SUMMER 2022
Alumnae
Good
Class
Weekend
Principals
Notes
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26 THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL ALUMNAE MAGAZINE
Communiqué
Bryn Mawr alumnae, this is your magazine.
We want Communiqué to reflect—and celebrate— the bold voices, lifelong connections and vibrant spirit of Bryn Mawr alumnae. You are a dynamic group of over 3,500 graduates living all over the world and working in every conceivable field. You are leading considered and consequential lives that draw upon your Bryn Mawr education and experiences in ways that continue to unfold with time.
We hope this magazine inspires curiosity about the present, nostalgia for the past and excitement for Bryn Mawr’s bright future.
LETTER FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Dear Bryn Mawr Alumnae, First, a story: Earlier this year, Carol Jackson Haigh ’69 emailed her classmates the obituary of a former Bryn Mawr physical education teacher, Miss Virginia Ball, who passed away at the age of 87 in December. No note accompanied the email, just the obituary. The Class of 1969 quickly responded in what became an 80-plus daisy chain of emails (yes, reply all!) with funny, sweet and eyebrow-raising stories, vivid memories and family updates. I’m grateful the class shared it with me as a reminder of the extraordinary and lasting impact of Bryn Mawr teachers as well as the lifelong friendships that result from these bonding experiences. That is an enduring hallmark of our school. As alumnae, you know firsthand the benefits of a Bryn Mawr education are both immediate and lifelong. In this issue of Communiqué, you’ll read how today’s students are learning about contemporary issues in the classroom (page 10) and where the Class of 2022 will launch their college careers (page 24); you’ll also read the ways Bryn Mawr prepares women for the joys and challenges of leadership in life (page 12). In the Class Notes section (page 26), you will see how graduates of all decades are contributing to their communities, exploring the world and continuing with their own learning. You make us proud.
BRYN MAWR NEWS
On campus, this was a year of both connection and reflection for our community. Thanks to vaccines and regular testing, we’ve been able to return to many of our pre-COVID traditions, programs and experiences this year; we are exhilarated to be together as a community once again. Through our strategic planning work with the Board of Trustees, we’ve also engaged in deep discussions about the powerful mission of our school and how to adapt, grow and innovate the Bryn Mawr experience to ensure a sustainable future for the students of today and tomorrow. We look forward to sharing our vision with you in the upcoming year. As teachers, we never know which moment will be a powerful one for students, but we cherish our time with them. I thank the Class of ’69 for reminding me that you cherish that, too. Your support and engagement is a powerful lift for our students today. We are ever grateful.
Head of School
Contributors
Design
DEBORAH BAUM P’26 Senior Director of Communications and Strategic Institutional Marketing
ELIZABETH J. HIMELFARB HURWITZ ‘93 P’26 ’31 Contributing Writer
AMY SEAGO Design Manager
DEANNA M. BOYD ’05 Director of Alumnae Engagement HANNAH KLARNER ’09 Assistant Director of Communications
SUE SADLER Head of School
Photography Joshua Bright Mary Gardella Dave Harp Hannah Klarner ’09 Katrien Orlans Jason Putsche Jaime Windon Charlotte Graham Zacharkiw ’97
ALUMNAE WEEKEND
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AND THE WINNERS ARE…
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GOOD TO KNOW
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CLASS IN SESSION
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GOOD PRINCIPALS
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SUE SADLER
Editors
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IN MY QUEUE Communiqué is published annually for the Bryn Mawr alumnae community. Please send change of address to alumnae@ brynmawrschool. org and all other correspondence to the Communications Office, 109 West Melrose Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210 or communications@ brynmawrschool.org.
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CLASS OF 2022
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CLASS NOTES
64 BOLD VOICES
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BRYN MAWR NEWS
Bryn Mawr Online Bryn Mawr’s new initiative, Bryn Mawr Online, will launch this fall with its first class of ninth-grade girls. Students hailing from New Jersey to Alabama will attend virtual classes each day for this new high school program, which runs separately from the on-campus experience. Help spread the word and learn more at brynmawronline.org.
Dr. Redonda Miller P’23 (left) with Dr. Cardella Coleman P’15 (right)
Woman of Consequence: Dr. Redonda Miller P’23 This year’s Howard P. Colhoun Family Woman of Consequence Award honored a leader who is shattering glass ceilings in her field: Dr. Redonda Miller P’23, the 11th president and first woman to helm the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital. After speaking at a Middle School assembly and meeting with the Upper School Medical Club, Dr. Miller accepted the award during an evening event. Former Bryn Mawr trustee Dr. Cardella Coleman P’15 led a conversation with Dr. Miller discussing her career trajectory, the importance of mentorship and advice to the next generation of women leaders. Watch the full event at brynmawrschool.org/ communique. BRYN MAWR NEWS
Dinner with Seven(ish) Strangers A new event called Dinner with Seven Strangers brought dozens of parents together for intimate dinner parties this spring. Sponsored by the Parent Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the goal of making new connections across the school community, eight dinner hosts opened their homes and welcomed guests to their tables for good food and interesting conversation. “It was fun discovering commonalities we share beyond Bryn Mawr, and the intimacy of a small dinner party makes those kinds of realizations possible,” said dinner host Nina Lee Bond ’95 P’33. The community response was so enthusiastic, additional dinners are planned for fall.
Historic Gift from Class of 1949 Alumna A generous $2.5 million bequest from the estate of Susanne Eck Higinbothom ’49 and her husband William—the largest outright gift in Bryn Mawr’s 137-year history—will support the expansion of student support services in the Middle School and help fund some renovations to existing Middle School spaces. Susanne was a member of the Ex Solo Ad Solem Society, a group of dedicated donors who have included Bryn Mawr in their estate planning as a meaningful way to leave a lasting legacy, ensuring the school’s mission reaches the next generation of students. Susanne attended Bryn Mawr from kindergarten through her graduation in 1949. Her nephew, Eben Eck, says his aunt’s Bryn Mawr days were an “important part of her life, and among her happiest times.” In recognition of this extraordinary gift, the North Building, one of the anchor buildings on Bryn Mawr’s 26-acre campus, will be renamed beginning in 2023 to the William and Susanne Eck Higinbothom ’49 Building. “This generous gift reflects the lasting impact Bryn Mawr had on Susanne’s life, the support she felt from her teachers and classmates and, above all else, the Higinbothoms’s deep belief in the power of a transformative education,” said Head of School Sue Sadler.
”Focus on being that one voice in every conversation who urges the right thing.” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
addressing the Class of 2022
at Bryn Mawr Commencement
Mawrtian Athletics What a year for the Mawrtians! Fall season highlights include varsity field hockey bringing home the coveted cup for the fourth consecutive year during a 6-0 shutout Cup Game vs. RPCS. The team advanced to the IAAM A Conference semifinals. Three cross country runners placed in the top 20 at the Spiked Shoe Invitational in September. This winter, Mawrtian squash won the A Conference championships and ended the season ranked 13th in the nation, while swimming went undefeated in the regular season and finished second in the A Conference Championships. Maggie Winstead ’22 and Ella Cooper ’24 celebrated firstplace wins in the 3200-meter run and the 500-meter dash, respectively, at the indoor track and field A Conference championships. This spring, varsity lacrosse ranked top five in the IAAM A Conference and top 20 nationally, and competed in the A Conference semifinals for the first time in nine years. Bryn Mawr’s badminton team finished first in the regular season and the doubles team won the doubles championship. Softball played in the C Conference semifinals, while track and field athletes hit several personal records and new school records. 02
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ALUMNAE WEEKEND Third time's a charm! Spirits were high as classmates and friends reunited for our first in person Alumnae Weekend and Gym Drill since the pandemic. Check out these highlights!
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Sydney Hopkins ’71 reconnects with a classmate at the Class of 1971’s belated 50th reunion dinner.
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Alumnae Association President Emily Prevas ’98 P’28 ‘32 (right) connects with Jasmine Harrison ‘07 (left) and Paris Bienert ‘10 (center) during Friday night's Mingle on Melrose celebration for alumnae and their families.
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The Class of 1972 stands proud and victorious after sweeping the prize categories during Saturday's Alumnae Giving Awards ceremony (read more on page 6).
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The Class of 2031 took the energy of Maypole to KVB Gym where they handed out daisies and gave their all for a twirling performance.
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The Class of 2022 exits KVB Gym for their final Gym Drill. The rain couldn't stop their laughter and joy at carrying on this beloved Bryn Mawr tradition.
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Derrica McCullers Lane ’99 and her son represent the Class of 1999 in the Banner March.
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Alumnae award winners Hilary Harp Falk ’97 (left) and Rebekah Robinson ’17 (right) engage in a lively conversation during the Alumnae Convocation (read more on page 7).
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Suzy Feldman Rosenthal ‘72 (middle) celebrates her 50th reunion with her daughter, Anne Rosenthal ‘06 (left), and Anne Sapir DeMuth ‘82 (right).
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AND THE WINNERS ARE… Giving Awards
The 2022 Alumnae and Giving Awards Every year, we honor outstanding Bryn Mawr alumnae who embody the school mission through their achievements and service. We also shout the love for
Overall Reunion Gift — Class of 1972 Reunion Gift* — Class of 1972
Reunion Participation — Class of 1972 Young Alumnae Participation — Class of 2012
*Given to the class who has raised the most for
The Fund for Bryn Mawr, the school’s annual fund.
everyone who gave generously this year in honor of their reunion. Congratulations to the following individuals and classes!
CLASS OF
1972
2012
79%
24% participation
participation
$259,261 raised overall AND THE WINNERS ARE…
CLASS OF
Honorable mention: Class of 2007 with 22% participation!
Distinguished Alumna Award Congratulations to Hilary Harp Falk ’97, recipient of this year’s award, given to an alumna who embodies the highest ideal of the school through her professional or volunteer commitments. Hilary is President and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Throughout her career, Hilary has championed women’s leadership and advanced equity in the conservation movement. She was a fellow with the International Women’s Forum and co-chaired the National Wildlife Federation’s Women in Conservation Leadership Advisory Council.
Anne Edmunds Croker ’58 Alumnae Service Award This award, recognizing exemplary dedication to Bryn Mawr and named in honor of the school’s first Alumnae Director, Anne Edmunds Croker ’58, goes to an alumna who later served in the same role: Anne Potter ’72. Classmates called Potter “brave and bold,” and unafraid to invite fellow alumnae to join her as generous donors. Potter’s efforts with the 50th Reunion Committee helped raise $259,261 and lead to the highest number of newly documented planned gifts of any alumnae class.
Young Alumna Award Rebekah Robinson ’17 is a trilingual multimedia journalist and holds a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Columbia University. A podcast producer, Rebekah works to uplift marginalized voices and has produced projects around LGBTQ+ identities in Eastern Europe and the Slavic Diaspora, as well as highlighting the impressive work of Black student content creators in Toronto. Earlier this year, Rebekah was nominated for Good Morning America’s 2022 Inspiration List for encouraging and advocating for young people, especially Black LGBTQ+ youth, across the globe.
Senior Alumna Award This year’s honor goes to Judith Temkin Irvine ’62, an anthropologist recognized for her work on language and communication in social, cultural and historical contexts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. She is known particularly for her studies of linguistic practices that both shape and reflect social hierarchy, inequality and ideology. A graduate of Harvard University, the École Pratique des Hautes Études and the University of Pennsylvania, Judith is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship.
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GOOD TO KNOW How to Take Meaningful Photos with Charlotte Graham Zacharkiw ’97 1 Charlotte Graham Zacharkiw ’97 knows how to capture a moment. Whether it’s a glimpse of childhood exploration or a poignant moment at a wedding, she understands that photography is about more than the light, shutter speed and composition. What makes a photograph memorable is the emotion it creates. She has a few tips to help you take your photography to the next level.
Try taking pictures in places you typically might not consider photo-worthy and see what happens—like at the breakfast table!
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Many of the best shots aren’t planned, so keep your camera on hand. People who know me locally would not be surprised to find me at the grocery store, in the carpool line or out to dinner with a camera around my neck. Some of my best shots were taken when I observed the environment, anticipated the moment and was prepared with my camera, ready to shoot!
An everyday moment I caught up close of Henry, using natural window light—don't forget natural light is your best friend.
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GOOD TO KNOW
Avoid prompting with “say cheese” because natural expressions can be captured simply with laughter, play or when your subject is not looking at the lens.
MAKE A POINT TO BE CAMERA-READY.
KEEP IT REAL. This advice comes from documenting my children for a decade. When my first child was a baby, I dressed him in perfect hand-smocked outfits and cleared the background of distractions. Over time, I sought a more realistic perspective: a cluttered room, a child covered in paint or expressions both happy and sad. The truer my images are to reality, the more emotion these images hold for me. These photos will be the most meaningful to my family and stand the test of time. Try filling the frame with what feels real and matters most to you.
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YOU ARE YOUR BEST TOOL, SO RUN WITH IT! You can spend a fortune on camera gear, but remember: you are your very best tool. There are many incredible cameras out there but there is only one YOU! Some of my favorite images have come out of a $20 film camera. You are the one composing the image, capturing the scene, cropping it to your preference and focusing on light and exposure. Don’t get caught up in buying the best gear, just use what you have and have fun!
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GO PLAY AROUND! My career started with no experience beyond the use of a small point-andshoot digital camera. Formal training consisted of classes at the local Center for Photography and assisting other photographers. With time and lots of practice I opened my own photography business. Ten years into my career, I am still trying to push myself in my work, which requires practice and experimentation. To practice, try giving yourself a photography assignment. This will force you to get out there and shoot with purpose. Print your images and review your portfolio of work.
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Survey your scene, find different landscapes or environments. See if you can notice patterns or get a series going. Try framing the same scene differently. Most important— keep practicing!
REFLECT AND HAVE FUN! My goal used to be technical perfection, under the assumption that my clients, wedding planners and magazines wanted a technically perfect image. This changed at a photography workshop where my work was evaluated by a panel of master photographers. The feedback I received was that my work looked like everyone else’s. The work was technically perfect, but indistinguishable from my peers. This was a major turning point, freeing me to focus on developing my own style. I began to let go of what I assumed others expected of me and started to have fun. Let your heart be your guide, not the rules of photography. This will help you find your voice.
A simple way for me to get a self-portrait with my children uses the reflection of a mirror—don't be afraid to get creative with your selfies!
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Charlotte Graham Zacharkiw ’97 Owner of Charlotte Elizabeth Photographer Charlotte is a family and lifestyle photographer based out of Charleston, South Carolina. During the pandemic, she created and led the “What Matters Most Photo Challenge,” 21 days of photo directives and journaling prompts to inspire families to document what matters most. Her latest project, WEREAWAY, is a website about traveling the world with young children. You can find her on Instagram @charlottezacharkiw and @wereaway.co.
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CLASS IN SESSION Public Health and Epidemiology Division: Upper School Students in Dr. Sasha Klevytska’s Public Health and Epidemiology elective have used the COVID pandemic as a real-time case study to think critically about infectious disease patterns and the impacts of public health policies. Inspired to design the course in summer 2020, Klevytska’s goal was for students to better understand the scope of public health by applying a humanities lens to medical science, weaving together the fields of medical science, history and sociology. “I want students to be comfortable navigating public health concepts and language, whether they are pursuing science fields or not,” she said. “They should have tools they can use when they are simply reading the news.” The course covers epidemics throughout history, vaccine development, public policy and epidemiological tools. The ever-changing pandemic allowed students to observe community metrics, make predictions, research vaccine myths and draft public health policies at the height of the omicron surge. Klevytska also invited several Bryn Mawr alumnae to visit the class and share their work with students (see box at right). “The speakers inspired me to consider a career in public health, as it is a vast field,” shared Christina Sousou ’23, who called the class one of her most rewarding at Bryn Mawr. Given the nation’s polarization around issues like masks and vaccines, Klevytska wanted students to consider different perspectives on current events. In October, students were randomly assigned roles of community stakeholders to debate
CLASS IN SESSION
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LET’S DISH
mask mandates in a town-hall-style event. Dressed up as government leaders, parents, teachers and public health officials, the dialogue prompted students to see the issues through someone else’s eyes—a lesson Klevytska hopes will last long after the COVID pandemic. “Ultimately, I want students to recognize their role as a global citizen and be able to approach issues with discernment, sensitivity to different perspectives and a critically-thinking mind about the interconnectedness of health in our lives,” said Klevytska.
“The speakers inspired me to consider a career in public health, as it is a vast field.” Christina Sousou ‘23
Thank you to the following
alumnae public health professionals who shared their expertise with the class:
Hanh La ’89 Center for High Impact Philanthropy, Univ. of Penn.
Sadiya Muqueeth ’02 Trust for Public Land
Serena Patel ’16 MN/MSN Student at Emory University
Anna SickSamuels ’04 Assoc. Epidemiologist, Johns Hopkins Hospital
Lynn McQueen Van Geison ’79 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
You can inspire students through your work! To get involved contact Deanna Boyd ’05: boydd@brynmawrschool.org.
Grandma Jean's Chocolate Chip Cookies Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 9–11 minutes Yield: 36+ delicious cookies
D S ISH ’ T LE
What You'll Need
‟
Ingredients: ▫ 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour ▫ 1 teaspoon baking soda ▫ 1 teaspoon salt ▫ 1 cup butter, softened ▫ ¾ cup granulated sugar ▫ ¾ cup packed brown sugar ▫ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ▫ 2 large eggs ▫ 2 ½ cups (approximately) chocolate chips ▫ Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans work best)
With Madeline Richard ’22
Madeline Richard ’22 put a delicious spin on her Edith Hamilton project this year while investigating chocolate chip cookies through psychological, historical and cultural perspectives. Her work explored meaningful trends baked into the classic treat, including the importance of individual and cultural values, interpersonal relationships and the role of memory and emotion in food choice. Lucky for us, she cooked up approximately 40 batches throughout this project for classmates, family and teachers to taste test. She also made a whopping 400 cookies to share after her Convocation speech. Here, Madeline shares her grandmother Jean Richard’s classic recipe and credits her with inspiring both a love of baking and her Edith Hamilton project.
Purchase The Alumnae Association Cookbook for $18 by emailing: alumnae@ brynmawrschool.org.
Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
Chocolate chip cookies have been a constant in my life, both as a baker and consumer.” Madeline Richard ’22
3. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. 4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 5. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts if using. 6. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 7. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
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GOOD PRINCIPALS By Elizabeth J. Himelfarb Hurwitz ’93 P’26 ’31
JUST 41% OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL HEADS ARE WOMEN. FOUR OF THEM ARE BRYN MAWR GRADS. These influential alumnae—Felicia Williams Wilks ’94, Kirsten Prettyman Adams ’91, Liz Goodell Morrison ’83 and Bessie Cromwell Speers ’82—have two things in common: a deep network of female friends and mentors on speed dial and better sense than to disclose their senior superlatives. For leadership lessons with a side order of nostalgia, we couldn’t have tapped a better source. Photos clockwise from upper left: Kirsten Prettyman Adams ’91; Bessie Cromwell Speers ’82; Felicia Williams Wilks ’94; Liz Goodell Morrison ’83.
The following interviews have been condensed and edited for length and clarity. You can read the full interviews at brynmawrschool.org/ communique.
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FELICIA WILLIAMS WILKS ’94 CURRENT UPPER SCHOOL DIRECTOR &
ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL
INCOMING Seattle, Washington
HEAD OF SCHOOL THE SPENCE SCHOOL
New York City, New York
LAKESIDE SCHOOL
THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL:
BMS: What did Bryn Mawr teach you about
FELICIA WILLIAMS WILKS ’94:
FWW: What I left Bryn Mawr with was, yes,
When did you first come to Bryn Mawr?
I was at Roland Park Elementary and Middle School until eighth grade, that’s when I came to Bryn Mawr. I caught the bus at the same place from both schools, on Northern Parkway at Roland Avenue, but I hadn’t known there was a school behind the hedges. I still remember the ginkgo berry trees in the back on that trail. I just loved being on that campus, sitting under a tree near the Owl Gate. The teachers had time to spend time with me, to get to know me. I always loved books, but the celerity of learning at Bryn Mawr … when I first got there, I was struggling to keep up with the volume. I had not gotten through a whole assigned novel on time until Iva Turner’s 10th grade class. We were reading A Passage to India. I got to this cave scene in the middle, and I thought, “Oh, my goodness, what is this? What am I feeling? What’s going on?” She helped me build some confidence in what I could do as a reader, as a writer, but also where I could go as a student.
GOOD PRINCIPALS
entering the wider world as a woman?
some tools for navigating marginalization, some warnings about what may be on the road ahead, but mostly confidence in who I was and what I had to offer. The other thing I left with was a lens for looking around and seeing who wasn’t at the table and how they could be included.
BMS: In your professional life, have you
found ways to re-create that community of women that nurtured you at Bryn Mawr?
FWW: It is literally the centerpiece of my survival. There’s a small group of women who are going to be new Heads of School in July. The four of us meet once a week and see if we can pool what we know rather than trying to re-create it, each on our own. I have other groups like that. I always say, “I’ll tell you everything that I know,” because that’s how I’ve gotten where I am.
BMS: How do you think about school fit?
BMS: How do you navigate difficult conversations?
FWW: For myself and when I was looking at schools
FWW: One of my mentors said to me, “If you’re
But then there’s that intangible: How do you feel when you’re on campus? You look for people who love to work together and are committed to instilling in our students from very young a sense of, “We trust you to take care of each other.” Being explicit about that is a part of their learning.
