Bulletin: The Miss Porter's School Magazine, Fall 2022

THE MISS PORTER’S SCHOOL MAGAZINE

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Sara Omar ’25 (left) and Elliot London ’24 enjoy a casual moment in one of the newly renovated parlors in 60 Main St.

Fall 2022

Letter from Katherine G. Windsor, Ed.D. Head of School

For the first time in two years, the return to school felt “normal.” It was a beautiful summer day as students came back and campus became alive again! It was a busy few days filled with hugs, smiles, and even some tears as students both Old Girls and New Girls arrived home to Farmington. And what a welcome it was! Boarding students settled into their dorms as day students explored their new space. Seniors only, of course, relaxed on Senior Beach.

As I walk the campus, it is abundantly clear that the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 Student Center has become an integral part in centering community and belonging on campus. In such a short time, it feels like this building has always been here as a space for students to study, meet, hang out and relax. The students and our faculty regularly enjoy lunch outside on the patio, or sitting in the Adirondack chairs, or enjoying the fire pit all with a clear view of the beautiful gardens by the newly designed Sarah Porter’s Circle.

What a difference a year can make. In so many ways, it is already different from the past few. As a campus community, we have successfully mitigated COVID yet we are still dealing with other issues of the day. From social justice to women’s rights to gender equity and inclusion the necessity and value of a Porter’s education is more important than ever. On this campus, our students learn to use their voice and engage in both scholarly and social discourse through protests and debates. They have exemplified and continue to show empathy, care and concern for their classmates and the global community.

They can explore and achieve all that they can imagine because the people of Porter’s create the space for them to learn without constraints, to challenge themselves and each other, and to grow into inspired young adults who undoubtedly will do amazing things.

In Farmington and beyond, our students are living proof of all that Sarah Porter envisioned. They truly embody our mission to shape a changing world! I couldn’t be more pleased, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

In this issue

People

29

Donor Profile

Two Ancients who graduated 40 years apart tell their giving stories.

38 High Honors

Porter’s confers the Evan Burger Donaldson ’51 Award on Vanessa Roanhorse ’96.

51

Ancient Profile

Paula Cheng ’05 and her life after Porter’s.

On

Campus

Seen & Heard A look at moments on campus.

Sneak Peek History comes alive in Katrina Council’s classroom.

to Make a Difference Matt and Liza Sharp P’24.

Looking Back Graduation happens in person for the first time in three years.

Head of School A letter from Head of School Katherine G. Windsor.

Faculty News What our faculty members have been learning, doing and presenting.

About our photography

Some photos in this edition were taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, when members of the Miss Porter’s School community were masked in accordance with health protocols and national, state and local guidelines. Mandatory masking was discontinued in March 2022.

Features

10 32

The People of Porter’s

Get to know some of the folks who make our Farmington community so special.

Nova Nine

Meet this year’s student leaders.

DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY

Gorgeous gowns and fancy footwear were the order of the day as the students celebrated their first real prom since COVID-19 began in March 2020. The event, with Avon Old Farms, was held at the Farmington Club.

F a r mi n gto yFor Life.

Miss Porter’s School

JUMPING FOR JOY

Gospel Choir student co-heads Kristabel Kenta-Bibi ’22 and Halle Puchalski ’22 celebrate a beautiful afternoon in front of the new music building at 5 Mountain Road.

SWIMMING TO VICTORY

The Swimming and Diving Team stroked to a third New England Division II championship last winter after taking home the trophy in 2019 and 2021.

Caribbean classroom

Puerto Rico was the focus of this year’s 11th-grade Global Citizenship Program, with juniors spending a week immersed in the island’s culture last March. Students worked alongside local nongovernmental organizations, explored historic sites, and learned firsthand about community initiatives to foster sustainable development, improve quality of life and protect precious resources.

Farm to table

The Parent Leadership Committee brought a farm truck to campus last spring, sparking a number of culinary adventures by the faculty and staff.

ONWARD!

Seniors show off their future alma maters on College Sweatshirt Day, June 1, 2022.

Miss Porter’s School

Lazy days ahead

What could be sweeter than the last day of school? Faculty and staff kids celebrate with smiles and popsicles.

SPIRIT WEEK SHENANIGANS

The sun shone and animal spirits were on the prowl as the Minks and Possums battled to unseat the Squirrels from the top spot. And the winner was: Minks!

display their talents at

EXHIBITING EDUCATION

The Porter’s community was treated to musical performances, multimedia presentations and art exhibitions during the Spring Trimester Demonstrations of Learning.

‘ANNIE’!

Students in the Afternoon Theater Program staged the musical “Annie” in May. Madeline Blake ’22 and Essence Johnson ’22 directed and Kristabel Kenta-Bibi ’22 was the choreographer.

Hillian ‘25 works on ap s class .

Miss Porter’s School

“LEARNING, NOT LOCKDOWNS”

Students walked out of classes on May 26 to protest the mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school two days earlier.

Photo credit: Josh Bezdek

Seen & Heard

Katie Ahearn P’26

Rafia Ali

Ericka Alschuler P’24

ashley amoabeng

Nelle Andrews P’22

Brie Angle

Meghan Anthony

Sarah Archer

Nate Arnone

Paul Aubin

Alysa Auriemma ’03

Katie Ayers

Deena Babigian P’24, ’24

Arzman Badalia

Ariana Baez

Lauren Bahre ’09

Ken Banks

Ernie Beaulieu

Lee Beckwith

Sydni Bellucci

Christian Benjamin

Jamiah Bennett

Cheryl Benoit

Irene Bent

Michael Bergin P’19

Josh Bezdek

Gretchen Bilodeau P’12, ’14

Kim Bishop

Dorrett Black P’20, ’22

Ryan Bliss

Juliana Bomson

Tom Bonini

Dan Bradshaw

John Bryk

Emily Bryk

Georgia Burman ’00

Joe Carilli

Elana Castro Diaz

Evadne Coache ’11, P’25

Cheryl Costello

Michelle Coster

Katrina Council Kaitlin Cowles

Sarita Custodio

Marian Dauphinais

Eileen DeLaO ’93

Cristina Dieguez-Kuo

Avi Dubnov

Gary Edinger

Santiago Enrique-Arias

Maria Escribano

Kaitlin Faticoni ’07

Marisa Feijoo

Leahanne Fenton

Barb Gibbons P’07

Lisa Gilmore

Courtney Grant

Christina Guertin ’15

Jennifer Gull Martin P’21

Tessa Hailu

Bruce Heim

Richard Higley

Cathie Hillian P’25

Dan Hoerrner

Tanisha Holmes

Shelby Howe Miao Hwang

Susan Ingvertsen

Timothy Jenkin

Katie Johnson Diane R. Johnson

Tricia Jorden P’23, ’25

Nida Kazmi

Amanda Kice ’93

Grace Kim

Liz Koehler P’10, ’13, ’24

Ariana Kolins

Jeannette KopinjaBroyles P’16

Mike Litwinczyk

Jason Lomnicky

Sasha London Thompson Rich Lucas

Jose Lugo Mike Lusitani

Eileen Mooney MaryJo Moulton

Douglas Marshall

Stacy Martell

Susan Martell Jenkin

Heidi Mason Ayda Massicotte Kelly McCray Ruth Mendes P’23 Mike Mihalek Hayden Mixsell

