Understanding the important role bees play in sustaining healthy ecosystems, this year Miss Porter’s School established its own apiary colony. Located behind the Pool & Squash Building, it contains about 35,000 bees that will eventually produce enough honey for consumption.
Letter from Katherine G. Windsor, Ed.D. Head of School
In 1843, when society prioritized boys’ education, the doors of Miss Porter’s School opened with a singular focus on girls’ education. Sarah Porter was a renegade. She was a visionary. She saw the world through a different lens. She was a woman who believed that girls had the right to a high-quality education. She believed that young women could and should be impactful members of their communities and that, just as each new piece added to a kaleidoscope creates a unique and ever-changing image the diverse contributions of individuals would continually shape and transform the world.
More than ever, we stand on and lean into our mission:
Miss Porter’s School educates girls to be bold, informed, resourceful and ethical global citizens. We expect our graduates to shape a changing world.
As perpetual learners, we take every opportunity to understand our current environment to better help students navigate an evolving landscape. We also know that learning about and understanding our Ancients as both collectives and individuals is vital. The students and Ancients of today are not the students or Ancients of Sarah Porter’s era. I dare say we are much better. Through thoughtful and careful analysis of the recent Ancient census, we aim to ensure that Ancients feel seen and heard in the same way that we care for our students today.
I believe that the value of Farmington is not only in the education students receive on campus but also in the life they live as Ancients. Our Ancients are some of the boldest women in the world. Like Sarah Porter, they have a penchant for learning that extends beyond the classroom, because learning can happen anywhere and any time. They are resourceful using the tools around them or building their own if unavailable. And they are global citizens, molding and shaping our world into the one they want to live in.
Our current students, future Ancients, all of them, along with our vast network of more than 6,500 Ancients, are the school’s perpetual cornerstone, because in our legacy lies our future.
Donor Profile
Lucy Newmyer ’23: Giving to empower women and girls. 44
Nova Nine
Meet this year's student leaders.
Ancient Profile
Art as passion and purpose for Diana Hobson ’60.
Seen & Heard
A look at memorable moments on campus. 28
Sneak Peek
With Rebecca Plona on their side, students know they can thrive. 36
Impact Report
How your gifts to MPS uplift tomorrow’s leaders.
Head of School
A letter from Head of School Dr. Katherine G. Windsor.
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Faculty News
What our faculty members have been learning, doing and presenting.
46 Ancient Awards
Nominate an Ancient for a prestigious Porter's award.
42 Moonbeams Circle Giving Challenge Ancient sponsors new highimpact fundraising initiative.
49 Class Notes
Walking the walk of women’s empowerment
How Porter’s is nurturing tomorrow’s engaged, impactful citizens.
the photo shoot for this article.
Ensuring Ancients feel seen, heard and represented
We hear you! Ancient census data informs our engagement.
HITTING THE RIGHT NOTE
Porter’s 2024 Spring Awards culminated in the Senior Music Showcase & Dance Performance, where students demonstrated their diverse talents.
Porter’s students joined with students at Avon Old Farms for the 2024 Annual Junior/Senior Prom, where they dined, danced and made wonderful new memories.
Glamming it up for Prom 2024 festivities.
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At Porter’s, multiple courses in photography allow students to develop the knowledge and skills to capture images in their own distinct style.
Practicing global relations
Porter’s students demonstrated their diplomacy prowess at the mini Model UN conference at Westover School learn more about their achievements on page 40.
DISCOVERING FRENCH CULTURE
the AIS Global Experience: France trip, students studied urban development in the medieval city of Avignon.
STRONG AND PROUD
The enthusiasm ran high at the 2024 Athletic Spirit Assembly as students competed in fun challenges in their Mink, Possum and Squirrel (MPS) teams it was Squirrels for the win!
Cap & gown and college-bound! Members of the Class of 2024 rock their gear as they prepare to leave Farmington for their future college towns!
On Senior Day, Porter’s feted winter athletic seniors, seen here with Head of School Dr. Katherine G. Windsor, left.
Members of Porter’s Crew team on the Farmington River, drawing on their skill, strength and spirit of cooperation to move together in harmony.
A member of the Porter’s golf team surveys her drive.
On Dr. MLK Jr. Community Day, students take part in “Black And ...,” a dance class led by guest instructor Amanda Amoabeng that focused on uplifting the intersectionality, education and endless beauty of Black identities.
Seeking to strengthen bonds with the broader Farmington family, Porter’s introduces an Ancient census to better understand the distinct identities of graduates.
AsMiss Porter’s School continues to evolve in step with our changing times, shifting from what many perceived as an exclusive academy for socially privileged girls to a more inclusive and equity-focused institution dedicated to cultivating female leaders, its student population has become increasingly diverse. Today, students at Porter’s better represent the racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and socioeconomic demographics of America than at any other time in the school’s 181–year history.
As students graduate from Porter’s, they become part of the school’s global community of Ancients, which now numbers about 6,500. Porter’s cherishes Ancients as the lifeblood of the larger school community who play a critical role in sustaining the school’s resilience through philanthropic giving, volunteering and supporting future graduates. To sustain ties with the broader and increasingly diverse Farmington family, school leaders want to ensure they are meaningfully engaging with graduates. This priority is what prompted Porter’s to introduce its Ancient census in 2022, its first substantial effort to gather qualitative information on graduates in two decades. The survey asked Ancients in-depth questions about their distinct identities in order to better understand who they are and how they would like to be seen. The school is applying the emerging insights to make Farmington more welcoming for all.
“We had some blind spots about who was in our Ancients community, in terms of how they thought about the school, what they were doing in their lives and the kinds of things that were important to them,” says Chief Advancement Officer Christine M. Pina. “We want to understand how Ancients walk in the world and what that means in relation to our school.”
Pina says the need to better understand graduates became especially acute following two concurrent phenomena with profound sociocultural implications: the COVID -19 pandemic, which underscored existing inequalities along class, race and gender lines, and the murder of George Floyd, which prompted a new reckoning with racial injustice in America. These socially tumultuous developments, she says, reinvigorated Porter’s priority to be an institution that embraces diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and to ensure that this social justice work extends to its Ancient community.
To develop the survey, the Alumnae and Development Office collaborated with The Inclusion Firm, a national consulting practice that uses a DEIB lens to help organizations become more inclusive. The firm worked with Porter’s to devise questions that would capture granular data on Ancients’ self-reported identities in the categories of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, body size, religion/spirituality, nationality and socioeconomic status. Porter’s also asked members of its board of trustees and alumnae board of directors to provide input on the survey. The census was deployed online in June of 2022 by Washburn & McGoldrick, Porter’s philanthropic strategy consultant, and attracted 1,762 respondents, which equaled a 33.5% response rate.
The survey results demonstrate the wide range of ways in which today’s Ancients perceive themselves. One key finding was that today, 18.6% of Ancients identify as people of color. The percentage of Ancients who identified as being Black/ African American and Asian/Asian American nearly tripled between the 1980s and the 2000s. These findings reflect the increasing cultural diversity at Porter’s, where today 33% of learners are domestic students of color.
“I think it’s great that the school is willing to step back and try to better understand all of our Ancients,” says trustee Martha Pomerantz ’77. “When you’re in a white world, it’s like being in a fishbowl everything around you is white, and you see the world from one vantage point. So to be able to step outside it and try to understand the true makeup of graduates over time is important.”
A partner and manager in a wealth management firm who lives in Minnesota, Pomerantz chairs the board’s investment committee. In this capacity, she has helped Porter’s become more inclusive in its financial investing strategy so that it aligns with its goal to become an anti-racist institution. These efforts have included surveying the endowment’s investment managers to understand their commitment to DEIB , in order to ensure they align with the school’s values.
“Our world is becoming more diverse, and if we want to stay on track as an institution, it’s important to have our graduates behind us,” Pomerantz says. The school wants to find ways to include all graduates, including those who don’t fit the typical historical demographic.”
The demographics of Porter’s graduates have also become more diverse in their religious or spiritual identities, with 46% identifying as Christian, 39% as agnostic or atheist, 3.7% as Jewish and 2.1% as Buddhist. Pina notes Porter’s already considers religious holidays when planning events and will continue exploring additional ways to be inclusive of the faithbased needs of Ancients, such as serving food that aligns with religious dietary restrictions and offering rooms in which to pray or meditate.