BMS: What is the legacy opportunity
for my daughters, I really looked for places where you can be affirmed. If I can’t trust the people I’m working for and with, if my children can’t trust their teachers to ultimately have their best interests in mind, then they can’t learn. So not to say people won’t make mistakes, it doesn’t mean the classroom or workplace is always cheery and easy. But it does mean that there’s an interest in care. That is the first thing I’m looking for. And the second thing is always going to be a commitment to best practice. That’s a Bryn Mawr thing. We do our research and we do it right.
And then, from a diversity, equity and inclusion lens, you need opportunities to shape a place based on who you are.
BMS: Bryn Mawr students are reminded often about
resilience. So how do you know when it’s time to pivot?
FWW: There’s lots of noise, especially these days.
I was taught that doors don’t close, you can reopen them, and you can turn around and try something else. And I’m really grateful for that, and for this notion of being able to prioritize different things at different points in your life. It’s learning to listen to yourself.
“I always say, ’I'll tell you everything that I know,’ because that's how I've gotten where I am. ” Felicia Williams Wilks ‘94
ever delivering bad news to somebody, you don’t have to have the last word, you can let them have their moment.” So I try to do the work ahead of time to clear up the part that’s ego, the part that is meanness or impatience or some other thing, and really get honest with myself about what I need to say and how I can say it in a way that it can be received. But it’s harder to have a conversation with a parent whose child is really struggling or whose child is in deep disciplinary trouble. Because that is where my empathy reflex fires; I’m hurting for this family as well. And whatever has happened, I try to remember that there’s another person on the other side of that difficult conversation.
for a Head of School?
FWW: The Heads I watch are the ones who
stay connected to students, who have a presence throughout the school. Students know who they are and know they can go to them. Students need to have an academic experience that’s focused on best practice and excellence, but so do adults. Teachers need to have an experience that encourages their continued learning and focuses on their growth as well. Schools work best when everybody is a part of what’s going on. The best Heads, year 20, are still listening to try to figure out what’s really going on and to close the gap between that reality and their policies and practices. But ultimately, it’s about leading with heart.
DAISY CHAIN: Felicia Williams Wilks ’94 will succeed Bodie Brizendine this summer as Head of School at The Spence School. Bodie taught at Bryn Mawr in the 1980s and even served as Interim Head of School at Bryn Mawr after Barbara Landis Chase. Photos courtesy of Joshua Bright and The Spence School. 14
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KIRSTEN PRET T YMAN ADAMS ’91 HEAD OF SCHOOL ST. STEPHEN’S AND ST. AGNES SCHOOL
Alexandria, Virginia
School?” The bigger issue historically had been access to opportunities. So the guys are going out to play golf or the guys are going out to have a beer, and women are not being included in that. I think that’s less the case today.
BMS: How do you think about school fit? THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL:
When did you first come to Bryn Mawr?
KIRSTEN PRETTYMAN ADAMS ’91:
I started in the fourth grade. I had gone to public school prior to that. I remember feeling that the academics were a lot more challenging at Bryn Mawr. But the teachers took such an interest in helping me understand the rhythms and the routines. I have memories of carpool out under the porticoes and how, as fifth graders, we got to open the car doors; going on the airplane trip to France with Madame Eastwick; playing Lemonade Stand on the one math computer …
BMS: What did Bryn Mawr teach you about entering the wider world as a woman? KPA: Someone from the outside would think, well,
Bryn Mawr would have taught us to think about gender all the time. And actually, it taught me to think about gender never. Or rarely. I’m not confident as a female leader, I’m confident as a leader. And when I walk into a room, even if they’re all men (which is oftentimes the case), I don’t think, “Oh, I’m the only woman in this room.” I am just another Head of School in that room. I have gotten questions that probably would not be asked of men. You know, “Kirsten, how can you balance having three children and being a Head of
GOOD PRINCIPALS
KPA: It’s the fit for your child, it’s the fit for your
family and it’s fit in terms of values and priorities. As a parent, I want my children to have extraordinary academic opportunities and critical thinking skills so that they are able to achieve whatever they want. But at the end of the day, for me, what is most important is that they’re good people and that they are going to contribute to the world around them and see themselves as part of a larger community. Thus far, for my professional life, the same thing has driven my choices: I’m looking for a place that really values that sense of goodness as well as academic rigor. When I talk to teachers at a school that I think does that well, they’re going to talk first about students, as opposed to talking about their content first.
“I’m not confident as a female leader, I’m confident as a leader.” Kirsten Prettyman Adams ’91
When I hire someone, I absolutely want to have someone who is an extraordinary scholar. But honestly, I want someone who’s an extraordinary kid person. How time is used in schools also tells you a lot. Is there value in community time? Is advisory time used for important and engaging conversations?
BMS: Bryn Mawr students are reminded often about resilience. So how do you know when it’s time to pivot? KPA: I think one of the things Bryn Mawr taught
me was to always be growing. I get restless when I am no longer growing. If I feel like the work I’m doing has value, even if it’s hard, then that’s engaging and exciting to me. If I feel like it doesn’t necessarily have value, then I’m like, “Okay, what’s next?”
BMS: What has it been like leading through COVID? KPA: COVID forced people to get back to asking, at the core, “What is important to me and what matters?” I think parents are feeling, “Okay, how are you taking care of my child?” as opposed to, “How are you preparing them for college?” Those are both important questions, but there are more and more families saying, “Okay, let’s make sure we’re taking care of our children.” Part of why I’m in the school community I’m in is because that value has always been important.
Finding time to build trust is imperative to being able to lead successfully in today’s world. I have always been a relatively transparent leader. But during COVID, I learned that I’m going to have to be comfortable [enough] to say, “I don’t have all the answers.” For so long, Heads of School had to be the experts and the masters. And certainly we have to be experts on many things. But I think it is okay to show some vulnerability, particularly during a time like this when, honestly, no one knows exactly where we’re heading.
I also think that direct is kind. I have learned to depersonalize difficult conversations and depersonalize constructive criticism in ways that I think make me a better leader. I can’t remember who said it, but there’s such freedom in taking nothing personally. And that was something I had to learn because I’m a people pleaser. I always start with, when a parent comes in hot, it’s because they love their child. And they’re going to be Mama Bear, Papa Bear. And that is not personal, right? I think that allows you to take the heat off a little bit, to remember they’re coming in because they love this little one, whether he’s 18 or she’s 3. And I think partnership and trying to find a middle ground is important. But there also is going to be a time when your mission is going to conflict with what parents want. And I think school leaders have to be confident enough to say, “We love you and we love your child, but we’re not the right place for you. What you’re hoping for is not aligned with what our mission is asking us to do.”
BMS: What is the legacy opportunity for a Head of School? KPA: Hiring, I would say, number one. I try to
interview everyone we are seriously considering hiring. I often say that hiring is the most important thing I do. Our teachers are the ones who spend the most time with our students, so making sure that I’m putting the values in place in terms of the folks that we hire is critical, no doubt.
COVID got us unstuck. It allowed us to reimagine life every day and every week. Things that felt like sacred cows all of a sudden were on the table for conversation in terms of what’s best for the institution today. And that doesn’t mean to be willy-nilly making change. But it allowed us to think differently about the patterns and rhythms and routines that we’d had for years. For decades. It was so freeing. I think we’re a better institution because we’ve been able to evaluate so many things that we would never have evaluated.
BMS: How do you navigate difficult conversations? KPA: I think it’s knowing the why: why are you
having that hard conversation? For me, it’s often because it is in the best interest of the children, or it’s in the best interest of the community.
One of Kirsten's favorite days of the year is the first day of school. She loves the energy and excitement that the promise of a new school year brings. Photos courtesy of St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. 16
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LIZ GOODELL MORRISON ’83 HEAD OF SCHOOL MORRISTOWN BEARD SCHOOL
Morristown, New Jersey
THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL:
When did you first come to Bryn Mawr?
LIZ GOODELL MORRISON ’83:
I was a lifer. I was there from first grade. Because I’m in a school, I relive my adolescent memories on a pretty regular basis. When I meet with my friends, all my classmates who are not in education are like, “How do you remember those things?” And I say, “I see them every day. They just have a different cast of characters.” I try to tell the kids that I work with, “You’re not going to remember the math problem. You’re not going to remember the novel you read, but you’re going to remember …” Like, at Bryn Mawr, we had a disco ball in our Senior Room. And at lunch, we would make Disco ’83. We played disco music. And every time I have to see the dermatologist, I remember that we would sit on the blacktop in the sun holding up record albums covered in tin foil. Those were incredible bonding times. When we were in second grade—we all still talk about this—the school told our class that they had decided it was probably better for the third grade to do the Maypole. So the Class of ’82 did it as second graders and then again as third graders, and we
GOOD PRINCIPALS
were like, “That’s okay, we’ll get it next year.” And then when we became third graders, they were like, “Well, actually, we’re going to move it back to second grade.” We created all sorts of narratives about why we got shut out. And then we did the Maypole for our Senior Dance at Gym Drill. These are things now, as a Head of School, I think about. “What are the stories they’ll be telling themselves about their time in second grade?” We all still talk about the Maypole, which is kind of pathetic because we’re in our mid-50s. But it really matters what happens in second grade.
BMS: When you were at Bryn Mawr, what would you have said you wanted to be when you grew up? LGM: I have no idea what I would have said. I was
not going into education, because there are a lot of educators in my family, and somebody had made the mistake of saying I should go into education. My grandmother was a teacher at Bryn Mawr. She was Frau Schirokauer—a German teacher. I had a teacher right there in my face and in my family. When I got my first teaching job, my grandmother was ecstatic. She bought me a dress from Talbots, and she said, “This is your faculty meeting dress.” She got dressed up for faculty meetings! No one gets dressed up for a faculty meeting. But I remember always looking at this dress in my closet like, “Oh, she gave me this dress as a ‘welcome to education’ dress.” At Bryn Mawr, we had a panel of alums every year in the ETA [Elizabeth Thomas Auditorium], with its black linoleum floor. And the alumnae all did these amazing, crazy things—they did neurosurgery, they worked for NASA. But I don’t remember ever having
an educator on the panel. My classmates, when I told them I was a Dean of Students, laughed their heads off. And I was like, “No, I make a good Dean of Students. I know exactly what these kids are up to.” I was a pretty pesky adolescent. I think one of my whole attractions, probably, to being an educator is enjoying the messiness that adolescence can be. For me, someone just needed to say, “You can be on varsity. But these are the behaviors we need. Or you can be on JV. The choice is yours. No judgment.” I’m a pretty pragmatic person. And it was sort of like, “Okay, you’re giving me all the data. And now I can go make an informed decision.” I needed agency, I needed it to make sense, I needed to have some control. And that’s been the magic sauce for me as an educator. One of the great tensions at Bryn Mawr is, they wanted us to be feisty and independent and all these things that were going to set us up well in life. They asked us to be all these things, but not in the classroom. Be a little bit more well behaved, be a little bit more passive. But I would say that the “feisty” has served me really well. My whole class was kind of edgy like that.
BMS: What has it been like leading through COVID? LGM: Before, there could be a rigidity around
expectations of performance and homework and things like that just had to be relaxed. There was a greater flexibility and a greater tolerance, and I’m not sure it was a bad thing to exercise. There will be schools that will fall back into the comfort of life before the pandemic and the ease of the known, and there are schools that will be stuck in some of the COVID thinking. And the schools in both of those piles, I think, are going to stall. And then there are going to be schools that use these times as a springboard and pull the best of what was and the best of what we created in the pandemic and the best of a new ideation, and they’re going to soar. I hope we’re in that pile of schools, but it will take active resistance away from a very strong human pull towards the path of least resistance. It’s going to take a burst of energy to get out into a place that will actually require less energy. There are some people who are pretty gassed right now. So the idea that you’ve got to floor it, and then there will be bright skies ahead—I think it’s a little harder for some people right now.
“I would say that the ‘feisty’ has served me really well.” Liz Goodell Morrison ‘83
I made it. You may not agree with me; my goal is not for you to agree with everything I do. But it’s really important to me that you understand why.” My hope is that, over time, as I model that for the faculty and the administration, that trickles down to how they work with the kids. Then the kids can process how decisions align with their own values or priorities.
BMS: What is the legacy opportunity for a Head of School? LGM: I honestly believe it’s anywhere you put your
time and effort. There are some Heads who build a legacy through philanthropic cultivation and create buildings and endowments and so forth, and there are some Heads who bring in incredible curricular advancements. And there are some Heads who dabble in multiple things. My sweet spot and real interest is in school culture—authentic school culture. I like to use a definition that your school culture is the behaviors you tolerate. And so, if you look around and see that the way we’re interacting as a community doesn’t align with the words, I think there’s a real opportunity. We have an obligation to send out into the world kids with impeccable character. And you can’t do that if you haven’t laid the foundation for a really strong student culture that the students own. If they’re being told, “This is how you should behave,” or “Here’s what the rules are,” you’ll run into a group of kids like me—they’re just going to resist it. But if you empower kids, really fantastic things can happen.
BMS: How do you navigate difficult conversations? LGM: I always explain the why. If you can’t explain the why, then it’s probably not a good decision. I tell my faculty on a pretty regular basis, “There’s not a single decision I make that I won’t tell you why
Upper left and page 12: photos courtesy of Morristown Beard School. 18
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BESSIE CROMWELL SPEERS ’82 HEAD OF SCHOOL
Wilmington, TOWER HILL SCHOOL Delaware
Editor’s Note [BMS]: As we went to press, Bessie Cromwell Speers ’82 was named the next Head at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, beginning in July 2023. Congratulations, Bessie!
THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL:
When did you first come to Bryn Mawr?
BESSIE CROMWELL SPEERS ’82:
I came to Bryn Mawr in seventh grade and came back later to teach, coach and serve as Director of Admission. I brought the senior speech tradition from Bryn Mawr to both schools that I’ve led. Mine was on my great-grandmother, who lived to be 102. I dressed up in one of her dresses and talked about the things that had changed during her 102 years.
BMS: How do you think about school fit? BCS: There is a school for every child, and every
school has its own unique culture and mojo. Kids change so quickly. The good news is, the Bryn Mawrs and Tower Hills of the world have large enough grade sizes that friends can change. Middle School years are really hard sometimes with class dynamics. And then, just when everyone’s wiggly and tired of that in eighth grade, they get new peers in ninth grade.
GOOD PRINCIPALS
I do think schools have different dance steps, different missions, different mojo, and it’s important if you’re thinking about going into headship that you are selfreflective about your own values and what the values of the school are. They don’t have to be completely aligned, but on the big things, they should be.
BMS: What has it been like leading through COVID? BCS: The thing about leadership is, you have
to know your wheelhouse. My team has taken the Myers Briggs. I’m an ENFP [Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving]; when you’re a “P” you’re more likely to say, “Okay, we’ll figure it out.” So my “P” served me well in this pandemic. Yes, it was fatiguing and whatnot, but I just thought, “One foot in front of the other. Let’s go with the flow. If something doesn’t work, we can switch.” That was good. But because COVID necessitated lots of detailed planning, I needed someone who was going to dig into that. I have an Associate Head who’s very process-oriented. So we’re a good combo. Teachers learned to relax and focus on content; connection and community trumped all of that in good ways. I think we learned what the true essence of education is about. My senior admin team made a list of lessons we call “COVID keepers,” things that we learned and liked about ourselves as a community through the pandemic. And we did an exercise that asked everyone, what is learning? Now I have these beautiful definitions of what learning is. And they’re not about grades, they’re not about getting into college, they’re not about a bunch of the messages our kids have been taught, inadvertently, by the way we’ve been set up as schools traditionally.
BMS: How do you navigate difficult conversations? BCS: There’s nothing wrong with being direct.
As a woman, when you are direct, there is more of a risk that kind of thing can be misconstrued, sadly. I don’t think that is always the case when it comes out of the mouth of a male leader. So I’ve learned how to be direct, but most of all, I think the more people get to know your head and your heart and your values and where you stand, then you have money in the bank to have those harder conversations when you need to. It is important for people to get to know you and for you to take an interest in them.
“Culture change is hard but the most critical and rewarding aspect of leadership. ” Bessie Cromwell Speers ‘82
If you’re really good at this, you’re building a team around you that respects you and understands the vision. Then you don’t have to be the only voice guiding people all the time. It’s different to hear something directly from the Head than from your division director or from a department chair.
BMS: What is the legacy opportunity for a Head of School?
BMS: What does the future of learning look like?
BCS: Culture change is hard but the most critical
BCS: I think students will become much more the
architects of their own education. I think teachers will be freed up to work much more in interdisciplinary ways. All of us at Bryn Mawr and Tower Hill have experiential programs that are very deliberate. I hope that education will be freed up from the pressure of “Harvard or bust.” College admissions folks are really looking for the pioneers. They’re looking for the kids whose schools have taught them to be bold, not just to regurgitate quantities of information.
Photos courtesy of Tower Hill School.
and rewarding aspect of leadership. It has to do with first falling in love with the mission of the place, and then making sure you’re interested in the human element of the school. That means you have to get to know faculty and their children and their goals and dreams and woes. You start there.
There are times when you want to make very clear what the non-negotiables are, for instance when it comes to DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] work, which will always be a priority. One of the things we say to faculty is, if something happens in your classroom that’s racially charged and you don’t feel comfortable discussing it then, you can say, “What you’re saying makes me really uncomfortable. So I want to come back to it.” Then the rest of the kids see that the teacher caught it in the moment, even if they’re not ready to respond on the spot. When teachers don’t catch it in the moment, the kids say, “Oh, that must not be important because Miss so-and-so just let it go.” We’re not saying to teachers, “You can’t go there in the moment.” Absolutely, say it: have the conversation. But if a teacher isn’t ready, at least they’ve punctuated it. And then later you can pull the kids together to deal with it. And you have to share your hopes and dreams. At Tower Hill, we’re in Wilmington. All I needed to do was say, “What would it look like to be a school of Wilmington and the world?” And with that, teachers and students and families got really creative leaning into what that looks like. Our posture really has changed. At a school like Bryn Mawr or Tower Hill, the classroom walls should be porous.
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IN MY QUEUE With Annabelle Dunne ’00
Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker Annabelle Dunne ’00 is always searching for a good story. Her producing credits include films about iconic writers Nora Ephron and Joan Didion, as well as a recent HBO documentary on social media influencers. Here, Dunne shares more about her career path, current projects and what’s up next in her queue.
DOCUMENTARIES FOR YOU:
Q: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE FILM BUSINESS? I worked at Vanity Fair magazine in my 20s and became close with Graydon Carter, the longtime editor of the magazine. Years later, I was working in Paris for the International Herald Tribune when Graydon asked me to join him on some film projects. Even though I told him I didn’t go to film school (I was a poli sci major!) he said, “You’ll figure it out, everybody does,” and he threw me in there. That was over 10 years ago and now he’s my producing partner. Q: WHAT IS IT ABOUT TELLING REAL STORIES THAT FASCINATES YOU? What draws me to documentaries is the search for that story that will resonate with people universally—something seemingly small that stands for something bigger; maybe something about the human experience or the way we feel about what’s going on in the world. Q: WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? We’re in production on a documentary for HBO about a famous Chinese restaurateur named Michael Chow (of Mr. Chow’s Restaurant in New York, London and Los Angeles). He had a very difficult early life, leaving Shanghai when he was 9, and what he’s done since then is pretty fabulous.
Q: HOBBIES WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORKING? I love reading, watching movies and listening to podcasts. I love reading what other people are working on and will often edit and proofread their pages. I love ingesting stuff. I also hike in Los Angeles a lot and enjoy cooking, but I’m a little “cooked out” after the pandemic. Q: WHAT CONTENT ARE YOU “INGESTING” NOW? I just finished Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead and Intimacies by Katie Kitamura, which was edited by my classmate Laura Perciasepe ’00! On the screen, I’m watching Dopesick, Gaslit, I’m a huge Yellowstone fan and devoured Succession. As for podcasts, I love The Rewatchables, Scriptnotes and, of course, SmartLess. Q: WHAT PARTS OF YOUR BRYN MAWR EXPERIENCE STILL RESONATE? I remember feeling equally safe and confident in both my best and worst classes, which is a testament to the teachers and community. It was a safe place to learn and be challenged. I try to create that environment for my filmmakers. Q: FAVORITE FILM-WATCHING SNACK? I have pieces of dark chocolate squirreled away in all the little drawers in my refrigerator. I take a bar and go down into the little cave room where I watch and nibble.
Annabelle's recommendations of films you can stream from home!
ß PRESS PLAY!
1 Flee 2 The Last Dance 3 My Architect: A Son's Journey 4 My Octopus Teacher 5 Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold
IN MY QUEUE
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READ ON!
READ ON! Guide to Summer Reading
Take a look at some of the books Bryn Mawr students and employees are diving into this summer! See the full list and descriptions of summer reading titles at brynmawrschool.org/ communique.
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SEE WHERE THEY'RE GOING! The 84 members of the Class of 2022 are heading off to 58 different colleges and universities next year. Director of College Counseling Ann Marie Strauss said, “The Class of 2022 successfully navigated the college application process with grace, bravery and stamina. The theme in our college counseling office this year [was] ’Joy in the Journey.‘ The Class of 2022 embraced that theme.” See where their journey continues!
Class of 2022 College Matriculation
Cornell University (2)
Please note that a school name with a numeral next to it indicates the number of students attending that institution.
