Looking Ahead by Jana F. Brown
Trustees reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses and look to the future for their industries – and Berwick.
Natalee P. Ohayon Martin ’01
Jason Kroll P’28
I
n her work as director of development for the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Natalee P. Ohayon Martin ’01 found herself not only continuing to solicit donations for the important work of the school during the pandemic, but also charged with locating alternate housing for its medical professionals. “I was asked to help find RVs that could be parked in physicians’ driveways so they could be close to their families but stay separated from them,” says Martin, a Berwick Trustee and President of the Alumni Advisory Board. “I also was calling hotels to ask them to donate blocks of rooms so doctors could stay away from home.”
4 | WINTER 2021
Paula Williamson-Reid P’12, ’14 The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives in many ways, including how we work, where we work, what our job responsibilities entail, and how our businesses operate. In her pre-pandemic role, Martin spent significant time traveling for visits with potential donors. While she has been able to maintain some virtual face-to-face contact through Zoom, she has been working from home for the last year. “Since March, we have changed fundraising priorities and have been focused on a COVID-19 rapid response fund,” says Martin. “It supports everything from buying coffee for the nurses in the Emergency Department to research support for COVID itself.”