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move
The better we understand how Ancients through their lives, the more authentic we can be in our inclusion and belonging efforts
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Christine M. Pina Chief Advancement Officer
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the school has really kept up with the times and is doing a lot more to make all students feel as if they belong
Lisa Kunstadter ’70 Secretary, board of trustees
Another aspect of Ancients’ identities that came to light in the census results is gender. Almost 10% of respondents indicated they are a member of the LGBTQ + community, and 1.1% consider themselves to be gender nonconforming, nonbinary, male or transgender. The survey also found that the percentage of LGBTQ + Ancients quadrupled between the 1980s and the 2000s. Pina says while Porter’s still identifies as a school for girls, it wants to ensure graduates of all gender identities feel welcome at Farmington.
“We know that most of our Ancients identify as women, but not all,” Pina says. “The better we understand how Ancients move through their lives, the more authentic we can be in our inclusion and belonging efforts.”
Another noteworthy census finding was that 4% of Ancients reported being economically disadvantaged. Lisa Kunstadter ’70 lauds Porter’s in seeking to collect this information in order to be more inclusive of Ancients of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Growing up in a well-to-do but not socially prominent family, Kunstadter did not don the latest fashions or participate in the debutante scene, which she says often made her feel like an outsider among her peers at Porter’s. After graduating, she purposely disconnected from Porter’s until 2015, when she heard Head of School Dr. Katherine G. Windsor speak at a local school event about how it was trying to build community. This prompted her to join Porter’s board of trustees in 2019, and she now actively champions the school’s centering of DEIB in its operations, including engagement with and outreach to Ancients.
“The school is really focused on how to reengage with some of those alumnae who may not have had a good experience or who felt excluded in some way,” says Kunstadter, a seasoned leader of various nonprofits who lives in New York. “If some of our unengaged Ancients could understand the ways in which the school is listening to them and their concerns, they would see that the school has really kept up with the times and is doing a lot more to make all students feel as if they belong.”
On the data point about Ancients’ economic situations, Pina adds that the school is working to be more accessible to all graduates by being more intentional about where it hosts events so that expectations for attire can be more relaxed.
“Dress codes can be a barrier for participation for people, especially in a day and age when people’s professional dress is very different from what the dress codes of some spaces might require,” Pina says. “We’ve been much more thoughtful about our choice of venues and how they may or may not pose barriers to participation based on fashion.”
Fostering true belonging among Ancients means understanding identity from multiple angles, Pina says, which is why the census queried respondents about their body size. Of those who responded to the survey, 10% identified as having a larger body size. For Pina, the point of this question is to demonstrate to graduates that when it comes to the accessibility of Porter’s events, it is considering how to accommodate the wide range of Ancients’ body shapes and sizes.
“There are a lot of stereotypes around women’s bodies and pressures on women to be a certain way, and in some ways this can be limiting,” Pina says. “Body size is not necessarily thought of as a need to accommodate. But if we want to invite people in, people should be comfortable.”
Porter’s has already taken action on many of the census findings: Starting in 2022, its annual All-School Reunions have included accessibility measures such as chairs for larger body sizes, virtual offerings, designated quiet spaces, gender-neutral bathrooms, nursing and pumping spaces, the option for Ancients to write their pronouns on their name tags and a facilitated Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
This last accommodation strikes Saba Brelvi ’91, the co-president of the alumnae board of directors, as particularly progressive.
“For people who are in recovery from alcohol addiction, it can be very difficult to navigate sobriety at events where alcohol is being served,” says Brelvi, a writer who has also worked in the public health and nonprofit sectors. “I think the option of an AA meeting is important, because it enables people to come to Miss Porter’s events who might otherwise not feel comfortable attending.”
Brelvi’s work on the alumnae board of directors has included serving as the inaugural co-chair of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee, which works to promote inclusion among racially, ethnically, culturally and religiously diverse Ancients. She sees the Ancient census as a powerful tool to support the board in being more responsive to graduates.
“In our programming, our structure and our outreach, we think about how we can better reflect the diversity of Ancients’ experiences and lives,” Brelvi says. “Going forward, I’m excited to think about ways to make sure we are integrating the census information into decisions about our activities.”
Pina concurs, saying that as Porter’s continues to analyze the census data and apply the findings to enhancing its operations, it will become more skillful at making all Ancients, across a diversity of generations, continents and identities, feel a vital part of the Farmington community.
“The more authentically we can understand who Ancients are,” Pina says, “the more progress we can make in ensuring Porter’s is a place where all graduates feel included, respected and represented.”
The findings of the Ancient census are supporting efforts by Miss Porter’s School to build community among alumnae through new identity-based affinity groups.
In May, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee of the alumnae board of directors introduced Ancient Community Spaces, casual, facilitated Zoom spaces for alumnae with a shared identity to regularly meet and socialize. The five initial spaces are:
• Asian American Ancients
• Disabled and Chronically Ill Ancients
• LGBTQ+ Ancients
• Muslim Ancients
• Queer and Trans Ancients of Color
“With these spaces, we have an opportunity to connect multiple generations of Ancients who share a particular identity,” says Ymani Francis ’12, co-chair of the DEIB Committee. “We want to draw people back into the Ancients community with spaces where they can connect with other alumnae who have some similar experiences.”
Francis volunteered to help launch the DEIB committee in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a white police officer.
“There were many conversations happening around racial injustice, and among my Ancient peers, we were talking about what it had been like to be a person of color at Porter’s,” Francis recalls. “I raised my hand to help form this committee because I believe it’s important to be a part of the solution.”
In this role, Francis has helped organize training sessions for committee members on how to promote productive dialogue on racism and foster belonging in the MPS sisterhood.
The goal for the Ancient Community Spaces is for Ancients to voluntarily form more identity-based groups led by alumnae wishing to serve as facilitators.
“There are Ancients who share an identity marker who may want to know each other but don’t have a mechanism to connect,” says Saba Brelvi ’91, a Muslim American who is co-president of the alumnae board, a DEIB committee member and head of the Ancient Community Space for Muslims. “These informal social networks allow alumnae from different graduating classes who have similar backgrounds to meet and become friends.”
“We want to draw people back into the Ancients community with spaces where they can connect with other alumnae who have some similar experiences.”
Ymani Francis ’12 Leader, Ancient Community Space for Muslims
Nelle Andrews P’22, MA, dean of curriculum and instruction, published “Centering Student Voices: How Student Experiences Can Drive the School Change Process” with the Tang Institute based on her action-research project. Read her blog post from this spring here: tinyurl.com/CenteringStudentVoices
In June, Andrews attended and presented at the Summit for Transformative Learning in St. Louis conference hosted by the Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School. She led a breakout session on standards-based grading practices, Righting the Ship: Bringing Meaning and Purpose to Assessment Practices, and another on authentic assessment strategies, Authentic Audiences: Designing “REAL” Learning Opportunities. Andrews also facilitated a three-hour workshop, CompetencyBased Curriculum in the Arts, for K – 12 arts faculty that focused on competency-based course and assessment design for arts courses.
Humanities Teacher Katherine Ayers, PhD, was accepted into the Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education program. As a 2024–25 cohort member, she will complete an action research project with her MPS students. They will evaluate how the use of certain discussion strategies may increase personal confidence and agency in large-group
classroom discussions. The 2024 fall trimester research will be presented at the 2025 International Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference in Philadelphia.
In February, Michael Bergin P’19, MBA, chief financial and operating officer, co-presented the session Keeping Trustees Informed of Changing Risk, Insurance and Legal Landscape at the annual meeting of the National Business Officers Association in Atlanta, Georgia.
MPS Athletic Director Avi Dubnov, MA, attended the 2024 conference of the International Coalition of Girls' Schools in Baltimore, Maryland. He presented a talk titled "The Journey to Becoming the Destination for All-Girls Athletics."