Dartmouth College Davidson College (4)
Auburn University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach
Baylor University
Emory University
Boston College
The George Washington University
Boston University (3)
Georgetown University (2)
Brown University
Gettysburg College
Carnegie Mellon University (2)
Hamilton College
Case Western Reserve University
Harford Community College
Clemson University
Harvard University
Coastal Carolina University
Haverford College
College of the Holy Cross
Johns Hopkins University (2)
College of William and Mary
Loyola University Maryland
Connecticut College (2)
New York University (3)
CLASS OF 2022
Northeastern University
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2)
The Ohio State University
University of Notre Dame
Providence College
University of Pennsylvania (2)
Southern Methodist University
University of South Carolina, Columbia
Stanford University
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Stevenson University
University of Vermont
Syracuse University
Vanderbilt University
Temple University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Trinity College Dublin (2) Tulane University of Louisiana (2) University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of Delaware (4) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Maryland, College Park (6) University of Miami
Wake Forest University Washington College (2) Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College Wheaton College, Massachusetts Xavier University of Louisiana Yale University (2) 24
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CLASS NOTES Class Notes are here! We hope you enjoy reading updates from your classmates and friends. To submit a Class Note for the next issue, visit brynmawrschool.org/classnotes.
1950s 1956 Notes compiled and edited by Helen Bowdoin ’56
HELEN BOWDOIN ’56 “Like many of us, I’m wondering how we got to be so old and how all those years slid by. My husband just turned 90; we’re both lucky to be doing well up here in Walden Woods. Bad as I am at arithmetic (still), I realize I entered kindergarten in 1943 while World War II was raging and my father was away fighting in the Pacific. Thinking over those 13 years until our 1956 graduation, what comes first to mind are the friendships.
CLASS NOTES
Learning how to make friends, learning how to keep them and, belatedly, recognizing what enormous gifts they are. My friends at school were especially important to me when life at home became sad and confusing. Along with most BMS alumnae, I did pick up over those years a willingness to think for myself. Bryn Mawr really nurtured that. Strict though some of our teachers seemed back then, all of them encouraged us to think, speak and write for ourselves. Now, not by chance, I’m working on a little children’s book: Arthur, The Lonely Frog. Arthur’s challenge is to find a friend. Life is not easy nor is his search, but, in the end, success. For all my school friends now well into our 80s, may we continue to stay in good touch!”
Names shaded in gold represent deceased alumnae. Additional alumnae are honored in our In Memoriam on page 63.
PATTI MOMMERS DALLAM ’56 “In my present life I suffer from age-related problems as we all do. But they are balanced out by eight grandkids AND five great-grandbabies, all beautiful. Luckily, I see them frequently. I have managed to figure out FaceTime and can see faraway faces. I’m still in my house that I share with two corgis, Lizzie and Lilo. The only hurdle I find difficult is being nimble enough to get out of the way of the dogs! I usually have a granddog too, and my hearing is overcome with all three barking so I am surprised I still have it!! I use every chair back, doorknob and table as a ‘safety bar’ to keep me upright as they crash through the house after squirrels. I do have to write notes to myself all the time and my hair is almost white (but I still have some!) I still think I’m 18.”
MARY HUNDLEY DEKUYPER ’56 Editor’s note [Helen]: Our class can be proud of having three members serve on Bryn Mawr’s Board of Trustees. Mary is a longtime board member. Peggy Mock Obrecht ’56 and Libby McKenrick Winstead ’56 also served with distinction. “I have been busy chairing the CEO Compensation Committee as a trustee of the Pratt Library and serving as President of the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese. My term ended in November after I led the design of the search for a new bishop and recruited the Search Committee. However, my heart is with Bryn Mawr, which is being guided by both a superb Head and Board Chair. The Board is engaged and actively supportive of our mission. Our board deliberations center around financial sustainability (never goes away) and issues of the time, especially in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Within that broad category, we have focused on racial/ethnic diversity and gender fluidity. Relating to the latter, the board issued a statement to strongly affirm we are a school for girls and plan to remain supportive of the whole girl, academically and emotionally. These are interesting times! The school is a vibrant place, full of amazing girls and young women, along with a truly excellent faculty and staff that care deeply for the students. I hope more classmates can get back to the campus and experience it in person. You might like to go online to learn about a major undertaking that the school will pilot this fall. Bryn Mawr Online will offer a Bryn Mawr education to girls across the
ether. I believe that is the first and only online school for girls. It is essentially separate from the day school. You can go online and learn more at brynmawronline.org. Finally, one of the joys I have is serving on the Board with Ted Winstead P’22. He has played a major role in our DEI work, and I know Libby McKenrick Winstead ’56 would be so proud of him.” Editor’s note [BMS]: Elizabeth “Libby” McKenrick Winstead ’56 was Ted’s mother who passed away in 2012. You can read more about her and her family’s legacy to Bryn Mawr on page 6 of Bryn Mawr’s 2019–2020 Report on Giving at brynmawrschool.org/ communique.
The Class of 1956 can be proud to have three members serve on Bryn Mawr’s Board of Trustees. Mary Hundley DeKuyper ’56 (pictured above) is currently active as a trustee emerita.
BARBARA TRAEGER EINSPRUCH ’56 brings happy news. One of her sons is in Dallas with her only grandson, now in the third grade. The other son lives in California and has three girls, one in high school, one in middle school and the third in lower
school. Her daughter moved to New York. One of her granddaughters is in college and the other is currently in eighth grade. Barbara and her husband have been in the same house for many years. She is enjoying gardening, as long as she does not have to be outside enduring the blistering July and August Texas heat. Late winter is pleasant enough to give her a chance to straighten out the garden and get the perennials and annuals started up again. As she noted, life has been quiet during the pandemic, but gardening continues to bring her much pleasure. Barbara, too, is devoted to knitting. JOAN ATKINSON HAMILTON ’56 “1956 seems like yesterday in many ways, and yet it also seems like a lifetime ago. As I look back over these intervening years I realize how blessed I have been. I have a devoted husband (60 years and counting) and we are both able to take care of ourselves and live independently. We have two sons, both of whom are healthy and living very productive lives with excellent careers; one a lawyer and one a physician. I have been very blessed, and perhaps lucky, to have spent 35 years as a teacher. There was never a day that I did not enjoy my classroom and my students. I was constantly loved and rewarded to see each child’s progress. After my retirement I spent 15 years volunteering in local schools and actually just recently was visited by some of the teachers I worked with. Rex and I recently moved to a continuing care community and are thrilled with everything here. So far we need no help, but we know it is close in an emergency and feel 26
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very protected in this new environment. One of our timeconsuming activities is caring for our two Chihuahua dogs. One weighs 3 pounds and one weighs 5 pounds, and they are a joy to have with us. They entertain us all day long and cuddle on our laps, giving us love constantly.” BETSY ROYER HASKELL ’56 Editor’s note [Helen]: Betsy is the hands-down winner for Class Adventurer. What a fascinating life. Read on! “2022 marks 30 years since I moved permanently to Tbilisi, Georgia. I originally came in 1991 to meet thenPresident Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who asked me to help his government attract funding from USAID, which I followed up on despite his being overthrown and a junta installed to preside over the government (which also asked for my help). In 1993, with only one big hotel in Tbilisi, two mafia groups were fighting for control of it. The newly-setup U.S. Embassy was using that hotel to accommodate its incoming staff and was quite worried that its staffers would be shot in the crossfire between these mafias. Since I had started the only real estate agency in Tbilisi, they asked me to find an alternative hotel. As there were none of a standard the Embassy required—and as I had always wanted to own one—I found a place and opened Betsy’s Hotel in 1994. It became a gathering place for all foreigners coming to town (mostly press and Embassy staff ). While I sold it in 2001, it lasted until two years ago when COVID shut down tourism worldwide and the owners who bought it from me closed it.” Editor’s note [Helen]: Google “Betsy Haskell, The New York
CLASS NOTES
Times” or visit brynmawrschool. org/communique where you will find a wonderful article from The New York Times and AP about Betsy and her hotel. “With a three-year absence to live in Bodrum, Turkey, where I had purchased a gulet (a huge and handsome twomasted wooden sailboat), I came back to Tbilisi when my friend Misha Saakashvili was elected president (after staging a coup against the corrupt government then-led by Eduard Shevardnadze). And now I have basically retired here to continue living in a small house I love with a garden to work in and an incredible view of the mountains, and where I now have many friends and a lively social life. Last spring, after completely updating my house, I thought of selling it and moving back to Baltimore, but in the end I decided to stay on here. Tbilisi is a fairytale kind of place, where the cost of living is very low, the mountains very high, great restaurants and a lively cultural scene, all within easy access. I must add, though, my 12 years at Bryn Mawr prepared me for a life of taking risks and having great adventures; in other words, the self-confidence to take chances. I really owe it all to Bryn Mawr.”
McGill University in Canada and a daughter in Sacramento, California, with her daughter in seventh grade. A lot of my time is spent reading and availing myself of the many things offered here.” ANNE REIBLICH LELAND ’56 “A lot has changed for all of us since leaving Bryn Mawr. I’ve lost my parents, a brother and sister, two husbands and we’ve all lost our school friends. But loss is part of life and I’ve been blessed with new friends, three additional families created beyond my time at BMS and life is good. I did a long weekend trip to Iceland in September to replace a canceled trip to Oberammergau, which hopefully is being rescheduled for May this year. I thoroughly enjoy traveling, seeing parts of our world I’ve heard about and read about and scrapbooking to remember I was there. I miss my grown children who live in three other states. I enjoy my second husband’s children and their children’s children, and they take care of my lawn and share their new babies with me. I now have three great-grandchildren. I enjoy my involvement with a third family, who has claimed me as ‘Aunt Anne.’
LYNN CARR LADD ’56 “I’m enjoying the good life in Naples, Florida. I have retired my golf clubs and tennis racquet but am doing as well as anyone 80-plus. I still find it hard to believe we are that old. I hope most of our class is alive and kicking. I have nobody left in Baltimore.
I belong to a book club, which hasn’t been able to meet due to the virus but allows me to keep my mind challenged. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, an Oprah 2020 Book Club book, is a good eye-opener to what has happened in this country and why there’s a lot of upheaval and discontent.
David and I are in a great continuing care retirement community in sunny Florida. We have a son in Atlanta with a granddaughter attending
I admire the achievements, known and unknown, done by classmates. BMS graduates continually amaze me.”
The Johns Hopkins University. At Williams College in western Massachusetts, Peggy received her Master of Arts in Art History and subsequently became a curator at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, until they moved to Holland for five years.
Editor’s note [BMS]: Wilkerson’s book was one of the selections for the parent and alumnae book discussion series hosted by Bryn Mawr’s Parent Committee for Diversity and Inclusion. You’re invited to our next event! Visit brynmawrschool.org/ community/alumnae/events to stay up-to-date on alumnae events hosted especially for you.
PEGGY HOLLINS MODAN ’56 Editor’s note [Helen]: It is with much sadness that we report that Peggy Hollins Modan’s husband responded to our email with the news that she had died last May from cancer. At our request, he offered a few things about her life. My own memory of Peggy is that she was a delightful, warm and very gracious late member of our class, who loved her few years at Bryn Mawr. We, in turn, were fortunate in having her among us. Peggy graduated from Vassar College (as did their daughter Galey), and they met when he was doing graduate work at
ELLEN HIGGINS MORRISON ’56 “Recently someone laughingly told me of a conversation he had overheard in which a man asked a friend where his new girlfriend had gone to school. When the answer was ‘Bryn Mawr,’ the other groaning-ly replied, ‘Oh, you poor guy.’ Well, I can only interpret this to mean the first lucky man had found a woman who could think for herself and whose values could never be shaken, so surely had she been appreciated and made aware of her own worth and abilities. Weren’t we also lucky? I’m still grateful for every minute at Bryn Mawr, from third grade through graduation. There’s not a moment I don’t remember with gratitude, in spite of math class. Whether thinking of struggle or success, at my age of 83 and beyond, Bryn Mawr will always remain my Grecian urn. I’m glad I chose Pickersgill, a smaller than most retirement community. Tucked away in a quiet residential area in Baltimore County, it’s a comfortable, friendly place, minus the glitz of many others. I must say that no establishment is at its best during a pandemic, but Pickersgill has been vigilant. I chose 80 as my target age to move and it turned out to be the right one. One pleasant surprise was the awareness that on my floor was a German-born resident who
had published many books. His newest one dealt with the Holocaust and I wondered if he had crossed paths with Peggy Mock Obrecht ’56 during her work in Washington, D.C., at the Holocaust Museum. Yes, they had worked together on a project and Fred was ecstatic to hear news of Peggy as they had great mutual admiration for each other. Coincidences such as these do make the world seem amazingly small!” PEGGY MOCK OBRECHT ’56 Editor’s note [Helen]: Peggy gives us two contrasting stories, each sounding unmistakably like Peggy. “First, everything was quiet here until one unforgettable afternoon last September. Francis Ouma, a young man from Uganda’s tortured north, had come to St. Mary’s Seminary in 2010 to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a priest. Unfamiliar with many of the liturgical traditions, he felt (understandably) alone. Having known his father from my brief time in Uganda, I checked on him later and found him no longer lonely and adapting well to his new surroundings. He was serving a church in Fullerton, but had been assigned to another parish, and asked our family to come on his last Sunday with this congregation. As we arrived, we were informed that a lunch for 400, that turned into 650, was put together in his honor along with a celebration afterward. Around us was a mosaic of congregants, African Americans and a large white population. Those who came to say goodbye to their leader cheered the African dances and films showing Father Francis’ extraordinary efforts at fundraising for other nations. We left amazed at how
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much this beloved young man (who had grown up in a straw hut, in another world, hiding from unending kidnappings of the Lord’s Resistance Army) had now achieved.
a LOT, made a lot of friends and ate very well! A job with good cover … If I was late for work or disappeared for part of the afternoon, of course I was propping.
Second, we are still in our house not far from Bryn Mawr and have enjoyed our new, adorable dog who has only bitten me four times and my husband twice. The kennel from which we got him said we needed to learn more about what upsets him. Once in a car, he refuses to get out. Unfortunately, we have no dog psychiatrists in our part of Baltimore. However, my water pistol has shown signs of stopping him in his tracks when he pushes back against our trying to extricate him from the front seat.”
I’m now living in the Hudson Valley in what was once a oneroom schoolhouse, with three unruly feline companions. I do a lot of Taiji and walking in an attempt to fend off the dreaded ‘Old Age;’ we have a great system of trails around here. For 20 years I volunteered with the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, originally mucking out stalls and gradually grinding down to office work, always in eyeand earshot of wonderful rescued farm animals. I do miss them, their funny stories and one requiring three boxes of Kleenex. These days I can think of little else than Ukraine and pray it will prevail.”
Peggy Mock Obrecht ’56 led fellow alumnae and friends in a memorial gathering, held during Alumnae Weekend.
NANCY PURDUM ’56 “I left Bryn Mawr after sixth grade, moved to New York with my mother and stayed there until 2000 when I retired from Gourmet magazine. I was a style editor on the ‘G’ masthead, which involved acquiring props for the food shoots (so I worked with the kitchen and in-house photographer, but basically I shopped). I laughed
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TINA BOULTON QUITASOL ’56 “I have been thinking about our group and how I miss our times together. This pandemic has definitely thrown us a big task to find who and where we are. I am here in Baltimore and have been for over five years. Wendy and I live in my parents’ house in Ruxton. I am sort of a loner because that is what these times ask of us. Not so bad since I have the yard to play with. I also have Jake (my black lab) and we do things together. I miss my friends and I miss the times spent with them. I hope all is well with you and your families and that the same good fortunes are present with all those close to us!” ELLIE THOMAS ’56 “I’m living in a small log house, barely north of the MasonDixon Line, with an old cat who’s in assisted (by me) living. Better than the other way round. I enjoy my decades-
old weekly lunch with fellow National Science Foundation pals, now by Zoom. We notice spending more and more time as each other’s IT consultants/ commiserators. Love to you, classmates. I think of those times. Partly to stop thinking about THESE times!” DOTTY MEEKER WALLACE ’56 “Kids: Hydee, now 65 (not possible!!!), retired in June after 30 years at St. Johns as the Director of the Mitchell Gallery. (If you’re not familiar with the name, the Gallery is recognized far and wide in the art world and considered a gem—a ‘small museum’). Her two boys are 30 and 27 (again, not possible), one in Charleston, the other in Vermont. Hydee and husband Chas have a ski cottage in Woodstock and spend a great deal of time there, summer and winter. Their master plan is to relocate to Vermont. I’d surely go with them, but who wants to be that cold? Rich, 52, has been living in California for 20 years. He loves it and says he could never return to the East Coast. The mild, sunny climate gives him the opportunity to pursue his many fresh air interests. He’s the Director of Golf Services at Torrey Pines. If you follow golf, you know it as one of the most prestigious courses in the U.S. And difficult, situated precipitously on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific. Sara, 50, has been teaching for 25 years. She has chosen the Greenmount School, which follows a less conventional teaching method, and she is recognized for being a leader in that field. Living in Hampden, she has the pleasure of being in a small town within a town. (Says her Mom, way out in the boonies.)
For me, living in Maryland again at Broadmead after 30 years elsewhere has been a major adjustment, but I hear that time levels all playing fields.” SANDRA SPEAR WALSH ’56 “My daughter, Meaghan Walsh Knaub ’89 P’22, is director of The Fund for Bryn Mawr. Her daughter, Martha Knaub ’22, is a senior at BMS this year, which makes four generations as my mother went there too. Son, James, teaches middle school science at St. James Academy in Monkton and Patrick just started a new job as Distribution Center Training Manager for The Container Store. Diana is a kitchen designer for Bray & Scarff and lives just over the hill from me. So all my children are still in the area, which is wonderful. I have seven grandchildren, ages 5 to 35, and three greatgrandchildren, ages 2, 3 and 4. Much fun and bedlam at family events. I still drive out to Lake Tahoe in Nevada for the summer with my 95-pound goldendoodle and had a delightful week in Jamaica with friends in January, which greatly improved my attitude after the last couple of restricted years. I do see Tucky Fitchett Dinning ’56 fairly frequently. She is hiding out on her farm in the country, with its beautiful pond, and feeding all the squirrels, foxes, geese and other birds and creatures who find the place a wonderful haven. I have a knee that needs to be replaced, but I’m enjoying good health so far. I garden, read, knit a little, do Pilates and travel whenever the opportunity arises.”
Sandra Spear Walsh ’56 (center left) leads the Banner March with her daughter Meaghan Walsh Knaub ’89 P’22 (far left), Head of School Sue Sadler (right) and granddaughter Martha Knaub ’22 (center).
ELEANOR ZELL WEAVER ’56 writes that she lived with her husband Al for several years in the Blakehurst Retirement Community, but since his death two years ago, has spent much of her time with her son Cliff in his North Carolina home. In her description of him she wrote, “He is a very protective and caring son, and I could not have gotten through all this without his support.” Eleanor continues to be in touch with Bryn Mawr friends, talking with Jane Athey Churchill ’56 on the phone while keeping up to date on Betsy Royer Haskell ’56’s adventures abroad. Making sure she gets plenty of exercise when back at her Blakehurst apartment, she walks—either outside or in its halls—an average of 14 miles a week. This May, her plans are to return to North Carolina for another long stay with Cliff.
1958 MARY STEWARD HAMMOND ALLEN ’58 writes, “My husband Arthur died in the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital ‘without
cause’ August 3, 2020. May 22, 2021 would have been our 50th anniversary. Because of uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, we canceled plans to have a 50th anniversary bash in New York City, and decided we would instead return to the scene of the crime: Baltimore. So, I went anyway. My daughter Loring drove me down, and I invited my old classmates and those of Arthur’s, all of whom had been at the wedding and lived in Baltimore (and were above the grass), for a small cocktail party at the Mt. Vernon Club. Arthur was ‘with’ us and it was wonderful, and happy-making, to see everyone, all looking anything but old. I also had a splendid time with Kappy MacLean Bovey ’58, Neilson Peirce Andrews ’58 and Sue Peirce Hartshorn ’58 on the Vineyard the summer of ’20. Peri Wheeler Bogert ’58’s husband Larry along with her daughter Blair and I tried to work out a joint reception in Baltimore, since we wanted to have the classmates, but the scheduling became impossible. Peri and I used to have yaks over a coffee that could go on for hours. Larry and Blair and Lansing’s service and reception for Peri was lovely, working around some COVID restrictions.” “Happy times have been sparse the long last two years,” reports KAPPY MACLEAN BOVEY ’58. “Leslie Crocker Snyder ’58 and I had a wonderful time catching up. It was at the memorial service in New York for Arthur Allen; it was a grand affair that Arthur would have enjoyed. I cannot wait to get together with you all NEXT year. On a happy note, I have just returned from two weeks in Chile, including Patagonia. Glorious and fascinating.”
