The Bulletin Fall 2020

The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue | Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201

THE BULLE TIN | FALL 2020

THE MASTERS SCHOOL / THE BULLETIN / FALL 2020

CHANGING IN A CHANGING WORLD

Eliza Bailey Masters wrote in a 1919 letter to alumnae, “you own the School.” Inspired by her call to action, the alumnae raised the money for a new school building, completed in 1921, and named it Masters Hall in her honor. Today — nearly 100 years later — The Masters School still relies on the generosity of our community to continue Miss Masters’ legacy and support our School’s mission, students, programs and future.

Here are just a few of the ways that alumnae/i and parents can give back to our School:

ON THE COVER

CONTACTS

Students returned to campus for in-person learning on October 5, 2020, after a month of remote learning, with strict health protocols, mask-wearing and social distancing in place.

The Masters School 49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201 914-479-6400 mastersny.org Send letters to: Communications Office communications@mastersny.org Send alumnae/i news to class notes editors or to the Office of Alumnae/i Engagement at alumni@mastersny.org

Financial Support

Volunteer Opportunities

Annual Giving

ALUMNAE/I

PARENTS

Endowment Support

Reunion Committee

Parent Association

Capital Projects

Alumnae/i Giving Day

Annual Fund Volunteer

Planned Giving

Admissions Volunteer

Phonathon Caller

Class Notes Editor

Admissions Volunteer

Class Agent Event Host

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day Committee

Contact: Sujata Jaggi ’01, Director of Alumnae/i Engagement, at 914-479-6611 or sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org

Contact: Aishling Peterson P’18, ’20, ’22, Director of Parent Engagement and Special Events, at 914-479-6639 or aishling.peterson@mastersny.org

Contact: Mary Ryan ’00, Associate Director of Institutional Advancement, at 914-479-6433 or mary.ryan@mastersny.org

There are numerous ways to get involved and give back to Masters.

If you have an idea that is not listed above, please let us know.

Printed on paper containing 30% post-consumer waste with vegetable based inks.

100% of the electricity used to manufacture the paper is green e-certified renewable energy.

CONTENTS FEATURES

COVER STORIES

04 10 16

ADAPTING EDUCATION TO A NEW REALITY DISMANTLING RACISM: A MORAL IMPERATIVE A LIBRARY TRANSFORMED

DEPARTMENTS 02 FROM LAURA DANFORTH 36 CLASS NOTES 72 IN MEMORIAM/ REMEMBRANCES

20 22 23

MASTERS DEBUTS SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM

24 26 28 29 30

SENIOR GRADUATION PARADE

32 34

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH NIA DaCOSTA ’07

PANTHER PRIDE AS STRONG AS EVER COLLABORATING THROUGH THE QUARANTINE: Performing Arts Projects Showcase Students’ Innovative Spirit

EIGHTH GRADE GRADUATION PARADE BOARD OF TRUSTEES WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS DOBBS ALUMNAE/I ASSOCIATION BOARD WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

Q&A: Get to Know Marie Fabian P’22,’26 Get to Know Hannah Miller ’10

AUTHOR’S CORNER A Poetic Dialogue with an Inspiring Figure English Teacher’s Memoir Delves Into Family and Philadelphia’s Main Line

FROM LAURA DANFORTH

Changing in a Changing World Dear Friends, The start of the 2020-2021 academic year has brought unprecedented challenges. As I write this, COVID-19 continues its erratic and merciless spread, jeopardizing containment efforts and a return to the physical proximity we all crave. Social injustices that long predate the pandemic continue to be a source of raw pain and deep grief.

COVID-19 tossed us headlong into turbulent, uncharted waters — so, swim we will, and chart we must. In The Masters School’s “Alma Mater,” we sing that we are a school that is “changing in a changing world.” Purposeful, ethical change is vital not only for the sake of today’s students, but also for the long-term relevance and sustainability of our School. We must move forward, however, equipped with a compass that is oriented toward our mission and key elements of our essence, history and traditions. Come what may, we must always be guided by our mission to be a power for good in the world.

I AM IMMENSELY PROUD OF WHAT OUR STUDENTS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, TASK FORCES AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY HAVE DONE TO ENSURE THE SAFE AND UNINTERRUPTED OPERATION OF OUR SCHOOL.

Central to this is our commitment to equity and inclusion. In the past several months, we have engaged in a difficult and essential reckoning and have developed A Better Masters, a comprehensive plan that will redouble our efforts to combat systemic racism, setting in place anti-racism and anti-bias policies and practices that impact every area of life at the School. In this issue, you will learn about this plan and about the brave voices that helped us get to this moment.

We’ve also included in this issue some photos and information about a terrific renovation project in Masters Hall. In a step that represents substantial progress toward our Master Plan goals, we transformed our somewhat weary library into a state-of-the-art library and digital resource center.

Directly below the library is a new home for Tower, a fresh set of student-facing office spaces, and a renovated student lounge. These improvements directly support the quality of our program and are also a boost to morale. My heartfelt thanks go out to the donors who brought this important renovation to its lovely completion.

So, here we are. School looks and feels different this year, whether we are implementing remote learning, enforcing masks and social distancing in the classroom, or crafting some hybrid of those approaches. Starting a school year in the midst of so many unknowns has been a tremendous undertaking shouldered by many, and I am immensely proud of what our students, parents, teachers, task forces and other members of our community have done to ensure the safe and uninterrupted operation of our School. I hope that you, too, feel proud as you read about the ways that our community has adapted to this new educational reality.

I confess that, at times through these past months, I have clung to our mission like a life raft. There is room for all of us on that raft, and I invite you all to join me as we celebrate active participation, deep understanding and meaningful connection. We are stronger when you are an active part of our community of diverse individuals who gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do — to be a power for good in the world.

With hope (and might!),

LAURA DANFORTH Head of School

2 | MASTERSNY.ORG

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 3

COVER STORY

ADAPTING EDUCATION TO A NEW REALITY With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact the country and the world, The Masters School has aimed to keep the community safe and connected, all while ensuring a top-notch education for its students.

4 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Many changes around campus — both subtle and obvious — are a direct result of the global health crisis that hit the United States in the spring of 2020 and continues today.

Signage indicates that masks must be worn at all times, and hand sanitizer is readily available. Perhaps the most conspicuous update is that the Harkness tables are gone from the classrooms, replaced with socially distanced seating as mandated by health officials.

These physical alterations are a reflection of the many efforts the School has made to adapt its educational model to the times.

Amid the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic, The Masters School has been steadfast in its continued prioritization of the health and safety of its community. With a reentry plan informed by the work of several task forces and a focus on creating, maintaining and strengthening connections among its students, faculty, staff and parents, the School is staying true to its mission in an unprecedented year.

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 5

COVER STORY Adapting Education to a New Reality

“ We had to come up with a plan that would work specifically for our community. ” — KATIE MEADOWS, FACULTY MEMBER IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PERFORMING ARTS AND CO-CHAIR OF THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS TASK FORCE

PLANNING FOR THE

Reentry task forces were the engine behind much of this work of rethinking what school would look like in the fall. Formed in the spring, these task forces researched and provided recommendations on community engagement, health and wellness, legal and finance, operations, and teaching and learning.

On July 24, Head of School Laura Danforth sent an email to community members announcing that the School’s preliminary reentry plan included remote instruction for the month of September. “The decision to delay in-person instruction allows us to focus on delivering a strong remote learning program with consistent and predictable schedules for students in both divisions and in both our day and boarding programs while we observe the health impact of schools reopening in our region,” Danforth stated. Importantly, the head of school shared that the dormitories would remain closed until further notice.

The Health and Wellness task force was charged with looking at health and safety policies around reopening the School.

The nine-member team, co-chaired by Director of Health Services Sue Adams and Department of Performing Arts faculty member Katie Meadows, stayed abreast of medical information, best practices, and safety and guidance surrounding the novel coronavirus. The group eventually made recommendations to the administration on Health Center operations, mental health counseling, faculty and staff wellness, boarding and the flow of campus spaces.

Danforth also announced that Masters would be offering extended remote learning as an option to accommodate families whose students are unable or uncomfortable returning to campus when in-person learning resumes. Under this model, middle and upper school students who will continue learning remotely when in-person classes resume may join on-campus classes via a remote connection in the classroom. Upper school students will have the option to participate in Masters Remote Academy, a program with fully remote sections tailored to the needs of longtime online learners in different time zones.

“We had to come up with a plan that would work specifically for our community,” Meadows said. She noted that Masters is in the unique position of being a boarding and day school in close proximity to New York City with many students and faculty taking public transportation to get to campus. “It’s complex,” the co-chair continued. “This work has carried with it a huge sense of responsibility.” Adams echoed a similar sentiment, noting that the work of the task force was “really truly Harkness — trying to work through all this really tough stuff ” as a group.

NEW YEAR

In a later communication, Danforth expounded upon the School’s plans for the fall. She announced optional outdoor and socially distanced community engagement events for students and faculty to connect, and the creation of a Health Advisory Team made up of medical professionals who will provide counsel. She shared the School’s criteria for resuming in-person instruction and outlined the various safety initiatives and campus adjustments that were undertaken in preparation for students’ eventual return to campus.

6 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Director of Operations Dan Pereira, who chaired the Operations task force with Chief Financial Officer Ed Biddle, said that the team was “focused on the practical, tangible changes that needed to be made to prepare the School” for students’ return to campus. Based on recommendations from the other task forces, this 10-person group was charged with making a number of changes to the campus’ physical spaces, such as installing MERV 13 filters in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and removing Harkness tables from classrooms.