In June, Miss Porter's School hosted Wonder Women, A Leadership Program. During the four-day series of professional development workshops themed Unleash Your Leadership Presence, women leaders, including Porter’s own Math Teacher Michelle Espinar, Science Department Chair Mary Jo “MJ” Moulton and Humanities Department Chair Melissa Schomers, explored their personal leadership, authentic voice and style. Using a learning laboratory approach, Moulton and Schomers exemplified their leadership journeys while working with fellow attendees on a real-word design challenge.
Diane R. Johnson, DrPH, MPH, chief communications and public health officer, earned her Doctor of Public Health in health policy and management from the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health in April. Her dissertation, “Health Communications Matter: A Comparative Case Study of Best Practices to Combat Misinformation and Disinformation During the COVID -19 Pandemic,” assessed pandemic-related national communication and risk management strategies in Uganda, the United States and Singapore. Recognized for her academic excellence, Johnson was inducted into the UNC chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.
Stacy Martell, house director and Office of Student Life coordinator, earned her associate degree in early childhood education. She has been accepted to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and will major in child development. Eileen Mooney, PhD, mathematics and art teacher, completed her doctoral work in educational psychology and educational technology at Michigan State University. Her dissertation is an investigation of the working conditions that affect teacher identity, and how the working conditions of the pandemic affected teacher identity. She also had some of her art accepted and represented by the Bowery Gallery in New York. You can view her artwork at bowerygallery.org/mooneyeileen
Sophie Paris, director of Porter’s Center for Global Leadership and Auxiliary Programs, completed a Certificate in Intercultural Competence for Educators through a new joint initiative of the Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG) and AFS Intercultural Programs. She also facilitated a panel discussion called Climate Change Across the Curriculum at the Global Summit on Climate Action for Educators at the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College at Columbia University; facilitated a six-month online professional learning community called Competencybased Curriculum Design for Experiential Programs with educators from 25 different schools; facilitated a roundtable discussion called Challenges and Opportunities of Leading Global Education Programs for Global Directors at the GEBG conference in Montreal, Canada; and served on GEBG ’s Salomon Prize reading committee to select a leading Global Educator of the Year from more than 600 member schools.
Art Department Chair Grier Torrence P’21, 23, MFA, had his artwork featured in several local exhibits, including an etching in the Five Points Art Center’s 2024 Printmaking Juried Exhibition in Torrington, Connecticut; a painting in the 2024 Go Figure! group exhibition at Corgi Clay Art Center in Stafford, Virginia; and another painting in the 2024 Modern Day Monet juried exhibition at the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut.
Tim Quinn, EdD, chief academic officer and dean of faculty, wrote an article with Amy Rogers, former director of college counseling, titled What Does It Mean to Be College Prep? It was published this summer by the National Association of Independent Schools. Read the full article here: tinyurl.com/WhatDoesItMeanToBeCollegePrep
Fiona York, MLS, head librarian, attended the New England Association of Independent School Librarians’ Annual Conference at Choate Rosemary Hall in April.
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Advancing opportunities for girls
In the United States, annual giving to charities focused on women’s and girls’ causes represents less than 2% of all philanthropy, reported the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University in 2023.
For Lucy Newmyer ’23, this is much more than a sobering statistic reflecting the inadequate support for organizations focused on gender equality, economic security, domestic violence, reproductive rights and other urgent issues affecting women’s lives. It is a personal call to action, one that has inspired her to commit to making lifelong annual donations to Miss Porter’s School.
“When you look at how few dollars are allocated to these causes, that is a major reason I give to Miss Porter’s,” says Newmyer, a second-year student at the University of Virginia (UVA). “Supporting women and girls is important to me.”
To mark her achievement in joining Porter’s class of 2023, and inspired by her parents’ extensive philanthropic giving to the school and other mission-driven organizations, Newmyer made her first donation as an Ancient in the amount of $23. The modest sum was within her reach as an unemployed student, but she knows Porter’s appreciated it because of how it prioritizes a high number of donors as a fundraising goal.
“At Porter’s, they understand that small donations make a difference. Just giving back to the school is important,” Newmyer says.
Philanthropy for Porter’s is also how Newmyer expresses her gratitude for the deep knowledge and rich experiences she gained as a student. She appreciated how the Certificate in Global Studies, which covers intersecting cultural, economic, social and geopolitical affairs, introduced her to “diverse ways of understanding the world.” Meanwhile, as an editor of the Salmagundy student newspaper, she says she developed strong writing and teamwork skills. Newmyer also enjoyed serving as second head of school, playing varsity tennis and leading for three years the FaceUp advocacy group, for which she helped organize a bipartisan political summit during the 2022 midterm elections.
“At Porter’s, they understand that small donations make a difference. Just giving back to the school is important.”
“Porter’s opened my eyes to all sorts of opportunities. I really feel like there are so many choices I have now thanks to the education I got.”
These and other aspects of her Farmington education have allowed Newmyer to thrive in diverse ways. The intellectual curiosity she was able to cultivate at Porter’s helped her get accepted to UVA’s prestigious Echols Scholars Program, which supports students’ individual scholarly interests. For Newmyer, these are politics, public policy and psychology. She also landed a staff writer position at UVA’s Jefferson Independent student newspaper, where she has written opinion pieces on Congress’ “TikTok ban” bill and the return of considering standardized test scores in some universities’ admissions processes. She also feels empowered to act on her social and political convictions by participating in UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy and the campus’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action group. Outside UVA, she is working as a special projects intern at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools.
“Porter’s opened my eyes to all sorts of opportunities. I really feel like there are so many choices I have now thanks to the education I got,” she says.
Newmyer actively supports Porter’s in other ways. In January, she returned to the school for Welcome Home, an event to connect senior students with college-age Ancients, where she answered questions about her UVA experience. As part of fulfilling her duties as a class representative for five years after graduating from Porter’s, she encourages other Ancients to give regularly to the school.
“Whatever I can give back to Porter’s, which seriously changed my life, I would love to,” Newmyer says.
“I think that giving to Porter’s is something that will always be a part of my life.”
With full rights for all women still a work in progress, Miss Porter’s School reflects on the importance of being an institution of consequence for girls.
Inthe ongoing social justice struggle to achieve true gender equality, Miss Porter’s School plays a vital role in empowering girls to become leaders who can positively shape our changing world.
Focused on educating young women to become informed, bold, resourceful and ethical global citizens, Porter’s provides its more than 330 boarding and day students with rich and diverse opportunities to advance their intellectual, athletic, creative and socioemotional growth. Learning in a progressive, inclusive environment that nurtures personal agency and values all voices, students develop the competencies and confidence to transcend traditional gender-based limitations and become engaged and impactful citizens of the future.
“ Our students feel confident in who they are and what they have to offer the world,” says Nelle Andrews P’22, dean of curriculum and instruction, English teacher and field hockey coach at Porter’s. “There are so many issues that negatively affect women, and so many ways the world still needs to change, that the value of a girls’ school is probably greater than ever.”
Today, girls’ education at Farmington is rooted in its competency-based mastery learning model, an innovative educational approach the school transitioned to in 2022 to better prepare students for our complex and globalized modern times. The model promotes students’ development of five core competencies: critical thinking and reasoning, communication and expression, problem-solving and creativity, global and civic engagement, and leadership and collaboration. The overarching goal of the model is to support students in applying knowledge and skills in real-world contexts.
Andrews says this model inspires interdisciplinary experiential learning across all academic disciplines. Classroom discussions, assignments and summative projects focus on pressing realworld problems such as climate change, economic inequality, identity-based discrimination and threats to democratic institutions. The world at large is also a Porter’s classroom, as junior students enrolled in Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar courses study ecological conservation practices in Costa Rica, urban planning challenges in France and art as a driver of social change in Germany.
The content of education at Porter’s also aims to inspire thinking and action beyond the confines of gender barriers, Andrews says. Students learn about accomplished historical and current female leaders from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds who have made important contributions in science, writing, art, math and other fields. They also become knowledgeable about contemporary issues that directly affect how women live their lives, such as reproductive justice, socioeconomic inequality, discrimination against minority women and LG B tQ + rights.
“We are always encouraging students to think beyond their specific coursework and consider how the skills they are building connect to the broader world,” Andrews says. “They are gaining competencies that will serve them well when they move on to more complex levels of study.”