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“Blakehurst Retirement Community is like a mini reunion for Bryn Mawr grads and our class,” shares NEILSON PEIRCE ANDREWS ’58. BETSY STROBEL WILGIS ’58 and Shaw Wilgis are there and so is MARY ANNE LOHMEYER COVER ’58 as well as many others from BMS. Both of SALLY SWINDELL RINEHART ’58’s brothers and their spouses are there. SALLILYNCH CURRIN SMITH ’58 has given up her apartment and is now in the care center. Parkinson’s has taken away her ability to walk or stand. I try to see her as much as possible. Her sense of humor is still there and she is quick with a quip. She is looking forward to the wedding of Kathilynch Smith Martin ’84’s eldest, Kailee, next March. Suzanne Pugh teaches at The Bryn Mawr Little School. Sue Peirce Hartshorn ’58 and I saw LEANNA HAYNIE GREENE ’58 last summer in Maine. She is as good as can be expected after surviving another winter up there. Leanna’s daughter Erika Wibby Mitchell ’91 is there also with her three children. Olive, Leanna’s oldest grandchild, moved from the little school in Northeast Harbor to the consolidated high school in Bar Harbor this year, so they are getting big. Sue Peirce Hartshorn ’58 and I hope to see her this summer and then off to see Kappy MacLean Bovey ’58 in Vermont. Sue is coming up on a year in her new condo and seems to be perfectly happy in it and glad she sold her house (although she is having trouble getting used to the gas stove after an electric one for 50plus years). Kappy took a trip to Patagonia this winter. We gathered at Sue’s last fall, which was fun, and Kaps looked great. We spent the day at the Sheep and Wool
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Festival in the Rhinebeck Fairgrounds. Last spring Peri Wheeler Bogert ’58’s ashes were interred at St. David’s in a lovely ceremony with Larry and Peri’s son, Lance, and daughter, Blair, attending. Neilson Peirce Andrews ’58, Mary Tyler Doub ’58, Lucy Howard ’58, Page Embry Campbell ’58, Betsy Strobel Wilgis ’58 and I also attended. Afterwards, we had a delightful lunch and get-together at Johnny’s in the Roland Park Shopping Center. It brought back many memories.”
Clockwise from upper left: Betsy Strobel Wilgis ’58, Neilson Peirce Andrews ’58, Sallilynch Currin Smith ’58 and Mary Anne Lohmeyer Cover ’58 at Blakehurst.
SUE PEIRCE HARTSHORN ’58 shares, “I moved from my house where I’d lived for 50 years to a condo in 2021 when the real estate market was responding to the ‘let’s move out of New York City or Brooklyn.’ I enjoy the condo life as my dog has made many friends introducing me to almost all the neighbors. Neilson Peirce Andrews ’58 and Kappy MacLean Bovey ’58 visited in the fall and the beds are always made and ready for classmate travelers who need to rest their heads en route to wherever. More recently, I’ve been working with a local
church group with its efforts relocating an Afghan family who were evacuated to here (Rhinebeck) after the U.S. pullout. Each day I try to convince my daughter that I’m not an effective assistant and don’t want to be in the office. I’m not alone with this thought according to research following COVID work-athome guidelines. Each day I give thanks I’m still driving and cooking! Please send any interesting recipes you have as I lost mine in my move.” MARIA GOBETTI ORMENY ’58 wrote that she had just finished directing a movie of a play she also directed. Pie In The Sky is a truly funny, heartwarming story. A mother (85), is trying to get her daughter (65) to pick up the pieces of her life after losing her husband and son. The film has received 18 festival awards and is a contender in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The Victory Theatre managed to shoot the film during the pandemic—while shut down. The theater will reopen in May.
If you’re in the mood for a feelgood film, check out Pie in the Sky, directed by Maria Gobetti Ormeny ’58.
1959 Notes compiled and edited by Carol Wilson Garvey ’59
The class of 1959 mourns the death of MYRA NAN ROSENFELD-LITTLE ’59, who died on February 6, 2022 after a long and valiant struggle with breast cancer. She was an eminent art historian and in 2019, at our 60th Reunion, she won the Distinguished Alumna Award. Our condolences to her husband, Robert Little. SILVINE MARBURY FARNELL ’59 writes, “Feeling so grateful I moved into Frasier Meadows Continuing Care Community in Boulder, Colorado, before the pandemic hit! Here I have good neighbors, including one with a cat that I get to play with every morning, and a good group to share poetry with and good food to feed guests. A recent colonoscopy appears to have improved my digestion and I don’t turn 80 till next November. I have a good walk every day and lots of singing! The most fun recent event was the Frasier Follies, where I was asked to read two of my own poems and thoroughly enjoyed sharing ‘The Song of the Rightness Tightness’ and ‘The Buddha’s Last Words, Revised.’ So sad to hear about Myra Nan Rosenfeld-Little ’59 —so grateful she was in our class and introduced me to a world where it was ok for girls to be smart!” ANNE HOENE HOY ’59 writes, “A set of Carol Wilson Garvey ’59’s and my chums (who were roommates in the 1960s at 67 Riverside Dr., New York City) Zoom together about every fortnight. We have admired how Carol, Tommy and their large extended family have
Remembering Myra The Class of 1959 mourns the passing of their classmate Myra Nan RosenfeldLittle ’59, an eminent art historian. While a student at Bryn Mawr, one of Myra’s teachers found her a summer internship at The Baltimore Museum of Art. Her husband shares, “[It] was at The Bryn Mawr School that Myra, in so many ways, found her true self for life. This is no mean feat, and is a tribute to the education and environment Bryn Mawr provided.”
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coped with the excruciating but not unexpected loss of their son, Tommy IV, from cancer in 2020. As for me, I persist in convincing a few others annually that my editing can improve how their art-historical writing sounds. (Art does have its consolations, as does work of any kind, I think.) My most impressive client is my friend Martin Eidelberg, whose Abecedario on every painting by the Rococo genius Watteau is now at ‘E’ (with paintings such as ‘Entretiens,’ which translates to ‘conversation,’ and ‘L’Escarpolette’ also known as ‘The Swing’). Imagine! I marvel that his patron pays me for this ‘work.’” MARJORIE MUECKE ’59 sent the class a very helpful list of worthwhile and reliable organizations which are forwarding resources to the citizens of the Ukraine. BETSY ALLNUT OSHA ’59 writes, “I loved Silvine Marbury Farnell ’59’s poetry! And her life. I had a breast removed February 11. I am now in my ‘happy place,’ Key West, and grateful to be here. New York felt so cold, but I was extremely lucky. Had a wonderful surgeon and the hospital was three blocks from my apartment. Pat Fisher McHold ’59 and her husband Dave are coming down to spend a night with me in my little apartment. Was terribly sad to hear about Myra Nan Rosenfeld-Little ’59. I hope that everyone in the class is doing well and I send you all my love.” SEYMOUR KEENEY SMITH ’59 returned home in early February after a month in Chile. She writes, “The country’s largely authoritarian past pays off: you can’t go anywhere without flashing a QR code image, proving three CLASS NOTES
shots for restaurants, hotels, airlines and other places. We needed two tests just to get into the country and one to leave. However, it was worth it. We did active outdoor things: hiking 25-kilometer mountain trails, white-water rafting, climbing down a steep desert ravine and similar activities. However, people aren’t particularly friendly and the internal air system is a mess. Also an 18-hour flight to get there.” SUE WILLIAMSON STAATS ’59 writes, “First of all, I had a glorious 80th birthday on November 24, with all of my family there, organized by my daughter Susannah, who moved to Berkeley with her husband Ben and two boys nearly 10 years ago. Could not have been better. I’m still writing and currently working on a novel. I’ve had some short stories published, but who knows if this novel will ever see a bookshelf! I love doing it, though, and one of the unexpected benefits is the new friends I’ve made through writing groups and also in the course of running a local reading series, Stories on Stage Sacramento. It’s modeled after NPR’s ‘Selected Shorts,’ where actors read short fiction in front of a live audience. I ran it for six years (a volunteer job) and turned it over to two other women two years ago. I’m still living in my little Sacramento house with Dale, my partner of nearly 25 years. He’s still working part time. I’m gardening, growing all kinds of citrus fruits and feeling very lucky to be healthy and energetic and to have most of my original parts! My daughter Amy is living in Brooklyn, writing and acting. Two years ago she was a playwright-inresidence at Atlantic Theater
Company, which produced her play Eddie and Dave. It got a nice little write-up in The New Yorker, so of course I have saved half a dozen copies of the magazine! In any case, I’m immensely proud of my girls and adore their spouses and my grandchildren. I can only wish you all are as content as I have the great fortune to be. I’m still regretting missing the 60th reunion. But hey, 2029 is only seven years away!” ANN MCKENDRICK TURNBULL ’59 writes, “Along with most of us, I have had to defer all travel for the last couple years. My sister and I booked three different cruises to Hawaii, all of which were canceled due to COVID. Now we are making plans again. We are booked on a cruise to Portugal, Normandy in France and Amsterdam in April. Hopefully this one will really go. We also go to Cape May, New Jersey, every fall. I also have resumed my weekly visits to my grandchildren in Washington, D.C. My eldest, Fiona Turnbull, will graduate from Holton-Arms School this June and was admitted to The University of Virginia in early admissions, so she will head to Charlottesville in the fall. My niece Maggie Winstead ’22 is at Bryn Mawr and will also graduate in June. Other than that, just trying to stay positive in a challenging world and be grateful for good health.” I, CAROL WILSON GARVEY ’59, hope to get to England in late May/early June to do some sightseeing with my husband, our daughter-in-law and our grandson, who will just have finished his first year at Reed College. I suspect that COVID is here to stay in one form or another and may continue to put a damper on travel.
1960s 1962 Notes compiled and edited by Kate LeBoutillier O’Neill ’62 Since last submitting notes, we have suffered five losses: MIKE FISHER RYKER ‘62, DOTTY JACOBER MCDONNELL ’62, HELEN JENCKS FEATHERSTONE ’62, LINDA HOFMANN MANUEL ’62 and our class-teacher-turnedclassmate, Dinny Ball Culbertson. As always, we appreciated your shared memories of the qualities that made each one a distinct facet of the gem that is the Class of 1962. After many years in Chicago, ANN THOMAS BRODY ’62 is spending more time in Miami, where views of Biscayne Bay keep her spirits brighter amid the pandemic. “My Chicagoarea family was stricken with COVID this past year —seven out of nine got it,” she writes. “Son Thomas has recovered well after his scary bout with being on a ventilator for 12 days.” With a trip to Italy this spring and more travel ahead, she adds: “My inclination is to keep moving on despite the uncertainties, living and learning as much as possible while I am able.” TINA JOHNSON DAALDEROP ’62 shares Ann’s sentiments: “to stay positive in a troubled world, while trying to keep moving on, continuing to live and learn while we are physically and mentally intact. (Maybe some question there about the mental part!) Our first travel plans will be to visit our son and grandchildren in Winnipeg, followed by seeing relatives in the U.S.
and attending our BMS reunion. In September, we hope to visit family in the Netherlands and rent a caravan to tour a bit through Europe. We canceled our plans to visit Slovenia and Montenegro; as we have no desire to be around Russian oligarchs and their megayachts.” PAT MORRIS FRANKLIN ’62 “The past two years have flown by thanks to new activities (games, puzzles, Zooms, etc.), remote and in-person
visits with grandchildren and caretaking.” Pat’s husband, 87, needed two and a half months of full-time care after fracturing his sacrum and a vertebra last June, but he’s doing well and benefiting from a cardiorehab program. All of her grandchildren, ages 9 to 15, are nearby in the Seattle area and flourishing now that they are back in real school. With the arrival of spring, Pat is enjoying being on the sidelines for their soccer games.
The Class of 1962
Shout the love for reunion planners Kate LeBoutillier O'Neill ’62, Mary Hassett Miles ’62, Dutch Kendall Tyler ’62, Donna Whiteley Sieverts ’62, Debby Shephard Jencks ’62 and Bev Davis ’62! This funloving bunch joined Lower School students for a lively lunch in the Mary Christine ”Chris” Hoene ’62 Dining Hall.
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HELEN LOCH BARBER ’62 “Life in Arizona has been full of sunshine and warmer weather, so life is good. I have been busy helping with plants in my friends’ gardens, so I come home at night, feed the cats, take a shower and go to bed. We have been working on a new plant with a bright orange flower that will be named for [my late husband] Kevin.” Helen’s son Mario Jose, who has moved nearby, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a rare connective tissue disorder) with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). Fortunately, he has found a British surgeon, who is working miracles for him. Most of the year CAMPBELL BAKER WHISNAND ’62 lives in Naples, Florida, with “lots of books, Netflix, bridge and being outside. Grandchildren are doing pretty regular things despite COVID: one graduating from college, one about to transfer and one looking at colleges. Seeing New York City in bad shape in December was so sad. Our third cancellation for The Music Man. Now: tickets for July. A highlight was ‘Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience.’ Absolutely fantastic. If you have a chance, go! Looking forward to Croatia this fall after two postponements.” BUNNY GANS SALISBURY ’62 is “glad to have made it to 78 considering the health issues I have had. Charlie and I have moved to a wonderful retirement complex in Naples. He has a very rare form of Parkinson’s and it is the best place for us at this point in our lives. He has a wonderful attitude. We have two daughters and grandkids in Baltimore and miss them so much, but we will head up
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there for the summer and our reunion. To those who can’t come: we will miss you! Keep your news coming.” “I have become a total enthusiastic New Yorker,” writes LESLIE BEDFORD ’62. “I spend a lot of time on my writing, including cocoordinating a group in a program at CUNY (The City University of New York) for senior citizens and another group upstate. It’s good for my brain and I love to do it. We’ve done a fair amount of traveling: Paris last fall, family Christmas in Mexico, then Arizona and, this spring, California (Legoland!) with our son and his family. Daughter Brooks and her brood are in Albany, near our weekend place. I am saddened by the loss of many dear people in recent times and glad there will be time at the reunion to bring them to mind. And I grieve for those who have lost a partner.” MARY HASSETT MILES ’62 says, “We are thankful that this extraordinary COVID era is letting up enough to allow us to resume activities of yore, plan for travel, visit family and friends—and especially to look forward to our actual class reunion!” The Mileses ventured to California last May for Bill’s annual family gathering— mostly outdoors in the Sierras. In August, Evelyn Miles Thompson ’99 and her two tots traveled from Oregon for two weeks on Cape Cod with Mary and Bill. “Otherwise we kept the home fires burning, and I waited out this January and February with hip replacement surgery (necessitated, yes, by tripping on a rug as I fed the aforementioned fire).” BETSY MASON BAKER ’62 is enjoying the extensive, threeseason flower gardens around
her Roland Park home and loves her supportive and enlivening Zoom-ed art class. Family get-togethers have resumed: The Bakers were joined in Santa Fe by their son Richard and his family—the first time they’d seen 9-year-old Caio in over a year. Daughter Abigail works at The Boys’ Latin School, but months of omicron-related distancing prevented her children from visits with grandparents. Younger daughter Emily works as a legal assistant and lives in Owings Mills, and the whole family celebrated Christmas 2021 together for the first time in two years. “This was an extra-long five years [between reunions],” writes BEV DAVIS ’62. “Nevertheless, I have not cleaned out one cupboard, while Cylburn Arboretum Friends has made great strides. We’ll be breaking ground in April for a long-dreamed-of nature education center. I’ll be doing my bit when I lead a ‘spring ephemerals’ walk in the woods; the delight never fails. Iris Bierlein ’01 is still working for NYU’s (New York University) library, although she was able to do that from her old digs at Devon Hill in Baltimore through most of the pandemic. So I was happy.” ANN SHEPTER ’62 says, “In March 2020 I was in Australia and reached California only 12 hours before international service closed down. My daughter Megan Shepter ’02 had bought a small farm in Parkton, Maryland, and I immediately became the daycare provider for my 2-yearold grandson. That fall, after buying the house next door, I was staying with Megan, a nurse practitioner, when I came down with COVID. Without
her 24-hour care, I would have been hospitalized. Good news is I’m healthy, I’m busy as all get out and I’m loved. With adjoining properties, we now own seven acres of farm, with sheep and chickens, and we’re still running and showing agility dogs. My second grandchild arrived in June 2021, so since December I have been the full-time daycare provider for a 4-yearold and a 9-month-old. Good thing I live next door!” SUE NAQUIN ’62 spent most of her COVID time getting a long-gestating book through the final stages of publication. “Some nice pictures but long, and—as you might suspect from the title, Gods of Mount Tai: Familiarity and the Material Culture of North China, 1000– 2000—far from light reading. With a European publisher, it is priced for academic libraries, so you are spared even the faintest thought of reading it. I am slowly thawing out from the prolonged sequestration and doing some long-deferred house cleaning and ‘throwing out of junk.’ Encouraged by a light winter and early spring here in the Garden State, it’s great to be outdoors in the warmth and to get my flower beds ready.” CATHARINE (KITSY) FORBES ISHII ’62 “Jim and I have remained fairly secluded, with local errands and limited family visits, but I have to say that it’s agreed with us. We had a wonderful three-week visit here with my son Chris and his husband Ian, who live in Ireland. And my son Jamie and his partner Kimberlee have begun to think about building a house here on our land!” Now, after wintertime-editing some of Jim’s translations from Tibetan of Dzogchen teachings,
Catharine loves being outside, throwing herself into endless, escalating, unmanageable tasks and projects in the garden and beyond. JESSE SMITH SCHUYLER ’62 always planned to retire to wherever palm trees grow and, five years ago, fulfilled the plan. At the urging of her son, who lives in Bangkok, she has made her home there. “I have a sense of contentment and feeling of safety here on the ninth floor of my building, managed by competent and gracious people, with neighbors I adore. The language is challenging but I have learned enough to be understood. Buddhism here is Theravada, but I learned my chants and prayers in Tibetan Buddhism. More for me to learn and maintain brain cells.” After 50 years in Belmont, Massachusetts, Chuck and ELEANOR FREY COUNSELMAN ’62 sold their house and moved, an exhausting project involving “so much STUFF!” While waiting for a retirement community unit, they’re living in their second home, in Old Lyme, Connecticut, near their daughter, enjoying easy visits and sleepovers with grandchildren (ages 6 and 7). Eleanor stays active in several professional organizations and hopes to ease into retirement while working half time in her psychotherapy practice. “I walk just about every day, which in the New England winter means many layers. Sometimes getting dressed to go out takes longer than the walk itself.” ALEX VON STACKELBERG STARR ’62 “Our League of Women Voters is very active in registering students (and pre-registering them at 16). Take a look at the Youth
Voter Movement’s website at youthvotermovement.org, which started with one mother and her high-school-aged son, who wanted to honor the students killed at Parkland High School. On a lighter note, we have a new family member named Beau, a Chesapeake puppy from Quebec. He is adorable, lively, smart and gets me up between 6 and 6:30 every morning. On second thought, he will be even more adorable when he learns to sleep in.” CHARLOTTE KING LILLY ’62 has also added an adorable puppy to her family: an English lab. “Otherwise, the good news is that there isn’t much news to report.” She looks forward to resuming clowning for patients at Peninsula Medical Center, returning to the normal ways of seeing family and friends and getting together with BMS classmates for our 60th reunion celebration.
Charlotte King Lilly ’62 (left) volunteers in the Caring Clowns program at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury.
After 44 years, SUNNY LEVERING BROWN ’62 still enjoys Boulder as her home, although she’s doing less hiking and backpacking now. Managing her downtown house as a rental, she lives in a onelevel “manufactured home”
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(a trailer) with many amenities: interesting neighbors, gardens and views of the foothills. Her son lives nearby and is working with an old high school friend on a website for startups: startup.dev. “Volunteer days at TRU Hospice thrift store are great for socializing and fun.” Sunny will visit her sister, Martha Levering, in Charlottesville this spring, before heading to Baltimore for our reunion. DORIANNE LOW ’62 “I had a happy reunion with local cousins at Thanksgiving and keep busy with church services, meetings and conversation groups, a writing group, my Bryn Mawr College alumnae book club and WomenExplore, a lecture program.” Fond memories of visiting Kyiv in the ’70s put Ukraine at the top of her concerns, which range from finding more ways to create peace and empathy in the world, to writing a memoir, to downsizing her apartment and exercising more. She is glad to be dining out again and enjoyed an Italian dinner for Boston-area BMS alumnae in March. VI GRAVEURE PATEK ’62’s family, including six grandchildren (ages 4 to 17), is doing well. “My mother, 101, lives in a retirement home and functions quite well with no hearing aids, glasses or replacement parts!” Both Pateks are deeply involved in environmental protection, Vi through leadership of Nahant S.W.I.M., a beach and water protection organization. “I am happy to report that after three years of lessons, I can sort of play the piano! My biggest obstacle is the bass clef.” With gratitude for Miss Hardy’s physics class, Vi recommends
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Walter Isaacson’s delightful Einstein. She also suggests Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin: “A beautiful lesson on the 1700s and the birth of our country.” JUDY TEMKIN IRVINE ’62 “I have two wonderful, gorgeous and brilliant grandchildren who live in Austin, too far away for me to see them very often. I’m still doing some academic work (though retired from the classroom, I’m glad to say); my co-authored book, published a couple of years ago, just won a prize, which was very nice!” Otherwise she chugs along, feeling lucky not to have worse aftereffects from cancer treatments some years ago. Regrettably, she must send her best wishes long distance, as a 2021 meeting she was to co-host has been rescheduled, conflicting with our 60th reunion weekend. BERRY MARSHALL HOAK ’62 “Ten years ago I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the next reunion, but by joining a trial at The National Institutes of Health (NIH), I have survived.” Editor’s note [Kate]: Berry was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 2012. NIH made Berry’s story the featured research article in their magazine. You can find the article at brynmawrschool. org/communique. “I feel deeply the loss of so many of our classmates and believe that my daily exercise routine is essential for body and spirit. Our book group of 43 years continues, which meant meeting outside and bundled up last winter. I highly recommend Vita SackvilleWest’s All Passion Spent, in which an 88-year-old recent widow discovers how much she sacrificed under the pressure of her family’s expectations. I think BMS helped us not to make the same mistake.”