Cindy Moeller P’26

Vanessa Moors

Taylor Moreau

Jennifer Morizio

Farrah Mosley

Emily Mosley

Alexandra MuchuraMensah P’23

Jackie Murray-Janiak

Robin Neschke

Christine Neville-Smith

Ellen Niedomys

Shawn Norris

Janet Ortiz

Sophie Paris

Josh Paszczuk

Jennifer Pelletier

Michelle Perry

Christine Pina

Colby Plaskowitz

Rebecca Plona P’26

Jen Poliquin

Deborah Popkin

Ana Calciano Pratt ’07

Katie Pratt DiMarco

Tim Quinn

Sarah Quinn

Laurie Ranous

Patrick Reardon

Jenna Reichen

Katie Riccobon P’24

Cate Rigoulot

Amy Rogers P’22

Oscar Rollan

Ian Rumsey

Suanne Samardge

Christine Scanlon

Jim Scheidel

Liz Schmitt P’19

Melissa Schomers

Molly Sessions

Randy Sheffield

Tom Sheridan

Maya Silva Thompson ’17

Elizabeth Simison

Kat Simison

Rachel Sinay

Lesley Skenderian P’18

Sarah Smith P’24

Shiang Sobieski

Jazna Stannard Jennifer Terzian

Emma Thurgood

Grier Torrence P’21, ’23

Sam Tressy

Eartha Tyler Cicely Upham

Area Vagnini

Emily Voisine

Jennifer Wagor

Lisa-Brit Wahlberg P’23

Susan MacColl Walker P’06

Hailee Wallace

Jessica Watkin

Hur-Shiu Webb

Kate Windsor

Kelly Woodbury Ed Wyskiewicz Soohyung Yoo

Fiona York

Julie Zurolo Kristine Zywocinski

What makes Miss Porter’s School so special? It’s the community of caring adults who surround our students from their first day at Farmington to their joyful leap into the fountain at graduation. These adults don’t work just in the classroom. They staff our health center, clean our buildings, guide and counsel our students, run our dorms, and cook our food. Please meet some of the amazing people of Porter’s.

Courtney Grant

CAMPUS SAFETY SUPERVISOR

Courtney Grant came to Miss Porter’s School three years ago after retiring from a 20-year career as a police officer in West Hartford, Connecticut. After hearing that Porter’s was looking for part-time security staff, she signed up for overnight shifts and hasn’t looked back. She became campus safety supervisor in 2020.

“I love it here,” she said, sitting in the light-filled campus safety office just inside the front entrance to 60 Main St.

“The community, the faculty and the staff are all so welcoming, and I really enjoy working with the students.”

Ms. Grant has overseen a transformation of the campus security operation from a law-enforcement model with officers wearing police-style uniforms and carrying pepper spray, handcuffs and a gun to one that emphasizes safety and security. The students and staff have a smartphone app they can use to call for help and to receive alerts and guidance from the safety office if there is an emergency.

“In the environment here, and the feel of the campus, the uniforms and the weapons didn’t vibe,” she said. “They were unnecessary and a little too much. And after 20 years in law enforcement, I never wanted to wear a uniform again.” In any case, Farmington police are only a radio call away.

Now Ms. Grant and her staff of five patrol the campus in black slacks and green polo shirts, carrying nothing more than a radio, a cellphone and a set of keys. After the isolation at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said it’s helpful to be in the very visible safety office in Main and to interact with folks in campus buildings.

“It’s nice to see people in person. It still surprises me when the students say, ‘Hi, Courtney.’ I’ve gotten a couple of gifts throughout the year, and I’m always so touched when they think of me.”

Michelle Coster

ASSISTANT DEAN OF STUDENTS

Michelle Coster grew up on the campus of the Ethel Walker School, so she was well prepared for life at a boarding school when she came to Farmington five years ago.

Not long out of college with a degree in physical education and experience as a substitute teacher and camp counselor, she became house director at Cottage dorm and worked part time as student activities coordinator. Ms. Coster later became director of student activities and was promoted to assistant dean of students two years ago.

“Porter’s is special because a majority of the faculty live on campus, and this provides a neighborhood full of caring and helpful individuals,” she said, noting that she and her wife live in a dorm on campus.

Ms. Coster’s duties include organizing student activities, overseeing the advising program and working with the Nova Nine the seniors who have been elected to student leadership positions. These roles have been particularly important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which for a time closed the campus and forced the cancellation or reimagining of every aspect of school life.

Thrilled to be back together in person, student leaders have created new Traditions such as the Daisy Festival last spring, which featured a food truck, DJs and yard games, and Sophomore Spirit Day in the winter.

The spring Community Day, which Ms. Coster programs, was devoted to well-being.

“I teach health and wellness, including social-emotional learning, and I always emphasize that these skills are more necessary than any others for students and faculty alike.”

“This is a wonderful community,” said Susan MacColl Walker P’06, who has worked at Porter’s since 1990 and is the school’s longest-serving, full-time staff member. “Education is a very open and sharing space. There’s a positive spirit and always something new and exciting taking place.”

She began her tenure in the Alumnae & Development Office as director of alumnae relations, a post she held for two decades. “Our Ancients are remarkable, and it is a privilege to know and work with them,” Mrs. Walker said. Now the director of gift planning, she works with Ancients, parents, staff and faculty who wish to include Miss Porter’s School in their estate planning.

“Every gift is different,” Mrs. Walker noted. “Every situation is unique. It’s just understanding what the person wants to do. What would make them happy, what would bring them joy? And how could that gift work into the priorities of Miss Porter’s School?”

Susan MacColl Walker P’06

DIRECTOR OF GIFT PLANNING

Everyone has a different story, and she sees it as her job “to listen, help them understand what different options might be possible for them and their family, and then let them conclude what would work best for them.”

“Trying to figure out what a person wants from their gift helps us understand what the best conversation might be,” she explained. For example, if they are charitably inclined but will need income in retirement, a gift annuity might be a possibility. Or the tax savvy may do something as simple as designate the school as a beneficiary of some or all of the funds in their IRA or 401(k) accounts or make an annual distribution.

“Large or small, every gift makes a difference to the school,” Mrs. Walker said. “Kate Windsor likes to say that within our legacy lies our future, so while our legacy is the foundation, we must always be forward thinking. Each of the four heads of school I have worked for has continued to raise the bar, building on the success of their predecessor, not resting on laurels. It’s a matter of evolving to meet the needs of our girls and looking at the needs of society and the skills you need to navigate that world. Miss Porter’s does that exceptionally well.”

Georgia M. Burman ’00

DIRECTOR OF NURSING

Georgia M. Burman ’00 was only 11 months into her tenure as the school’s director of nursing when COVID-19 closed the campus in March 2020. Her job immediately shifted from helping oversee the care of more than 300 adolescent girls at the Colgate Wellness Center to serving on a task force charged with safely bringing students back to campus and in-person learning.

“It was horrible timing,” she remembered. “I had a very short amount of time to learn my job. But when I look back on it, I wouldn’t do it any differently. I feel thankful for the skills that I gained and what I learned. I don’t have any regrets.”

That said, she is quite relieved that things are gradually returning to normal. “It’s been really nice that COVID is finally taking a back burner,” said Ms. Burman, whose first nursing job, from 2009 to 2012, was in the emergency room of a Queens, New York, hospital that would become “ground zero” for the pandemic

response. “I took this job with all these hopes and dreams of the programming I wanted to offer and I got sidelined by the pandemic,” she said.