“ T he disruption of the pandemic has had us rethink everything from bathroom breaks to BC Calculus. Everything about running a school needs to be rethought in this context.”

— S AM SAVAGE P’24, ’27, DEAN OF FACULTY AND ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Faculty, too, spent the summer months preparing for the coming school year by taking professional development courses in online teaching and learning. “The steepest hill for us to climb as educators is being outstanding remote teachers,” Dean of Faculty and Associate Head of School Sam Savage P’24, ’27 explained. He noted that teachers benefited not just from the content of the courses, which focused on educating students in an online format, but also from having the experience of being students in online classes.

As the School prepared to open remotely in September, faculty and administrators focused on not just delivering a strong academic program, but also ensuring that students would have access to robust athletics, performing arts and cocurricular programs during periods of online learning. The intention behind this well-rounded curriculum is simple, Savage said: “My hope is that it feels like school. There is joy in that.”

In reflecting on the challenges of preparing for the school year, Savage explained that every area of school life needed to be reconsidered: “The disruption of the pandemic has had us rethink everything from bathroom breaks to BC Calculus.

Everything about running a school needs to be rethought in this context.” He shared that an additional hurdle was the fluidity of the health crisis, because “There’s this balance between making decisions and being definitive and knowing that everything can change at a moment’s notice.”

FOSTERING MEANINGFUL

CONNECTIONS

Since the start of the pandemic, digital interactions have become the new normal. People around the world have found new and innovative ways to stay in touch with friends and family, from Zoom book clubs to graduation celebrations over Google Meet.

Although digital gatherings cannot replace in-person experiences, The Masters School is keeping everyone in the community — students, parents and faculty — connected during periods of remote learning.

Much of this work was led by the Community Engagement task force, which sought ways to reinvent engagement in a time of remote learning and social distancing. The task force is co-chaired by Director of Equity and Inclusion Karen Brown P’16 and Ethical Leadership Coordinator Lee Dieck P’09.

“The extent to which you create solid engagement has a tremendous impact on the culture of the school,” Dieck said.

“It’s critical. It’s the essence of community.”

Over the summer, the task force made recommendations for the coming school year to school leadership, such as hosting restorative conversations for faculty and staff before classes began. “The past few months have been hard for so many people for so many different reasons,” Brown explained, noting

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 7

COVER STORY Adapting Education to a New Reality

“ The extent to which you create solid engagement has a tremendous impact on the culture of the school. It’s critical. It’s the essence of community.”

— L EE DIECK P’09, ETHICAL LEADERSHIP COORDINATOR AND CO-CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE

“ I want to make sure that all students, both American and international, can feel connected to our community so that we don’t lose the warm and united spirit Masters always has been known for.”

— CAIO LANES ’21, CO-CHAIR OF COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT

the impact of the pandemic and the country’s reckoning with issues around race. “We felt it was important that, if we are going to take care of [our students], we as adults have to first take care of ourselves collectively.”

The task force’s recommendations were diverse. It suggested developing opportunities for middle and upper school students with similar interests to meet — for example, the upper school diversity ambassadors and the Middle School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leadership group. It championed building community activities, such as clubs, peer leader meetings and advisory, into the school day, rather than having these events take place at the start or end of the day. And it encouraged engaging boarders through virtual events and conversations with residential staff.

Caio Lanes ’21 and Sophia Viscarello ’21 have also spent a lot of time thinking about how to create a sense of community during remote learning. As co-chairs of Community Government, they are two of the most visible and high-profile students in the School. During a typical year, Lanes and Viscarello would take the stage in the Claudia Boettcher Theatre several times each week and lead Morning Meeting before a packed audience of upper school students and faculty. But the remote start to the year had them focusing on new ways to create camaraderie.

For example, the co-chairs are highlighting the importance of having upperclassmen participate in virtual Morning Meetings, which they believe will show incoming students that their peers

8 | MASTERSNY.ORG

in every grade are engaged in the life of the School. They also hope to incorporate some interactive games into the new online format of the traditional event.

“I want to make sure that all students, both American and international, can feel connected to our community so that we don’t lose the warm and united spirit Masters always has been known for,” Lanes said. He noted that because Viscarello is an American and he lives in Brazil, “We are able to know the general hardships each group is dealing with currently, and we can thus address them.”

Viscarello shared a similar sentiment, expressing that she and Lanes are committed to ensuring that all students feel welcome and heard — a sometimes difficult task when students can simply turn off their laptop cameras or not respond to an email.

“I think the most important thing is making people feel like they are not invisible,” Viscarello said.

While many co-chairs have come before them, Lanes and Viscarello are well aware that they are delving into the unknown this year. “There isn’t really a rule book or a guide book for how we should be handling this and how we should be doing it,” Viscarello said. “Everyone is just trying to do their best.”

The beginning of the school year also typically marks a number of events for new and returning parents to forge relationships, from new parent receptions to Jeans Night, an annual event where parents wear jeans and donate $1 or more to a charity

MASTERS REMOTE ACADEMY:

A Program for Longtime Online Learners

In an effort to support students who cannot or wish not to return to campus when in-person instruction resumes, The Masters School has launched Masters Remote Academy. The program, which includes fully remote sections and is tailored to the needs of longtime online learners, is one of two extended remote learning options available to upper school students during the 2020-2021 school year.

The academy focuses on providing a first-class education for students learning remotely, “whether they live in Dobbs Ferry, China, South Korea, Kazakhstan or Ukraine,” the program’s director, Rob Fish, said. Masters students hail from 26 countries, and during a pandemic, “there is just no way for a lot of kids to get [to Dobbs Ferry],” Fish explained. “Their education needs to move forward regardless of time zone.” The program, which incorporates best practices around extended remote learning for high school-age students, provides an academic schedule that prioritizes the needs of students in multiple zones.

In addition to classes that take place at times reasonable for both local and international students, the academy includes virtual social opportunities for students to spend time together. In this way, students don’t just benefit from the Masters educational experience; they remain connected to and an essential part of the community.

“ It is really lovely to be able to build a parent community, whether you’re serving in an official role [on the Parent Association] or participating in some of the programming. It’s a really great way to connect.

And we need a little more connection now, not less.”

— MARIE FABIAN P’22, ’26, PRESIDENT OF THE PARENT ASSOCIATION

designated by The Masters School’s service program, MISH. With traditional cocktail parties and meetings unable to happen in person, President of the Parent Association Marie Fabian P’22, ’26 has been working with the Parent Association (PA) Executive Committee to find ways to create engagement among parents.

At the start of the school year, the PA sent all parents a “Meet the Executive Committee” document, which listed all of the members of the Executive Committee alongside their pictures.

Fabian noted that the document will be useful because, even when parents have opportunities to meet in person this year, “It’s hard to get to know people with masks on,” she said. “We wanted to have visual support, something people can refer to.”

Class representatives also reached out to parents earlier in the summer and began planning events for parents and students to get to know each other. Fabian noted that there were some “really creative ideas” for both virtual and socially distant events, such as a socially distanced group bike ride.

With parents spread across the globe, Fabian said, offering traditionally in-person events digitally, like the PA monthly meeting, also allows for more parents to be involved and included. “The reality of what it takes to get to campus is sometimes a real obstacle,” Fabian said. The virtual format, which the School implemented in the spring for PA meetings, is “going to be, hopefully, a way to bring in parents to participate who might not have been able to before.”

Fabian is confident that, although the 2020-2021 school year will be different than past years, parents will have plenty of opportunities to get to know one another. “It is really lovely to be able to build a parent community, whether you’re serving in an official role [on the Parent Association] or participating in some of the programming,” she shared. “It’s a really great way to connect. And we need a little more connection now, not less.”

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 9

COVER STORY

DISMANTLING RACISM: A MORAL IMPERATIVE Conversations around racism in America hit a fever pitch this year. When students, alumnae/i and faculty of color began detailing their experiences of racism that they said took place at Masters, the School took bold action with the goal of becoming an anti-racist and anti-biased institution.

“ The stories that are shared are extremely important.”

— M ADDY BLAKE ’22

DEMANDING

CHANGE

The summer of 2020 brought the United States to a moment of reckoning with regard to pervasive racial injustices. The high-profile and violent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery precipitated a national movement that called on every individual and every industry to confront legacies of racism.

In light of growing tensions in the country, Head of School Laura Danforth addressed the community on May 30 with a message of unity and a reminder of the School’s mission. “The work of recognizing, confronting and dismantling racism should be a moral imperative for all of us,” she stated. “I urge all of us in the Masters community to actively educate ourselves and our families on an ongoing basis with regard to the pervasive and toxic presence of racism in our world and to commit to being active proponents of social justice. Without this commitment, none of us can reach our potential as powers for good in the world.”

10 | MASTERSNY.ORG

“ I urge all of us in the Masters community to actively educate ourselves and our families on an ongoing basis with regard to the pervasive and toxic presence of racism in our world and to commit to being active proponents of social justice. Without this commitment, none of us can reach our potential as powers for good in the world.”

— LAURA DANFORTH, HEAD OF SCHOOL

In addition to protests taking place across the United States, conversations about race also coursed through social media.

An Instagram movement called @blackat brought together the voices of students, alumni and other members of school communities who shared experiences of racism that they said had taken place at their schools. An account created for The Masters School, @blackattms, highlighted painful and searing testimonies of Masters community members.