DUTCH KENDALL TYLER ’62 “Shortly after my dear husband’s death from heart failure in March 2020, COVID lockdowns began. I became my grandson’s third-grade teacher, coping with the terrible Baltimore City School curriculum.” For fourth grade, they worked with a homeschool curriculum that was enriching for both of them. “We had a great time reading, doing experiments and taking day trips; it was so helpful to me during my time of grief. (My son-in-law taught the math component—never my best subject!) By the way, I have a new granddaughter and a new man in my life, whom you’ll meet at our reunion!” CINDY WARD WOOLSEY ’62 “We’ve been fortunate to visit Taos and Bainbridge Island, where the kids and grands are, and to have Taos and Bainbridge Island visit us in St. Louis. COVID is definitely not for the faint of heart, but we are slowly and gratefully reentering the world. Next book club in person, then symphony, theater, movies, restaurants, opera, classes, board meetings and bridge, oh my!” DEBBY SHEPHARD JENCKS ’62 “The Jencks/Featherstone families were so grateful to have Sue Naquin ’62, Leslie Bedford ’62 and Kate LeBoutillier O’Neill ’62 in Gloucester last June for the celebration of Helen Jencks Featherstone ’62’s life.” Melissa Jencks ’96 left for Tulum in October to immerse herself in Spanish, while working remotely. A bevy of five Jenckses joined her to celebrate Thanksgiving and embark on eight days of afternoon adventures. After 15 years at Ford’s Theatre, most recently as the Director of Education,
Sarah Jencks ’92 has moved on, starting with a three-monthlong road trip to visit friends and colleagues in the museum field, leading (she hopes) to a new career in consulting. DONNA WHITELEY SIEVERTS ’62 “We keep busy locally with grandchild Finley, 3, and regularly travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit our daughter Mandy and her sons Wylie, 8, and Oakley, 6. The most awakening pandemic experience for me was when a one-week trip to Charlotte in March 2020 became twoplus months of supervising Wylie’s Zoom classes; it could have spelled the end of our relationship. One sad note: my mom, who was born during the pandemic of 1918, died April 15, 2021, just two weeks shy of her 103rd birthday, of causes unrelated to COVID. Fortunately, she was good right up until the end.”
140-year-old former Methodist seminary for young ladies. I’m still Jazzercising five hours per week, while retirement and semi-solitude have made room for another book group; I’m loving the variety: new/ old, fiction/non, here/there. Sadly, our loving and muchloved standard poodle, Dora, crossed the bridge last summer at nearly 14, leaving us with the ever-amazing Amelia, 9. Puppy soon? Stay tuned!”
1964 After 32 years in the Adirondacks of New York state, CARLA HENDRIX ’64 has moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I’m near my sister, Ingrid Hendrix ’81, which is great and back to city life, also great. I’ve always wanted to live in the Southwest and am happy to have the chance now.”
1966 Notes compiled and edited by Judy Dawson Cobb ’66
Classmates Donna Whiteley Sieverts ’62 (left) and Kate LeBoutillier O’Neill ’62 (right) catching up during a visit to campus this past spring.
KATE LEBOUTILLIER O’NEILL ’62 “Tom and I will see London dwellers Matt and Bethan this spring for the first time in 28 months. By contrast, we’re lucky to have Tim, KellyAnn, John Charles (8) and Addy (5)—plus their nine hens— just around the corner in a
Here are trivia statistics: We live in 17 states, plus the Netherlands and Brazil. Nine graduates live in Maryland. Two of us live in each of the following states: Texas, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Virginia, Colorado, Oregon and Connecticut. Based on responses only, there are 31 grandchildren, another on the way and one greatgrandchild. The majority say that gardening and volunteer work are major energies. Many connect on Zooms with each other and on the “class” Zoom. Editor’s note [Judy]: Thank you, Ellen! Baltimore-based friends get together often.
KATHERINE LAWING CAPPS ’66 “We have lived in Hilton Head for 12 years. Love living in paradise. My grands are 18 and 16. Jack, our eldest grand, has been accepted to Penn State University on the main campus with the degree he requested. He is over the moon. McKenna is going to be a senior. James and I just celebrated our 51st anniversary. Our daughter Holly has a very powerful job and has been happily married to John for 11 years. They got married on our 40th wedding anniversary.” ANNE CARTER ’66 says, “I am still living in Texas, but am finally selling my farm and am hoping to move to Lake Conroe where I belong to a yacht club, have a boat and sail. I have also started to go back to Maine for long summers on the Penobscot Bay. I have bought a 200-yearold farmhouse and rebuilt it and am enticing grandchildren to come visit. I have two boats up there. I enjoyed seeing everyone at our 50th reunion.” JUDY DAWSON COBB ’66 “I ‘retired’ in 2015 from a congregation in Towson, Maryland. I then took on three interim assignments (a year or so in congregations which do not have a pastor). The last interim was in a large congregation in Inner Harbor, Baltimore, which supports a women’s shelter, 300 apartments for seniors, eight transitional homes, etc. All of this during COVID when I couldn’t even visit my Baltimore friends. Exhausted, we have retired to Norfolk where we walk to stores, shopping, church and friends. I volunteer in a homeless ministry and visit people elder-er than I. I even taught a lifelong learning course at William and Mary: ‘Images
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for Women Found in Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden.’ What fun. I connected with Barbara Karll McCormick ’66 on the class Zoom. She admitted to having been terrified of French at BMS and dedicated to re-learning it now. Me too!” SUSIE EDMUNDS CONKLING ’66 “Billy and I are both retired and doing a lot of traveling, including buying a place in Vero Beach. We also went out west to the national parks. We are anticipating going to Switzerland to visit with our son and daughter-in-law who are expecting their first child. Our older son is in Austin and our daughter and her husband are in Baltimore with their three children.” MARTHA SCHOLZ CUKOR ’66 “Greg and I are both retired and love it. We spend lots of time on Long Island and Greg sails, whether we are in Baltimore or New York, all year round. I have been very busy with volunteer work. So the pandemic has not found me bored, but has found me totally Zoom-ed out. We see Ez Cukor ’01 (attorney in Brooklyn, New York) and Sally frequently.” SUSAN DERINGER ECKERMAN ’66 shares, “To be brief is a very hard task after 58 years of life. Where has it all gone? For many of you know I left BMS two years early in order to qualify for Church Home and Hospital School of Nursing. But I certainly missed all of you and it took some adjustment to have boys in the classrooms. After graduating from nursing school, I married and traveled around the county practicing bedside nursing at each duty station. Fast forward … I had three children and pretty much raised them by
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myself. My career evolved from bedside nursing to hospital administration and finally working for two healthcare corporations in quality and compliance. In 2000, after ending a 28-year marriage, I reconnected with my current husband Larry Eckerman. We married in 2003 and merged nine children together to what is now a cohesive and loving family with eight grandchildren. I retired from Dignity Health in the fall of 2013. We are very busy with maintaining a home in Napa and Albion, California, as we do not believe in gardeners, etc. Yet … Both of us are busy with family and I am involved in two Firesafe Councils and Collabria Hospice. Larry supports me in my crazy endeavors, provides guidance to our six girls and three sons, oh, and attacks the gophers and mows the grass. We have started to travel again and had the wonderful opportunity to go with a very small group to the rainforests in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in February. I would like to hope that all my classmates are well and safe and that this coming year will be a special and memorable one for all. Please know our welcome mat is out for any of you traveling our way.” DEBBIE DEVRIES FREY ’66 “All is fine with me. I was able to take a trip to Florida in January, which was a nice change. I am anxious to get back to gardening, which I love. Other than that, I am doing volunteer work and still seeing many of our classmates who live in the Baltimore area, which is wonderful.” MARY MONTGOMERY HOWARD ’66 “I am still living in my old (1730s) house in Reading,
Massachusetts—40 years now in the same spot! Working now on trying to spread the word about the importance of gardening with native plants and adding native trees and plants to my half acre.” PAM HESSEY JORGENSEN ’66 “I am a mother to four, grandmother to nine and greatgrandmother to one. My last child was adopted when she was 6. We had her in our home since she was 2 months old as a foster child. I had 27 foster children before her adoption. She is now 44. I taught in an Episcopal school for 30 years. I taught dyslexic children to read. I took courses for the reading program after learning that two of my children were dyslexic. In the afternoon I taught honors math to middle schoolers. I discovered that I should have been a math teacher. Who knew! I still tutor from time to time. I’ve lived in Portland, Texas, for 45 years. I have been married to Ron Jorgensen for 37 years. I am also involved in my church, which is Methodist. I have been playing handbells and singing in the choir for 43 years. I discovered my talent for music when I was at Bryn Mawr. I sometimes think of Jennie Tangney Taylor ’66 and Grier Taylor ’66 when singing because we did that together.” VALERIE WINCHESTER KITCH ’66 “I am enjoying retirement from the public school system, especially since schools are in such turmoil now. Our son was married this year, to our delight. We’re planning a wonderful trip to Dubai and Kenya this summer. These will be the sixth and seventh continents which we have visited since our marriage nearly 53 years ago. Family is the focus of our contacts
and wanderings too. We both are into genealogy and hope to travel to do more research in the Winchester roots who landed in Maryland in 1644.” MARIANNE COOPER LEE ’66 reflects, “Wow, since I left BMS in ninth grade I have been in touch with Ellen Marshall Wood ’66, Martha Scholz Cukor ’66, Dawn Obrecht ’66, Nancy Monroe ’66, and Barbara Karll McCormick ’66. Amazing after all these years. We live in Castine, Maine, (on the Penobscot, for all you classmates in Maine) during the summers and Antigua, Guatemala, in the winters. Daily tennis, golf and/or pickleball (first court built in Guatemala) keeps us busy and in shape; plus, helping raise funds for various schools in Antigua and sports activities for kids in Maine. We have five kids and nine grandchildren between us, after a second 25year relationship with Wyllys Terry. My son started a job in Baltimore many years ago and sat at a desk across from Steve Redd from Gilman. I have also seen Mac Lewis, who also comes to Maine. After many years working for Governor Mike Dukakis in Massachusetts and Harvard School of Public Health doing alcohol studies, we left on an eight-year sailing adventure, which landed us in Guatemala. Life is good and BMS prepared me to do sports, reach my goals and have lifelong friends.” MIDGE FEISS MENTON ’66 “All is well here and I am happily retired. Life is busy with family and friends. My five grandchildren are growing so fast (ages 9 to 19). Mom (age 98) is at Blakehurst with help but happy, well taken care of and nearby! I am very lucky to be in touch with dear local classmates.”
SCARLETT FARBER OBER ’66 “After living and working in the Princeton, New Jersey, area for 35 years, Rock and I retired to Shelburne, Vermont, to be near our eldest son, Ryan. He lives in Burlington with his wife, daughter Frances and son Roman. We are loving living in Vermont, which is beautiful and more importantly, where our two grandkids live. We have downsized to a continuing care retirement community and have a little cottage close to Lake Champlain. Rock is playing lots of pickleball and I am volunteering at a local
charity shop. We take the whole family to Maine every summer for a beach fix as we all miss our summers in Cape May.” DAWN OBRECHT ’66 “I finally retired at the beginning of 2022, but am keeping my medical license and malpractice insurance to cover the volunteer work I get to do, both in the U.S. and in other countries. Erik and I love living in Colorado, walking distance from two of our six grandchildren. We wanted to be near the other four, so we recently bought
Meetup in Denver Seen here taking a selfie with Virginia Clemens ‘09 (middle) and Annie Thomas ‘09 (left) at a Bryn Mawr alumnae dinner in Denver, Dawn Obrecht ’66 is living life to the fullest. In addition to serving on the faculty at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Dawn has written four books and is an active hiker and nature lover!
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a place in Cave Creek, Arizona. Erik will probably never retire from real estate investing, but works for himself and can work anywhere, so we are mobile. We bought a plane last year (both have had pilot’s licenses for 30 years) so we can easily go between kids’ homes and to visit his family in Minnesota.” MARY ANNE POLK O’MEARA ’66 retired in 2013 from running a music school and teaching piano. “I had recovered from practicing law 15 years earlier. We try to see our girls and their families five times a year, but with them in Austin, Texas, and San Carlos, California, it was tough not seeing them during COVID restrictions. We are trying to make up for lost time. I am on boards for two music organizations, an affordable housing provider, one Friends School (about to leave this one) and a private foundation. I am the lead trustee (‘Clerk’ in Quaker-speak) of the latter; so do most of its work, except for investing and accounting, which we contract out. Very fun to give away someone else’s money. John is also involved with nonprofits and serves on some union pension and health funds as ‘management trustee.’ He and I are both also involved with our churches (Lutheran for him and Quaker for me, for about 15 years now). I theoretically still perform both solo piano and duets, but haven’t since 2019. Hoping to get back this coming summer or fall. I’ve found that my practicing is very goal-oriented; so difficult with no performances scheduled. And in theory, I do still want to compose, but same problem. Last time I did was when a local elementary school commissioned a set of children’s choruses. Would love to have more schools
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performing it. I swim, walk and/ or bike usually about two hours a day. John and I are looking forward to another biking trip to replace one in Normandy that was canceled. I read more than ever before, but I think it may be cutting into my practice and composing time.” BETH VANDEGRIFT RICHARDS ’66 shares, “I was a managing editor at a community newspaper in the Western suburbs of Chicago. When Len and I moved into the city, I got a job as a senior copy editor at the ad agency Leo Burnett. I retired almost four years ago after 13 very fun years at the agency. Len retired too and now coaches girls’ crew at a Catholic school here in Chicago. Our two sons are living here and our daughter just moved to Walla Walla. Retirement is great! No more deadlines. I mostly read, take long walks and play golf when the weather allows. The last couple of years have been weird and isolating, but spring is almost here in the frozen tundra. If I don’t watch the news, life is good.” MIDGE POTTER THOMPSON ’66 “I have not kept in touch with anyone for years. I continue to live in Hunt Valley (since 1991). I am growing old with my wonderful black lab whom I have had for 15 years. I am sure that all know that my dear son, David, died in January of 1996. This remains a huge void in my life. My dear son, Jamie, has two wonderful kids (ages 6 and 7). He lives in Mount Washington and I get to go play with them the week they are with him. They seem to grow too fast. Other than that, I am busy taking care of my 2 1/2 acres. That is it! I am thankful to be here.”
1968 CARROLL ROWLAND BARRETT ’68 shares, “The third year of COVID-19 marches on, keeping me primarily homebound. My trips abroad were canceled in 2020 and 2021. I am scheduled to visit Egypt, Israel and Jordan in April and Scandinavia, including St. Petersburg, Russia, in July. I hope the trips are a go. We’ll see. Thankfully, my children and I have not had the virus (yet). I visited Anne in Portland, Maine, and Tim in Florida last year and will go again this year. I was invited by Ellie Adams Lewis ’68 to the Outer Banks twice. I went with Candy Chandler ’68 once and solo the second time. It’s always a treat! I’ve been able to hang out with Terry Inman Conlon ’68 and Deedie Boyce York ’70 a few times, though not as often as I’d like. It’s been fun to Zoom with Candy Chandler ’68, Terry Inman Conlon ’68, Judy Stahl Robertson ’68, Ellie Adams Lewis ’68, Linda Koch Heddleson ’68, Mary Eberhardt Holtzman ’68 and Joanna Pancoast Duncan ’68. Since we can’t have lunch till spring, this is the next best thing. I look forward to the end of COVID—if it ever happens.” CAROL DANDY BECKLEY ’68 is living in Austin. “I’ve retired from teaching elementary school, but have taken on a volunteer job 40–50 hours per week tutoring Afghan refugees. We started with one family of 13, but now have five families. They had never been to school and couldn’t read or write. They speak a rural tribal unwritten dialect called Pashay. The fathers worked in the Afghan army alongside our troops there, so they’ve learned to speak Pashto, which we can
translate to and from using Google translate. It’s quite a struggle but so rewarding … I thoroughly enjoy this new challenge in my life as a septuagenarian!” PRISCILLA BRIGHT ’68 “I live outside of Philadelphia and am partially retired. I am at the stage of life where I keep reassuring myself ‘This is the New Normal!’ At every turn there are things I can’t do the way I used to, but I am fighting back by learning to accept it or find other ways. I tell myself I am in ‘transition,’ but I have a feeling this is going to go on for a while! I am still really agile, in great health, have a lot of energy and garden for hours, but my back problems are trying to slow me down. I am married and lucky to have three children who love to come home and visit: a filmmaker in Los Angeles, a clinical social worker nearby and a financial analyst in Philadelphia.” LAURA BROOKS ’68 reports that “72 is the new 50! I’m still finding a lot of meaning in my work as a marital and family therapist. I’m also on the faculty of a nonprofit organization in Georgetown, where I teach and supervise trainees. My daughter, a registered nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and her 6-year-old son live nearby so we see them often. My son, an intelligence analyst for the Army, will finish a yearlong deployment in South Korea in July when he hopes to be assigned to the East Coast. My husband is an avid trout fisherman and card player. We are all active and healthy … and very grateful, despite the challenges that come and go.” ERIN BUTLER-SENKEL ’68 lives in Arnold, Maryland, with husband, Art, two cats and
thousands of busy bees. “I retired from the Maryland Health Department almost six years ago and enjoy spending more time with my two children, Caitlin and Jake, and grandchildren Esme (7) and Henry (4) who all live nearby. It has also been a great pleasure to reconnect and spend both real and Zoom time with a group of local BMS friends. With COVID hopefully in the rearview mirror, I look forward to traveling again, with a trip to Fort Worth to see my brother coming up.” Class Ambassador, CANDY CHANDLER ’68 shares her story: “My high school honey husband Bob and I are so fortunate. We live on a creek off the Magothy River, where we enjoy nature and the water, such as catching crabs off our dock. We also have two wonderful daughters with nice long-term boyfriends and pets. Unfortunately for us, they’re not nearby. I retired from ‘doctoring’ a few years ago and did volunteer work serving homebound elderly folks. The pandemic ended that, but I hope to volunteer again soon. Meanwhile, I’m a lazy bumpkin. Bob is semi-retired and works at home. Several of us classmates have had fun Zoom-ing every couple weeks. We’re so lucky to be able to keep up with each other through this technology. Some of us ‘locals’ also try to get together for outdoor lunches a couple times a year. If you visit from out of town, let one of us know so we can get together!” “Although we all have experienced the COVID doldrums,” TERRY INMAN CONLON ’68 says, “it has been wonderful connecting virtually through Zoom with many classmates! My family
is doing well now. My daughter, Kelly, and her crew just recovered from omicron. All of them experienced different symptoms! This is definitely a strange virus. I have been busy dejunking! I figured this is the best time since COVID has limited my social activities. In September, I lost my sweet mother at the age of 99! We celebrated her wonderful life at a memorial on her 100th birthday in December. This is a hard time for us, but we were so blessed to have her for so long.” D’ARCY GILPIN DEAN ’68 reports that she’s “just holding things together in the omicron surge in our area. Our 50th wedding anniversary celebration is postponed until we can have it sometime this summer.” JOANNA PANCOAST DUNCAN ’68 and her husband Rory are celebrating their 52nd wedding anniversary this year. To celebrate, “the family is joining us on a cruise out of Baltimore for a week in August.” Earlier this spring, Joanna’s oldest son Rory and his family came up from Florida for a visit. Her granddaughter Anna, a senior in high school, interviewed at Johns Hopkins. Joanna also reports that “gardening is keeping us busy.” LINDA KOCH HEDDLESON ’68 writes, “In August 2020 I moved to Lakewood, Ohio, just west of Cleveland, where two of my daughters and my two grandsons live. I live an eight-minute walk from my grandsons—ages 6 months and 2 ½ years old—and see them almost every day. Since my move I have continued working remotely full time with M&T Bank where I have worked for 15 years in the Commercial Real Estate Appraisal division. I am planning to retire in April 42
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of this year and am looking forward to a post-COVIDnew-normal world where I can become involved in my new community, travel and pursue new and sidelined interests.” “There are many ways I was helped when I entered BMS in the sixth grade,” writes MARY EBERHARDT HOLTZMAN ’68. “The teachers and other faculty that continually challenged me and helped me grow and still inspire me to this day. One teacher I especially loved was my science teacher Elizabeth Hartline. (She was a neighbor of mine as well.) She encouraged and shaped my interest in nature and conservation. She was instrumental in the beginning of Oregon Nature Center. I also played a part in its beginning and served as a secretary at its planning meetings. Now, I enjoy meeting with my children and granddaughter at Oregon Ridge Park and Nature Center to walk, enjoy the animals and birds and the playground. It has also been such a joy to Zoom with some of my 1968 classmates recently.” KAREN MARBURG ’68 sends greetings from Eugene, Oregon. “I have been happily ensconced here for almost seven years now. Other than dodging the worst of drought and wildfires in my neck of the woods, COVID everywhere and other unpleasant (to say the least) realities in our world, I am thriving and in good health. I am now the grandmother of five, the oldest being 3 years old. Though I’m no longer local, I continue to be interested in the Bryn Mawr community and in continuing connections with classmates. So grateful that my parents decided BMS would be a better fit for me and RPCS for my
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twin sis, when we moved from Roland Park Public to a private school education.” “I wish I had some fun news to share,” writes CLAIRE PROCTOR MARSH ’68. “My son has made temporary childcare arrangements for my youngest granddaughter so that I can take care of my 94-year-old mother-in-law, who has rather severe dementia. I guess I need to be doing this to atone for all past transgressions. My business is neglected as is the sorry state of my house. Anyway, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” CAROL RENNEBURG PRATT ’68 and her husband Nick are both recent retirees. She reports that they are “still enjoying San Diego after 42 years here. Son David is getting a master’s in biostatistics and daughter Elizabeth is a busy speechlanguage pathologist. One of our greatest pleasures is tending to our rare and unusual fruit trees, such as cherimoyas, jaboticabas, grumichamas and longans (‘dragon-eye’), in addition to the usual avocados, citrus, stone fruit and walnut, pecan and macadamia nut trees. Our Scripps Ranch suburban location is nestled in a 4-mile-long eucalyptus grove. We wish all a healthy, happy, well-inoculated Year of the Tiger!” JUDY STAHL ROBERTSON ’68 is retired and “living the life of a grandmother, which means I travel and play. I have a grandson, 1 ½, as well as a granddaughter on the way. I also do a bit of gardening, reading and knitting. Though COVID has stopped the annual trips with the BMS crew at the beach house of Ellie Adams Lewis ’68, we have kept together through Zoom.”