“ The school gives young women the ability to experiment and achieve in whatever field they choose. They become women of substance who have authentic confidence. ”
Michael Lech P’22 and lead, Men of Porter’s
Andrews says the competency-based mastery learning model is fully integrated into Porter’s academic programming, and moving forward, students will also be able to document evidence of their learning and growth outside the classroom. Students have ample opportunities to develop their leadership, communication, collaboration, strategic planning and other vital life skills through cocurricular and extracurricular activities at Porter’s. These include serving in roles such as student head of school, student head of academics or athletics, junior advisor, or student council class representative. Students can also lead or participate in a cultural or religious affinity group, a sports team, or one of a few dozen clubs focused on diverse causes and interests.
Andrews is also the parent of Ancient Molly Andrews ’22, who she says was able to cultivate a wide range of strengths that are now enabling her success as a biomedical marketing student and Division I soccer player at Quinnipiac University.
“My daughter enjoyed many opportunities to use her voice, figure out how to communicate with people, manage projects and be part of a supportive sisterhood,” she says. “Molly and other Ancients know that Porter’s is always available to them as a resource.”
One such resource is Men of Porter’s, an affinity group for fathers of current and former students who are dedicated to providing Ancients with career support. The group is led by Ancient parent Michael Lech P’22, who says it is his way to give back to an institution that provided his daughter, Soleil Lech ’22, with a foundation to excel in all aspects of her life.
As a student at Porter’s, Soleil served as the head of student activities and the class of 2022 ambassador and also played on the field hockey team. The latter activity brings to mind Lech’s favorite memory of his daughter’s time at Porter’s: After a game that took place in heavy rain, Soleil entered his car cold and shivering, and when he asked why they bothered playing in such weather, she boldly stated, “I’m a daisy and I’m tough as nails.” Soleil is now a high-achieving junior studying international business at George Washington University and has interned for Richard Blumenthal, a U.S. senator for Connecticut.
“Porter’s did a fabulous job in shaping the character that Soleil possesses today,” says Lech, who leads a real estate firm operating in New England. “The school gives young women the ability to experiment and achieve in whatever field they choose. They become women of substance who have authentic confidence.”
Men of Porter’s is a still-evolving group that Lech says will provide Ancients with career mentoring and access to professional contacts. He envisions organizing mixers for Ancients to network with community leaders from diverse sectors. Lech is also collaborating with other members of the group to encourage more Farmington fathers to join and to make financial gifts to the school.
“It’s about creating another layer of community within the Ancients system to help support graduates,” Lech says, adding that as long as full gender equality is elusive, supporting Porter’s is “essential. It builds girls’ ability to advocate for themselves and be their own person.”
How Porter’s helps young women become their own person is something Monet Lewis ’98 can speak about firsthand as both a former student and the parent of Genesis Lewis ’26. Lewis’ own journey to Porter’s was enabled by the Wadleigh Scholars Program, a nonprofit organization that helps academically promising minority and low-income middle school students attend independent boarding schools in the United States. At Porter’s, Lewis thrived academically and socially, built her leadership skills in roles such as head of school and junior advisor, and cultivated her singing abilities as part of the Perilhettes, the a cappella singing group. The all-girls environment, she says, afforded her the freedom to grow into her best self.
“ This environment is so important at an age when you’re trying to figure out who you are and what your passions are. ”
Monet Lewis ’98, chair, Parent Leadership Committee
“In coed classrooms, female students may not feel comfortable competing against their male peers. … We didn’t have to think about that. You are simply competing with yourself, and you learn to become comfortable in your own skin,” Lewis says. “That environment is so important at an age when you’re trying to figure out who you are and what your passions are.”
Lewis says she emerged from Porter’s with “a level of confidence the average teenager does not have,” which helped propel her next steps: pursuing a bachelor of fine arts at DePaul University and establishing a successful career as an educator. She currently teaches theater at a private middle school in Connecticut and is a public speaker who motivates people to live life with integrity and purpose.
Now Lewis is delighted to see her daughter enjoy the same opportunity to develop into a self-aware and empowered young woman at Porter’s. Having also been accepted to the school as a Wadleigh scholar, Genesis is a junior student who has found her stride academically, particularly in English she is an avid reader and writer and has developed several strong friendships. She often choreographs dances with friends on campus she has been dancing since age 4 and twice participated in school performances to celebrate Dr. MLK Jr. Community Day. She has also explored athletics such as basketball, track and field, and volleyball, the last of which has become her main sport.
Keen to support Genesis and all Porter’s students on their path of self-actualization, Lewis began volunteering on the school’s Parent Leadership Committee two years ago. She is proud to serve her first term as chair this year. The approximately 40 committee members organize events and activities to enrich the experiences of students and the connections among Farmington families. They also support the school’s fundraising efforts by promoting the Annual Fund and Farmington Give Day.
The way Lewis sees it, the more she can give back to Porter’s, the more she can help move the needle toward a world where women have just as many opportunities to succeed as men do.
“In society today, women are often two steps behind, not because of their abilities or experience, but because of the way the patriarchal systems are set up in almost every field,” Lewis says.
“It’s so important to make sure that an all-girls institution like Miss Porter’s is supported, because it gives young ladies a head start in life. … The school is doing a wonderful job of helping them become phenomenal leaders and great human beings.”
As an institution that is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Miss Porter’s School is committed to achieving high standards of excellence in its operations. Every 10 years, the school renews its accreditation by NEASC through a comprehensive process of internal and external assessments of our capacity to meet and exceed high levels of educational and institutional quality.
NEASC conducts two site visits, one each for operations (spring) and academic programming (fall). As Porter’s engages in this process, which includes input from students, faculty and parents, we are closely examining the policies and practices that enable us to fulfill our mission to deliver transformational education that prepares young women to shape a changing world. We look forward to sharing the results with the Farmington community.
Anyone who has spent time in the office of Rebecca Plona P’26, the director of academic growth at Miss Porter’s School, is familiar with its “elephant chairs” eclectic-looking seats in which countless students have sought guidance on their academic and life choices.
“These chairs have seen tears, they’ve seen laughter. They’ve been the place where I have helped students work on their college applications, where students tell me about their successes and their setbacks,” says Plona, who leads the Center for Teaching and Learning in the Hamilton building, which also houses the English and History departments.
The center encompasses services that support the academic success of students: the Q Lab (for math help), the Writing Center and the Language Lab. Students also turn to Plona for help with improving their study skills, setting and achieving goals, managing their time and organizing their schedules.
Plona also ensures Porter’s is accessible to students with disabilities. She trains teachers in universal design for learning, a framework emphasizing flexible educational practices, so they can offer such students tailored adaptations, e.g., extra time to complete an assessment or have a lecture recorded. She has enabled Porter’s to successfully accommodate a student and her service dog and a student who uses a cochlear implant to hear.
“So many strategies that are good for individuals with disabilities are good for all learners,” says Plona, who also teaches the course Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar Psychology: Brain, Mind and Society, Porter’s most popular non-requisite course. “I’m really proud of how we have blended accessibility with a very rigorous academic program at Porter’s.”
A member of the Farmington family since 2013, Plona lives on campus with her children, Olive Plona and Emma Peterson ’26, and their two rescue dogs, a black Labrador mix and a blue Lacy. She is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys kayaking and paddleboarding, and an avid reader who always has a contemporary fiction book on the go.
For Plona, the rewards of working at Porter’s lie in the bonds she forms with students as she helps them discover and develop their resilience and independence.
“The most heartwarming thing is that students have given me their trust. They want to succeed at Porter’s. They know they’re capable of thriving. Sometimes they’re not entirely certain exactly how to go about it,” she says. “We’re trying to promote the idea of efficacy ‘I can do it.’ It’s so critically important for students to develop a sense of security in their skill sets.”
Where students meet with me to share about their academic and personal triumphs and trials.
02 NOTES FROM STUDENTS
I keep these notes of thanks from students, they are special to me.
03 PUP LOVE
Two rescue dogs, Max, a black Labrador mix and Mia, a blue Lacy, are cherished members of the family.
04 GIFTS OF ART
It’s always touching when students give me gifts as a thank you.
05 STAYING CURRENT
Consuming books on topics such as neuroscience, race and emotions helps with bringing an up-to-date perspective to work practices.
