Who We Are
When not heading up the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation programming, or tracking down new articles for the Gold Coaster, Editor-in-Chief Michael Weishan '86 is probably best known for his work on the PBS series The Victory Garden, which he hosted for five years. The former gardening editor of several national magazines, Michael runs his landscape design firm, Michael Weishan and Associates, in Southborough, Massachusetts, which specializes in traditionally based residential designs. The author of three books, The New Traditional Garden, From a Victorian Garden, and The Victory Garden Companion, Michael lectures extensively on garden design and landscape design history throughout the US. (You can also find him leading various tours, trips and talks for the Harvard Alumni Association.) An avid historian of architecture and design, Michael innocently volunteered some time to help the Masters Palfrey organize the FDR Suite restoration during the House's 75th birthday celebrations, thinking "after all, how long could this really take?"...
That was 14 years ago...
After completing his undergraduate degree at Harvard, Managing Editor Santiago Pardo Sanchez '16 is now doing an MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management focusing on sustainability and entrepreneurship.
Born in Colombia but raised outside of Atlanta, Santiago has worked throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific. He is a managing editor of Harvard Mapping Past Societies, a digital atlas project within the Initiative for the Science of the Human Past at Harvard, where he focuses on climate change, economic, and political projects. Previously, he served in the United States Peace Corps in Vanuatu where he focused on improving educational outcomes, climate change mitigation, and renewable energy transitions. He is a former Adams House Committee chair, and current Adams Resident Tutor / House Librarian.
Senior Editor Claire Mays '81, originally from from Washington D.C., has lived in Paris since her graduation in 1981. She studied Psychology and Social Relations at Harvard and Clinical Social Psychology at Paris 7-Censier. Claire is an independent researcher and consultant with Institut Symlog in Paris. Her domain is governance of technological and natural risk and the empowerment of local communities. She is Radcliffe Class Secretary for Class of 1981 and is a founder of HAGA (Harvard Alumni for Global Action). In 2009 Claire made the mistake of making her House loyalty known to the Foundation, and has subsequently found herself "volunteered" for a whole host of activities, including heading the Gold Coaster's 'European Bureau.'
Gold Coaster Contributing Editor Sean M. Lynn-Jones' real-life job is Editor of International Security, the International Security Program's quarterly journal. He is also series editor of the Belfer Center Studies in International Security, the Program's book series that is published by MIT Press. Sean previously served as Managing Editor of International Security (1987–1991) and was a fellow at the Center (1984–1987 and 1991–1992). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Security Studies. Sean's research interests include international relations theory, U.S. foreign policy, and why rivalries end peacefully. His articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, International Security, and Security Studies, as well as in many edited volumes. He has edited or co-edited several anthologies of International Security articles, including Contending with Terrorism: Roots, Strategies, and Responses (2010), Going Nuclear: Nuclear Proliferation and International Security in the 21st Century (2010), Primacy and Its Discontents: American Power and International Stability (2009), Offense, Defense, and War (2004), Theories of War and Peace (1998), America's Strategic Choices (1997), Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict (1997); East Asian Security (1996), Debating the Democratic Peace (1996), The Perils of Anarchy: Contemporary Realism and International Security (1995), Global Dangers: Changing Dimensions of International Security (1995); The Cold War and After (1991; expanded edition 1993); and Military Strategy and the Origins of the First World War (1991). How he finds time amongst all this to write for us, we'll never know, but we're grateful! Sean was a resident tutor in Adams from 1984-1992, and is currently working on a history of Adams House.