1970s 1973 Notes compiled and edited by Ann Whitman Hurd ’73
Editor’s Note [Ann]: Fortyplus years of compiling and editing BMS class notes must be a record—so I’ll begin this write-up with a tip of the hat and many thanks from us all to Sigrid Soderberg Pinsky ’73, our faithful chronicler across the decades. Also, I’ll mention a sober reckoning: We are (as of this writing) just one Gym Drill shy of our 50th reunion. Classmates, please mark your calendars for May of 2023! Some class members have written in about long-standing careers, new careers, families, retirement, finding joy in old friends and in new personal interests, finding solidarity in the face of challenges. It has been wonderful to receive first-person updates from many friends and these, with a few editorial notes, follow verbatim (except that the Communiqué house style outlaws the Oxford comma. With apologies to our English teachers, I am following orders; this is journalism, not English class.) Editor’s note [BMS]: Thanks, Ann—we appreciate you!! SUSAN TEASDALL OLDENDORP ’73 writes of her midlife embrace of a professional pathway. “After raising four children (two boys and two girls), I found a career at the ripe age of 50 as a realtor and I love it. Currently I’m working for Compass in Short Hills, New Jersey. We started a team called The Oldendorp Group and I am thankful to be working with my husband and two sons:
a real family affair! I really hope to stay healthy and continue working as long as I can. When I am not working, I look forward to seeing my grandchildren; we have six so far and two more on the way. I love to walk, paddleboard, hike, cook and do Pilates!” There are lots of us in Baltimore. We’ll start with breaking news from LIZ BOWIE FESPERMAN ’73, who—after three-plus decades as a reporter for The Baltimore Sun—is joining The Baltimore Banner, a new nonprofit news site being run by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism. Launching in June of 2023, The Banner will focus on local news, and it is a daring experiment in developing a sustainable nonprofit model for local journalism. Liz is looking forward to The Banner launch and, like many of the rest of us, she’s also happily anticipating reading Winter Work, the 13th novel by her husband Dan Fesperman, which will be published in July. Some of us have found ourselves obliged to make a new pathway forward. LYNN MORRISON VENETOULIS ’73 writes with spirit about coping with the sudden loss of her husband: “The year 2021 ended horribly for me as my husband, Ted, died suddenly. It has been challenging to figure out what life should be after 35 years with Ted, but I’m doing my best. I’m still engaging in a lot of political activities and fundraising. (If you have money to spare, please email me!) I’m in Baltimore frequently, but I divide my time primarily between New York (where my daughter, Teddie, is a senior at New York University) and the Delaware beach, where we spent most of COVID. Teddie
and I are still traveling whenever possible: Christmas and the New Year in Paris, and the Indian Wells tennis tournament in March. Onward through the fog!” DEBBIE HEBB ’73 writes, “After 37 years of practicing obstetrics and gynecology, I retired in 2020. My husband, Charlie Peters, is still working as a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge and both of our two grown children live near us. Our daughter Drayden Peters ’05 and husband Ryan Lee had a baby girl named Sophia in the summer of 2021. Our son Andy is getting married in June 2022 to Marisa Schuler. I am grateful every day for my family, friends, dogs, books, good health and uninterrupted sleep.” Also stepping away from a long career is KATY DALLAM ’73. She writes from Bel Air, “I have been retired for two school years, living pretty much full time on the farm and staying surprisingly busy just puttering through life. I miss having dozens of colleagues and being around middle schoolers, but I do not envy those who have staffed classrooms during the pandemic. I enjoy staying up late, having time to see friends and setting my own schedule sans bells. My dairy farmer brother and his wife built a milk plant and I happily volunteer there about six hours a week by labeling the milk jugs. One would think my house would look perfect by now; it does not, though I have been gradually attacking closets, bookshelves, desks and piles in corners. My son lives an hour away and it has been terrific to see him every few weeks. I am lucky to see Posie Lang Thompson ’73
a lot and I would welcome entertaining anyone who wants to visit.” Editor’s note [Ann]: I find it charming that Katy, a teacher and school administrator throughout her professional life, still uses the academic year as a basic measure of time. These things stay with you. SUSAN BAKER ’73 writes, “After stints in Washington and New York, I’ve spent the past 35-plus years here in Baltimore and now live close to Bryn Mawr with my husband. I’m a partner in the corporate department of the mid-sized firm I’ve been with since we moved here and am still representing some of the same small business clients I began with all those years ago, which is satisfying. Our 2022 adventure was our older son’s wedding in Cartagena, Colombia, which was spectacular—with the added bonus that all the guests came and went COVIDfree. The newlyweds live in New York and we go up to visit quite often to see them as well as our daughter Abby Bauman Farha ’05, son-inlaw and granddaughter, who are also there. I love being a grandmother! Our younger son graduated from college last spring and is working in Washington, D.C.” Also in Baltimore is RAMSAY GROSS BELL ’73, who chimed in with: “I have been keeping busy during COVID lockdown with work on the Women’s Board of Johns Hopkins Hospital, which has found ways to work around lockdown restrictions and continue to support the Hospital. Several trips to see grown children in Darien, Connecticut, and Dallas, Texas, have allowed me to see some classmates, including Carol Bruggman Mitchell ’73 who is living in Dallas.”
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Our most northerly check-in comes from the talented CAROL PRIMROSE SULLIVAN ’73: “I’m not sure when the last time was that I contributed any ‘notes’ about me. I’m still in Rangeley, Maine, up in the northwestern corner, very close to Canada. I’m still married to Tom Sullivan. After 25 years together, nothing has dimmed in our relationship … except maybe our memories a bit. I have two grandchildren by my eldest daughter, Lindsay Homewood. They live in Applegate Valley, Oregon. My younger daughter is in Shelton, Washington. Everyone is gainfully employed and thriving. I’m still in high production mode with my silk painting. My retail accounts tripled last year and remain strong with spring orders awaiting creation. I just completed my largest painting to date, a commission that measures 60 inches by 24 inches, not including custom wood hangers yet to be created. This silk painting medium will consume my attentions for the foreseeable future. I am passionate about it. The challenges it presents keep me learning and excited about the next project. Please follow my artistic adventures on Instagram @carolsullivan_silkartist, or tune in to my YouTube channel ‘Foxrunstudios,’ and visit my website at Foxrunstudios.com or carolsullivansilkart.com.” Training our sights south, we find ELLEN HUMPHRIES ’73 and SALLY WATERS SOUTHARD ’73. Sally writes from Virginia: “After retiring from my 38-year career as a pediatric nurse practitioner in December 2018, I have been busy with my church lay leadership and local nonprofits in the
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Roanoke Valley. Our local JDRF chapter closed [Editor’s note [BMS]: JDRF is a Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization] as did many others across the country, due to COVID, so now Virginia, D.C. and Maryland chapters are combined into the Mid-Atlantic chapter, in which I am very involved. I am helping any way I can to find the cure for T1D (Type 1 diabetes) and lessen the burden for those of us with the disease. My husband Bob and I have been married for 40 years and we have lived in Salem since graduating from Roanoke College. Our daughter and her husband live nearby. She is an occupational therapist. Our son lives in Washington, D.C., and is now working for Lockton Companies after working with the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association of America) for seven years. He plans to propose to his girlfriend in a month! Shhh! We are so excited! No grandchildren yet. Editor’s note [Ann]: By the time you read this, Sally’s son will have popped the question! “Bob and I are excited about traveling this year to Sedona with our family before then going on a Viking cruise down the Rhine River; both trips were rescheduled from 2020. We spend much time with family and friends at our home at Smith Mountain Lake. I’m looking forward to our reunion next spring. Fifty years? Say it isn’t so! Can’t wait to see everyone and catch up.” ELLEN HUMPHRIES ’73 sent in a photo of herself and Sally Fenton Hahn ’73. (A thousand words!) Ellen writes, “I feel so lucky. I live in South Carolina, but since my three children are in the New York area, I bought a funky home tucked away in the woods, about an hour north of New York City …
AND about 30 minutes from where Sally Fenton Hahn ’73 lives with her husband and three sons. Our families used to spend Thanksgiving together for many years when the kids were little, a tradition that ended after we moved to South Carolina, so it was wonderful to be back together again. And despite the gray (see photo), we both are blessed with good health and our same old goofy sense of humor. We even treated our kids to a beltedout version of ‘Build Me Up, Buttercup.’”
This photo of both Ellen Humphries ’73 and Sally Fenton Hahn ’73 is definitely worth a thousand words!
Hallooing in from the far, far west is KATHY SPEAS ’73. “After 18 years in the California Wine Country, we were motivated by fires, drought and the yearning for ‘Just One More Adventure’ to relocate to the Pacific Northwest. I am now an expert on ‘Clutter Reduction’ and ‘Letting Go’ (you do not need all those books!). We landed in Anacortes, Washington, gateway to the San Juan Islands, and are thoroughly enjoying the healthy, robust ecosystem, the Puget Sound and the novelty of water that comes right out of the sky! Still getting settled and hope to look for a house here when our California one sells. I retired from marketing research years ago and became a hospice
chaplain in 2004. I retired from that in 2014, unretired to minister to a state facility for profoundly disabled adults, retired from that in 2018, unretired again to work a few days a week at hospice chaplaincy again. Hoping that leaving the state will help me stay retired. Missing our travels since COVID took over, but hoping to start in again with the Alaska ferry and exploring the Cascades and the Columbia River. How can 50 years go by so fast when afternoons in class never seemed to end?” As for me, ANN WHITMAN HURD ’73, I returned to the Baltimore area in 2015 after a lengthy spell in New York City and two-plus decades of living in South America and Asia (with a brief Maryland interlude in the early 2000s). I’m presently teaching at McDonogh (!), which, like many other things, has changed a great deal since we graduated from Bryn Mawr. You might think that teaching middle school kids would keep me young, but having the children of BMS classmates Judy Fulton ’73 and Susan Baker Andrews ’73 as colleagues is definitely a reality check on the age-o-meter. Since returning to live in the U.S., I have been like a novice birdwatcher, proudly and excitedly spotting old friends, in spite of the obscuring mists of time. Around Baltimore over the past couple of years, I’ve been delighted to encounter Susan Baker Andrews ’73, Marney Brent ’73, Chachie McLean Chafey ’73, Weezie Dugan ’73, Jackie Gorman ’73, Gay Jervey ’73, Gai Galleher Kyhos ’73, Leslie Londeree ’73, Amy Prout MacLaughlin ’73, Mary Sue McCarthy ’73, Woody Roberts ’73 and Holly Hill Willse ’73, among others.
I’m pleased to report that their plumage is quite colorful and their songs are very cheery. Enough with the birdwatching —it would be ridiculous to go on blithely as if there had not been massive changes and challenges in all of our lives over the past few years. Some of us have had the kind of losses that we knew might come, but still disbelieved would ever arrive. We’ve found second, third or fourth callings (yes, retirement is a calling!). Some of us are delighting in grandchildren or contemplating the “Big Downsize;” some of us are dreaming of running away to France or Belize or somewhere—maybe. The years roll by, but hearing from classmates seemed to make time stand still for me. Let’s all look forward to seeing one another in 2023 for our 50th, where we can stop the clock, compare notes and figure out the next way to be. In the meantime, I’m adopting Lynn Morrison Venetoulis ’73’s ohso-memorable motto: “Onward through the fog!”
1975 Notes compiled and edited by Marka Danielle Fedder Rodgers ’75 and Carol Campbell Haislip ’75
Between protests and pandemics, life seems to have gotten in the way of the class of 1975’s opportunities to connect in person. We are happy to report, though, that we have jumped on the Zoom bandwagon, and in the last few months we have had two Zoom gatherings. In early March, five of us joined a Zoom get-together, including Marka
Danielle Fedder Rodgers ’75 in Charleston, Tara Finn Bull ’75 in Orlando and Katie Merz Walsh ’75, Jessie Brooks ’75 and Carol Campbell Haislip ’75 in the Baltimore area. TARA FINN BULL ’75 retired in 2019 from Intercontinental Hotels Group after years of four to six flights a week and living in hotels. She is now staying close to home and has two (soon to be three) English cocker spaniels that she shows. JESSIE BROOKS ’75 had her own pandemic pod when her daughter and her family moved in with Jessie during the pandemic. KATIE MERZ WALSH ’75 is working in philanthropy for The University of Maryland at Baltimore and enjoys the opportunities to make a difference in West Baltimore. She regularly travels to Southern California to see her children and three grandchildren living there. MARKA DANIELLE FEDDER RODGERS ’75 continues to teach ballet and yoga and also recently added face yoga to her repertoire of talents and classes she teaches. CAROL CAMPBELL HAISLIP ’75 mostly retired this year after teaching etiquette for the last 22 years and is most excited about her new grandson, son of Carol’s daughter Lindsay Haislip ’09, who lives close by. In addition to those who were able to join on Zoom, we also heard from a number of other classmates. KIM BURNHAM JORDAN ’75 is in California and marketing a skin care line, Beautycounter. ANNE WAGNER SPEED ’75 checked in and we hope to see her next time. HUNTLEY BOYCE ARMBRUSTER ’75 also missed the meeting, but plans to join 46
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our next one. BETH FURTH ’75 made it to our first Zoom gathering and continues as a professor at The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Even POLLY DUKE ’75 made it to our first meeting, all the way from Spain!! And last but certainly not least, we heard from NOLENE SAUNDERS ’75, our New Zealand exchange student, who is currently enjoying life as an expat in Saudi Arabia. Her husband works hard and long, while “I swan about, reading by the pool, playing cards, squash and anything else that takes my fancy, and have met a great bunch of people, similarly enjoying life. It’s all beer and Skittles for me.”
Backpacking through Chile Ginny Perkins ’79 and her daughter Isa made an eight-day backpacking trek through Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile in January. Here at the John Garner Pass they take in the awe-inspiring views out across the Grey Glacier, a high point of the full Circuit Trek of Torres del Paine. Ginny described it as her “swan song for carrying a 35-pound pack, but worth every ache and pain.”
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We are committed to keeping up the Zoom. We have a great time catching up and hearing what everyone is doing. We hope more of you will try to join us next time. If you have not seen the previous emails, please get in touch with Marka Danielle Fedder Rodgers ’75 (magicmarka@gmail.com) or Carol Campbell Haislip ’75 (carolcampbellhaislip@gmail. com) so we can update your email address. Fingers crossed our 50th can be in person!!
1979 Notes compiled and edited by Cricket Cooper ’79
Editor’s note [Cricket]: Greetings from the class who faced down not only the pandemic these past few years but also the weirdness of turning 60. Shock waves have gone through us, but it sounds like the folks who wrote in have weathered the transition with typical 1979-er aplomb! As the Scribe this year, I want to thank
those who wrote in, and send love to all the 79-ers. As many note below, life feels more precious than ever. Read on to see the cool things we are doing! JESSE WITTICH ANDERSON ’79 “It certainly has been a crazy few years for me. I had been working at Evergreen Country Day School until I was diagnosed with leukemia and had a bone marrow transplant in 2016. It was a long recovery, but I am doing well now. I have since learned, now that I have suddenly crossed the big 6-0 yard line, that I should appreciate every moment and challenge that life throws at me. I have enthusiastically picked up pastel and watercolor painting and learned the appreciation of expression through art. I was heartbroken to hear of the passing of Heather Gaines ’79. We were neighbors and friends. So hard to believe she is no longer with us. I look forward to our next class reunion (gulp) and look forward to hearing where life and the volcano named the ‘Class of ’79’ has taken us! Hope to see all of you soon. A very special time in my lifetime!” GILLY OBRECHT BABB ’79 “Very little has changed in the Babb household as I still have the same husband, who is in his 43rd year as the The Johns Hopkins University baseball coach; three children, two of whom are gainfully employed, while the other has ventured back into graduate school; one son-in-law, who was foolish enough to marry into our family; two parents, both active in mind, body and spirit; two dogs; the same home we have had for 29 years; a tutoring business that I am slowly extracting myself from in order to have more time to devote to others; and a love
of playing practical jokes, a trait clearly inherited from my parents. However, with that said, I am excited to share that I have launched a new venture, Cloverhill Education Group, with two former colleagues. It provides teachers throughout the United States the opportunity to join a small cohort to learn, reflect and explore educational practices and, most importantly, to support one another as they face the challenges and joys of teaching. As I begin this new chapter of my life, I am looking forward to where it takes me.” MARY MCDANIEL CHAPMAN ’79 “I’m glad to be living in Baltimore again, where I see my brother John and his wife Barbara Banks McDaniel ’79 frequently. I am glad to be singing in several groups. I wish I could see more old friends; in their absence, new ones are welcome.” ARIEL DALLAM ’79 says, “My daughter, Ariel, got married last September and the ceremony and reception were at my house. Could not have managed it all without help from family and friends. I continue to work at a local fruit and vegetable farm near my house where my favorite part of the job is educating people about our produce (i.e. giving them recipes or letting them know which pumpkins are edible, etc.).” ANNMARIE CAPPIELLO GRAHAM ’79 says, “I’m working at J. McLaughlin in Greenwich. I’m enjoying being on the retail side of the fashion business for a change. The client contact is great after so much COVID isolation. We have many clients who are just getting back to in-office work and need a wardrobe upgrade! I also teach a few yoga classes a week and
take classes when I can to keep flexible after that big birthday I just had.” LOUISE BOND HECK ’79 “Now that we are all over the hump of turning 60, I hope everyone is doing great. I keep saying to myself and others, ‘I can’t believe I am 60!!!!!!’ … I am still working full time on site at Kennedy Krieger Institute as a clinical social worker. COVID affected the staffing of the unit I had worked with for 23 years, so I have had a brief change of focus covering our Outpatient Feeding Program. It was quite a learning curve. I will probably rotate back to familiar territory by the summer. Other than having orthopedic surgeries, hip replacement right before COVID hit and spinal fusion in my neck this past summer … things are fine!! Both surgeries were successful. My husband Bob continues to keep our household running smoothly and had a great job playing Santa Claus in a resort in December! He was thrilled to be working. My eldest son Thomas continues to live at home working as a vet tech and got into vet school at Virginia Tech! It was a hellish process, and he will take some time off this summer before starting in mid-August to become Dr. Heck! My younger son Michael will be graduating from The University of Maryland Smith School of Business in May! What an odd experience COVID college has been for him. He seems eager to graduate and has a job starting in July! We are so proud of both of them and often ask each other ‘What did we do right?’” GINNY PERKINS ’79 “The highlight of this past year was the spectacular eight-day backpacking trip that
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my daughter and I scrambled through in the Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile—my swan song for carrying a 35-pound pack, but worth every ache and pain. My other big recent accomplishment is a large installation of 1,000 paper cranes that now hang as if they are migrating across my dining room and kitchen. (Thank God for tall ceilings.) I folded birds every day for the first several months of the Pandemic, hoping that the promise of peace and health would extend across the world. Otherwise, I have been keeping busy with photography, my in-home Airbnb, cooking, gardening, road biking, pickleball and writing a memoir, of sorts. I am so happy for my kids who are artists too. Isa is a professional actor and Silvio plays clarinet for the Kansas City Symphony.” HELEN VAN METRE WEARY ’79 “My main news is that I have just moved again as of March 31, 2022 and have a new address. Back in 2020 I had sold my home of 22 years in Santa Monica, California, where I had raised my three kids, and moved to an apartment in Los Angeles that I knew would be temporary. My 25-year-old son, Brandt, moved back in with me after returning back to the U.S. from Australia, and he is still living with me. We moved to a better location and place that suits us both and are settling in now. The new place is in a community in a more rural part of Los Angeles County, surrounded by a state park, with lots of wildlife and nature, and is really beautiful. Brandt is trained as an entomologist from Berkeley and had been doing field research monitoring wildfire burn areas and monarch butterfly habitat, but is pivoting now into a startup CLASS NOTES
business. My eldest daughter, Evelina (nearly age 31), has recently married her longtime boyfriend, who is originally from Brazil. We are waiting on the official wedding and party until we feel everyone can attend safely and easily. Evelina works as a financial planner at Northwestern Mutual. My middle daughter, Taylor (nearly age 29), is working through a long graduate program at University of Wisconsin-Madison, getting her joint doctorate of veterinary medicine and veterinary science (D.V.M/ Ph.D.) specializing in primate care. She is already fluent in Swahili from her undergraduate studies at Harvard and had been doing research in Africa pre-pandemic. I am still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, though I know it has more to do with ‘Be’ than ‘Do.’ I’m all about that ‘Inner Work’ rather than outer work. I wish everyone well in our wonderful BMS Class of 1979! I look forward to catching up more with folks.” As for me, CRICKET COOPER ’79, I’m still in a spin after years of change. I grabbed early retirement on March 1, 2020. In retrospect, not great timing! The year of trips (Alaska! Scotland! Greece!) I had planned to celebrate quickly became the world’s longest staycation. I fought off the isolation of the lockdown by taking classes online. I am now a certified laughter yoga leader, a SoulCollage facilitator, an audiobook narrator and finished my qualifications to teach mindfulness-based stress reduction. I am drawn to helping people find peace in their lives through art, music and their breath. My tiny town in Vermont is 12 minutes from Dartmouth College, where I currently help
with an undergraduate book and discussion group. I am working on a historical fiction book that involves Edgar Allen Poe and two nonfiction books as well. I am grateful this year to be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of having nonHodgkins lymphoma. Being a survivor has put this year’s big birthday into perspective! Norwich terrier, Hamish, and I are planning what’s next for us. It will involve (spoiler alert!) a return to work and a change of scenery.