This year’s Nova Nine student leaders are building a welcoming community with creativity, passion and collaboration. This year, the Nova Nine welcome two new positions which include a Head of Academics and a Head of Day Students, who are pursuing advancements in these domains. Their collective vision for the 2024 – 25 academic year is to ensure that all students feel included and can thrive academically, athletically, socially and in all other aspects of life at Porter’s.
01 HEAD OF SCHOOL ⁄ Kinley Simmons
02 SECOND HEAD OF SCHOOL ⁄ Anna Risoli
03 HEAD OF DAY STUDENTS ⁄ Charlotte Kronholm
04 HEAD OF MAIN ⁄ Elsa Poler
05 HEAD OF ACADEMICS ⁄ Hannah Satran
06 HEAD OF ATHLETICS ⁄ Shaelin Gorny
07 HEAD OF NEW GIRLS ⁄ Kate Hebard
08 HEAD OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES ⁄ Anna Gordillo
09 HEAD OF DIVERSITY ⁄ Mary Zheng
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Kinley Simmons
HOMETOWN
Miller Place, New York
ON BEING HEAD OF SCHOOL
I will foster community with a foundation of collaboration, belonging and joy. Through schoolwide events and initiatives, I aim to actualize the “power of us” and continue shaping a changing world.
HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE
Porter’s will always hold a special place in my heart as it has afforded me a strong sisterhood. I have developed deep friendships with brilliant and kind young women from whom I have received unconditional love and support.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS
Keep dorm, my home away from home since 2021, houses many of my fondest memories, such as movie nights, meaningful conversations with friends and late-night phone calls with family members.
SECOND HEAD OF SCHOOL
Anna Risoli
HOMETOWN
New York, New York
ON BEING SECOND HEAD OF SCHOOL
I am deeply committed to strengthening connections with and appreciation for our beloved school by emphasizing the importance of philanthropy and what makes Farmington uniquely meaningful.
WHAT MAKES HER HAPPY
At home, happiness is having big dinners with my extended family and going on trips with my cousins.
HEAD OF DAY STUDENTS
Charlotte Kronholm
HOMETOWN
Chester, Connecticut
ON BEING HEAD OF DAY STUDENTS
I’m excited to foster the sense of community that makes Porter’s such a unique and wonderful place. I want to make Porter’s feel like a second home for all day students on campus.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS
The ceramics studio I love making ceramics, and I love all the windows in the studio, especially during the fall and spring.
HEAD OF MAIN
Elsa Poler
HOMETOWN
Medfield, Massachusetts
ON BEING HEAD OF MAIN
I’m really excited to bring art to more people. Art should be accessible, and I want to encourage everyone to embrace being mediocre at something and to try, try again.
HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE
Porter’s has some kind of spark whether it’s in the sisterhood surrounding us or the traditions that root us. Every second, I realize how much love I have for these girls and how much love they have for me.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS
The textiles room in Olin is a peaceful place where I can work and craft for hours on end.
HEAD OF ATHLETICS
Shaelin Gorny
HOMETOWN
Avon, Connecticut
ON BEING HEAD OF ATHLETICS
I will strive to increase school spirit on campus through themed game days, pep rallies, media days and game-day socials with other schools.
HEAD OF ACADEMICS
Hannah Satran
HOMETOWN
Pawcatuck, Connecticut
ON BEING HEAD OF ACADEMICS
My love of school and interest in learning drew me to this position. I want to make my peers feel the same as I do by radiating excitement for academics and ensuring students’ ideas are heard and accepted.
WHAT MAKES HER HAPPY
Hot and sunny weather, going to concerts, hanging out with my friends, making others happy, Chipotle, traveling and Shirley Temples.
FUN FACT
My go-to karaoke song is “American Boy” by Estelle.
HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE
I know that when I walk into the classroom each day, I will be greeted with kind, happy and curious people. With my friends and classmates, I have gone farther than I ever thought I could in my education.
HEAD OF NEW GIRLS
Kate Hebard
HOMETOWN
Vero Beach, Florida
ON BEING HEAD OF NEW GIRLS
I am excited to help everyone feel at home on campus and recognize that they are a valued member of our community.
HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE
I will cherish the connections and friends I have made here for the rest of my
life.
My time at Porter’s has allowed me to grow into myself.
HEAD OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Anna Gordillo
HOMETOWN
New Orleans, Louisiana
ON BEING HEAD OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES
I have the opportunity to play a critical role in building a sense of community and belonging at Porter’s. I’m excited to help create some fun!
HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE
The most impactful experience is being around a sisterhood of other young women who support and challenge each other to be our best.
HEAD OF DIVERSITY
Mary Zheng
HOMETOWN
Chengdu, China
ON BEING HEAD OF DIVERSITY
I hope to help the Porter’s community appreciate the diversity on campus through initiating conversations about the challenges and privileges that come with our identity and organizing activities that encourage students to take pride in their individuality.
HER PORTER’S EXPERIENCE
The past three years turned Porter’s into a place I call home. I will never forget the enthusiastic discussions that happen in the classrooms, the laughter in the hallways and the friends who make me feel valued and loved every day.
FUN FACT
Besides Mandarin and English, I speak the Sichuan dialect, which is a regional variation of Mandarin.
Miss Porter’s School: Education that emboldens diverse young women to excel
Impact of Your Philanthropy
At Miss Porter’s School, our ability to deliver transformational education is strengthened by our broad community of philanthropic supporters. Through gifts of talent, time and treasure, our volunteers and donors help us continue to thrive as a dynamic and innovative academic institution of consequence for girls. Your generosity helps us actualize our mission to empower girls of diverse identities to be informed, bold, resourceful and ethical global citizens who will shape a changing world.
Christine M. Pina, Ed.M. Chief Advancement Officer
*Ivy Society members are donors who make gifts of any size to Porter’s for at least five consecutive fiscal years.
**Moonbeams Circle recognizes individuals who have included Porter’s in their estate plans.
PHILANTHROPY IN ACTION
TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED $9M
1,670
TOTAL DONORS
214
VOLUNTEERS
692
IVY SOCIETY MEMBERS*
10
NEW MOONBEAMS CIRCLE** MEMBERS, MORE THAN 200 TOTAL MEMBERS
5
NEW ENDOWED FUNDS
Our Annual Fund is a key driver of every aspect of the Porter’s educational experience, including academics, extracurriculars, facilities, financial aid, faculty salaries and maintenance. In 2024, you gave generously, with 67% giving less than $500 reflecting the incredible power of collective giving.
1,632
TOTAL DONORS
1,097
145
DEIB** & financial aid were the top two donation designations
Donors hailed from 47 U.S. states and 23 countries
ANCIENT PARTICIPATION IN MPS GIVING
Awarded to class of 2006 for achieving the most participation in the Annual Fund during a non-reunion year this class achieved a 33% participation rate.
100% participation by board of trustees, alumnae board, and class of 2024
Silver Pitcher
Awarded to class of 1995 for achieving the largest increase in class participation in the Annual Fund from the previous year this class achieved a 10% increase in participation.
*Recurring gifts are monthly, quarterly or yearly donations.
106
$14.9M Annual Fund dollars raised from 2019–2024
1947 Bowl
Awarded to the class of 1974 for achieving the highest rate of participation in the Annual Fund in its reunion year this class achieved a 68% participation rate.
Taking place each April, Farmington Give Day is Porter’s biggest fundraising day for the Annual Fund. In 2024, you showed up for this day in record numbers your contributions represented a 31% increase over 2023!
Dollars raised in the past six fiscal years:
opportunities for students, faculty and staff.
In May, five Porter’s students participated in a multischool, mini-Model United Nations event at Westover School. Anya Kumar ’26, who represented the United States, earned the Honorable Mention award!
This activity was supported by the Annie Hill 2012 Fund, established at MPS by Joan and David Hill P’12 in honor of their daughter Annie Hill ’12, to support students’ participation in diplomacy activities.
In FY24, more than 90 MPS students in Earth Club together with partner Blue Earth Composting composted 77,790 pounds of waste, which mitigated the emissions of 16,308 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
These efforts were supported by the Feather Foundation Fund, which supports educational initiatives focused on creating a sustainable future for life on earth.
