Personal

Disability

I had a severe stroke following brain surgery to treat a giant fusiform brain aneurysm in 1996.  I am able to walk with a walker, but I more often use a wheelchair.  The stroke also affected my speech, though I am easily understood by most people.

In addition to the physical disabilities, another condition caused by my brain injury is Pseudobulbar Affect (Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic), a neurologic disorder that is associated with becoming emotional easily and with exaggerated emotional responses.   Basically I openly cry, laugh, and get frustrated very easily. As I like to tell my students, I do not tell jokes in class because I start laughing before I get to the punchline. 

I told the story of my stroke and recovery on a wonderful podcast published by Beyond Stillness and hosted by Molly Buccola. The recording is on the Beyond Stillness website and available under that name on many podcast sites. Keep in mind that my audience is mainly other stroke survivors. Links include:

Beyond Stillness Website: https://www.beyondstillness.org/

Beyond Stillness Podcast on Apple: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-stillness-stories-after-stroke/id1715005057

Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School

I am a member of the advisory board of the Andover Newton Seminary at Yale, which was formally the oldest graduate school seminary in the country, and which completed a merger with the Yale Divinity School in 2023. 

Family

I am married to Kathryn Spier, the Domenico de Sole Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.  We have one son, James (or Jamie), who graduated from Harvard University and from Tufts University with a masters in data science.