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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.
Q&A
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.
Get to Know Marie Fabian P’22, ’26, President of the Parent Association
How do you feel your children have benefited from a Masters education?
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. What inspired you to become involved with the Parent Association?
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.
SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH NIA From left: Lakeya Graves ’07, Nia DaCosta ’07 and Angela Vigilante ’07 at the premiere of DaCosta’s film “Little Woods.” DaCOSTA ’07
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.
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 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.
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.
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. 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
Caroline Dumaine
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.”
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.”
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, 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.
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.”
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
Laura Danforth Head of School laura.danforth@mastersny.org
COMMUNICATIONS
Adriana Hauser P’18 Director of Strategic Communications adriana.hauser@mastersny.org
Isaac Cass Digital Communications Coordinator isaac.cass@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 ADVANCEMENT
Seth Marx P’23 Director of Institutional Advancement seth.marx@mastersny.org
Judy Donald Advancement Associate judy.donald@mastersny.org
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
THE MASTERS SCHOOL LEADERSHIP 2020-2021
Head of School
Laura Danforth
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 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:
Financial Support
Annual Giving Endowment Support Capital Projects Planned Giving
Contact: Mary Ryan ’00, Associate Director of Institutional Advancement, at 914-479-6433 or mary.ryan@mastersny.org
Volunteer Opportunities
ALUMNAE/I
Reunion Committee Alumnae/i Giving Day Admissions Volunteer Class Notes Editor Class Agent Event Host
PARENTS
Parent Association Annual Fund Volunteer Phonathon Caller Admissions Volunteer 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
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.
49 Clinton Avenue | Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522-2201