In 2024, 81 students in grade 11 traveled with faculty to Costa Rica, Germany and France as part of Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar (AIS) courses, which provide experiential, project-based learning opportunities with an international travel component to help students understand a specific regional pressing problem.
Travel abroad is enabled by donations made to the MPS Annual Fund and endowment. You can learn more about school trips to France, Costa Rica and Germany here:
AISstudents in front
In April, 16 Porter’s students attended the Connecticut Association of Independent School’s Student Diversity Leadership Conference at Hopkins School, where they connected with other students from around the state to work together, network and share best practices.
Meanwhile, financial support from the Khalid family allowed the Muslim Student Affinity group to host an inter-school Iftar, which brought together Muslim student groups from the Founder’s League and SPHERE
During the 2023–2024 academic year, MPS hosted several speakers for our students, including Luca Martinez, a photographer and environmental activist who promotes sustainability and climate action by connecting his audiences to our natural world.
Among the funds that supported these events was the Dorothy Walker Bush 1919 Fund, which supports MPS in engaging speakers for convocation ceremonies.
“The Luca Martinez event was a great example of how funding speakers and experts in various fields inspires us to be informed and engaged citizens … I left [after having been] exposed to a whole new realm of environmental issues … and felt inspired to take action.”
Leah Glaspey ’24
In April, Elizabeth Simison, academic dean and humanities teacher, and Cate Rigoulot, science teacher, Earth Club advisor and recipient of the Sarah Porter Teaching Excellence Award, presented at the Global Education Benchmark Group’s 11th Annual Global Educators Conference in Montreal, Canada. Their session, “Creating Mission-Driven Global Programming through Institution-Wide Collaboration,” highlighted how MPS is living its mission to cultivate ethical global citizens.
Also in April, Eileen Mooney, the Elsa Parker Armour ’05 Teaching Chair in Mathematics, attended the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia, which focused on dismantling racial injustice and constructing educational possibilities. The programming aligned with Porter’s objective to be an antiracist institution.
In June, John Bryk, mathematics and technology, innovation and entrepreneurship teacher, attended the Anja S. Greer Conference on Mathematics and Technology in New Hampshire. The insights he gained will enable him to ensure MPS students develop up-to-date data science skills, which will help equip them to shape a changing world.
In 2024, Melissa Schomers, chair of the Humanities Department, and Ian Rumsey, mathematics teacher received the Cravens Fund for Teachers’ Summer Sabbaticals, which was established in 1955 by Martha and Malcolm Cravens P’55, P’63, P’64, P’65 to enable two teachers to travel abroad each summer.
Avi Dubnov, director of athletics and head varsity soccer coach, received the Marianna M. O’Brien Heads Discretionary Fund award, which provides non-teaching faculty with an opportunity to travel.
“We had the opportunity to share how our AIS Global Intensive courses align with the MPS mission. Thanks to generous donors and their philanthropy, we continually implement innovative global programs that enhance the student experience.”
Dr. Elizabeth Simison
Academic Dean & Humanities Teacher
The vibrancy of Miss Porter’s School as a center for transformational girls’ education is being bolstered by a new fundraising initiative enabled by the generosity of Ancient Nancy Klingenstein Simpkins ’73 , and you can participate.
“Anything I can do to encourage people to support the sustainability of arguably the best girls’ school in the world is a good thing in my mind.”
This fall, Porter’s launched a legacy giving challenge in which Simpkins will match dollar for dollar donors’ newly documented planned gifts to the school, up to a total of $500,000. Anyone can participate and help double the impact of their planned gift. All matching gifts will be directed to an unrestricted endowment, and donors can designate their gift for any purpose they wish. These gifts will further support Porter’s in providing high-caliber educational, athletic and extracurricular experiences that prepare young women to become informed, bold, resourceful and ethical global citizens.
“The sustainability of Porter’s relies on having a healthy endowment so that it can continue to manage its operations, offer students scholarships and retain distinguished faculty,” says Simpkins, a New York resident who actively champions nonprofits and foundations focused on causes such as health care, education and nature conservation. “Anything I can do to encourage people to support the sustainability of arguably the best girls’ school in the world is a good thing in my mind.”
An easy way to become a Moonbeams Circle member is to name the school as a beneficiary of your individual retirement account or 401(k). Smart gifts that provide immediate income include charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts. The most popular way to give is through a gift in your will.
“Nancy’s philanthropic pledge is really a change-maker in terms of the trajectory of the future of Miss Porter’s School,” says Susan MacColl Walker P’06, the director of gift planning. “By incentivizing others to step forward and support the school, she is drawing in new donors to become a part of this incredibly strong legacy of women.”
Simpkins has been a member of Moonbeams Circle since 2007 the group recognizes individuals who have included Porter’s in their estate plans. She has also volunteered extensively in roles to help promote Farmington’s success, such as chairing the board of trustees and serving on the alumnae board of directors. She says that because Porter’s provided such fertile soil for her to become an assertive and capable adult and form meaningful lifelong friendships, she is keen to aid the school in its mission to empower future generations of girls.
“Porter’s is educating girls to make a difference, and girls need opportunities for leadership,” Simpkins says. “The timing could not be more important for more girls to help shape a changing world.”
Contact Susan Walker at swalker@ missporters.org to learn more about gift planning ideas because legacy gifts transform lives.
“Nancy’s philanthropic pledge is really a change-maker in terms of the trajectory of the future of Miss Porter’s School.”
When Diana Hobson ’60 was developing herself as an abstract artist, she says very few people were on her side.
Not her mother, who, like many upper-class women in early 20th-century America, sought to present her daughter to their affluent New Jersey community as a demure debutante on a path to wifehood and motherhood.
Not her former husband, a struggling Texas cattle rancher bedeviled by booze who relied on Hobson to support him and their two young children through her knack for stock trading. And not other artists of her generation the vast majority of them men who guarded their cultural turf against perceived female interlopers.
But despite familial and societal pressures working against her, Hobson has produced and showcased a substantial body of work over the
last six decades that has sealed her status as a critically acclaimed and publicly celebrated creative. Making art, she says, has been a defining fact and purpose of her existence.
“I tried not making art, and I found that I just couldn’t. I was compelled,” says Hobson, who has homes and studios in Santa Monica, California, and New York City. “This is part of what I was born with.”
Her affinity for art was influenced in a specific direction at age 11 during a family trip to The Guggenheim in New York. There, she discovered the works of Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian pioneer of abstract modern art, and instantly connected with the genre. Later, she was inspired by the avant-garde works of the New York School, a group of artists who popularized abstract expressionism in the ’50s and ’60s.
At Miss Porter’s School, Hobson’s artistic talent flourished under the guidance of studio teachers who encouraged her experimentation with oil and watercolor painting which became her dominant media plus charcoal sketching and clay sculpting. She also enjoyed immersing herself in art history lessons and taking a class trip to New York’s Betty Parsons Gallery, which was the first in the United States to present abstract expressionist art.
“I got a fabulous education art-wise at Farmington,” Hobson says. “It was right up my alley I was happy as a clam.”
Hobson says being part of the dance program at Porter’s also shaped her artistic practice by exposing her to the principles of choreography, which inform how she brings her ideas to life on a canvas.
“The lines in my paintings start with choreography, and they are the persona of the painting. The shapes are like the experiences the persona is going through,” she explains.
While Hobson’s parents didn’t want her to attend postsecondary school, Porter’s college advisor couldn’t bear to see her prodigious artistic talent go unfulfilled. She took Hobson to visit what was then the Connecticut College for Women and paid for both her SAT registration fee and her college application fee.
Hobson was accepted to the college, and her parents eventually relented, but she found the school’s art program unsatisfactory, so instead she studied English literature. Later, while living in San Antonio with her then-husband and children, she took graduate courses in fine art at Trinity University and was stirred by the ideas and work of Faber Birren, a color theorist who advised organizations on using color to improve staff morale.
“Color became my thing. … I started to experiment with how people react to color. Most people don’t even realize they’re reacting, but they are,” says Hobson, whose artworks typically feature a mix of bright colors.