1980s 1980 Notes compiled and edited by Carrie Armstrong Montague ’80 and Melissa Schaffner ’80
Editor’s note [Carrie and Melissa]: Some of the Class of 1980 spent the COVID-19 pandemic trying to do our small part to make a difference in the world, following tragic events in our country, including the murder of George Floyd and other people of color. Racism and the ongoing effects led us to look at our own prejudices. We chose to become educated about our subconscious actions that perpetrate divisions in our society and create continued harm to our fellow humans who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). “First, a small circle began, studying the book Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. This core group (Sarah Levy ’80, Kiel Farley Quinn ’80, Paula Fleisher ’80 and Tremain Smith ’80) completed their study and subsequently invited the rest of our class to join a study of the same book.
Other groups formed, adding Susan Howe Baron ’80, Janice Busen Caramanica ’80, Hilary Sullivan Laing ’80, Ann McDermott ’80, Melissa Schaffner ’80 and Roberta Bair Watts ’80. The work continued and the second session of circles concluded their own projects. We learned about our own history that influences our attempts to be ‘good’ white people. We explored how white saviorism, white apathy, white centering and a myriad of other practices that white people engage in contribute to the continuation of the trauma experienced by BIPOC today. Our work continues with a new circle that is meeting at the present, with The Little Book of Racial Healing by Thomas Norman DeWolf and Jodie Geddes as our study. We promise to one another that we will individually and collectively take effective and courageous action, organize against white supremacy and create a brave and safe space to share honestly, listen deeply and hold out to each other that infinite learning is possible. Our compassionate hearts are not enough to heal the wounds our white ancestors inflicted on BIPOC—we must be accountable, take responsibility and continually work on our prejudices in order to combat racism and work towards healing transgressions that have been inflicted since before the beginning of our nation.” HARPER ALEXANDER BURKE ’80 lives in Roland Park with her husband Sean and is nearing the end of her 29-year career with the Social Security Administration. She says that she is “living a wonderful life” and that her puppy Steve proudly wears BMS gold and white attire!
The legacy of the Class of 1980 continued this year when yet another of our daughters joined the BMS community. MARTHA CAPLAN ’80 writes, “Memories of Gym Drills and swords, hanging in the lunchroom and Senior Room, being chastised by Mme. Molling and more, came flooding back as I drove down Northern Parkway to drop off my 15-year-old daughter, Olivia CaplanMohler ’25, who started as a freshman this past fall. Many changes have occurred there since our time—joint classes with RPCS (oh my), new and improved theater with actual seats to attend convocations, the Student Center with a café serving sushi and smoothies, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department and even an ice hockey team, which Olivia joined. (I know … don’t laugh … she got her father’s athletic prowess, not mine!) Coming out of COVID, remote learning and public school, Bryn Mawr was a bit of a shock, but she is making great friends and certainly being challenged academically. I only regret that she doesn’t have Mary Armstrong Shoemaker ’69 as her Latin teacher! We now reside practically down the street near Lake Roland in—get this—Maurie Diehl’s childhood house! Editor’s note [BMS]: you may know Maurie as Sue Little Diehl ’55. I still work in commercial real estate leasing shopping centers for Simon Property Group. This past December I turned 60, which had been haunting me all year, but once I kept telling myself and others, ‘I can’t possibly be this old because I’m too immature,’ I embraced it, donned my sparkly dress with white boots and threw myself a dance party. (Never receiving a gym bar failed to quash my dancing spirit!)”
STACIE FREISHTAT DUBNOW ’80 lives in Philadelphia with her husband Jeff. She says, “2022 has been a busy year for us. My greatest personal accomplishment was the completion of my memoir Can You Hear Me Now?, the story of my journey as Noah’s mom. I am actively looking for a publisher. On a lighter note, Jeff and I traveled to the United Arab Emirates for two weeks in October/November, which was quite the adventure—time in the desert, Atlas Mountains, islands and cities. I also took a week-long trip to Portugal with Martha Anne Davis Socolar ’80! A blast. But the most exciting news of all this year is that our daughter Erin Dubnow ’08 is pregnant with twin girls, due in May! Our five-year-old grandson Leo (Noah’s son) is excited for some cousins.” CAROLINE BAGBY GRUBB ’80 still lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. She says, “With so many others, I have continued to work via Zoom. I work for the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association offering computer training classes to realtors so they can perfect using all their ‘tools’ to better serve their clients. Working from home has been a challenge in that I’ve missed ‘peopleing.’ I’ve done my best to keep my brain functioning and enjoy the outside as much as possible, so I have picked up gardening (found a group of seasoned gardeners who give lots of plants away as they are thinning out their beds) and have learned so much. I’ve always loved our backyard birds, so I am now working on natural ways to keep them happy through native plants along with bird food. I think we are all approaching (or have already hit it) the big ‘6-0’ and
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rather than dread it, I’m going to do my best to truly celebrate the fact that I’m lucky enough to still be active, healthy and enjoying life. Steve and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary in June and we will be traveling to Alaska in the late summer to check that off our bucket list. My new philosophy is to stop saying ‘I wish I’d done that’ so I am ‘doing’ more! I can’t believe it’s been so long since we graduated, but I have enjoyed connecting with so many of you via Facebook. I truly enjoy all the updates AND pictures!” STEPHANIE NOVAK HAU ’80 described her recent endeavors to support local businesses. She says, “Several years ago, I was named as a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Person of the Year. When I accepted the award, I coined the term ‘America’s Commerce Corps’ as a way of recognizing all those people who own or work at locally-owned businesses and serve as the economic and philanthropic drivers of the communities we live in. Local businesses were being forgotten and ignored by the communities they served, as the overriding priority became getting things fast and cheap. Roll forward to the early stages of the pandemic, where locally-owned businesses were shuttering at an alarming rate. The vast majority gained a renewed awareness of how these businesses contribute to the vitality of their communities. These businesses generously give time and money to support local nonprofits and programs that rely on donations and volunteerism, even though they have the least to spare. We decided to bring the idea of America’s Commerce Corps to life in an effort to help locally-
CLASS NOTES
owned businesses survive. The mission quickly grew from there to help locally-owned businesses not only survive but thrive. We wanted to put the ‘Unity Back in Community.’ This program offers tools that, until now, were only affordable to big business. Through a partnership with Esri, the world’s leading geospatial software company, we are able to put these tools into the hands of local businesses and help level the playing field as they compete with the big guys. If you’d like to learn more visit AmericasCommerceCorps. org. I encourage you to be a champion in your community!” MICHELLE HARVEY HILL ’80 writes that she and her husband are retired and enjoying their newfound free time. She says, “I had already retired from being development director for a local nonprofit. We’ve spent our time during the pandemic walking and losing weight (about 40 pounds each). We’ve being doing the projects we never had time for, including some home improvements and purging all the ‘stuff ’ left behind in our empty nest. I like to scrapbook and crochet. Bob makes things out of wood. We run a free Clothing Closet out of our church, which has been in demand lately. We also manage the finances for our church. Once we got our vaccinations, we traveled to see family. Bob and I also managed to take a road trip to New England to see the fall colors in October 2021.” Michelle and Bob have five kids and four grandkids. Their children are: Devin, who helps find resources for veterans; Jonathan, who works for a Ford Motor Company app; Anna, who graduated from Western Michigan University in 2021
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting; Arthur, who graduated from Michigan State University December 2019 with a career goal as a park ranger; and Raymond, who graduated from Michigan State University in May 2020 after majoring in Japanese. HILARY JACKSON ’80 reports that life in Baltimore is good. She’s training for a Bay Bridge swim in June of 2022 and looking forward to lots of travel when she retires next year. HILARY SULLIVAN LAING ’80 writes that in 2022, she transitioned away from full-time teaching and is now an early childhood literacy specialist coaching teachers in the Minneapolis Public School District. She writes, “It has been an interesting new challenge on many fronts. It is feeling both surreal and powerful that I am walking a picket line as the district teachers are currently on strike, fighting for long overdue changes. On the home front, no kids are at home! Our three kids are in their 20s and are doing a fine job of figuring out how to be adults. Our daughters are in the Boston area and our son is in Santa Monica, California.” SARAH LEVY ’80 lives in Maine and loves her career as a family nurse practitioner. HOPE SCHREIBER MILLER ’80 notes that this is the year most of us turn 60 and wishes everyone happy birthdays! CARRIE ARMSTRONG MONTAGUE ’80 still lives with husband Alex and an assortment of rescued animals on their farm in Butler. She continues to be involved with Planned Parenthood on both the local and national levels; is on the board of the Maryland
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MD SPCA) and The Valleys Planning Council (a local land preservation group); and is a mentor for girls in Baltimore City. Two of her daughters live in Nashville, one working in healthcare marketing and the other in development, and her youngest daughter is finishing a master’s program at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. KATE RANDALL ’80 sold her bookstore in Tucson to three young staff members and moved to Durango, Colorado, three years ago. She reports that she’s loving it there! MELISSA SCHAFFNER ’80 was promoted in March 2020, just as the pandemic reached the Midwest. She has served as the Marketing Director for the Army at Fort Campbell since 2005 and is now the Division Chief for the Support branches in MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) which includes Marketing, Information Technology, Financial Management and Logistics. She writes that her Army civilian career has been very rewarding. Melissa’s parents have joined her in Tennessee and she loves being the advocate responsible for ensuring their senior years are happy and healthy—and that all of their technology tools work, even when they “break” them routinely. She and her life partner, Pete, have two beautiful granddaughters who bring lots of joy and snuggles. They are planning to travel to New England this fall for a long-awaited vacation. Melissa continues to serve on the Roxy Regional Theatre Board of Directors and finds an excuse to get on the stage herself at least once a year. She recently
was appointed to the Human Relations Commission for the City of Clarksville and sees more local public service in her future when it’s time to retire from the Army. TREMAIN SMITH ’80 has lived in Philadelphia for 40 years and continues to work as an artist. She lives in her studio and each of her three children lives within a few blocks. Sarah is a fashion designer, Maya an art teacher in the Philly school district and Gus is getting his master’s in social work and doing clinical work in the mental health field. Tremain writes, “Both my parents and my partner of 12 years have continued on in whatever form comes next. I know they are also continuing in me. I’m grateful for the degree of freedom and independence I currently have as a 60-year-old artist.”
1982 ELIZABETH GEESEY HOLMES ’82 shares, “My husband Jim and I have been empty-nesters now for three years as our daughter Emma is a senior at Franklin & Marshall College. After a couple of years without a dog, Chester the pug joined our family last January. I am still working as a librarian at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in charge of the department that orders, catalogs and provides access to all our resources and manages the library’s budget and systems. We worked almost entirely at home during the pandemic, but have been back in the office three days a week since summer 2021. Outside of work I am still active in my singing group, the Providence Singers. After almost two years we performed the ‘Brahms
Requiem’ in person to actual live people last November. Words cannot describe what joy I felt being able to sing with others, even in a mask. My mom passed away in April 2020 so my old home base in Baltimore is no longer, but I am now part owner of a beach house in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, where Jim and I were able to spend several weeks working remotely during the pandemic and vacationing.”
1984 In September 2021, CORINNE COPPOLA ’84 became an empty-nester after her youngest son left for college. “Feeling called to make some big changes. After living in Northern Virginia outside of Washington, D.C., for over 30 years, I sold and gave away most of my belongings and moved temporarily to Chincoteague, Virginia (yes, where the wild ponies live). I am absolutely smitten by the nature and the pace of living. I am more surprised than anyone else that I am happy in a town with three traffic lights! In January, I took a road trip with my son Jeremy (21) who attends The University of Texas at Austin, from Washington, D.C., to Austin! We had a blast visiting Knoxville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery, New Orleans and San Antonio. From Austin, I traveled to Nosara, Costa Rica, for a month. I visited with friends, spent time solo and my boyfriend joined me for my last week. I can’t wait to visit again and spend even more time there next winter. So far, I’ve been able to run my business from wherever I am, working with clients virtually and in person as a mental health coach focusing on trauma 52
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recovery using the Internal Family Systems Model. I’ve also given some personal retreats from Chincoteague and am hoping to give more in the fall of 2022. For now, I will be splitting time between Chincoteague and Washington, D.C. I am trying to stay open to see where life takes me.” LUCY KELLY HAUS ’84 has been busy helping out at Good Shepherd the past two years. “It was nice that this young age group was able to attend school in person these past two years! Kevin and I were busy this past fall with our son Robby’s wedding to a BMS graduate, Caitlin Maloney Haus ’12. Rob and Cait have dated since ninth grade. Does this sound familiar? Our eldest son Kevin is about to turn 30 this June and our youngest, Isabel, is a nurse. She had frontline training with COVID at Johns Hopkins. She is now loving her current work at GBMC (Greater Baltimore Medical Center) with the mother-baby program. Kevin and I are doing great. He is still working in commercial real estate and I am teaching part time. We spend as many weekends as we can in Rehoboth.”
Congratulations to the happy couple! Lucy Kelly Haus ’84 welcomed Caitlin Maloney Haus ’12 to the family last fall with Caitlin’s marriage to Lucy’s son Rob.
CLASS NOTES
SUSIE BELGRAD HAYES ’84 is still living in Colorado but reports spending “a lot of time on the East Coast, as Annie is in New York and Jack is in Boston. I am still working at Access Opportunity, the nonprofit I started eight years ago. We support students from low-income households through high school, college and career, ultimately benefiting the lives of others. When we aren’t working, John and I spend a lot of time traveling and doting on our 2-year-old golden retriever named Franny.” JUDY SNYDER KASTENBERG ’84 reports that she is well, “though practicing medicine over the last two years has been something. I am an addiction psychiatrist at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and while it is a lot, given that Philadelphia is at the center of the fentanyl epidemic, I love my patients, my colleagues and there is a lot we can do to help people (though, of course, helping people earlier on in the process would be better). The head of the Philadelphia VA is a Navy Admiral nurse and she has been an amazing leader during the pandemic, keeping us all (staff and patients) informed and healthy throughout the pandemic. I have gone backpacking every four months or so with a friend to maintain sanity during the pandemic. Abby, 25, is an assistant sixth grade teacher at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia and seems to naturally channel the great skills we had in our own Bryn Mawr teachers. She cares deeply about her students’ social and emotional development. She works as a professional stage manager for some local small theater groups in the evenings,
which is her real love. Emily, 23, runs the intern program for Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (Democrat) of Pennsylvania. She is having a blast in Washington, D.C., and it is fun to see her get to know the Baltimore-D.C. area. Leo, 20, is a sophomore at Georgia Tech where he is an active member of their rocket club, The Yellow Jacket Space Program. My father just closed his lab at Johns Hopkins and is figuring out what being a professor emeritus will mean. I am grateful we have all come through the last two years healthy.” “Not much has changed for me since the last update,” reports LISA LEBOW KAUFMAN ’84, “… and I am now measuring how long I’ve been in my house, my job and my marriage in decades, not years! I still work at LaSalle Investment Management and now am running our group that invests in public real estate (REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts). I still find the job interesting—the public markets are very dynamic and I work with a talented and nice group of people. Mark and I are now empty-nesters. Our eldest daughter, Caroline Kaufman ’16, is out of college and working in New York. Our ‘baby,’ Lucy Kaufman ’18, is about to graduate from college in May and it looks likely that she too will move to the Big Apple for work. It will be nice having them in the same place and so close by. We miss not having our girls home, of course, but we have been pleasantly surprised by how much fun it is to be footloose and fancy free. We have become experts in the COVID-friendly patio party and now, with the world opening up again, are traveling,
skiing, dining out, etc., which is a welcome change. We also have two adorable dogs, Ruby and Norm, who keep us busy and amused. Please remember when you come home to Baltimore to look me up … I always love seeing my fellow Class of ’84 cohort!”
Lisa Lebow Kaufman ’84, Caroline Kaufman ’16 and Lucy Kaufman ’18 celebrated Caroline’s belated 2020 graduation from Tufts University and Lucy’s graduation from Brown University in May.
MARGARET MATHIS LINDEMAN ’84 shares, “Both of my girls are now married and I am a grandmother to a beautiful baby girl! Ken and I moved to Mocksville, North Carolina, to be closer to our family in Winston-Salem. I’m retiring from teaching in May. Life is good!” MARY ELLEN CHANDLER MATHESON ’84 is “still living in Arlington, Virginia, with one daughter at Northeastern University, her twin at Boston College and a son who is a junior in high school and starting the college process. With both girls in Boston, I have been able to see Lisa Curlett ’84 regularly and
Susie Belgrad Hayes ’84 (aka Subbie) while she was living in New Hampshire during the pandemic. I still live near Karin Walser ’84 and am lucky to see her regularly too. On the professional front, I continue my fundraising and development work in the nonprofit space, focused on bringing opportunity to those who don’t have it. I’ve spent the last two years focused on the workforce development industry. I am looking forward to traveling as much as I can this year!” JENNIE DELUCA OLDHAM ’84 is living in Free Union, Virginia, with her husband Ned. “I am the Medical Director of an everbustling community mental health clinic and, occasionally, get to visit my daughter, Addie, who works at a law firm in New York City. My son, Sam, is around the corner studying at The University of Virginia.” Class Ambassador KAREN FINE PRANIKOFF ’84 shares, “This summer will mark the 25th anniversary of our family living in Winston-Salem, which is longer than I’ve lived anywhere. Tom and I will celebrate our 34th anniversary. We have two grown children. Sam is 27 and works in finance in New York City and Sarah, 24, is applying to medical school. I am in the 12th year of working in admissions and development for a division of an independent school that specializes in teaching children with dyslexia. I love what I do and appreciate that I’ve been able to work in person. My parents now live a mile from us and I am grateful for the time I can spend with them after living apart for so many years. We have two goldendoodles, Bella and Emmy. Bella is trained as a pet therapy dog and we visit the hospital
regularly to meet with patients and their families. It was great to connect with friends at our 35th reunion; I look forward to attending our 40th BMS reunion in two years. I hope to see many of you there. If you ever find yourself in WinstonSalem, please get in touch.” HELEN SCHNEIDER RHOADES ’84, a staff officer with the U.S. Department of Defense, is living in Severn, Maryland, with her husband Bob and their three cats. KARIN WALSER ’84 lives 10 minutes away from Mary Ellen Chandler Matheson ’84 in McLean, Virginia. “I have four kids, a husband and a dog. Everyone is safe and healthy. I can’t wait to get back to traveling. I occasionally substitute teach. My eldest graduated from The University of Chicago in 2020 and works for the Federal Reserve. She will begin a doctorate program in economics in the fall. Genevieve is pre-med at The University of Virginia and is studying in Paris. Eric is a senior in high school and going to Dartmouth College. Jalea is 8 and in third grade.” NINA COLHOUN WILSON ’84 writes, “I have recently completed my master’s in early childhood education from Gordon College. I am pursuing a degree as a reading specialist, which I hope to finish in June. I have been working in the local public school as a literacy interventionist, which I absolutely love. I am still living in Wenham, Massachusetts, with my husband. My eldest son is working for a COVID testing startup. The two middle kids are at Tufts University getting degrees in engineering. My youngest is a junior at Phillips Academy. I am lucky that my kids are close by.”
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1990s 1990 Congratulations to ELIZABETH GLUSMAN GREEN ’90 whose daughter, Yakira, got married this past summer. Elizabeth now has two dogs which was predicted in the class notes section of our senior yearbook. She shares, “Yakira also started law school in the fall. Currently we have one in law school, two in college and one in high school. I think that I will be working for a long time to finish paying all of our tuitions. David and I celebrated our 25th anniversary in December last year, which is a little crazy to think about.”
Elizabeth Glusman Green ’90 and her daughter Yakira on Yakira’s wedding day.
KATHIE GUBEN WACHS ’90 is working in admissions at Bryn Mawr, which she loves. Sophie Wachs ’19 is still at Northeastern and Sam is at Friends—a junior, so he’s starting the college process. She spent last year teaching him how to drive because they had nothing else to do during the height of the pandemic.