Maddy Blake ’22 shared that, after seeing @blackat accounts created for other schools, she expected one to be created for those who wanted to share their experiences at Masters. “I just thought it was a matter of time before someone in the community decided it was something they wanted or had to do,” Blake explained. “The stories that are shared are extremely important.”

Vincent Madera ’05 said that he was “surprised and devastated” while reading the stories on @blackattms. Madera, who has remained close to Masters since graduating, works at Children’s Village, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving at-risk children and underprivileged families. “I work with children now in foster care. The first thing I think about is especially kids of color going to boarding schools,” he said. “You want to feel safe and protected, especially when you don’t have the direct support of your family in a traditional high school where you go home every day. I felt for them.”

He also recalled his years at Masters as ones that included both painful and positive experiences: “I started thinking about my time at Masters and how two things can be true: I did have a wonderful time at Masters living in the dorms, and I also experienced microaggressions and overt racism.”

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 11

COVER STORY Dismantling Racism: A Moral Imperative

“ I admired our courageous “ O ur mission is to educate, inspire and prepare students to be a power for good in the world. In order to live up to that mission, we must set an example. We must do better — we will do better.”

members of our school community who used this platform to express themselves and their experiences.”

— MADELINE SEGUINOT P’20, ’24

— EDITH CHAPIN ’83, CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Madeline Seguinot P’20, ’24, who co-chairs the School’s Parent Association Equity and Inclusion Committee, was aware that students were not always understanding or empathetic toward the experience of students of color, but, she said, “I was not aware of how widespread it was, including the impact it had on alumni.” She noted that, painful as it was to read the stories on the account, “I admired our courageous members of our school community who used this platform to express themselves and their experiences.”

A COMMITMENT

TO DO BETTER In a heartfelt letter to the community sent via email on June 26, Danforth responded to the stories shared on the @blackattms account with an unequivocal apology and a clear message of support and empathy for those who shared their testimonies.

“First and foremost, on behalf of the School, I deeply apologize for the pain and suffering that Black students and other students of color have endured at Masters, whether in the past or in the present.” She added: “To those raising their voices to call for change: We hear you and are determined to regain your trust. We will use your testimonies to further provide equity and belonging for all the members of our community.”

12 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Following Danforth’s call for change, The Masters School leadership embarked on a comprehensive review of every area of school life. The result of this process was the creation of A Better Masters, the School’s anti-racism and anti-bias action plan. A Better Masters addressed six key areas in the School: governance; admission; racial diversity among faculty, staff and administrators; policies and procedures; curriculum and pedagogy; and community and belonging. It also conveyed clear timelines for accountability. The plan was announced to the community on July 13 by email and social media, with some of the actions enacted immediately.

Creating the action plan involved conversations with parents, alumnae/i and students of color. Seguinot and fellow Parent Association Equity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chair Irma Pereira-Hudson P’21 spearheaded a meeting among families of color, Danforth and board member Mirna Valerio ’93. During the meeting, which included a preview of the action plan, “we provided feedback and had deep and personal discussions with Ms. Danforth and Board of Trustees member Mirna Valerio ’93 about our own experiences and concerns,” Seguinot recalled.

“They listened attentively and vowed to lead by example.”

In addition to essential conversations with and feedback from a variety of constituents, the plan would not have been possible without the thoughtful expertise of Director of Equity and Inclusion Karen Brown P’16. “I am hoping

“ We all love Masters, but no place is perfect.

Every place is going to have their issues. I think that it’s just important how we deal with those issues.”

— MADDY BLAKE ’22

“ I am hoping that our collaborative endgame will be one of hope, healing, reconciliation and resolution. We have come together to make sure that this school is an anti-racist, anti-biased institution.”

— KAREN BROWN P’16, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION

that our collaborative endgame will be one of hope, healing, reconciliation and resolution,” Brown said as the plan was released to the community. “We have come together to make sure that this school is an anti-racist, anti-biased institution.”

Specifically addressing both current and former students, Brown added: “We are here for you, we are rising up alongside you.”

In a video accompanying the plan, Chair of the Board of Trustees Edith Chapin ’83 referenced systemic racism in the country as an unacceptable reality that has been ingrained in society for hundreds of years. “Addressing these issues in our community is both central to our mission and mission-critical,” Chapin said. “Our mission is to educate, inspire and prepare students to be a power for good in the world. In order to live up to that mission, we must set an example. We must do better — we will do better.”

Under the governance section of the plan, the School committed to creating a Board of Trustees committee on diversity, equity and inclusion. Valerio, an alumna, trustee and former Masters teacher, agreed to chair the committee.

Valerio was also involved in crafting the anti-racism plan and, upon its release, she emphasized the need for quick and

thoughtful action “to ensure that all Masters community members — particularly our students of color, and even more specifically our Black students and faculty — feel loved and are loved wholly, are respected, and are acknowledged in all of their various identities.” She also called on the community to hold the School accountable: “It is in this way, and only in this way — doing it with our might — that we will continue to be the power for good we all know Masters inspires within us.”

THE COMMUNITY

RESPONDS

A Better Masters was received with both praise and skepticism from members of the Masters community. Many appreciated the effort and thoroughness of the plan, while eagerly awaiting concrete actions and meaningful change. Others felt that, until they see changes implemented, the plan is simply words on paper.

In fact, during the interview conducted for this article, Madera highlighted the importance of the School’s including dissenting voices, rather than just those who are in full alignment with the plan. “We’re not going to please everyone,”

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 13

COVER STORY Dismantling Racism: A Moral Imperative

Masters has co-hosted the Saturday Summit on Social Justice for the past three years. Nearly 200 students, faculty and administrators from 12 peer schools gathered on The Masters School campus for the third annual Saturday Summit on Social Justice on November 2, 2019.

he explained. “The voice of the people that are not pleased needs to be heard just as much as those who were, because that’s when good, constructive feedback comes.”

Danforth agrees. “This needs to be in the center of our work, and in what we learn, and in how we treat one another. As has become starkly apparent, anything less makes us complicit in structural racism that so persistently and insistently conspires against people of color, and Black people in particular,” she said.

Blake is a co-founder of Students of Color Empowering Excellence and Mentorship (S.C.E.E.M.), a newly formed program dedicated to supporting and empowering students of color at Masters. In the wake of the @blackattms account, she participated in conversations with school leadership and provided input as the action plan was being prepared. “It’s our job now to make sure that the cycle breaks,” Blake said.

14 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Her response to A Better Masters was: “It was planned out well — you can tell that they took their time to specify every single point of it.” In addition, and echoing the voices of other students of color, Blake said that she felt it was important that the School recognize and realize “what’s going on and that it has been going on for years. We all love Masters, but no place is perfect.

Every place is going to have their issues. I think that it’s just important how we deal with those issues.”

Cameron Lovett ’23, who also took part in conversations with school leadership about the plan, had a similar response. “I am very pleased and happy these issues are being addressed at our school,” he said. “This is definitely a big step forward.”

Seguinot echoed a similar sentiment, noting that she was particularly pleased with the inclusion of the online name bank, where students and faculty will record their names so

“ The ultimate destination of anti-racism is a joyous one for the human family. This is the journey toward goodness, connection, fairness, kindness and respect. I intend to steer the Masters community toward equity and inclusion, carrying those qualities in my heart, and I invite you to do the same.”

— LAURA DANFORTH, HEAD OF SCHOOL

that community members will know how to pronounce their names correctly. She also noted, “As an educator and parent, the commitment to diversify the faculty and the Board of Trustees is important to me.”

In June 2020, Nina Hylton ’17 created the Black Alumni Network, which she explained was formed “to support and uplift future generations of Black students at Masters as well as to give back to our alma mater.” Hylton hopes that the nascent network will continue to grow and serve Masters’ students and alumni of color. “Going forward, I plan for the Black Alumni Network to stay connected, grow in size and partner with current students looking for alumni mentors. I would also love it if we could support one another in our personal endeavors!” she enthusiastically stated.

At the time of its creation, the network welcomed 42 members.

The group compiled a list of actions that it believed were essential for the School’s anti-racism plan and remained in contact with Danforth to provide feedback both before and after its release.

Hylton recognizes that the goal of the action plan is ambitious, but she appreciates the commitment from the School. She said: “There will always be more work to be done, but I personally feel that Masters has shown that they are devoted to hearing the concerns of the student body and addressing any injustices.”

A COMMITMENT TO

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION The goals laid out in A Better Masters build upon initiatives that have been implemented over the past five years, including expanding the Equity and Inclusion Office to have a full-time director and division coordinators and creating the diversity ambassador program; affinity groups for students of color, LGBTQ+ students and Asian students; the Middle School’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leadership group; and the Parent Association Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Additionally, the School has significantly increased its student, faculty and administrator participation in the annual People of Color Conference, the Student Diversity Leadership Conference and the MOSAIC Conference, and has offered ongoing professional development around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. These opportunities have included trainings and presentations from consultants Dr. Derrick Gay, Tim Wise and Alex Myers.

Since 2017, The Masters School has successfully co-hosted the annual Saturday Summit on Social Justice. The School also conducted its first NAIS AIM survey in 2017 and used its results to better understand the diversity, equity and inclusion climate on campus.

With a comprehensive action plan now overlaying these initiatives, the School is on a path toward becoming a more inclusive and welcoming environment — something that is at the heart of its mission statement: to be a power for good in the world. “The ultimate destination of anti-racism is a joyous one for the human family,” Danforth said in a video message that was released with the action plan. “This is the journey toward goodness, connection, fairness, kindness and respect. I intend to steer the Masters community toward equity and inclusion, carrying those qualities in my heart, and I invite you to do the same.”