A 10-week ninth-grade health and wellness class is now up and running, and Ms. Burman is planning a hikingand nature-based health-and-wellness after-school offering for students looking for an active alternative to the traditional athletics program. She hopes to teach practices and strategies that will help counteract the rise in anxiety and depression that she is seeing among the girls.

“I went here from 1996 to 2000, and plenty of my peers were struggling with mental health,” she said. “We just didn’t talk to any grown-ups about it.” She notes that now “students are scaffolded and supported” by trusted adults, including three full-time counselors at the wellness center. “I have the benefit of seeing how far we’ve come since 1996, so it’s remarkable how open they are to mental health services now.”

Evadne Coache ’11, P’25

COUNSELOR

Every day, four or five girls make their way to the second floor of the Colgate Wellness Center to see Evadne Coache ’11, one of three counselors on staff. Sometimes they’ve been referred by a teacher or a nurse. Other times they seek her out independently. And she’s very, very glad that times have changed.

“I would say my high school years at Porter’s were challenging,” said Ms. Coache, who holds a master’s degree in social work. When she was a student, mental health issues were stigmatized and the counseling office was hidden away “in a little corner” in what is now the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 Student Center, she said.

“It felt weird to find your way up there. Back then, a lot of students wouldn’t look for support, and they’d be referred to counseling when they got into trouble.”

Now mental health is front and center. “We show up to Morning Meetings; we make announcements if you need help, come up and chat with us,” said Ms. Coache. “We do mental health days, educate about mental health during community days, and we try to do fun things with [the students] so they can get to know us and coming for counseling doesn’t feel so scary.” There are online programs for parents too.

Looking back at her student years at Porter’s, Ms. Coache said, “Besides the great education, it was the adults at Porter’s that I just loved and remember so deeply,” noting that she is still in touch with several who got her through tough times. Now she is glad to be one of those adults, particularly for students of color. “I came back as clichéd as it sounds just because I want to make a difference.”

Douglas Marshall came to campus in 1985 as a kitchen worker. “I was an auto mechanic and hated it, but I had been in food service before,” he recalled.

“I figured I’d stay four or five months, but here I am 36 years later.”

Now he runs the custodial and building departments, overseeing a staff of 15 employees and contractors who keep the campus’s 65 buildings clean and functional.

“It’s a really exciting place because every day is different,” he said. “Not only do you do some quality work, you learn. Every day is a learning experience because you have to learn new things and adapt to changes. I welcome challenges they make it interesting.”

Douglas Marshall

ASSISTANT FACILITIES DIRECTOR

Mr. Marshall rattles off some of the major changes to campus since he arrived: an addition to the gym, the renovation of Olin, a new library, a pool, the purchase and renovation of the Grist Mill, new playing fields, and, more recently, the renovation of the Colgate Wellness Center, the transformation of the Kate Lewis Gym into the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 Student Center, and the expansion and renovation of 60 Main St., the campus’s beloved hub.

Head of School Kate Windsor and Chief Financial and Operating Officer Michael Bergin P’19 deserve much of the credit for the current state of the campus. “We have modernized everything,” Mr. Marshall said. “It’s pristine, it’s safe, we have a wonderful community I would say I work at the best place in New England.”

It’s also where he raised his daughter as a single parent after his wife died. “Working at an all-girls school and raising a daughter on my own it helped a lot.” He cherishes the everyday encounters he has with faculty members and dorm directors. “They’re wonderful people. All of that interaction, in a very positive, family-based way, bleeds into the development of kids. The whole place is just one big community.”

ashley amoabeng

HOUSE DIRECTOR/PROGRAM ASSISTANT

When ashley amoabeng was small, her mother had big dreams for her and her three siblings: Each would grow up to attend an Ivy League school and become a successful doctor, lawyer or engineer. Each child was given a nickname, and ashley was “Harvard.” Her siblings were dubbed “Yale,” “Princeton” and “UPenn.”

Well, “Harvard” went to Wellesley instead, and after initially studying biochemistry so she could become a doctor she majored in psychology and Korean. Along the way, she also managed to learn a native language from every continent, including Asante Twi, one of the eight languages spoken in her parents’ home country of Ghana.

After graduating from Wellesley, Ms. amoabeng came to Porter’s, where she works as a program assistant in the offices of Student Life and Equity and Inclusion (E&I). Her duties include organizing Community Day programming, serving as faculty advisor for the Black student affinity group, and providing support for other E&I organizations. In August, she took on a second set of duties, as house director for Swift dorm, where she is responsible for eight boarders.

“The students say ‘dorm mom,’ not ‘house director,’” said Ms. amoabeng, whose last name is pronounced “ah-MWA-bing.” She views her role as similar to an advisor, but less formal because she lives with the students. Hearing a junior say “My house director is the first person I go to to talk about my day or anything that happens” convinced her that she would enjoy overseeing a dormitory.

Like the students, Ms. amoabeng considers herself a work in progress, which is why she chooses to spell her name with lowercase letters. She’s done it since middle school, when she began feeling that capital letters signified a certain maturity and complete personhood that she hadn’t yet attained. “Anytime I do see my name capitalized, it’s like a reminder of striving to be my most authentic self,” she said.

01 QUACK QUACK: President Teddy Roosevelt— cowboy waterfowl.

02 HAVE QUESTIONS?

An answer may be lurking in my serendipitous collection.

03 COOL KICKS: Sneakers let me show my personality while still managing to look professional.

04 ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT: Washington crossing the Delaware. In vinyl!

05 CLASSROOM CONFECTIONS: There’s no pick-me-up quite like the sugar jolt from a handful of Sour Patch Kids candies!

Katrina Council

01

What does the classroom of an award-winning history teacher look like? Well, there are the “historical” rubber duckies: George Washington, Ben Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt. There’s a toy George Washington crossing the Delaware River in a vinyl boat atop a vinyl patch of blue with a vinyl flag billowing in the stern. There’s a bucketful of Sour Patch Kids candies or granola bars. And there’s a bookshelf brimming with random titles.

“A student once asked me how many African American congressmen there were post-Civil War,” said Katrina Council, who joined the faculty in 2018 after teaching in New York City. “I just happened to have a book that addressed that!”

The book: “Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007.” The answer: seven congressmen and one senator through the end of Reconstruction in 1877.

Students chose Mrs. Council to receive this year’s Sarah Porter Excellence in Teaching Award, citing her “engaging” teaching style, “warm” learning environment and the way she maintains “the perfect balance of upbeat and serious” when discussing difficult episodes in history.

“I’m just really honored,” she said. “It means the work I do is being seen by the students and being appreciated.”

When she’s not teaching U.S. or East Asian history (she taught English as a second language in South Korea) in Hamilton 201, Mrs. Council coaches track and field, advises the Spectrum alliance and affinity groups, bakes with her 4-year-old nephew, studies for a second master’s degree, and hangs out with her wife and their two “crazy” cats.

What our faculty members have been learning, doing and presenting

Dean of Curriculum and Instruction Nelle Andrews P’22 and Chief Academic Officer and Dean of Faculty Tim Quinn presented “Meaningful Transitions: Entering Without Grades; Leaving Without Exams” at Andover School’s Tang Institute conference in June. This year’s theme was “Reimagining Transitions: A Conference for Educators to Reflect on Belonging, Curriculum, and Identity in the 9th and 12th Grades.”