Through stock trading during her marriage, Hobson eventually made enough money to purchase a commercial storefront in Venice Beach, California, which is where she established a new home and studio space for a fresh start with her children. She continued developing her artistic style, and her work struck a chord, which led to numerous group and solo exhibitions over the years in New York, California and even Japan. Art has rarely paid the bills, she says, but she has been able to sustain herself through investing in and brokering real estate.
“I would never be the person I am today if it hadn’t been for Farmington giving me the strength to trust myself”
For the pivotal role it played in launching her art career, Porter’s has always held a special space in Hobson’s heart, which is why she regularly donates to the school and why she agreed in 2020 to serve a term on its board of trustees.
“I would never be the person I am today if it hadn’t been for Farmington giving me the strength to trust myself,” she says. “At Farmington, we were expected to speak up, and that was a very important character-building opportunity for my life.”
Congratulations to the Miss Porter’s School Swim Team! Our amazing student athletes won the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council DII 2024 Championship under the direction of Coach Katie Riccobon. Her expertise and guidance showcase their dedication, hard work and sportsmanship! We offer a communitywide kudos and applaud their success because GIRLS WIN HERE!
These dedicated fathers, spouses, faculty and staff are passionate in their support of the school's mission to educate girls! Learn more about the Men of Porter’s on page 25
Class of 2024 graduation speaker and Ancient Jaime Cheshire ’95 stands as a living legacy of Sarah Porter. Jaime and her family represent three generations of Miss Porter’s Ancients, including (L to R) Megan Cheshire Myers ’97, Jaime B. Cheshire ’95, Rory M. Myers ’27, Whitney Cheshire Collins ’99 and Megan Harned Steinberg ’07.
A beloved tradition at Porter’s is when New Girls get their rings, and Old Girls become Ancients during the ring turning ceremony! Congratulations to the Class of 2024, our newest members of the Ancient community.
Did you know that the Daisy Pin is one of Porter’s most prestigious honors?
Reserved for individuals who have provided exceptional service to Miss Porter’s School, the Daisy Pin embodies the spirit, service and dedication of Sarah Porter. It was first awarded in 1963 to RoseAnne Day Keep, who shared responsibility and ownership of the school with her husband, Robert Porter Keep Jr., from 1917 to 1943. This honor has only been presented when truly warranted. If you know someone who has gone above and beyond for the school, now is the time to recognize their incredible contributions.
The Evan Burger Donaldson ’51 Achievement Award (EBDAA) recognizes the incredible legacy of this Ancient and trustee who was known for her hands-on work with organizations like SpenceChapin Services, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and of course Miss Porter’s School.
The EBDAA is typically presented every two years during Founder’s Day festivities to an Ancient whose commitment to and impact on their community is truly exemplary. Thanks to the generosity of William H. Donaldson, this award celebrates outstanding service and is given with the highest of honors to Ancients who make a significant impact on our changing world.
Lists of award recipients for both awards are located in Ford Library. The Daisy Pin wall can be found in the upper lobby while the EBDAA wall is in the lower lobby.
Nominate a deserving Ancient today!
Submit your note!
DEADLINE
Jan. 15, 2025
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Judith Tabler has been enjoying showing Lacey, her Skye Terrier aka GCH Gleanntan Sure Good Solace BN CGCA TKI, in various dog shows. In 2023, Lacey was the top-winning female Skye Terrier. At the National Dog Show in Philadelphia last fall, Lacey represented the terrier group and earned the Best of Breed designation. Lacey capped her show career with a Best of Opposite Sex win at the Westminster Dog Show in April. Last November, Judith published a picture book called “Off We Go! A Story of Skye Terriers” to educate people about this endangered breed.
A surprise meeting took place between Janet Isham Field, left, and Nancy Sweet, right, at the National Figure Skating Championship in Columbus, Ohio, in January 2024.
Bridget Deemer, Kerry Dietterich and Stephanie Higgins Bealing enjoyed an amazing southwest mini-reunion in the desert. They spent many hours on the road together, reminiscing about Porter’s while driving from Antelope Canyon to Bryce Canyon to the Grand Canyon to explore hiking trails. After 20 years apart, they felt like no time had passed.
Mallory Cushman Amory and her partner, Chris Amory, welcomed Wilson Sayles Lee Amory on Jan. 11, 2024. Their sibling, Ames, is (mostly) loving the role of being a big brother!
A small group of friends and family gathered in New York City on June 2, 2024 to witness the civil wedding of Gwen Schwartz and Maor Gutwaks, which was presided over by Analisa Torres ’77, a judge in the Southern District of New York. In attendance was Elena Locker-Torres ’09, Analisa’s daughter and Gwen’s best friend of 18 years. Seven years ago, Gwen, a marketing director and consultant, met Maor, a dentist, while living and working in Toronto. Fate and love brought her back to the United States. The couple look forward to sharing many more wonderful memories with Analisa and Elena.
Julia Wilcox married Giacomo Carlesi on May 1, 2024 in Otranto, Italy. Ancients Esme Lovell-Smith and Sierra Sandler with boyfriend Shane Lopes traveled to Italy for the festivities. Julia and Giacomo are currently living in Lecce in Puglia, Italy.
Caroline G. Dillingham married David W. Goad in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Oct. 28, 2023. Caroline was delighted to have Ancients Emily Carr, Emma Dubin, Charlotte Grove and Ceseli Dillingham Foster ’60 at the celebration.
Daria Forde was honored at the 2024 Figure Skating in Harlem gala for her leadership, excellence and continued support of the program’s mission to drive the achievement of girls of color. She was involved in the program for seven years before attending Porter’s. She will be featured in the program’s docuseries that will premiere on a popular streaming service.
is celebrated at the
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.
Gloria Barnes Van Norden ’41 | 5/6/2024
† Valette LeForgee Barnes 1917 Mother
† Jeanie Van Norden 1933 Sister-in-law
† Virginia McDougal Barnes 1941 Sister-in-law
† Julia Terry Barnes 1952 Sister-in-law
† Letitia M. Barnes 1965 Niece
Julia Barnes May 1982 Grandniece
Edwina Shea Millington ’49 | 9/9/2023
Mathilde Benington Hopkins 1982 Niece
Kerry Bryan Brokaw 1976 Daughter-in-law
Margaret Mellon Hitchcock ’50 | 4/9/2024
Louise Hitchcock Stephaich 1948 Sister
Jenifer Rawson Grant 1954 Cousin
Margaret Curley Bacon 1968 Cousin
Leslie Moore Murray 1974 Step-niece
Lucy Landers Fowler ’52 | 5/28/2024
† Sally Fowler Reyburn 1916 Aunt by marriage
† Sandra Stewart Milliken 1952 Cousin by marriage
Louise Murphy Johnson 1959 Cousin
Jean Murphy Smith 1961 Cousin
Judith Milliken Holden 1968 Cousin once removed
Anne Milliken Hoglund 1971 Cousin once removed
Jane Milliken Hague 1973 Cousin once removed
Mary Louise Fowler 2006 Granddaughter
Susan Stevens Cooley ’53 | 6/13/2024
Charlotte Holland Hagenmeyer ’53 | 2/20/2024
† Mary Holland Ford 1925 Aunt
Elizabeth H. Low 1989 Cousin
Diane A. Nixon ’53 | 6/25/2024
Florence Ayres Rubsamen ’53 | 2/4/2024
† Florence Collett Ayres 1924 Mother
† Ann Ayres Clarke 1951 Sister
Patricia A. Clarke 1972 Niece
Margaret Clarke 1974 Niece
Florence Clarke Hartsfield 1977 Niece
Lucy Pulling Cutting ’54 | 5/15/2024
Lucy Cutting Butler 1978 Daughter
Cynthia Cutting 1981 Daughter
Dorothy Cutting 1949 Sister-in-law
† Elizabeth Cutting Carrigan 1954 Sisterin-law
Elizabeth Sands 1978 Niece
Emily Stevens Willets ’54 | 1/21/2024
† Joan Stevens Bingham 1953 Sister
† Ann Willets Boyd 1936 Sister-in-law
Josefa Wilson Wrangham ’56 | 4/2/2024
† Josefa Watjen Wilson 1921 Mother
Becca Wrangham Goff 1981 Daughter
† Diane Potter Saunders 1954 Cousin
Paula Rockefeller Greene 1955 Cousin
Gillian E. M. Walker ’57 | 1/15/2024
† Bertha Brooks McCormick 1931 Cousin
† Ruth Brooks Campbell 1935 Cousin
Deborah Mitchell Bergh ’58 | 2/13/2024
† Josephine Schlotman Evans 1933 Mother
† Patricia Schlotman Carmel 1933 Aunt
Kendall Bailey Montgomery ’59 | 2/23/2024
Page Poinier Sanders ’61 | 6/21/2024
† Lois Wodell Poinier 1935 Mother
Grace Butler Johnson ’62 | 4/6/2024
† Mary Putnam Butler 1927 Mother
† Grace Tucker Putnam 1902 Grandmother
† Sally Butler Hoge 1926 Aunt
† Betty Putnam Parker 1929 Aunt
† Betty Foster Parker 1930 Aunt
† Nancy Putnam Howard 1932 Aunt
† Grace Putnam Wadsworth 1940 Aunt
Patricia Starr Jones ’63 | 1/27/2024
† Patricia Morrill Starr 1937 Mother
† Dorothy Elliott Ward 1912 Grandmother
Leith Speiden 1961 Cousin
Barbara Baldwin Dowd ’67 | 1/7/2024
† Marie Heck Baldwin 1932 Mother
Louisa Goldsbury Dulaney ’67 | 4/27/2024
Alisse R. Dulaney 1990 Daughter
† Deirdre Busby Flower 1959 Cousin
Sarah Flower Getty 1963 Cousin
Elizabeth M. Belshaw ’78 | 3/22/2024
† Elizabeth Wheeler Belshaw 1948 Mother
† Wilhelmina West Wheeler 1920 Grandmother
† Wilhelmina Wheeler Minet 1942 Aunt
† Ann Wheeler Vanderpool 1945 Aunt
Sam Gammons ’02 | 3/25/2024
FORMER EMPLOYEES
Gloria Ryskind Dawson | 6/8/2024
Chair and teacher, Modern and Classical Language Department 1978–2002
IN MEMORIAM
Barbara Baldwin Dowd ’75, a trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 2000 to 2003, died at home on Jan. 7, 2024, following a long battle with ALS.