Alumnae/i who are interested in joining the Black Alumni Network should contact Nina Hylton ’17 at nhylton6904@tuskegee.edu or 914-330-6023.

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 15

COVER STORY

A LIBRARY TRANSFORMED In just under five months this year, the first floor of Masters Hall was renovated into a stunning new library and digital resource center that supports 21st-century learning needs.

At the core of The Masters School Strategic Plan is the recognition that teaching and learning must keep pace with the rapid changes in our world.

Adaptability, collaboration, creative problem solving: These are the skills that will prepare students to meet the challenges of the future. The learning spaces that Masters provides must foster these skills.

Plans for a new library and digital resource center quickly became a key part of campus updates designed to support the School’s strategic goals. “The world of how people learn has evolved, and we wanted to respond to that,” explained Tracy Tang Limpe ’80, P’18, trustee and member of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. “There’s a need for more small spaces for collaborative work in addition to more appealing individual study spaces.”

The photographs featured in this article were taken in early October as the library project neared completion.

THE PROJECT BEGINS A task force comprising faculty and administrators from the Masters community prioritized needs for the project. In keeping with environmental and historic preservation goals of the campus Master Plan, it was determined to renovate the current library in Masters Hall rather than build a new one.

The library’s excellent location and beautiful views of the quad would lend toward making it a central academic hub.

Associate Head of School and Dean of Faculty Sam Savage said, “A major goal was to have this space be an anchor for the academics of the School, a place of study, of collaboration, that facilitates our students and faculty delivering on the School’s mission and pursuing it together.” A successful design would create a variety of study spaces, incorporate new technology that would aid teaching and learning, and separate louder social gathering spaces from quieter academic spaces.

16 | MASTERSNY.ORG

New York City firm Marvel Architects was chosen to design the renovation, which would include 6,680 square feet on the first floor of Masters Hall for the library and digital resource center, as well as 2,975 square feet on the ground floor for a new social lounge, academic administration suite and newsroom for Tower, the School’s award-winning student newspaper.

Construction began May 15 and was completed in early November. Craig Dunne, Masters’ head of engineering and maintenance, noted: “This was an amazing feat of construction to get such an extensive project done so quickly, and at the standards we were keeping. It was a complete tear-out and rebuild, other than the exterior walls, with everything state of the art: engineering, lighting, temperature control and ventilation systems. We’re so pleased with how the architects, engineers and construction firm collaborated with our team to have it all completed on time and on budget.”

“ We believe that our environment must inspire students to strive to be their best selves. … We ask our students to be more than consumers of content — we ask them to use what they learn to solve problems and design new visions for the world and their place in it.”

— LAURA DANFORTH, HEAD OF SCHOOL

ACHIEVING A BALANCE To inform their design work, the architectural team observed how students were using the existing library. They found students were often sitting on the floor in corners or standing around together wherever they could find quiet space. Lissa So, founding partner of Marvel Architects, explained: “A big part of the design was varying the scales of the space to allow for moments of privacy and independence, but also allow students to work together as groups. It was important for Masters that this be a communal space, but still a place where people can have focus and study. Finding the right spaces that allowed that required a real balance.”

The team’s innovative solution was to create a series of glass collaborative suites running through the center of the library for small- and large-group study and projects. Said Savage, “This way we can gather students who used to be scattered throughout campus doing group work into these transparent

Located on the south end of the library, The Pittsburgh Reading Room offers a variety of quiet and comfortable seating and study options.

spaces, literally, where everyone feels involved as they look in, and everyone becomes excited to use these spaces.” The suites can be reserved online, with each room’s status shown on a scheduling panel by the door. All suites, as well as the new instructional room and numerous other places throughout the library, also have large screens with speakers so that individuals can connect their laptops and share their work. “The power of technology in schools is the power of creation, and the ease with which students and teachers will be able to display and share the knowledge they are constructing,” Savage noted.

As well as the central collaborative suites, the new design includes an inviting living room at first entry; perimeter seating among the book stacks; new, upholstered study carrels with power access; a quiet reading room at the far end with large, well-lit tables; and bay windows with millwork platform benches that can serve as either casual seating or an impromptu THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 17

COVER STORY A Library Transformed

At the north end of the library, the circulation desk is flanked by an assortment of seating options, creating a “living room” area that invites students to gather to share ideas and connect with one another.

Individual study pods provide students with a cozy environment for focused work. Replete with charging stations and hidden backpack shelves, the 18 pods are expected to be a favorite choice for students.

Four collaboration suites can be seen in the background; each offering multimedia screen sharing, marker board walls for creative problem solving, and well-lit, soundproof space for team projects, small-group instruction or extra-help sessions.

stage for someone giving a reading. Flexibility and ease of use were key considerations. For instance, the instructional room is sized for a Harkness table but includes modular furniture that can be arranged as needed. The circulation desk is right in front of a cluster of desktop research stations so that students can easily seek support from the librarian.

The new space is also light-filled and welcoming. The book stacks are now on the perimeter, opening up the floor plan for the different types of study space needed. Caroline Frantz, Marvel’s architectural designer for the project, said: “We were inspired to capitalize on the potential views of the quad and the natural light that were all blocked by the existing arrangement of library bookcases. There are now lines of sight throughout the entire library.”

The renovation artfully blends the modern and the historic.

Frantz noted, “We carefully straddled the line between new technology and maintaining traditional elements such as reading areas.” Materials were chosen both for security — such as the high-tech privacy glass that can become opaque at the flip of a switch — and continuity with existing aesthetics, such as the wood accents throughout. Dunne said: “It’s ultra modern — 21st-century glasswork, unbelievable lighting, touch-screen access to everything — yet very comfortable and warm.

18 | MASTERSNY.ORG

The millwork gives it an aspect of age and blends well into the late-19th-century architecture on campus. The project has exceeded my expectations — you just have to see it!”

A NEW SOCIAL LOUNGE AND TOWER NEWSROOM While planning the library expansion and renovation, the task force was sensitive to the need to include an updated student social lounge and expanded workspace for Tower. “We’re excited about what our community will gain from the new library and about empowering students to make the space their own. We understand the McKnight Room was important to seniors, and we didn’t make changes lightly,” said Savage. “All of these campus spaces matter.”

The garden level of Masters Hall now boasts a new social lounge with bay window seating, work surfaces, computer hookups and wall screens, and other features designed for comfort and flexibility. Marvel’s So said: “It’s a more welcoming, active space, a high-traffic space where students can see and be seen. They can be louder and more outgoing without overwhelming the library.” Jennifer Olson, director of Marvel Architects, added,

“ I anticipate that the new library will become the academic hub of campus, a place for students to study, decompress or meet friends for collaborative work.”

— T RACY TANG LIMPE ’80, P’18, TRUSTEE AND MEMBER OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING STEERING COMMITTEE

“The lounge’s proximity to the new Tower room is also a plus.

Newspaper staff can expand their workflow into the lounge space at deadline time, and other students can see what’s going on at Tower.”

Logan Schiciano ’21, Tower’s current new ventures editor and former editor in chief, noted: “Interest in Masters’ journalism classes and working for Tower has grown over the past several years, and we were literally shoulder to shoulder for hours a day laying out each issue of the paper. It’s good to know that the paper has made an impression on the School such that they wanted to give us a new space.”

He continued: “It’s also exciting to see the new spaces in the library where we can work on projects or have a club meeting.

While it will be different without a dedicated senior room in the library, I’m hopeful the new layout will encourage more interconnection between different grades and different people.”

COMMUNITY IMPACT “I anticipate that the new library will become the academic hub of campus, a place for students to study, decompress or meet friends for collaborative work,” said Tracy Tang Limpe.

“It’s exciting that a central space in Masters Hall is getting a significant refresh. I believe this will have a big impact on student life.”

Director of Enrollment Management Emma Katznelson also sees the library as an advantage in recruiting new students.

“The new library more closely mirrors the innovative teaching at Masters and is sure to impress prospective families,” she said.

“New students can imagine what it will be like to be a Masters student, working, collaborating and relaxing in this bright and welcoming space.”

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 19

FEATURE

MASTERS DEBUTS SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM The summer months are typically a time when students take a break from their academic studies. But for four weeks in June and July, Sage Weinstock ’24 spent her days in remote classes, discussing art with fellow students and penning creative works. The freshman, who is new to Masters this year, took part in Masters Summer Learning Initiative (MSLI), a new educational program for Masters students entering grades 5 through 12. “I wanted something to fill my summer and figured that taking some of the courses would help me feel better prepared for the school year,” she said.

During a summer when plans for traditional warm-weather activities — sleep-away camps, vacations — were upended

by COVID-19, MSLI gave students the chance to explore new interests and passions. Designed and team-taught by Masters faculty, the program included 23 remote courses that complemented the School’s existing curriculum. MSLI also included Mighty Moments, a series of short, thought-provoking talks by faculty that explored a range of questions and topics related to the School’s mission.

In a June 4 announcement to families, co-directors Miriam Emery P’19, ’21, ’24, an upper school English teacher, and Glenn Rodriguez, a middle school Spanish teacher, explained that the no-cost program was created with both current and new students in mind. “For current Masters students, this is a chance to extend their studies, explore new ideas and interests, and connect with teachers and students,” the communication read. “For new students, we hope that this program offers a unique opportunity to get to know the School better and to forge connections with their new community.”

