2021 Hall of Fame and Women of Distinction (CONTINUED)

Elizabeth Plamondon Cutler ’85 Woman of Distinction

Elizabeth Plamondon Cutler ’85 is an entrepreneur best known for co-creating the fitness phenomenon, SoulCycle, with Julie Rice. Differentiating themselves from other fitness businesses, SoulCycle, through the creative leadership of Cutler, provided consistent customer service paired with excellent instructor training. Using 30 unique modules, instructors go through eight weeks of hospitality training, including brand history and inter-colleague communication. After growing to 60 studios, Cutler and Rice sold the company in 2016.

Following her graduation from LFA, Cutler went on to the University of Colorado, Boulder and earned her B.A. degree in art history and religious studies. Her studies took her to Bodh Gaya, India where she lived in a Buddhist monastery and traveled throughout Southeast Asia. Prior to the success of SoulCycle, Cutler served the real estate industry and had invested in Izze Beverages, whose founder is the husband of Cutler’s LFA classmate, Eliza Ellsworth Woloson ’85, and named for the Woloson’s daughter Isabel. Additional Lake Forest Academy connections include Cutler’s father, George ’55, who was also a member of the Board of Trustees, and brother, George ’87

Jason Delane Lee ’90

Achievement in the Arts

Acclaimed actor of stage and screen, Jason Delane Lee ’90 says he is most proud to have originated the role of Malcolm X in the 2013 world premiere production of Kemp Powers’ play One Night in Miami, at Los Angeles’ Rogue Machine Theatre and having the opportunity to perform in three different productions of the work in cities around the country. This world premiere production was nominated for Los Angeles Theater’s Best Ensemble of the Decade by Broadway World.

Following his graduation from LFA, Delane Lee received his B.A. degree in history and theater from Wittenberg University, then earned an MFA degree from the Professional Actor’s Training Program at Ohio University. He rose through the Chicago theater ranks, ultimately securing lead roles at the Goodman, Victory Gardens, and Lookingglass theaters, among others, before heading to Los Angeles.

Paul Dunlop Service to the School

A fixture at Lake Forest Academy from 1979 to 2021, Paul Dunlop, along with his wife, Connie McCabe, was instrumental in the formation and reinvention of the Academy’s English as a Second Language program (now known as ELL) that allowed international students to ease into American culture as well as the English language at LFA. Passionate about language acquisition, the couple traveled the globe creating relationships that turned into partnerships for the Academy. They recruited students for LFA, wanting the best and brightest to attend and make the community stronger. Dunlop and McCabe are credited for creating and implementing the summer program for ESL students along with summer sports programming.

Dunlop received his undergraduate degree in philosophy and religious studies from Wagner College before enrolling at Rutgers University, where he earned a M.A. degree in linguistics and English as a Second Language education.

George Gillett ’56 Achievement in Athletics

Businessman George N. Gillett, Jr. ’56 is an entrepreneur who took his childhood interest in athletics and nurtured it, along with his marketing prowess, to foster intimate participation across myriad professional sports organizations—from Alpine skiing to NASCAR, the NFL and NHL to the Harlem Globetrotters.

The 1961 graduate of Dominican College of Racine, Wis., was business manager and partner of the Miami Dolphins. In 1968, he parlayed his $1 million investment in the Dolphins, selling it for $3 million, and using some of the proceeds to purchase the nearly defunct Harlem Globetrotters. He reinvigorated the Globetrotters through marketing and a Saturday morning cartoon series and formed the nationally-syndicated radio group Globetrotters Communications. Gillett acquired the Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts in 1985 and launched a massive installation of high-speed chairlifts. In 2001, Gillett bought an 80% interest in the Montreal Canadiens and their home arena, Molson Centre. In 2007, he purchased a controlling interest of the NASCAR team Evernham Motorsports from founder Ray Evernham, thereby forming Gillett Evernham Motorsports, which merged in 2009 with fellow NASCAR team Petty Enterprises. From 2007-2010, Gillett was coowner of the storied Liverpool F.C., a soccer team in the Premier League.

David Gupta ’81 Service to Society

Former LFA Trustee David Gupta ’81 was the inspiration and guiding force behind the Academy’s inaugural Chicago Networking Event, the now-annual educational and social gathering of alumni and parents for a decade and a half in Chicago’s Loop. Gupta is the middle of three LFA graduates in his family—his brothers Raj ’79 and Mark ’83 are also Caxys, as is his cousin, Sidhartha Gupta ’94

Gupta earned his B.S. degree in architectural engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was honored as the school’s Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award winner in 2020. Gupta also graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA degree. He is the founder and CEO of SDI Presence LLC, an IT managed services provider and consultancy that leverages team presence to advance its clients to a secure digital enterprise. Before starting his own company, he was a senior vice president at Environmental Systems Design. Gupta also founded PGV Solutions, which merged into SDI in 2016. He is proud that SDI consistently ranks as a “Best Place to Work” by Crain’s Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune, and Built in Chicago.