CLASS NOTES
Jon is still a lawyer and works from home, which is nice because their dog has constant company. She waivers between being surprised at turning 50 to not being surprised at all, “everything hurts when I move.” She hopes that one day our class will have a reunion that isn’t canceled! SASKIA TRAILL ’90 is living in New York City with her fifthgrade twins, two blocks away from Columbia, where she went after Bryn Mawr. She runs a nonprofit, ExpandED Schools, that advances educational equity throughout each of the five boroughs. Still living in Israel, 30 minutes south of Haifa, LAURA BORDEN RICHTER ’90 is working at an Israeli school teaching middle and high school English. Her kids are 14, 16 and 19. Her son is expecting to join the Israeli army in the summer and her girls are in high school. She spent a week in June 2021 with Lauren Marcus Ladenson ’90 and the Ladenson clan in Germany. MARITA DE LARA SOBEL ’90 has a recurring role on General Hospital as Neonatologist Dr. Maria Fleming. She’s currently in Hawaii shooting a Hallmark feel-good movie. She still teaches cardio barre in Los Angeles. “The BMS Dance Team vibes are strong.” For the past five years, LAURA MONFRIED EGERMAN ’90 has been working for a law firm handling bankruptcy matters on behalf of residential mortgage lenders. Thanks to COVID, she’s been working remotely with no prospect of going back to the office. Without her lengthy commute, she’s learned to cook and shares, “My family actually eats what I make!” Her husband
Josh is the night sports editor for the New York Post. Her daughter Caroline is graduating high school in June and will be heading off to Northwestern University in the fall to study engineering. She’s their only child so an empty nest is in sight. “That’s both exciting and terrifying at the same time, but we are excited for her and look forward to many trips to Chicago—though hopefully not in the winter!” Still living in Los Angeles with her husband Takashi and two kids, PATTI RHEE ’90 stays busy designing buildings and creative campuses. She had the privilege of being the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s Kea Professor this year, and was able to reconnect with Kathie Guben Wachs ’90 while visiting Bryn Mawr. She also had dinner with Erika Quitiquit Lang ’90 while in town and an unforgettable night catching up with her earliest mentor and advisor Katy Dallam ’73 at her exquisite farmhouse, Mount Adams.
Patti Rhee ’90 catches up with mentor and advisor Katy Dallam ’73.
JESSICA MONTHONY TEEL ’90 and her husband run an online accelerator program for tech startups, The Hardware Academy. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, with her 10-yearold son. CAROLINE MATTSON SWINDELL ’90 shares, “After almost 10 years of working from home here in Oregon for an east coast firm, I started working for a small local IP firm here in Hillsboro four years ago, only to go back to remote work for the past two years. I like my colleagues and am looking forward to eventually being back in the office this year. My practice has shifted from computer software patent work to more mechanical and textile and garment patent work. On a personal front, I’ve gotten involved with weightlifting and cross-training and really enjoy the feeling of getting stronger. My older daughter is finishing up her first year at community college and my younger child is finishing up their sophomore year in high school. Thanks to our 2020 Reunion Zoom, I reconnected with Jenny Feeney Petrich ’90 and we were able to get together for lunch in July 2021 when she took a road trip out west! Finally, some of you may remember that I became an aunt in 10th grade and again senior year. I am now a great-aunt three times over with another on the way!”
1991 Congratulations to JULIE RUBIN ’91 who was appointed to the federal bench by President Biden. Julie will be replacing Ellen Hollander, mother of Hillary Hollander ’96 and grandmother of current Bryn Mawr student, Hadley Shankman ’29.
Adventures in Antarctica
This past February, Mandy London Weinman ’94 and her husband Dennis took their two boys, Dillon and Ben, on an Adventures by Disney trip to Antarctica. After spending two days quarantined in Buenos Aires, they crossed the Drake Passage and then spent the next week exploring one of the most beautiful continents on earth. From up-close encounters with penguins, seals and whales to huge icebergs, they were astounded at every turn.
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2000s 2001 On September 30, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated LOREN ALIKHAN ’01 to be an associate judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals. Congratulations, Loren! '
2003 Notes compiled and edited by Fionnuala Fox-Morrow Brigman ’03 and Valerie Beilenson ’03
SOFIA ALVAREZ ’03 writes that “almost 20 years after directing my play Blue Hours in Centennial Hall for my senior project, I directed my first movie! It’s called Along for the Ride and comes out on Netflix April 22, 2022. Please watch it!”
Ally Betz ’03’s daughters enjoy life in Portland, Maine.
BRITTANY ANDERSON BEVERLEY ’03, currently a member of the Alumnae Association, has fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a member of the first African American Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, incorporated on June 13, 2021. Her podcast, Dating University, was nominated for Podcast of the Year by the Baltimore Media Coalition —it’s streaming on all platforms and can be watched on Facebook Live. Brittany has appeared on numerous radio shows, podcasts and articles.
MARIEL LOWE BORREL ’03 would like to say a big thank you to everyone from our class who has come together to support her sister Hannah Lowe Corman ’01’s foundation, the L-CMD Research Foundation, which was created in honor of her nephew Austin who was born with a rare and fatal form of muscular dystrophy. In just about a year, the Foundation has raised almost $1.5 million toward rare disease research and hopefully finding a cure or treatment for L-CMD. She shares, “It’s been lovely to reconnect with a lot of our classmates and the kindness and generosity has been truly touching. We’re still on a fundraising path to meet our goal of $2 million—more can be found at lcmdresearch.org.” ELIZABETH BURGER ’03 is living in Annapolis and working in management at Johns Hopkins on the business development/ commercialization team. She has an 8-year-old stepdaughter, Presley, and a 10-month-old baby, Georgia (born June 2021). Liz says she is “slowly emerging from COVID, having done enough cocktail-making and household projects to last a lifetime.”
Check out the incredibly warm and hearfelt film Along for the Ride on Netflix, directed by Sofia Alvarez ’03.
ALEXANDRIA “ALLY” BETZ ’03 is a maternal-fetal medicine doctor working and living in Portland, Maine, with her two daughters, Elizabeth (5) and Victoria (3).
CLASS NOTES
Listen up! Brittany Anderson Beverley ’03’s podcast, Dating University, was nominated for podcast of the year by Baltimore Media Coalition!
Elizabeth Burger ’03 welcomed baby Georgia in June 2021.
EMILY SAAH DIEDRICH ’03 has decided to return to school for her doctorate as a nurse anesthetist at The University of Maryland after completing 10 years of bedside nursing. She expects that the next three years will be tough, but is very excited to start on this new venture. Her daughter, Darcy, is in second grade at Bryn Mawr, and loves art and gymnastics. Her son, Atticus, is in kindergarten at Gilman, and loves math and science. Her husband, Tony, is enjoying being retired from the U.S. Air Force and now continues to serve his country as an independent contractor at Fort Meade. They are all excited to see everyone again at Gym Drill this year!
Helen Kinsman Hughes ’03 and her sons enjoy seeing Mawrtians around town in Baltimore!
For ERIN BROWN KELLY ’03 2021 was a big year! Pandemic baby Milo joined big sister Elliott in February, and Erin also started a new job as a nurse coordinator at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Emily Saah Diedrich ’03 and family enjoy some quality time on vacation.
HELEN KINSMAN HUGHES ’03 has two sons, Oliver (6) and Russell (3), with her husband Andrew. The family lives in Lutherville-Timonium and Helen is a pediatrician practicing at the Harriet Lane Clinic at Johns Hopkins and as the Associate Medical Director for the Office of Telemedicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. She loves any time she gets to see a fellow Mawrtian around town or at work!
Erin Brown Kelly ’03 welcomed baby Milo in February 2021. Her daughter Elliott is enjoying being a big sister!
ALEXANDRA SUTTON LAWRENCE ’03 welcomed daughter Ava on December 20, 2021 at 3:31 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces. “She’s a ball of energy and fearless at articulating her opinions already. Her father Aaron Lawrence and I are absolutely in love with her!” Congratulations Al and Aaron!
Baby Ava is bringing Alexandra Sutton Lawrence ’03 and her husband Aaron lots of joy!
MORGAN MACDONALD ’03 recently made her way up north as well, moving to Boston from Tampa with her husband Stephen and two sons, Thomas (3) and Henry (1), for Stephen’s new job at Boston College. She is still with Deloitte (about to hit 7 years). RACHEL KISELEWICH MARIN ’03 reports that she has two daughters now—Brynn (4 in April) and Bailey (born July 2021). They live in Arlington, not far from her sister Rebecca Kiselewich Haciski ’00 and parents! JULIE NOGEE ’03 moved back to Baltimore this year and is working as a neonatologist at Johns Hopkins. Her 3-year-old, Vivian, attends the Bryn Mawr Little School and Julie says it brings back so much nostalgia to drive down Melrose Avenue for drop-off and pick-up.
Current BMS Little School student Vivian, daughter of Julie Nogee ’03, shows off her daisy spirit!
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PATRICE OWENS TILLERY ’03 is doing real estate full time with Jojo and Associates of Next Step Realty. She also owns and operates a full-service event planning and decor company, Lavish Weddings and Events. Her two girls are 3 and 9 and the family is happy and healthy and living in Fulton, Maryland. ELLETT GEORGE TOOMEY ’03 says her family went “a little batty” (see Halloween photo below!) during the pandemic. Her kids—ages 5, 3 and 1—are finally back to school on a regular basis and she and her husband are starting to make their way into the office. Ellett says, “It is so nice to see D.C. slowly coming back to life after the worst of the pandemic and the worst human in the White House. Can’t wait to see everyone at our reunion next year—ask me if I’ve still managed to hold the rest of my family off on converting to a minivan!”
Family of Ellett George Toomey ’03 goes “a little batty” for Halloween.
CLASS NOTES
MARY EMMA YOUNG ’03 is still living in Washington, D.C., and earned her master’s degree in IMC (integrated marketing communications) from West Virginia University in December 2021.
Fionnuala Fox-Morrow Brigman ’03 and her family are settling into their new home in Greenspring. Congratulations to Mary Emma Young ’03 on earning her master’s degree!
Editor’s note [BMS]: A big shoutout to Class Ambassadors Fionnuala Fox-Morrow Brigman ’03 and Valerie Beilenson ’03 for collecting and editing these Class Notes! Here they share their own updates: “After years in the construction industry, I made the move into real estate in 2021, and have landed firmly at Coldwell Banker Realty in Towson,” writes FIONNUALA FOX-MORROW BRIGMAN ’03. “I am having fun continuing my design work with a limited customer base while we, as a family, lay down our roots in our newest project, I mean home, in Velvet Valley (Greenspring Area). Millicent (13.5) and Alistaire (11) continue to be my greatest teachers. My grandmother, Janet, just turned 90 this spring, and it was a blessing to have four generations of women in the same room, and no one was fighting! Looking forward to seeing everyone next year for our reunion!”
VALERIE BEILENSON ’03 reports, “I am still in the Boston area, having just moved into a new house in Winchester and started a new job (back) at Harvard. My two boys, Noah (4) and Abe (2), are now sharing a room and sometimes a bed, depending on what time of the morning I go in!”
Noah and Abe, Valerie Beilenson ’03’s sons, enjoy some laughs and time together.
2005 BRIGID MYERS ZUKNICK ’05 is now the Chief Advancement Officer for the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). She reports, “We provide 30 percent of the operating support necessary for the BSA. I partner each day with our Executive Director who is new in her role this fall!”
2006 STEPHANIE STEVENSON AKOUMANY ’06 is the founder and CEO of Bloom Wellness Lab and the host of Agility in Bloom, a leadership, wellness and entrepreneurship podcast that she hosts with her mom and daughter. Agility in Bloom has reached 24 countries and 94 cities around the world. Her mind, body, energy and confidence coaching program, Agile Leaders, helps changemakers of all ages bloom into their best selves. CARLY DONNELLY BEREZNAY ’06 was married in 2019 to Joshua Bereznay. Additionally, she achieved her master’s and certification as a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) in 2020 and started her own speech pathology company, Spectrum Speech, in 2021. ELIZABETH BROWN ’06 shares, “We just welcomed our second son (Ronan) into the world on February 26th. Desmond (our 2-and-a-halfyear-old) is doing great as a big brother. We will be living in Chicago through at least June 2023 as I complete my residency in PM&R (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) at Northwestern/Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. After that we will see where fellowship takes us!”
JULIA BURKE ’06 recently moved back to the area and is living in Washington, D.C., and working in Baltimore with the Public Defenders’ Office. Also, she recently got engaged. Congratulations, Julia! RYANN DEERING ’06 also has happy news to share. “I got married in Sintra, Portugal, in August and moved to Colorado in December.” GRACE CASLOW DRUMMOND ’06 is a stay-athome mom to three sons: Parker (age 4), Rye (age 2) and Luca (age 8 months)! HAYLEY PLACK FRANK ’06 writes, “I’m living in Baltimore with my husband Andrew and daughter Louise, who was born in July 2021. I live a block away from LAURA THOMPSON LOVE ’06 and we have frequent playdates with her and her son Leland. I work in development at The Walters Art Museum. EMMA KOZUMBO IVES ’06 married Jake Ives in 2019 in New York City. Her son, Roger, was born December 30, 2020. Congratulations to COURTNEY BURD MICHIENZI ’06 who got married last October! ELISE MORROW-SCHAP ’06 now lives in Manassas, Virginia, with her husband Ben, her 1-year-old Charlotte and 11-year-old stepson Bernard. She works as senior admissions coordinator with Fusion Global Academy. “I am the proud mother of an 8(!)-year-old,” writes JASMINE MYERS-DUNCAN ’06. “We stay busy with activities and trips to Walt Disney World. I am still heavily involved in multiple social and civic organizations. I recently became a member of the Baltimore Chapter of
The Society, Incorporated, Supporting the Arts. I am serving on the National Parliamentarians Committee for the Continental Societies, Inc., and concluding my term as Parliamentarian for the Baltimore Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.” ANNE ROSENTHAL ’06 has been back in Baltimore for the past few years and has “loved rediscovering this city after a decade away. I first returned for grad school (thinking I’d stay a year then bounce!) and have been working for the past three-ish years for the Food and Nutrition Services Department of Baltimore City Public Schools, focused on Farm to School programs.”
2010s 2012 ALESSANDRA DI CATALDO BLACK ’12 writes, “I am still living in Scotland, now in Glasgow. I met my nowhusband, Courtney Black (from Northern Ireland), on my second day of college in Edinburgh and after nine years we just got married in June 2021! I completed a master’s degree in refugee protection and forced migration studies last year and now work with asylum seekers in the U.K.” CASEY BRUMBACK ’12 got married in December 2020. In 2021, she shared, “We bought a house in Hampden and I officially became a lawyer.” BRYN DUNBAR ’12 got her Master of Arts in May 2021 from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and now has a great job.
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NANCY DUNBAR ’12 writes, “After a career change, I started medical school this summer. I’m also getting married in July of this year!”
headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. I got married to my husband, Jack, in 2019 and we live in Atlanta with our dog, Blue.”
AMNA HASHMI ’12 is also getting married this summer in June 2022. CAITLIN MALONEY HAUS ’12 graduated from law school in May 2021, got married in October 2021 and moved back to Baltimore!
ANIYSA PULLIAM ’12 recently moved to Brazil! MAGGIE ROGERS ’12 became a travel nurse in March of 2021.
Congratulations goes to Nadia Laniyan ’12 who earned her master’s in health communication and is currently working on the Senate Committee on Finance.
KATELYN NEWMAN LEWIS ’12 got married, quit her job, started a business and moved to a new city (Richmond)! Congratulations to Caitlin Maloney Haus ’12 who graduated from law school in May 2021!
Also back in Baltimore is EMMA KORAMSHAHI ’12 who is currently in the Master of Arts/Master of Business Administration dual degree program between The Johns Hopkins University and Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). NADIA LANIYAN ’12 graduated from Northwestern University with a master’s in health communication in August 2020. She shares, “In 2021 I was selected as one of two congressional fellows for the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship and have been serving out my fellowship placement on the Senate Committee on Finance.”
CLASS NOTES
SUSANNAH MATTHAI ’12 is getting her degree to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and to receive a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Pediatrics! ERICA MATZ ’12 got engaged this past summer! RUBY NITZBERG ’12 writes, “I worked on a documentary about Sesame Street called Street Gang that should be out on HBO Max by the reunion!” GRACE O’KEEFE ’12 shares two big life changes: “I moved to London and got married.” GEORGINA BOULTWOOD O’NEAL ’12 writes, “I graduated from The University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2016 and Master of Accountancy (MAcc) in 2017. I worked in Audit and Assurance at Deloitte until earlier this year, when I accepted a new role at The Home Depot
MOLLY WOLF ’12 shares that she is “excited to be back at BMS as the Assistant Athletic Director and Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach!” Go Mawrtians!
2013 KAREN CHEN ’13 writes, “I will be graduating from Penn State College of Medicine in May and returning to Baltimore this summer to complete my residency training in neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital.”
2016 JJ CITRON ’16 is wrapping up her first year at The University of Virginia (UVA) School of Law! She is thrilled her sister Ellie Citron ’18 will be joining her at UVA Law this fall. NYA HAMLET ’16 is currently working as a risk manager at Fannie Mae. She is also giving back to the Maryland community by providing mentorship opportunities to middle and high schoolers through membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. MARIA KULCHYCKYJ ’16 and Bozhena Kulchyckyj ’18, who currently have family in Ukraine, have been attending protests, fundraising and dedicating their time and efforts to supporting not only their family but all of the people of Ukraine who have been displaced and affected
by the war. Editor’s note [BMS]: They helped raise over $20,000 for Ukrainian humanitarian organizations through an online fundraiser!
Bozhena Kulchyckyj ’18 (top) and Maria Kulchyckyj ’16 (bottom) protesting for peace and safety last winter.
SERENA PATEL ’16 completed her Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BS/MPH) from Boston University in 2021 and shortly after, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to begin an accelerated Master of Nursing/ Master of Science in Nursing
In Memoriam This list represents alumnae whose passing we were made aware of over the last year. We honor their memories here.
(MN/MSN) program at Emory University with the goal of becoming a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. Read more about Serena’s visit to Bryn Mawr in “Class in Session” on page 10. NIARA ROBINSON ’16 graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama in 2020. She returned to BMS as a middle school teaching assistant for a year before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue acting and dive further into the theater/entertainment industries. She recently finished her first professional run with Synchronicity Theatre’s production of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (adapted for stage by Lydia R. Diamond), playing Pecola, the central character!
2020s 2020 Former Bryn Mawr track and field star SOPHIA HOOD ’20 is continuing to shine at Davidson College where she is a member of the Women’s Track and Field team. In January she broke Davidson’s 600-meter record, setting a new college record at 1:38.70.
2017 Congratulations to ANNA LEE WU ’17 who was named a winner in the annual Illustrators of the Future Contest and will be published in the international bestselling anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 38.
Congrats to Sophia Hood ’20 who continues to shine in track and field at Davidson College where she just set a new college record!
Peri Wheeler Bogert ’58
Judith Warner McCarthy ’42
Virginia Brady Calkins ’42
Elizabeth Seiler McDonald ’50
Linda Ritz Dolphin ’71
Charlton Merrick McLean ’49
Helen Jencks Featherstone ’62
Marguerite Hollins Modan ’56
Helen Sloan Gaffney ’49
Pamela Phelps Nelson ’47
Jennifer Griffin ’88
Mary Rice Rasin ’47
Barbara Hanson ’53
Myra Nan Rosenfeld-Little ’59
Patricia Waters Levering ’44
Martha Fisher Ryker ’62
Phoebe Levering ’67
Judith Stone Sopher ’58
Linda Hofmann Manuel ’62
Susan Dembo Weinstein ’82
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BOLD VOICES What three words best describe your class?
"Bold, creative, kind." Brigid Myers Zuknick ’05
"Wacky and resilient." Emma Joyce ’20
"Charismatic, driven, capable." "Spirited, warm, enthusiastic."
Gilly Obrecht Babb ’79
Shreya Gandhi ’22
"Goofy, accomplished, talkative." Imani Cauthen-Robinson ’12 '12
"Passionate, driven, impactful." Cameron Aniya Martin ’18
"Many great people." Sarah Keogh ’98
"Outspoken, passionate, driven." Rebekah Robinson ’17
"Entrepreneurial, hard-working, humble." Gracie Harrington ’11
BOLD VOICES
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NEXT GENERATION
LEFT: ASH PLANT ’22 WITH SISTER LIZA PLANT ’19 (MIDDLE) AND MOTHER MARIANNE DEPAULO PLANT ’91 (LEFT). RIGHT: MARTHA KNAUB ’22 WITH MOTHER MEAGHAN WALSH KNAUB ’89 (LEFT) AND GRANDMOTHER SANDRA SPEAR WALSH ’56 (MIDDLE).
NEXT GENERATION Bryn Mawr is much more than a school —it is a close-knit family, a supportive community and a home away from home. That’s why it’s always special when our alumnae decide to send their own children to Bryn Mawr and keep the tradition in the family. More than 50 of our students have mothers, grandmothers or both who are Bryn Mawr alumnae. From Little School to 12th grade, they represent the next generation of Bryn Mawr.
JEN MEACHAM ‘00 SHARES HER BRYN MAWR MEMORIES WITH DAUGHTERS SUSANNAH ‘32 AND CAROLINE ‘35
RACHEL ARNOT ROCKWELL ‘97 CONGRATULATES DAUGHTER HANNAH ‘26 ON HER GRADUATION FROM EIGHTH GRADE
FATIMA MUMFORD ‘34 SHOWS HER HULAHOOPING SKILLS TO HER MOM, HUSSA BLAKE MUMFORD ‘00, AND AUNT, HASSA BLAKE ‘00
MADDIE ‘28, DAUGHTER OF SANDY CHO ‘92, RECEIVES THE BANNER FROM CAROLINE ‘27, DAUGHTER OF JEN SHEFF YEAGLE ‘97
MARTHA CAPLAN ’80 AND HER DAUGHTER OLIVIA CAPLAN-MOHLER ’25
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109 W. Melrose Ave. Baltimore, MD 21210 www.brynmawrschool.org STAY CONNECTED!
Contact Lynn Brynes P’24’27 at 410-323-1118 x1215 or brynesl@brynmawrschool.org