With classes including Math Throughout History, Japanimation: Contemporary Japan Through Pop Culture, Behavioral Economics, Code It With Thy Might, and The Lives of Greek and Roman Soldiers, MSLI courses appealed to a variety of interests. “It was such a good feeling to see the wide range of classes that these talented teachers offered the

20 | MASTERSNY.ORG

students,” Rodriguez said. “Upon first reading them, I thought, ‘Wow, these kids are so lucky!’”

Weinstock, who signed up for Let’s Talk About Art and Creative Writing Summer Workshop, had been feeling nervous about starting a new school in the fall and noted that “being able to meet some of the students and teachers quelled a lot of my fears.” One of the most surprising aspects of her experience was how comfortable she felt speaking up during class. “I didn’t feel pressured or out of place,” she said.

Lori Moussapour P’15, ’25 explained that her daughter Sophie, who was also new to the School, benefited in multiple ways from taking part in Spanish Conversation and Reading and Writing for Action. Sophie’s initial interest in MSLI, Moussapour explained, was that she “wanted to take advantage of all opportunities to meet students and teachers and to see what e-learning was like at Masters.” In the immersion-based Spanish Conversation class, which enrolled students in grades 8 through 12 and with a wide variety of fluencies, Sophie was not always able to understand the conversation. Moussapour saw this as “a great empathy-building experience.” In the Reading and Writing for Action class, Sophie “found herself interested and curious for more information and to hear what the students and teachers had to share,” Moussapour said.

“When she wrote and submitted her work, she was touched to receive significant and encouraging feedback from her teachers.”

MSLI didn’t just provide students with the opportunity to connect and explore their varied interests — faculty members, too, benefited by expanding their teaching repertoire. Take, for example, Department of Performing Arts faculty member Curt Ebersole. During the school year, he teaches classes such as String Ensemble, Chamber Music and Public Speaking. But, as a roller coaster aficionado and card-carrying member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts organization, Ebersole channeled his passion for loop-de-loops into the course All About Roller Coasters. He co-taught the class with upper school physics

“ IT WAS SUCH A

GOOD FEELING TO SEE THE WIDE RANGE OF CLASSES THAT THESE TALENTED TEACHERS OFFERED THE STUDENTS.” — G LENN RODRIGUEZ, MIDDLE SCHOOL SPANISH TEACHER

“ IT WASN’T

UNEXPECTED IN THE SENSE THAT I KNEW MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE WONDERFUL, BUT I WAS NOT EXPERIENCED WITH ONLINE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHING, AND I REALLY LOVED HAVING THAT EXPERIENCE.”

— M IRIAM EMERY P’19, ’21, ’24, UPPER SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER

teacher Andrés Cárdenas, and together they covered topics such as train and track construction, coasters of note, G-forces and acceleration. Ebersole said that he appreciated being able “to dig deeply into a topic that I truly love and have never had the platform to teach before. Riding roller coasters makes me feel like a kid again, so this course was a real extension of feeling that renewal.”

Emery, who in addition to her role as the program’s co-director taught three MSLI courses, enjoyed collaborating with colleagues in different departments and teaching students in a different division. “I really enjoyed teaching in the middle school, which I don’t do during the year,” she explained. “It wasn’t unexpected in the sense that I knew middle school students were wonderful, but I was not experienced with online middle school teaching, and I really loved having that experience.”

Rodriguez, who taught four courses, is confident that the unique variety of offerings will have an impact well after the temperatures drop: “I am certain that the faculty planted seeds which may lead to lifelong hobbies and interests for everyone.”

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 21

FEATURE

Panther Pride as Strong as Ever Amateur Athletic Union team, Hoopers New York.

In early March 2019, Reed Gilmore ’21 picked up a volleyball for the first time in his life.

Like Tom Hanks and Wilson in “Castaway,” it was love at first sight.

“Although I had never played before, it quickly became one of my favorite seasons,” Gilmore, also a star soccer player, said. “The energy of the team was unmatched. I’ve been playing sports my entire life and something about it was really quite special.”

In the blink of an eye, that something special was cruelly snatched away. As COVID-19 came bearing down on the tristate region in the late winter of 2020, school facilities were shuttered and life changed immeasurably. As the area faced the severe implications of the pandemic, high school sports became a mere afterthought.

Multitalented Reed Gilmore ’21 discovered a passion for volleyball at Masters. During quarantine, Gilmore continued his training in both soccer and volleyball at home.

For the athletes, however, the void was real. The camaraderie of teammates, the thrill of competition, the exhilaration of pushing one’s body to the limit — it was all gone. “That was a big letdown,” Gilmore said. “Being able to share the court or the field with the people you share your entire school day with is really significant.”

Like many in the area at the time, Gilmore thought his sport’s season was merely on hold. So, he bought a volleyball and tried to recapture that same energy in his driveway, repeatedly setting and bumping the ball against a wall. Gilmore also stayed in shape by logging an estimated 230 miles of running from March to May on the Nike Run App, roadwork done in tandem with his club soccer team, Eastern FC. He would usually set out in the morning, basking in the freedom that running offered. “I was probably in the best shape of my high school sports career, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to use it,” Gilmore noted with a healthy dose of irony.

As the pandemic raged on and swallowed the spring sports season whole, Gilmore and all of the athletes at Masters were confronted with a new reality.

22 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Dakota Daniello ’23 was scouted by Florida Southern College through livestreams of her summer games.

For girls basketball star Dakota Daniello ’23, it was a harsh one.

“The transition was definitely hard,” Daniello said. “Once gyms started closing sometime around March, nothing was happening. I was doing workouts on my own in my basement. With my strength and agility trainer, I’ve been having Zoom workouts every day. I went from in-person to everything on Zoom.”

Additionally, Daniello practiced on a basketball court in her backyard, making sure her fundamentals stayed sharp. With the virus slowly waning in the area during the summer months, she got back to playing in some highly competitive tournaments with her

Against the odds, Daniello picked up an offer to play at the next level. In July, she committed to Florida Southern College (FSC), a Division II school that scouted her by watching livestreams of her summer tournament games. “College coaches aren’t able to come in person to tournaments, but everything has been livestreamed on a platform called Ballers TV,” Daniello said. “The FSC coaches had been watching me online.”

In a fateful twist that could have occurred only during these times, Daniello’s decision to commit to FSC was partly based on its top-notch nursing program. Her interest was piqued as news media reports detailed the heroic efforts of health care workers battling COVID-19 on the front lines. “I would watch all these videos and thought, ‘Wow, I kind of want to do this,’” Daniello said. “I’d never thought of the medical field before that.”

Gilmore also worked on his college recruitment during the downtime. He was in constant contact with the coach at Occidental College, using whatever resources possible to display his skill set, motivation and drive. “I set up a tripod and video camera next to my garage and I’d do little drills that the [Occidental coach] would ask me to do,” Gilmore explained.

Gilmore also stayed in touch with his soccer teammates at Masters, reuniting with them on Zoom to go over tactics and positional responsibilities during the summer months. He created a spreadsheet with Kyle Benson ’22 to organize each session and track progress, aiming to have a head start if his senior season miraculously comes to fruition.

“Whether or not I get this season, it’s really nice to see all these guys are motivated,” Gilmore said. “Even though it’s not collegiate or professional, legacy is an important thing. To see our guys spend their free time to get better at the sport is something that’s exciting and humbling.”

COLLABORATING THROUGH THE QUARANTINE: PERFORMING ARTS PROJECTS SHOWCASE STUDENTS’ INNOVATIVE SPIRIT While there is no replacement for making music or performing together, Masters musicians and actors were determined to carry on despite the challenges and restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. They resorted to cutting-edge apps, video lessons and recording platforms, and the results were highly impressive.

Social distancing didn’t stop Jazz Band from its spring tradition of focusing on a masterwork. This year, the group covered and recorded songs from singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell’s fourth studio album, “Blue.” The musicians recorded their tracks using a collaborative cloud application called Soundtrap, and the completed songs were released on bandcamp.com.

Zia Foxhall ’20, one of the band’s vocalists, described recreating the album as being completely different from anything she had experienced before as a musician. “When performing live, body language and the physical cues of playing together can make or break a performance,” she said. “It was a learning curve to feel comfortable recording alone.” The effort was well worth it for Foxhall, who noted, “It felt so wonderful to have a completed album that we felt proud of, despite losing an in-person spring together.”

Guitarist Julia Levin ’21 shared a similar sentiment about both the difficulties and rewards of the project. Despite the challenges of playing her part without the rest of the band present, “It helped me practice and get better at learning and playing outside of an ensemble,” Levin said. Not only did the process allow her to grow as a musician by stepping out of her comfort zone, she also got to learn more about production. She also enjoyed Mitchell’s work, and said, “I loved getting more familiar with this album.”

As the Jazz Band musicians were remotely collaborating on “Blue,” students in Devised Theater and Acting 1 classes were working on their own project: a virtual choose-your-ownadventure story. Inspired by the transition to remote learning, the interactive project tells the story of a dystopian future where remote learning is the only form of education and is used as a form of government indoctrination. The acting students and the

viewer play the role of high school students. The viewer watches videos created by the acting students and then decides how to proceed in the story; there are seven possible endings.

Nolwenn Favre ’21 noted that taking a camera and filming herself “feels very different than acting in the moment with people around and an audience.” Despite these hurdles, Favre felt that the experience led her to a deeper appreciation of her fellow actors and what they were able to accomplish while working together remotely. “It also made me reflect on my acting skills and how I perceived them,” she shared.