Ken Banks, information technology manager, has earned his CompTIA Security+ cybersecurity certification.

Latin teacher Kelly Block attended the Classical Association of New England States’ annual conference.

Athletic trainer Brittany Gustafson was named Select Physical Therapy’s Athletic Trainer of the Year for 2022.

Cathie Hillian P’25, assistant director of counseling, was appointed to a seat on the Board of Education in Watertown, Connecticut.

Rebecca Plona P’26, director of the Teaching and Learning Center and ninth- and 10th-grade curriculum coordinator, attended a Harvard Graduate School of Education course titled “Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions: Best Practices in the Question Formulation Technique.”

Chief Academic Officer and Dean of Faculty Tim Quinn was featured in the EdSurge article titled “ACT Says Grade Inflation Is a Serious Problem. It’s Probably Not,” by Stephen Noonoo, which was published in May. Mr. Quinn has also been asked to serve on the advisory board of One Schoolhouse’s new Association for Academic Leaders. As part of his work with One Schoolhouse, Mr. Quinn led a webinar for school leaders titled “Considering Curriculum: What’s Next for Your School?” and published a blog post about end-of-year meetings.

Science teacher Cate Rigoulot earned a master’s degree in biology through Miami University of Ohio’s Project Dragonfly Global Field Program.

Science teacher Christine Scanlon earned a master’s degree in materials science from North Carolina State University.

The Alliance for Young Writers and Artists presented Art Department Chair Grier Torrence P’21, ’23 with an Educator’s Award, identifying him as “an outstanding educator whose dedication, commitment, and guidance are represented by student work selected for national honors.”

Carolin

ce ’ 12 Shaw ’73

The importance of monthly giving

There’s an age gap of nearly 40 years between Ancients Cass Shaw ’73 and Caroline McCance ’12, but there’s one important thing they have in common: both support Miss Porter’s School with automatic monthly gifts charged to their credit cards.

Ms. Shaw, a Presbyterian minister and former CEO of the Greater Bridgeport (Connecticut) Council of Churches, knows firsthand how important monthly giving is to nonprofits. “Once I had the responsibility of raising $1.8 million for the Council of Churches,” she said, “I discovered that having donors who are willing to be consistent in giving every month makes things smoother and easier. And it allows you to look forward to the future with a sense of confidence because you know what you can count on.”

Ms. McCance is a staff attorney at the Boston-based AIDS Action Committee, which provides free legal services for low-income people living with HIV or AIDS.

“It’s partially due to donors that I was able to wind up in this position,” she noted. “I had a full scholarship to law school.”

It’s easy to make a monthly recurring gift to Miss Porter’s School. You may give online at porters.org/giving or contact the Alumnae & Development Office at annualfund@missporters.org

For both Ancients, Miss Porter’s is the only one of their alma maters that they support financially. And both have also supported the school in other

ways Ms. Shaw by serving on the Alumnae Board and Ms. McCance by leading the Greater Boston Ancients’ group and co-hosting this year’s Worldwide Sit-down Dinner.

Looking back at her time in Farmington, Ms. Shaw credits the school with giving her “the space, the support and the freedom to assume that I could be a leader…. I don’t think I would have been as bold as to go to seminary and become a pastor if I hadn’t had the Farmington experience.” More recently, a very thoughtful personal interaction with Kate Windsor reinforced just how special the school really is.

Ms. McCance, who wears her great-grandmother’s MPS ring and counts at least eight other relatives as legacies, remembered that she went to Porter’s “looking for a challenge” after being frustrated by the public schools in her hometown of Reading, Massachusetts. “Porter’s gave me that challenge in a very individualized way,” she said. “And there was a lot of emphasis on learning how to think, not necessarily learning what to think.”

Giving to make a difference

Matt and Liza Sharp P’24

Helen Sharp and her horse, Kincaid, clear a jump.

Porter’s School.

“Three of my dearest friends are Ancients,” said Ms. Sharp, who graduated from Lawrenceville School and Washington and Lee University. Years ago, she drove from her home in Old Lyme, Connecticut, to Farmington to connect with a friend who’d flown in from the West Coast to attend a Miss Porter’s reunion.

“I chatted with eight or 10 of her classmates in the hotel lobby,” Ms. Sharp recalled, “and I came home and told my husband, ‘One of our girls must go to Miss Porter’s.’ Every single one of those women was smart, funny and had something going on, was doing something in life. And they all attributed so much of it to Miss Porter’s.”

That dream came true last fall, when daughter Helen an accomplished equestrian who competes nationally in eventing and show jumping moved into Brick dorm as a rising sophomore. Her twin sister, Constance, attends Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.

“We are so happy our journey took us here,” said Ms. Sharp, co-founder and lead designer at On Point Multifamily Design and a trustee of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut. “It’s amazing what the school has done for our daughter.”

Mr. Sharp agreed. “To say she loves it is an understatement,” he said.

Ms. Sharp joined Porter’s Parent Leadership Committee, continuing her practice of being involved in the children’s schools, and the couple decided to make the school a philanthropic priority.

The Sharps are giving a sizeable gifts to Miss Porter’s School through the LaBoiteaux-Sharp Family Foundation established by Liza’s grandmother. One portion was designated for the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 Student Center project, and the couple has pledged an equal amount to the endowment in 2023.

“It’s hard to raise money at girls’ schools,” said Ms. Sharp. “And from being on boards, I understand how endowment gifts and unrestricted gifts are the best ones, because that means the money will go exactly where it’s needed. There was a need for a student center, and we were happy to fulfill that need.”

“We like our giving to make a difference,” said Mr. Sharp, who is co-founder and managing principal of Hamilton Point Investments LLC. While the school’s endowment is robust and well-managed, he noted, it is not commensurate with some of Miss Porter’s peer schools. “A gift can really move the needle there.”

Long before their twin girls were old enough to be thinking about high school, Matt and Liza Sharp had this secret wish: that one or both of them would choose to attend Miss

Leaders belong here: The Nova Nine

The student leaders in this year’s Nova Nine, who spent part of their freshman and sophomore years in pandemic-induced online learning, are joyfully embracing the on-campus experience. With creativity, passion and team spirit, they are finding ways to build community and create a feeling of belonging for all students.

HEAD OF SCHOOL Elizabeth Akomolafe

HOMETOWN

I was born in Atlanta but grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

ON BEING HEAD OF SCHOOL

I just hope to continue serving the community by serving as a role model and encouraging as well as creating new avenues for community bonding.

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

The welcoming, community-centered environment was what brought me here, and the friends and connections I have made are why I love it here and what I will take with me forever.

’MAPHOTOGRAPHE

FUN FACT: I

SECOND HEAD OF SCHOOL

Lucy Newmyer

HOMETOWN

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

ON BEING SECOND HEAD OF SCHOOL

I am so honored to be serving in this role. Because COVID-19 started in my freshman year, I have seen the differences in Porter’s pre- and post-pandemic. There have been tons of changes, many of which have been positive, but I really hope to restore the energy we had before social distancing and masking.

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

I never fully understood the importance of true friendship and sisterhood until I spent the end of my freshman year and some of my sophomore year online.