John Marlatt ’65 Service to the School

A dedicated member of the LFA community, John Marlatt ’65, has taught at the Academy, supported philanthropically many of LFA’s capital and programming initiatives and now serves as chair of the Board of Trustees. Marlatt’s board work has included a close partnership with the Academy Woods property owners, adjacent to the school, to ensure the Academy community and neighborhood work cooperatively together. He also has served as chair of the Board property committee as well as the ad hoc master planning committee.

During his school years as a Caxy, Marlatt played on the basketball and golf teams while also running on the cross country team. He further participated in the bridge and cribbage clubs and was a staff member of the literary magazine. Marlatt earned his B.A. degree in economics and political science from DePauw University. He then attended Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he received his MBA degree in finance. His education led him to the banking profession, where Marlatt rose through the ranks at multiple organizations. He served as a branch manager, managing director, and senior vice president at multiple global banks including Credit Suisse and Commerzbank AG. A career of nearly 40 years gave him expertise in an array of corporate financial solutions and the ability to understand client issues to successfully construct, coordinate, and deliver global solutions through geographic and product teams.

Constance McCabe Service to the School

An LFA award-winning educator and the face of the Academy’s English as a Second Language program (now ELL) for many years, along with husband Paul Dunlop, Constance “Connie” McCabe served LFA students from 1979 until her retirement following the 2020-21 school year.

McCabe founded the writing center on campus and advised the Chinese Dictionary Project. She was cherished as a mentor and leader by many in the LFA community. The curriculum she facilitated for ESL students is regarded as thoughtful and precise, balancing the needs of students from different nations at a wide variety of starting points. As the English as a Second Language Chair, she and Dunlop worked together on the Academy’s international program. Together they brought dozens of LFA educators with them on trips to China. In June 2010, McCabe received the Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence and in May 2013 she was awarded with the Laima Salcius Faculty Award. McCabe earned her B.S. degree from the University of Vermont and an M.A. degree from New York University.

Nancy Royster Rice ’61 Woman of Distinction

A legacy Ferry Hall graduate (following her mother, Helen Heyl Royster ’29, and sister, Jean Royster Smiley ’56), Nancy Royster Rice ’61 learned to forge her own path at her family alma mater. Following graduation from Ferry Hall, Rice went on to Smith College for her undergraduate studies. She then earned a M.A. degree in history from Bryn Mawr College while teaching at Friends Central School in Philadelphia. She attended Emory University Law School for two years, completing her law degree at Harvard University.

As one of the first 12 women partners at the historic law firm of Ropes & Gray in Boston, Rice specialized in health law. She worked as the primary general counsel for teaching hospitals and the New England regional organ and tissue bank organization. Her particular interests include patient rights, clinical human research, corporate compliance, physician practice issues, health data management, and risk management. Rice is also the founding chair of the Health Law Section of the Massachusetts Bar Association. She has spent time giving back as an adjunct professor at the Boston University School of Law and the Suffolk University Law School.

Michael Springer ’71 Service to the School

A changemaker in the medical publishing industry, Michael Springer ’71 is a proud Chicago native. His work as a writer of commercials and for the TV show The Waltons started him on a path to publishing and executive management at four of the most influential organizations in health care. After his son was born, Springer accepted what he thought would be, at most, a six-month job at the American Medical Association. He ended up staying at the AMA for 15 years and helped facilitate AMA’s launch into online publishing. During that time, the AMA and mentor Dr. George Lundberg sponsored Springer to attend the Stanford Professional Publishing Program. This, along with his B.S. degree in communications from Northwestern University and his certification in business from the University of Illinois at Chicago, made him realize he wanted to move on from the editorial side and become a publisher.

Springer served as publisher of new media at the AMA before being recruited to become president and CEO of the American Hospital Publishing Inc., a forprofit subsidiary of the American Hospital Association. After a merger with Health Forum, Springer worked with Care Pages, which was bought by WebMD. Then, for nine years, Springer was the VP for publishing and communications at the American Academy of Family Physicians. He then served as the managing vice president for publishing and ultimately the senior vice president for business and publishing for the American Dental Association. He currently works for himself as president of M2M Communications Inc., which specializes in business development and governance for publishing, media, and health care. A former member of LFA’s Board of Trustees, Springer is one of the founding architects of the Walter Hoesel Fund, which helps LFA’s neediest students be fully involved in school life. The fund is named for former LFA Head of School Walter Hoesel. Springer also served on the Alumni Council and is a Richards and Tremain Society member.