Fellow actor Teddy Masters ’21 explained that the most difficult part of the process was ensuring that the videos the students were each creating matched up with the story line. “We would largely work independently when making our videos,” Masters explained, “so we had to make sure everything fit together thematically and to make sure we weren’t contradicting each other.” The students spent time during every class ensuring that they were creating content that aligned with the story map.

“This experience changed me as an actor by teaching me how to act when I am alone,” Masters explained. “It was a new kind of experience and I hope I can bring it into future projects.”

Like her classmates, Rachel Schwartz ’21 expressed tremendous pride in the work the group did and the end product. “We had to trust the process and ourselves,” she said. “I’m very proud of what my class accomplished and am so happy with how it turned out.” Schwartz, too, felt that the experience helped her to grow as an artist: “It changed my perspective on what theater is as a whole,” she explained. “Theater can be anything you want it to be and can be shown through a number of different mediums if you are open to new experiences. Another thing I took away from this is that being able to think on your feet and try new things is really important as an actor. You have to take what life throws your way and use it to your advantage.”

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 23

FEATURE

ON SATURDAY, JUNE 6, seniors celebrated their graduation from Masters with a virtual ceremony in the morning and a drive-through parade on campus in the afternoon.

24 | MASTERSNY.ORG

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 25

FEATURE

ON FRIDAY, JUNE 5,

eighth graders celebrated their graduation from the Middle School with a virtual ceremony in the morning and a drive-through parade on campus in the afternoon.

26 | MASTERSNY.ORG

The Estherwood Society recognizes alumnae/i, parents and friends who have chosen to honor The Masters School through their estate, trust or other gift planning vehicle. The thoughtful planning of society members provides an ongoing legacy for future generations of Masters students and helps the School remain on solid footing during times of economic uncertainty.

For more information about the Estherwood Society, gift planning or to notify The Masters School of your intentions, please contact Director of Amunae/i Engagement Sujata Jaggi ’01 at 914-479-6611 or sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org

SHOW YOUR PRIDE! Want to show your school pride? The Campus Store has you covered with a wide selection of hats, mugs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, athletic gear, ties, blankets and more. Make sure to check out our Dobbs line, too!

To place an order, please visit mastersny.org/campusstore.

Photo credit: Junrong (Karen) Li ’20

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 27

FEATURE

Board of Trustees Welcomes New Members

Marie Fabian P’22, ’26

Michael Greene P’10, ’13

Hannah Miller ’10

Marie Fabian is president of the Parent Association (PA) and an ex officio member of the Board. Fabian is an early childhood educator with more than 20 years of classroom teaching and administrative experience. She most recently served as director at Circle School in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. She has held administrative roles at The Brick Church School, Rodeph Sholom School and The Episcopal School.

Michael Greene is managing director at Neuberger Berman, where he is a senior portfolio manager and is in charge of the Greene Group. He was formerly CEO and CIO at David J. Greene & Co., a New York-based investment advisory firm, where he worked for 23 years.

Hannah Miller is the president of the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association and is an ex officio member of the Board.

Miller is an attorney at Wiley Rein LLP, where she advises political candidates, officeholders, corporations, trade associations and other organizations on compliance with state and federal campaign finance, ethics and lobbying laws.

Fabian graduated with honors from Oberlin College. She has a master’s degree in special education and a law degree from Fordham University.

Fabian was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2003. She has permanent teaching certification in special education (K-12) and general education (N-6) in New York state.

Fabian has served on the PA Executive Committee as a Class of 2022 representative, co-vice president for the Middle School, co-chair of the PA Equity and Inclusion Committee, and an admission ambassador and mentor.

Previously, Fabian served on the boards of the Rockland Parent-Child Center and the Westchester Ballet Company.

She was also the director of the Sunday school program at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Croton-on-Hudson.

Fabian and her wife, Genie, live in Montrose, New York, with their two children, Annie ’22 and Jimmy ’26.

28 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Greene served on The Masters School Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2017 and was chairman of its Investment and Audit Committees. He was also a strong advocate for upgrading Masters’ athletic program, which included the building of the Fonseca Center and the turf field. Currently, Greene has resumed his role as chairman of the Investment Committee. Greene is a graduate of Colgate University (B.A.) and New York University (M.B.A.). He is vice president of the Alan and David J. Greene Family Foundation.

Greene lives in Scarsdale, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife, Alison, and has three children, Jordan, Andrew ’10 and Dana ’13.

A day student from fifth through twelfth grade, Miller graduated from The Masters School in 2010 and was awarded the Community Cup. She earned her B.A. in history, government and classical studies from Georgetown University in 2014 and her J.D. from Washington University School of Law in 2018. After law school, Miller clerked for a federal judge in the Southern District of Texas.

Miller has served on the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board since 2015. She was the 2020 recipient of the Maureen Fonseca Young Alumnae/i Award. Her brother graduated from Masters in 2014, and her mother served as president of the Parent Association from 2007 through 2014. Miller lives with her two cats, Socrates and Aeneas, in Washington, D.C.

Allison Montgomery Moore ’83, P’17, ’19, ’24 Allison Montgomery Moore is a Masters alumna and parent to Julia ’17 (Brown University), Nick ’19 (Boston University) and Christina ’24. Moore graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A. in English literature.

Her past professional career includes public affairs and marketing with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Foote Cone & Belding, Bozell Worldwide and GMG Marketing (purchased by Saatchi & Saatchi).

After leaving the workforce to raise a family, Moore continued to work in design and marketing by helping nonprofits and schools.

Recently, Moore has been managing the graphic design program for the Colonial Theatre’s Shakespeare Festival and serving as an executive assistant in her husband’s in-house law practice at the Charles (Chuck) Royce Family Office. Other local affiliations include Thursday Club, Broadway Training Center, Ardsley Park Property Owners Association and Lyndhurst.

Moore has served on the Parent Association Executive Committee for the past decade and worked on three benefits, all while watching her children grow from free-spirited, middle school students into incredible, accomplished young adults — a process that continues with her third child.

Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board Welcomes New Members Lucas Buyon ’11 is a Ph.D. candidate in the biological sciences in the Public Health Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. He studies new ways of using mathematical modeling, genomic data and molecular genetics to shed light on the evolutionary history, drug resistance and epidemiology of malaria-causing parasites. Buyon holds a B.S. in biology and global health from Emory University and an M.S. in infectious disease epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has previously worked on modeling methods of infectious disease care delivery in both domestic and international settings. Outside of work, Buyon is passionate about civic and community engagement work around voter rights and registration. Buyon was also president of Masters’ Cooking Club, and, when not working, follows his passion for cooking. His brother, Noah, is an alum from the Class of 2013.

Natasha Bansgopaul ’04 is the co-founder and COO of DarcMatter, Konstellation and VegaX Holdings, and is an experienced fintech, marketing, strategy and M&A professional with more than 10 years of demonstrated leadership through key strategic roles at Fortune 100 companies.

Bansgopaul is the founder of three fintech companies and significantly increased the platform’s assets under management to more than $7 billion, with users from more than 65 countries.

Bansgopaul holds an M.B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University and has successfully led her companies to secure numerous awards globally, including “Startup of the Year,” NextMoney Global FinTech Finals, HFM Technology “Best FinTech Solution for Hedge Funds,” and “Best Blockchain Technology Provider” in the 2019 Wealth Management.com Industry Awards.

She has received notable recognition from various prestigious organizations and media publications, demonstrating the significant impact she is making within the financial technology industry as a female pioneer.

Each year, The Masters School depends on critical community support for

THE MASTERS FUND.

Gifts to the Masters Fund are put to immediate use, ensuring that every student is able to benefit annually from an exceptional, rigorous academic program led by talented faculty. Masters graduates enter the world as global citizens, primed to take on new challenges and opportunities with their might.

To support the 2020-2021 Masters Fund, visit mastersny.org/makeagift or contact Senior Annual Fund Manager Hilary Finkelstein at 914-479-6510 or hilary.finkelstein@mastersny.org.

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 29

FEATURE

Q&A

Get to Know Marie Fabian P’22, ’26, President of the Parent Association

Fabian has been an enthusiastic parent volunteer since joining the Masters community in 2014. She began her tenure as PA President in July.

What drew your family to Masters?

We wanted a school with a strong dance program in addition to strong academics.

It was also very important to us that our children be at a school that encouraged its students to be civically engaged and strive to make a difference in the world.

Once we visited the beautiful campus and met some of the incredible faculty, we knew Masters was the right choice for our family.

What are some of the clubs and activities that Annie ’22 and Jimmy ’26 are involved with at the School?

Annie participates in Dance Company, Debate Team and Executive Committee.

She is also a diversity ambassador, photographer for Tower, a contributing writer and poetry editor for Panache, and she started in Dobbs 16 this year. Jimmy takes guitar lessons with Mr. Connie, is in the EFFECT Student Leadership Group, and he and four friends created Time for Memes — a magazine that’s name was a play on Time for Kids — which they designed, wrote and published. With Head of Middle School Tasha Elsbach’s support, they sold two issues to the student body last winter to raise money for charitable causes. He also enjoyed the coding class and the writing for action classes that Masters offered this summer as part of the Masters Summer Learning Initiative.

30 | MASTERSNY.ORG

How do you feel your children have benefited from a Masters education?

What inspired you to become involved with the Parent Association?

