2026’s junior trip.  Alumni gathered for a reception to hear an update on St. Sebastian’s and the opportunity that the recent acquisition of the East Campus presents.  Following the reception, alumni joined the junior class who were enjoying an ice cream reception down the hall.  This was a great opportunity for today’s Arrows to hear from St. Sebastian’s alumni who have made their careers in and around the nation’s capital, Patrick Brennan ’07 and Chris Conley ‘94.  After graduating from St. Sebastian's, Patrick attended Harvard College, where he concentrated in Classics and was on the sailing team. Following college, he moved to New York City, where he spent four years as a writer and editor for the National Review, a national political magazine. He then moved to Washington, D.C. in 2015 to work for Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. From 2017 to 2021, he was a speechwriter for the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, while attending Georgetown Law school part time. He now works as an associate at the law firm Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips, LLP where he advises healthcare clients on regulatory issues before the federal government and state governments.  Chris Conley ‘94 graduated from West Point and went on to serve in the U.S. Army for just shy of 24 years, retiring at the rank of Colonel.  Chris was an Airborne Ranger andspent a total of 36 months in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In 2021, Chris started his own company and does contract work for the Department of Defense and Defense Market Entry Strategy consulting for startups.  Chris is also a board member of The Debrief Project, a non-profit focused on telling the story of the Iraq Surge in 2007 through the accounts of soldiers on the ground.  Thank you to Patrick and Chris for sharing their life experiences with the Class of 2026!

Heading up the coast, Sullivan and Arms met with a small group of Philadelphia area alumni for lunch at the White Dog Café.  Continuing north to NYC, we once again hosted a reception for a great group of alumni in the Gordon Reading Room at the Harvard Club.  We were honored to be joined by Trustee Emeritus, David Gately ’73, who has been a stalwart member of the alumni network in NYC. 

If you are a New York, Philadelphia, or Washington, D.C. alumnus and did not receive an invite to the reception, we must not have your current address.  Please update your alumni profile to be included on future invite lists.

As always, we love to hear what our alumni are up to around the country.  Let us know by submitting a Class Note and we will share it in the next magazine.