FUN FACT

My birthday is national I Love Lucy Day! My parents didn’t know that when I was born, although Lucille Ball was an inspiration for my name.

Miss Porter’s School

Diana Ma

HOMETOWN Beijing

ON BEING CO-HEAD OF MAIN

I am so excited for this leadership position and I’m ready to contribute everything I’ve got. I will contribute my creativity and experience in art to create unique and beautiful posters. I’ll also contribute my effort and time into making art on campus more inclusive… and to bring art and joy to the community.

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

As an international student, I really enjoy the inclusivity at Porter’s. I believe whatever your identity is, you can find a group that you belong to.

FUN FACT

I find most horror movies not scary at all and I’m trying to find horror films that truly scare me.

CO-HEAD OF MAIN Stella Wang

HOMETOWN

Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

The Porter’s community really helped me to be more aware about my surroundings and gave me courage to step up to my responsibilities. I have met interesting people from all around the world. It has made me realize how I can live my life differently, and I will treasure the friendships even 20 years from now.

FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS

The music building, because I love to go sing karaoke with my friends using the mics there!

CO-HEAD OF NEW GIRLS

Isa Zedillo

HOMETOWN Mexico City

ON BEING CO-HEAD OF NEW GIRLS

I am thrilled to be one of the co-heads of New Girls. To me, it means being a resource and advocate for all new students on campus.

HER

PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

Amazing and full of unique experiences…. The support and friendliness here is something that I have learned from and will stick with me during the years to come.

CO-HEAD OF NEW GIRLS

Alyssa Idusuyi

HOMETOWN Randolph, Massachusetts

FAVORITE SPOT ON CAMPUS

The patio behind the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 Student Center. People are always outside playing four square and blasting music on sunny, warm days.

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

It has been one unlike any other. The people and the connections that I have made are what stand out most. The inclusivity at Porter’s is what is special to me.

FUN FACT

:TWOOFMYFAVORITE HOBBIES

HEAD OF ATHLETICS

Ellen Jacobson

HOMETOWN Simsbury, Connecticut

WHAT MAKES HER HAPPY

AREBOXINGANDSURFING

Playing sports, singing, and my friends and family.

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

I came in as a New Girl junior. Right off the bat, I was met by a community of people who jumped to include me. I have already made friendships that I know will last for years to come.

Miss Porter’s

FAVORITEPLACE

GRISTMILL

.

HEAD OF DIVERSITY Zoe Brown Leaders Belong Here

HOMETOWN New York City

ON BEING HEAD OF DIVERSITY

I see myself contributing to the school by collaborating with Alliance and Affinity leaders as well as Office of Equity and Inclusion representatives to create a network of student support in regard to diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. I will also strive to foster an environment of open communication and active listening through monthly office-hour sessions.

HEAD OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Maren Frey

HOMETOWN

New Canaan, Connecticut

ON BEING HEAD OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES

I want to make sure that everyone is having FUN and feeling like they belong through fun community activities on and off campus!

FUN FACT

I have wanted to go to Porter’s since I was in fifth grade! My teacher was an Ancient and I was obsessed with her ring, which sparked my interest in MPS. And the rest is history….

HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE

I love the friendships I have made through my time at Porter’s. I have met people from all over the world who have brought so much love, joy and laughter into my life. Being able to walk around campus and feel loved is so meaningful to me.

Miss Porter’s School

“

The ability for me to explore and try multiple careers, to have many failures, has allowed me a perspective that is grounded in resilience and my Diné cultural identity. My strength comes from my people.”

VANESSA ROANHORSE

Ms. Roanhorse, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the CEO of Roanhorse Consulting LLC, which works with clients to empower Indigenous communities through access to resources and capital. She is also the co-founder of Native Women Lead (NWL), a nonprofit created by Native American women entrepreneurs to lift Indigenous women into business and leadership roles. Ms. Roanhorse was named the 2021 PayPal Maggie Lena Walker Emerging Leader and the 2020 Conscious Company Media World Changing Woman in Sustainable Business. Ms. Roanhorse is now working with NWL to raise $10 million for the Matriarch Revolutionary Fund, the country’s first impact investment fund focused on Indigenous women in business.

“Vanessa is an inspiring example of how one person’s actions can shape our world for the better,” said Head of School Kate Windsor. “We are so honored to call her an Ancient.”

Ms. Roanhorse said the Donaldson Award was unexpected. “I was deeply surprised that anyone knew about me or what I was doing,” she said.

“After the surprise, I felt acknowledged. And it felt good because it’s been full circle for me.”

Looking back on her three years at Farmington, Ms. Roanhorse recalled the challenges of being the school’s first Native American student. “I don’t know what the thinking was at the time, but they had me come two weeks early, and I ended up being there with the English-asa-second-language students,” she said. “That was bizarre because I can speak English and my people are the original inhabitants of this country.”

And then there were the questions: Do you live in a teepee? Do you have running water? Do you wear headdresses? Do you know what my spirit animal is?

“After the surprise, I felt acknowledged. And it felt good because it’s been full circle for me.”

Ms. Roanhorse (bottom row, third from left) poses with the other student heads of school for a yearbook photo. Yearbook photo.

Donaldson Award recipients

1998 Elizabeth May ’72 Executive director, Sierra Club of Canada 2001

“I experienced a lot of really problematic and ill-informed questions about my heritage and the lack of education and understanding of the history of Native American people in the United States,” she remembered. “I recall how obvious it was that I did not come from a place of traditional wealth, and my limited budget often prevented me from participating in things the other girls could do. That was difficult. However, it was my cultural wealth and clarity of who I am and where I came from that allowed me to persevere and continue at Miss Porter’s until I graduated. While I was worlds apart financially and spiritually, I was sound and centered.”

2003

Agnes Gund ’56

Founder and chair emerita, Studio in a School / President emerita and life trustee, Museum of Modern Art / Chair, NYC Mayor’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission

2005

2007

India Howell ’75

Founder, Rift Valley Children’s Village, Tanzanian Children’s Fund, and Rift Valley Children’s Fund 2009

Tracy D. Gary ’69 Founder and president, Inspired Legacies 2011

Louisa Copeland Duemling ’54 Philanthropist and conservationist 2015

2017

2019

Josephine Brodhead Moore ’68

Co-founder and president emerita, The Neighborhood Academy

She went on to the University of Arizona at Tucson, dropping out 12 credits shy of graduation to work in the film industry for a few years before deciding it wasn’t leading anywhere she wanted to go. Ms. Roanhorse moved to Chicago, where her twin sister, Olivia, was in graduate school, and worked odd jobs she hated until she landed at the Delta Institute, “where I really grounded myself in purpose and found the calling I have today.”

Now, preparing to launch a new company with her twin sister her fourth venture she looks back at her path and realizes that “the ability for me to explore and try multiple careers, to have many failures, has allowed me a perspective that is grounded in resilience and my Diné cultural identity. My strength comes from my people.”

This has taught her that “we need to remind ourselves that how we define success has to be expanded,” she said. “We don’t get anywhere by assuming the pathway is linear, and we didn’t get here on our own. We got here because there are generations of grandmothers and mothers and aunties and sisters who held it down for us to arrive at this moment. And for me, that’s the work I’m doing and the work Miss Porter’s must do: give our young women the agency to chart their path forward, however it may look.”