Annie and Jimmy have benefited in countless ways from their experience at Masters, including the close relationships they’ve developed with peers and faculty, the work ethic and high standards that have been instilled in them, the opportunities for both independent and collaborative learning, the broad range of academic and extracurricular experiences they’ve had, the encouragement to be themselves, to try new things, to speak up for what they believe in, to support others, all of this and more. Thanks to their Masters education, they have grown in their passion to be forces for good in the world and care passionately about their community and the world.

I was eager for an opportunity to get to know other parents and to support the School, and the Parent Association gave me the opportunity to do both of those things.

What are some of your priorities as you take on the role of president of the Parent Association?

I am committed to ensuring that the Parent Association offers something for everyone in our parent community through a broad range of programs and social events. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to parent involvement! Another major priority is supporting the work detailed in the Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias Action Plan put out by the School this summer. Parents must be a part of this work, and the Parent Association can help facilitate that process.

Q&A

Get to Know Hannah Miller ’10, President of the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board

Since graduating from Masters in 2010, Miller has remained closely connected to the School, serving in a variety of alumnae/i volunteer roles before assuming the mantle of Alumnae/i Board President in July.

What clubs and activities were you involved with when you were a student at Masters?

I participated in Gold Key, Latin Club, MISH, field hockey and tennis. I was also the founder of Silver Key. Do you have a favorite memory from your time at Masters?

I have many favorite memories from my eight years at Masters, but one that stands out is my experience researching, writing and presenting my senior thesis. The process of picking a topic, developing a thesis, conducting research, and writing the paper was both challenging and gratifying. My topic was campaign finance reform, and 10 years later, I was hired as an attorney by the political law group whose work I cited in that very paper.

How do you feel your Masters education has benefited you as an alumna?

Having a Masters education instantly sets you apart from your peers, beginning in your collegiate years and continuing into your professional career. My experience with group discussion around the Harkness table allowed me to bypass the discomfort and learning curve my classmates were grappling with in college.

I have found both in my own experience and in observing my classmates that

Masters graduates are exceptionally articulate and skilled communicators.

This is an invaluable attribute, whether you use it to engage with others about the complexities of our society, to highlight your qualifications and interests in an interview process, or in your daily work with your colleagues.

What are some of your priorities as you take on the role of president of the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board?

My primary goal is to increase awareness among alumnae/i that the Board is here as a resource, whether they want to reconnect with old friends, expand their professional network, or engage with our alma mater and the current students. In recognition of the extraordinary achievements of our community members and the educational value of sharing those

achievements, I will prioritize creating spaces and opportunities for alumnae/i to engage with current students about their experience, expertise and perspectives.

What advice would you give to the Class of 2021 as they prepare to graduate?

Keep your eyes and mind open for unexpected opportunities. Remember that there are many ways to reach a goal, whatever that goal may be. Life is full of opportunities that you simply cannot predict or plan for: When those occasions arise, give them a thorough evaluation and fair shake. I have found that the unplanned opportunities I have embraced moved me closer to my personal and professional goals more than any of my carefully mapped-out moves.

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 31

FEATURE

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH NIA DaCOSTA ’07

From left: Lakeya Graves ’07, Nia DaCosta ’07 and Angela Vigilante ’07 at the premiere of DaCosta’s film “Little Woods.”

Nia DaCosta ’07 is a screenwriter and director. Her breakout film, the western crime thriller “Little Woods,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018 and was released in April 2019. Her latest project, “Candyman,” is the “spiritual sequel” to the 1992 horror film of the same name. The film, released in October, was directed by DaCosta and written

by Jordan Peele, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his 2017 directorial debut, “Get Out”; Win Rosenfeld; and DaCosta.

The Masters School is grateful to Lakeya Graves ’07 for conducting this interview with DaCosta in March 2020.

32 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Your directorial and writing debut, “Little Woods,” was released last year. What was that like to see your idea go from script to big screen?

By the time a movie actually comes out, especially as an independent film, usually you have been done with it for a while.

The moment of being at the premiere and watching the movie was really cool. During the process of making it, you fall in and out of love with the film over and over again. It’s a rocky road to this wonderful moment of: “That’s my thing!” It’s an interesting feeling, but it’s really wonderful.

Photo credit: Erik Tanner

How would you describe your experience at Masters?

My Masters experience was awesome. I came from a school in Connecticut that had a great education but was very homogenous; everyone was from the same background.

When I went to Masters, it was so much more diverse — not just racially, but also socioeconomically, and that was really important to me, having grown up in New York City. So it was great to get the same level of education I got at my other boarding school but to come to a place where people were from all over the world and all over the country.

What was it like to board at Masters? Do you have any specific memories that come to mind when you think of your time living at Masters?

I had so much fun boarding. My favorite memory is making my very first film, a horror film called “The Black Girl Dies Last,” in which, unfortunately, because Lakeya wanted to go to bed, the Black girl died first. But the other Black girl then died last. So we kind of recovered in the end. It was fun to be with friends, be creative, figure out what to do with all the time we had on our hands. And we decided to make an excellent horror film.

Did your time at Masters inform your career trajectory?

Jesse Sugarmann was one of my dorm parents and also taught a film class. That’s when I learned that my love of film could be put onto a specific path, which was directing. Also, there were always movies in the dorm that you could watch. One of the movies we had was Bong Joon Ho’s “The Host.” That was my first time watching any of his films, and I love them. It started my love of South Korean cinema. Another one was “Apocalypse Now,” which started my love of the 1970s and filmmakers of the 1970s. It’s a period that really influences my work now.

Your current project, “Candyman,” comes out in October. What was the most exciting part of working on this project?

The shoot was really, really cool. It was shot entirely in Chicago, which was important to us because that’s where the film was set and that’s what the movie is about. I had an amazing crew; I loved everyone I worked with. I loved being on set, as well.

That was my favorite part — the process. And working with Jordan [Peele] was really fun. It’s been cool to learn from him and be guided by him but also be trusted by him.

What is your favorite part of creating films? What kind of stories are you interested in sharing with the world?

What I like about what I do — the fact that I write and direct — is that I get to do so many different parts of it. I love writing, but sometimes writing can be lonely. And I love directing, and I love being on set, but you cannot be on set for more than a few months — it’ll drive you crazy. I love the edit, but the edit also will drive you crazy. So it’s nice that I get to dip in and out of all of these things and be instrumental in every part of this story that I’ve been trying to tell. I just want to tell interesting stories about our world and to give my point of view on humanity.

Something that I often say is that I like telling stories about women who are daring and dangerous — either because their ideas are dangerous or because they are dangerous themselves.

I think we don’t have enough stories like that. “Candyman” isn’t about a woman, but that’s something that I really love to do.

What does “Do It With Thy Might” mean to you?

Do it to the best of your ability. You have a chance to really show who you are, to be your best self, and that’s what you should do.

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 33

FEATURE

Author’s corner

A POETIC DIALOGUE WITH AN INSPIRING FIGURE

Fretwell with one of her recent paintings, “Moose at Night,” which is her take on Tom Thomson’s “Moose at Night.”

Katerina Vaughan Fretwell ’62 reading at her art show “Nature Portraits” at Gallery 814 in Toronto. Photo credit: Alan Clark

In her ninth book, “We Are Malala,” Katerina Vaughan Fretwell ’62 imagines a dialogue between herself and Nobel Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai.

Katerina Vaughan Fretwell ’62 has a passion for telling stories — particularly through poetry. “Sounds have been magical to me,” she explained. Indeed, from a young age, through her years at The Masters School, and now as the author of nine books, Fretwell has found fulfillment in parsing the English language.

She explored her love of poetry and art at Masters, noting that Ms. Luchterhand’s English class, French literature studies with Madame Pelmont, and art with Richard Spyer were particularly formative. Fretwell’s influences are many, from the classics — William Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound — to the beat poets whose work emerged in the 1950s. “I was really excited to discover poets that critiqued society,” Fretwell reflected. “I have a strong bent for social justice.”

In her work, social justice is one of many themes that she explores. Spirituality, climate change, her many travels abroad, and satire are just a few of the other concepts that have influenced her art. Essential to her work, too, is her history with alcoholism; she is nearly 40 years sober. “I’ve healed so much through poetry,” she shared. In addition to her writing, Fretwell illustrates all of her books, a number of which have received recognition on poetry book award lists. Her poetic sequence “Quartzite Dialogues” has also been set to music by Michael Horwood and twice performed at the Festival of the Sound.

34 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Her most recent book, “We Are Malala,” published by Inanna Publications in 2019, is filled with poems that imagine conversations between the author and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist and the youngest Nobel laureate.

Fretwell was inspired to write the book after reading Yousafzai’s autobiography, “I Am Malala.” “She’s a famous, dynamic wunderkind,” Fretwell said. “She certainly touched me when I read her book. I just devoured it.” The author felt a kinship with the activist and decided to explore that connection through fictional conversations on historical, cultural and spiritual topics.

She also took the opportunity to dive into the similarities and dissimilarities between Eastern and Western cultures.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Fretwell has been finding innovative ways to collaborate with fellow poets. For example, she and a friend, Harold Rhenisch, send a work back and forth, expanding on the original piece. “The finished result is great fun and keeps us connected,” Fretwell shared. She also edited, compiled and illustrated “Intimate Passages,” an anthology for The Ontario Poetry Society.

When it comes to her own writing, Fretwell’s goal is nothing short of profound. She hopes that those who read her work believe in the possibility of “a more just, kind and spiritual world celebrating differences but honoring inclusivity. This is possible.

We can’t give up hope.”

ENGLISH TEACHER’S MEMOIR DELVES INTO FAMILY AND PHILADELPHIA’S MAIN LINE Following her 2017 essay collection “Don’t Mind Me, I Just Died,” upper school English teacher Caroline Dumaine P’05, who publishes under her maiden name, Caroline Sutton, continued her exploration of family relationships in “Mainlining: A Memoir.”

Published by Montemayor Press, the memoir examines her “WASP heritage and the ways we pass on values and traditions to our children,” the publisher’s synopsis states. “This incisive memoir is simultaneously a portrait of an American family and of an iconic realm with an outsized place in American culture.”

Caroline Dumaine

The New York Times detailed the discovery of the World War II Navy aircraft carrier U.S.S. Wasp, which had been torpedoed in the Pacific.

Dumaine’s father was a survivor of the attack.

“Since the war had significant implications on my parents and their marriage, this discovery found its way into the latter part of my book, connecting threads and providing an immediate lens on an event that occurred 76 years prior,” Dumaine said.

Dumaine originally began the book as a portrait of the 1960s and 1970s Main Line region in Philadelphia, where she grew up. “As I thought about my contradictory relationship to [the Main Line], I began to realize the extent to which my mother and her past were bound up in those reactions,” Dumaine said. “So the book became, in part, a portrait of her.”

Despite the time she spent studying her family’s history, Dumaine shared that “by far the most time-consuming part of the process was reflecting on and reliving interactions with my mother.” Beyond exploring this relationship, though, “the memoir presents a slice of American life during a particular time — its traditions and values, foibles and hypocrisies,” Dumaine explained. “It also suggests that leaving behind our roots is not as simple as we’d like to think.”

As the book took the shape of a memoir, it was informed not just

by Dumaine’s personal experience, but also by research into her family’s history. She dived into Bryn Mawr College publications (her mother and grandmother were alumnae); family letters, written histories and informal narratives; and newspaper articles about the Main Line. Serendipitously, as she was writing the book,

Dumaine’s essays have appeared in Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, North American Review, Cimarron Review, The Pinch, The Literary Review, Ascent and Southwest Review. In 2012, she received Southern Humanities Review’s Theodore Christian Hoepfner Award for nonfiction.

THE BULLETIN FALL 2020 | 35

THE MASTERS SCHOOL

LEADERSHIP 2020 -2021 Head of School Laura Danforth

T H E

B U L L E T I N

Laura Danforth Head of School laura.danforth@mastersny.org COMMUNICATIONS

ADVANCEMENT

Adriana Hauser P’18 Director of Strategic Communications adriana.hauser@mastersny.org

Seth Marx P’23 Director of Institutional Advancement seth.marx@mastersny.org

Isaac Cass Digital Communications Coordinator isaac.cass@mastersny.org

Judy Donald Advancement Associate judy.donald@mastersny.org

Bob Horne P’15 Director of Marketing bob.horne@mastersny.org Jen Schutten Associate Director of Communications jennifer.schutten@mastersny.org Design: Kelsh Wilson Design

Hilary Finkelstein Senior Annual Fund Manager hilary.finkelstein@mastersny.org Sujata Jaggi ’01 Director of Alumnae/i Engagement sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org Aishling Peterson P’18, ’20, ’22 Director of Parent Engagement and Special Events aishling.peterson@mastersny.org Maryann Perrotta Database Administrator maryann.perrotta@mastersny.org Mary Ryan ’00 Associate Director of Institutional Advancement mary.ryan@mastersny.org Amie Servino ’95, P’26 Advancement Operations Manager amie.servino@mastersny.org

Board of Trustees Edith C. Chapin ’83, Chair Keryn Norton Mathas P’19, ’21, ’22, Vice Chair Katherine A. Henry ’94, P’25, Treasurer Suzie Paxton ’88, Secretary Lisa Bezos P’21 Martin Bjäringer P’17 Jonathan Clay P’19 Laura Danforth Michael D’Angelo P’15, ’19 Michael Greene P’10, ’13 Marie Fabian P’22, ’26 Christina Masters Jones Philip Kassen Shaojian (Richard) Li P’20 Tracy Tang Limpe ’80, P’18 Sydney Shafroth Macy ’70 Edgar M. Masters H’98, Life Trustee Hannah Miller ’10 Allison Moore ’83, P’17, ’19, ’24 Susan Follett Morris ’57, Life Trustee Beth Nolan ’69 Dana W. Oliver P’22 Hillary A. Peckham ’09 Steven Safyer P’04, ’07 Margarita Sawhney P’20 Diana Davis Spencer ’56, P’84 Mirna A. Valerio ’93

Honorary Trustees Marin Alsop ’73 Cynthia Ferris Evans ’52, P’76, ’86 Jeannette Sanford Fowlkes ’58, P’87 Ruth Mitchell Freeman ’51 Nancy Maginnes Kissinger ’51 Claudia Boettcher Merthan ’51 Lynn Pilzer Sobel ’71, P’99, ’05

Dobbs Alumnae/i Association Board Hannah Miller ’10, President Natasha Bansgopaul ’04 Lucas Buyon ’11 Sharon Nechis Castillo ’84 Ellie Collinson ’98 Karen Feinberg Dorsey ’84 Austin O’Neill Dunyk ’98 Evan B. Leek ’01 John McGovern ’07 Justina I. Michaels ’02 Ricardo C. Oelkers ’03 92 | MASTERSNY.ORG

Parent Association Executive Committee Officers Marie Fabian P’22, ’26, President Monaqui Porter Young P’23, ’25, Co-Vice President, Upper School Madeline Seguinot P’20, ’24, Co-Vice President, Upper School Jose Camacho P’26, ’28, Co-Vice President, Middle School Brooke Nalle P’24, ’27, Co-Vice President, Middle School Committees and Chairs Gabrielle Rosenfeld P’24, Co-Chair, Admission Support Saloni Singh P’27, Co-Chair, Admission Support Erick Blanc P’23, Parent Chair, Annual Fund Andrew Barnes P’26, ’26, Parent Vice Chair, Annual Fund Sally-Jo O’Brien P’21, Boarding Parent Representative Irma Pereira-Hudson P’21, Co-Chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee Madeline Seguinot P’20, ’24, Co-Chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee Susie Williams P’26, Co-Chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee Jennifer Nappo P’21, ’23, ’23, Co-Chair, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day; Co-Chair, Parent Programs Joelle Resnick P’26, Co-Chair, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day Jordana Manzano P’23, ’26, Co-Chair, Parent Programs Class Representatives Jose Camacho P’26 ’28 Marla Evans ’24 Debra Mangru P’21, ’24 Staci Marlowe P’23, ’23, ’25 Jillian Miller P’22 Allison Moore ’83, P’17, ’19, ’24 Lindsay Mortimer P’26 Brooke Nalle P’24, ’27 Jennifer Nappo P’21, ’23, ’23 Jennifer Neren P’28 Rini Ratan P’22, ’24 Richard Rosenberg P’22, ’28 Gabrielle Rosenfeld P’24 Elizabeth Stein P’22 Liz Tarter P’25, ’27 Cori Worchel P’19, ’21 Natasha VanWright P’25 Monaqui Porter Young P’23, ’25 Cara Zukerman P’21

Eliza Bailey Masters wrote in a 1919 letter to alumnae, “you own the School.” Inspired by her call to action, the alumnae raised the money for a new school building, completed in 1921, and named it Masters Hall in her honor. Today — nearly 100 years later — The Masters School still relies on the generosity of our community to continue Miss Masters’ legacy and support our School’s mission, students, programs and future.

Here are just a few of the ways that alumnae/i and parents can give back to our School:

ON THE COVER

CONTACTS

Students returned to campus for in-person learning on October 5, 2020, after a month of remote learning, with strict health protocols, mask-wearing and social distancing in place.

The Masters School 49 Clinton Avenue Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201 914-479-6400 mastersny.org Send letters to: Communications Office communications@mastersny.org Send alumnae/i news to class notes editors or to the Office of Alumnae/i Engagement at alumni@mastersny.org

Financial Support

Volunteer Opportunities

Annual Giving

ALUMNAE/I

PARENTS

Endowment Support

Reunion Committee

Parent Association

Capital Projects

Alumnae/i Giving Day

Annual Fund Volunteer

Planned Giving

Admissions Volunteer

Phonathon Caller

Class Notes Editor

Admissions Volunteer

Class Agent Event Host

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day Committee

Contact: Sujata Jaggi ’01, Director of Alumnae/i Engagement, at 914-479-6611 or sujata.jaggi@mastersny.org

Contact: Aishling Peterson P’18, ’20, ’22, Director of Parent Engagement and Special Events, at 914-479-6639 or aishling.peterson@mastersny.org

Contact: Mary Ryan ’00, Associate Director of Institutional Advancement, at 914-479-6433 or mary.ryan@mastersny.org

There are numerous ways to get involved and give back to Masters.

If you have an idea that is not listed above, please let us know.

Printed on paper containing 30% post-consumer waste with vegetable based inks.

100% of the electricity used to manufacture the paper is green e-certified renewable energy.

The Masters School

49 Clinton Avenue | Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201

THE BULLETIN | FALL 2020 A N N U A L R E P O R T O F D O N O R S 2 019 – 2 0 2 0

THE MASTERS SCHOOL / THE BULLETIN / FALL 2020 / ANNUAL REPORT OF DONORS 2019-2020

CHANGING IN A CHANGING WORLD