Elizabeth Cushman Putnam ’51 Founder, Student Conservation Association

Isabel Van Devanter Sawhill ’55 Senior fellow, Brookings Institution

Louise Vietor Oliver ’62 U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO

Anne Firestone Ball ’51 Community volunteer and philanthropist

“It was my cultural wealth and clarity of who I am and where I came from that allowed me to persevere and continue at Miss Porter’s until I graduated.”

Congratulations Class of 2022!

Resilience and agency were the hallmarks of this year’s graduating class, whose sophomore and junior years were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s ceremony was the first fully inperson graduation in three years.

“We have trudged through a lot of high water to get to where we are today,” outgoing Student Head of School Kristabel Kenta-Bibi ’22 told the 83 graduates and their families on June 3. “We found ways to mend our community that was separated by a longlasting pandemic. We were considered a supportive resource by every life we touched.”

The commencement speaker was Shakira Ramos Crespo ’98, an aerothermal engineer and

associate director of product marketing at Pratt & Whitney.

She urged the students to be a force for good in the world while seeking opportunities outside their comfort zone. “Surround yourself with people that will challenge you, be honest with you and advocate for you, as this will help you pave your own way,” she advised.

The class of 2022 dedicated their graduation to Kaitlin Faticoni ’07, assistant director of alumnae and parent engagement, for her positivity, humor and kindness. Graduates directed their class gift to assistive technology for the Hacker Theater and a sound system for the Weyerhaeuser Amphitheater.

Miss Porter’s School

menceme

allyoudo!

Ramos Crespo ’98.

Good luck in

“We have trudged through a lot of high water to get to where we are today.”

Kristabel Kenta-Bibi

’22

Looking Forward

BOOK CLUB

Engage with other Ancients in literary discussion on Zoom through the MPS Ancient Book Club! Email alumnaerelations@missporters.org to register. All sessions begin at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. Want to recommend a book? Contact Nicole LaMotte ’88 at nlamotte@mac.com.

MAY 11

DECEMBER 8

“Cloud Cuckoo Land,” by Anthony Doerr

This New York Times bestseller by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author is “a triumph of imagination and compassion,” says publisher Simon & Schuster.

“A Tale for the Time Being,” by Ruth Ozeki

Booklist says Ms. Ozeki’s newest novel is “an intriguing, even beautiful narrative, remarkable for its unusual but attentively structured plot.”

MARCH 23

“Dear Selection Committee,” by Melissa Studdard

Don’t miss this chance to discuss this collection of poetry with the author herself. Ms. Studdard will join us as we explore what Amazon says are poems that “shift among registers of loss, desire, and joy as they wrestle with issues such as climate change, addiction, modern distractions, gender presentation, religious questioning, and the nature of pain.”

COMING SOON!

The Alumnae Board’s Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and Miss Porter’s School will be co-hosting a series of learning workshops for Ancients. Watch for an email invitation or contact Cicely Upham at cupham@missporters.org.

ANCIENT

Worldwide Sit-down Dinner

More than 500 Ancients came together on April 9 for the fourth annual Worldwide Sit-down Dinner. Multiple generations of Ancients spanning the classes of 1947 to 2021 gathered in more than 60 U.S. locations, Hong Kong and Seoul to share a meal and refresh their connection to the school and one another. Ancients in Jakarta and Brussels hosted virtual dinners.

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Save the date for the 2023 Worldwide Sit-down Dinner!

Watch your inbox and @MPSAncients on Instagram to learn how to host or where to find a dinner near you. It’s a great way to connect with other Ancients and stay on top of all the great things happening at school.

Submitting your note!

Jan. 15, 2023

DELIVERING PHOTOS

Please submit your digital photos at the highest possible size and resolution. Photos must be sized 1 MB or larger.

BY

EMAIL

Share your note via email: classnotes@missporters.org.

THINGS TO NOTE

If emailing from your phone or computer, make sure that the software doesn’t shrink or compress your photos. Low resolution or low quality photos may not be included.

Digital photos are preferred. Prints may be mailed, but we cannot return them.

Please provide the full name of every Ancient in the photo (from left to right) and the date and location of the occasion. Include your name, your year and a caption for every image.

Porter’s

Class of 1952 Reunion Volunteers Nancy Potts Masland ’52 and Minney Robb ’52 reached out to their classmates in preparation for their 70th Reunion at the end of September and received updates on topics ranging from grandkids to health to new living arrangements. Here are some of the highlights:

Joan Coale says she still plays tennis (badly), is in four book groups, will welcome a first great-grandchild in October, cooks for her children’s dinner parties, and plays with her corgis, who are in mourning for the Queen.

Peggy Davis reports that she’s active in environmental causes, politics and her church. She has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and relishes being with them and their parents. She still has a small pad in Boston and attends the BSO. She wonders if anyone remembers her conducting skills during history class.

Roberta “Bobbie” Murray lives very near her son and his family. She enjoys gardening and watching her youngest grandson grow up.

Holly Perry and her husband, John, have built a cottage next to their big house in Annisquam, Massachusetts. Their five children, who are spread across the globe from Hawaii to San Francisco to New England to Prague, spend summers in the old beach house next door. John is writing another book, and in November Holly is showing sculpture a knitted wire bodice in an exhibition titled “The Conceptual Stitch.”

Ginny Purviance and her husband, Jim, have a lovely house in Newport, where she paints and has created a unique garden.

Minney Robb and her husband, Ted, moved to a retirement community in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 2014. Ted passed away in 2021; Minney stays active with her lively group of friends.

Carlin Whitney Scherer is in assisted care in Manchester, Vermont, where her children are very attentive.

Sandy Buck Douglas is planning an art show in her retirement home.

Jean Lincoln is moving to The Lincoln Home, an assisted living spot in Newcastle, Maine. She is looking forward to this, as she will be near her daughter, Fiona Clark, and grandson, Daniel. “How lucky am I?” she writes. Blakeslee Lufkin describes herself as a golf fanatic.

Ann Ross MacIver continues to enjoy sports such as golf, croquet and pingpong. She is happy with her decision to move to a retirement home in Milwaukee. Aging is a challenge, she finds, but she continues to look forward and sends cheers to all.

Nancy Potts Masland moved to Immanuel Village in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2019. She met Bob Turner, her new partner, and with help, wrote volumes 1 and 2 of “Gratitude for the Gifts & Blessings for the Journey.”

Mary McQuire Tyler says, “My life changed in a split second when Vic, wearing his old fishing hat, fell to the ground with a massive stroke. That was October 2011. Ambulances. Hospitals. Surgeries. He never regained his speech. But he could understand, and express so much with his luminous eyes. He died in 2017, surrounded by our four grown children. He has left them and our eight grandchildren a legacy of courage and love. Now I have moved back to Concord and the old farmhouse where Vic and I raised our family. Our eldest son, Morris, continues to farm the hayfields. I read a lot, and am trying to organize my papers and photographs. I send my love to all.”

Joan McCance Warner enjoys her home, having lived in it for 59 years. She tends her gardens, plays duplicate bridge, and spends time visiting with friends and family.

1960s

Beverly Chan ’66 writes that her husband, Jim Paisley, died in 2020 and that she retired in 2021 from her real estate firm, International Home Realty LLC in New York City. Her daughter, Leslie Paisley ’00, is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy and living in London.

Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop ’66 is publishing a memoir this fall. The book, titled “Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies,” tells the story of Elizabeth’s parents’ wartime romance and subsequent life in 1950s Washington. The author’s father, journalist Stewart Alsop, grew famous, while her mother, who had been a decoding agent with MI5, said very little. In a braided narrative that chronicles her mother’s increasing dementia, Elizabeth tries to unravel the secrets her parents kept not only from their children but also from each other.

Katherine (Kathy) Duff Rines ’67 continues to live in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she is submitting a documentary she produced to film festivals. “Early Daughters of Dartmouth” chronicles the first four years of women students at Dartmouth College. Kathy reports that her daughter Jackie is an artist and studio art teacher in Los Angeles, and her daughter Ellie has an art gallery in New York City.

1970s

1990s

Grace Ryder-O’Malley ’99 and Todd Prada welcomed their son, Cameron Thomas Prada, into the world on January 30 during a blizzard. He can’t wait to meet his Porter’s aunties!

2000s

Cameron Thomas Prada.

Kara Mazur Miller ’06 and her husband welcomed Crew Edward Miller on May 13. He joins big brother Brody.

Kara Mazur Miller ’06 with her husband and new baby.

Pat Mueller ’74 and K Henry ’74 were in Cozumel, Mexico, at the same time in May and got together for dinner!

Pat Mueller ’74 (left) with K Henry ’74.

Miss Porter’s School

Ania Wójtowicz ’06 shared that her short creative documentary, “Fever Film,” made its international premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival last spring. She made it in Qatar in 2020 while sick with COVID-19.

A stillfro

Four Ancients from the class of 2006 helped Ashton Rohmer ’06 celebrate her wedding.

2010s

Liv Blanchette ’10 and Mark Saavedra were married in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, on Oct. 16, 2021. Mark and Liv are now living and working in New Zealand.

Sharifah Holder ’06 earned her doctorate in public health from the University of Maryland, College Park. She was excited that her MPS roommate Tiffany Rasberry ’06 was able to celebrate with her! Sharifah says she is so grateful for all of the love and support she has received from the Porter’s family throughout her journey and is looking forward to the future.

Liv Blanchette ’10 with her husband on their wedding day.

Left to right: Class of 2006 members Sharifah Holder, Alexa David, Elise Selinger and Hillary Vanaria with bride Ashton Rohmer.

Tiffany Rasberry ’06 and Sharifah Holder ’06.

Isabel Blank ’13 writes, “After finishing my master’s in public administration at UConn and working in nonprofit communications, I was hired in a remote role that gave me the ability to live wherever I wanted in the United States. I decided to ditch my Connecticut roots and head out West to Colorado Springs, Colorado, with my boyfriend. I would love to show Ancients the best hiking spots if they’re passing through! My email is isabeloblank@gmail.com.”

Gabrielle Brewer ’19, a rising senior at Bates College, was selected as a Udall Scholar in April. The Udall Foundation awards 55 undergraduate scholarships each year to students who are interested in pursuing careers in the environmental field. She hopes to work with environmental engineers, public health officials and locals to create sustainable environments for all people.

Several Ancients attended the May 9 memorial service in Charlottesville, Virginia, for Lucy Byrd Pegau, a beloved MPS faculty member from 1956 to 1992.

Isabel Blank ’13 and her boyfriend.

Left to right: Charlotte Matthews ’84, who sang at the service, Nona Murphy Collin ’83, Laura Anthony Johnston ’84, Liza Standish Sackson ’83, Helen Matheson Hilliard ’82, Alice Baker ’84 and Liz Gorman ’74.

Paula Cheng ’05

I

t’s not a stretch to call Taiwanese native Han-Ching “Paula” Cheng ’05 an overachiever. Arriving in the United States at age 10 not knowing a word of English, Ms. Cheng soon mastered the language. She worked her way through two schools in California and Massachusetts, respectively, before enrolling in Miss Porter’s School as a rising sophomore.

She went on to the Parsons School of Design in New York, where she earned an M.F.A. in fashion design and won the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty competition. Her graduate collection of deconstructive knitwear was sponsored by an Italian luxury yarn company, and her creations were written up in Women’s Wear Daily and The New York Times.

Fifteen years in the fashion industry followed, including time spent running a design lab for Hong Kong-based Aussco, one of the world’s top knitwear manufacturers. Ms. Cheng also worked for her mother’s footwear company in China and freelanced for Chinese manufacturers in Shanghai. “Because I was such an overachiever, I missed out on a lot in life,” she said. “I got really burned out. I needed some time for myself.”

After her marriage to Collin Liu in 2019, she spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic at home in Singapore with her new husband and three stepchildren. The imposed solitude was revitalizing, and she turned to other creative pursuits. Ms. Cheng grew hydroponic herbs on the terrace of her high-rise building and cooked for the

family every day during a two-month lockdown. That was the inspiration for a Facebook group the Cooking Creators Community that eventually attracted more than 3,000 followers. But, she joked, “I should have started another group called the dishwashing community, as I did more of that than cooking!” She also tended to another social media project, Nu Modern Beauty, in which she tests and recommends beauty products. This year, she and the family relocated to a villa by the sea in Hua Hin, Thailand, and she is relaxing more, “happy being a stepmom, enjoying the kids, having a great time in Thailand.” She’s also exploring a collaboration with the Fashion Council of Singapore and learning the Thai language.

Thinking back to her time at Porter’s, Ms. Cheng remembers that she was awkward and driven, challenging herself with Advanced Placement French and varsity squash. But she credits the school with giving her another perspective on women and instilling the self-confidence that made her business successes possible.

Does she have advice for today’s students? “A more balanced life is definitely the message I’d like to share,” she said. “Don’t think about other people’s opinion of you. And remember that the friendships you make at Porter’s will last a lifetime.”

Christina Newberry Darling ’43 | 2/3/2022

Marjorie Wyckoff Cook ’44 | 2/3/2022

Peyton Wendt Berry 1969 Daughter

Florence Wyckoff Durfee Hastings 1953 Sister

† Elizabeth McKay Wyckoff 1929 Aunt

Kathleen Butterworth Wilson 1948 Cousin

Marjorie Appleton Wallace 1977 Niece

Elizabeth P. Appleton 1978 Niece

Mariana Mann de Saint Phalle ’48 | 5/17/2022

† Elizabeth Foster Mann 1921 Mother

Nancy Mann Israel 1949 Sister

† Elizabeth Dickson Foster 1894 Grandmother

† Lowrie Sage Flagg 1917 Cousin

† Helene Harper de Saint Phalle 1918 Aunt

† Standish Sizer Mann 1918 Aunt

† Margaret Stone Winthrop 1922 Aunt

† Marjorie Flagg Strawbridge 1938 Cousin

Patricia Derr March 1952 Cousin

Dorothy D. Darling 1968 Cousin

Jane Eyre Repp ’48 | 1/30/2022

† Elizabeth Eyre Taylor 1941 Sister

† Shirley Eyre Knapp 1943 Sister

Lucy Eyre Lindeyer 1977 Niece

Claudia Repp Tupanjanin 1979 Niece

Melanie Eyre Christie 1984 Niece

Adrienne Osborne Ives ’50 | 2/3/2022

† Elsa Armour Osborne 1929 Mother

Alison A. Ives 1974 Daughter

Sandra Ives Powel 1976 Daughter

† Gwendolyn Osborne Lincoln 1951 Sister

Karen Osborne McGovern 1958 Sister

† Elsa Parker Armour 1905 Grandmother

† Elisalex deBaillet-Latour d’Albis 1956 Cousin

Laura Armour Cook 1957 Cousin

Leslie Lincoln Hough 1976 Niece

Courtney O. McGovern 1990 Niece

Gwendolyn Osborne Lincoln ’51 | 1/8/2022

† Elsa Armour Osborne 1929 Mother

Leslie Lincoln Hough 1976 Daughter

† Adrienne Osborne Ives 1950 Sister

Karen Osborne McGovern 1958 Sister

† Elsa Parker Armour 1905 Grandmother

† Elisalex deBaillet-Latour d’Albis 1956 Cousin

Laura Armour Cook 1957 Cousin

Alison A. Ives 1974 Niece

Sandra Ives Powel 1976 Niece

Courtney O. McGovern 1990 Niece

Barbara Park MacDougall ’51 | 2/6/2022

† Harriet Payne Park 1919 Mother

† Sally Park Pollock 1945 Sister

† Elizabeth Park Henry 1946 Sister

† Julia W. Park 1931 Aunt

† Polly Park Dyer 1949 Cousin

Neva Dyer Egan 1972 Cousin

Elizabeth M. Gardiner ’56 | 11/10/2021

† Sally Quimby Gardiner 1926 Mother

Alexandra T. Boyden 1982 Daughter

† Sally Gardiner Murray 1949 Sister

† Lilian Tingue Swan 1922 Aunt † Grace Tingue Curran 1926 Aunt † Polly Park Dyer 1949 Cousin

Edith Faile McClure ’56 | 5/18/2022

† Edith Lefferts Allen 1921 Mother

Sarah Faile Fogarty 1959 Sister

† Sarah Crane Faile 1860 Grandmother

† Elsie Williams Chamberlain 1923 Cousin

Elisabeth Cole Carpentieri ’57 | 1/17/2022

† Elisabeth Robbins Cole 1930 Mother

Anne Kennedy Theobald ’59 | 5/19/2022

† Margaretta Tatnall Curry 1935 Mother

† Ann Tatnall Graham 1938 Aunt

† Mary McClintock Kennedy 1963 Sister-in-law

Constance Fleischmann Viti ’59 | 6/8/2022

† Constance Worrall Fleischmann 1934 Mother

† Anne Worrall Ryan 1931 Aunt

Cynthia F. Ryan 1957 Cousin

Katharine D. Cannon ’71 | 5/27/2022

Renee Wellford Shettle 1968 Cousin

Eleanor Perkins Robinson ’76 | 1/2/2022

† Eleanor Gamble James 1912 Grandmother

† Frances Gamble Daggett 1908 Great Aunt

† Mabel James Brown 1953 Aunt

† Frances Daggett Aldrich 1942 Cousin

Frances Aldrich Llopis 1963 Cousin

Abby Aldrich Gray 1968 Cousin

Anne Bonney 1967 Cousin by marriage

Virginia Secor Shaw 1994 Niece

Frances G. Robinson 2009 Daughter

Susan Tenney Sellwood ’77 | 4/25/2022

Alexandra B. Espy ’78 | 1/11/2022

Delphine Espy Eberhart 1971 Sister

FORMER EMPLOYEES

Lucy Byrd Pegau | 4/28/2022

Science Teacher, 1956–1992

Helene Perzanowski | 2/22/2022

Nurse Practitioner, 1994–2004

Miss Porter’s School was very sorry to learn of the passing of these Ancients, trustees and staff, and we extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends.

IN MEMORIAM

William “Bill” Dwight Weiss P ’98, GP ’17 passed away Jan. 6 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the age of 78. A trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 1995 to 1998, he was the father of Katrina D. Ryan ’98 and grandfather of Hagen C. Weiss ’17.

Mr. Weiss earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Parsons College in 1968 after high school at Avon Old Farms School, and he married Robin Biddle Martin in 1969. Over the course of his career, he became CEO and chairman of Medtech Laboratories and president of Winvesco Inc., a family investment company.

Mr. Weiss is remembered for a larger-than-life personality and zest for life, and for the generosity and civic leadership he offered to his adopted hometown of Jackson Hole. Born in San Diego and raised in Cove Neck, New York, Mr. Weiss and his family moved to Wyoming in 1988, drawn by a love of Western art. There, Mr. Weiss became a patron of the Buffalo Bill Center for the West, a board member and vice president of the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, a vestry member of St. John’s Episcopal Church, a supporter and chair of the Grand Teton Music Festival, and a board member and treasurer for the United States Pony Club.

He is survived by his wife, Robin; his daughter, Katrina; his son, William U. Weiss; and six grandchildren.

IN MEMORIAM

Elisabeth Robbins Cole Carpentieri ’57 died in Italy on Jan. 17 at the age of 83. She served as a trustee for Miss Porter’s School from 2009 to 2011 and was the daughter of Elisabeth Robbins Cole ’30.

Born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1939, Mrs. Carpentieri attended Smith College after Farmington. In 1961, she earned a degree in art history and then went on to earn a master’s degree in Italian from Middlebury College the next year.

“Liz first arrived in Florence in the autumn of 1959 on a steamship with the junior year abroad program at Smith College,” her friend Monica Sharp wrote in The Florentine, a publication for English-speaking residents of Florence, Italy. “She had Italy deep in her blood.”

Mrs. Carpentieri worked as an art historian in San Francisco and Boston before moving to Florence in 1968, where she worked for an American who was active in the St. James Episcopal Church, according to Ms. Sharp. There she helped with “the unfinished business … architects, insurance, fine arts” left by the catastrophic November 1966 Arno River flood, which damaged or destroyed thousands of works of art and between 3 and 4 million books and manuscripts.

In 1975, she married Alfonso Carpentieri, who died in 2007. “They did not have any children, but Liz counted many young people in her network who were like children to her,” Ms. Sharp wrote. “Liz was the glue that held many friendships and groups together. Liz seemed to know everyone.”

Services were held on Jan. 20 at St. James Episcopal Church in Florence.

IN MEMORIAM

Adrienne Osborne Ives ’50, P ’74, ’76, passed away on Feb. 3 in Bloomington, Illinois, at the age of 89. Ms. Ives served the school as a trustee from 1980 to 1986 and as a member of the Alumnae Board from 1974 to 1975.

Born in Lake Forest, Illinois, in 1932, Ms. Ives graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in education and a teaching certificate. She married Timothy Read Ives in 1954 and moved with him to Texas, where she worked as an elementary school teacher.

The couple went on to raise their three children in Bloomington, where Ms. Ives was active in a number of organizations: the Bloomington Public Library, the Girl Scouts, Planned Parenthood, Brokaw Hospital, the Day Care Center of McLean County and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church.

A sailor who loved the outdoors, Ms. Ives traveled extensively with her husband and children. They spent many summers at a family cottage in Charlevoix, Michigan, where Ms. Ives served on the board of the Charlevoix Historical Society. She was also president of the Chicago Club.

Ms. Ives is survived by her daughters, Alison Ives ’74 and Sandra Powel ’76; her son, Timothy O. Ives; her sister, Karen Osborne McGovern ’58; and eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Miss Porter’s School

Porter’s