Born in Glen Head, New York, on Nov. 16, 1948, to the late James T. Baldwin and Marie Heck Baldwin, Barbara attended Green Vale School, Miss Porter’s School and Pine Manor Junior College, and graduated from Barnard College in 1971. While pursuing a graduate degree in marine biology at the University of Maine, she met John Francis Dowd, a young army captain and Vietnam veteran, who became the love of her life.
Barbara and John married on June 23, 1973, and moved to Connecticut, where Barbara pursued a master’s degree at the Yale School of the Environment. During this time, Barbara also worked as a docent at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. Simply put, Barbara was brilliant and had many talents.
In 1984, after her graduation, Barbara and John moved to Watkinsville, Georgia, where Barbara devoted herself to traveling the world, photography, supporting the arts, and playing an outsized role in the lives of countless young cyclists. As hosts to journeying cyclists, Barbara and John had an immeasurable impact on the cycling community, and helped lay the foundation for the strong, vibrant and connected cycling community that exists today in Athens, Georgia. When news of her passing came, heartfelt condolences, expressions of grief and shared memories of good times came pouring in from members of the cycling community worldwide.
Barbara and John did not have children of their own, but they nurtured several dozens of cyclists who became Barbara’s “children.” Their generosity and kindness created countless opportunities for others to pursue their own dreams.
Barbara also loved to travel and visited all seven continents; her adventures included trips to Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands and Africa.
Barbara is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 50 years, John Francis Dowd; her cousin George C. Heck and his wife, Anne; her cousins Elise, Jessica and Lily Knight; her sister-in-law, Kathy Dowd; and her brother-in-law, James Dowd.
A celebration of Barbara’s life took place Jan. 24 at the Terrace Room of the UGA Botanical Garden.
Gloria “Barney” Barnes Van Norden ’41, a trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 1963 to 1965 and again from 1969 to 1972, died peacefully at her home on May 6, 2024, while surrounded by family.
Barney was born on May 25, 1923, to Valette Leforgee and William Barnes Jr. of Decatur, Illinois. She attended Miss Porter’s School and Pine Manor College. She lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was involved in many local civic organizations, serving as a trustee of Greenwich Hospital and as president of the Greenwich Garden Club.
Barney was deeply involved in championing Miss Porter’s School and served as its trustee for five years over two different terms. She also supported the school in other ways, such as chairing the alumnae board of directors, the committee for her class reunion and a fundraising campaign, and serving as representative for her graduating class. In 1973, the Alumnae Association awarded her the Daisy Pin in honor of her outstanding service to the school.
Barney was predeceased in 1993 by her husband, Langdon Van Norden, a former chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Opera Association. She is survived by her son, Tad Van Norden, and his wife, Kara, and two grandsons.
IN MEMORIAM
Lucy Pulling Cutting ’54 , a trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 1984 to 1990 and 2008 to 2014, died on May 15, 2024.
Lucy was born on July 8, 1936, to Edward Pulling and Lucy Leffingwell Pulling of Oyster Bay, New York. She graduated from Miss Porter’s School and attended Vassar College.
Passionate about supporting the governance of independent schools, Lucy served on the board of trustees for Millbrook School and Miss Porter’s School. She also volunteered for Farmington as chair of the organizing committee for her class reunion, representative of her graduating class and a member of a fundraising campaign advisory council. In 1990, the Alumnae Association awarded her the Daisy Pin in honor of her outstanding service to the school.
Lucy built community through her volunteer leadership, program development and fundraising for many nonprofit organizations, including the Pratt Museum of Homer, Alaska; St. John’s Church of Cold Spring Harbor, New York; the New York State Association of Independent Schools; and North Shore Holiday House.
Lucy and her late husband, George, shared a spirit of adventure, traveling to both the Arctic and Antarctic circles. Lucy enjoyed opera, walking with her black Labradors, bird watching, horseback riding, playing the piano, and singing in the choirs at St. John’s Church and the Long Island Choral Society.
Lucy is survived by her four children, George W. Cutting III of Homer, Alaska, Lucy Cutting Butler of Greenwich, Connecticut, Cynthia Cutting of Weaverville, North Carolina, and Susan Cutting of Belfast, Maine; her four grandchildren, Lindsay Cutting Ryals, Ben Robinson, Emily Robinson and Walden Cutting; and her two great-grandchildren, Reese and Shane Cutting Ryals. She is also survived by her sisters Joan Shepard and Patricia Sands of Oyster Bay, New York, and her brother Thomas L. Pulling of Delray Beach, Florida. Lucy was predeceased by her loving husband, George W. Cutting Jr. and her granddaughter, Alyssa Ann Cutting.
Edwina Shea Millington ’49, a beloved member of the Miss Porter’s School community, passed away on Sept. 9, 2023, at the age of 92.
Born on Sept. 2, 1931, to Edward and Olive Shea, Edwina was a proud alumna of Miss Porter’s School, class of 1949, and a resident of Washington Depot, Connecticut.
After Miss Porter’s, Edwina furthered her education at Marymount Manhattan College and Manhattanville College in New York. She married William V. Brokaw, with whom she had five children, Blade, Ned, Bayard, Tim and Elise Brokaw.
Edwina left a profound legacy at Miss Porter’s School. In the true spirit of the mission statement, she shaped a changing world! A former trustee and alumnae board of directors member, Edwina invested countless volunteer hours. She was also a dedicated volunteer engaged with the Sarah Porter Society and the Campaign Advisory Council. Her contributions were significant, as she also served as a Farmington Finder and Reunion Committee member. In 1989, she received the prestigious Daisy Pin award, the highest award given by the Alumnae Association for outstanding service to the school.
Edwina is predeceased by her parents and her second husband, John Millington. Edwina leaves five children, 16 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, as well as Kerry Brokaw ’76 (daughter-in-law) to cherish her memory. Edwina will be remembered for her unwavering love of family, dedication to Miss Porter’s School and commitment to community service. Her spirit and contributions have left an indelible mark on all who knew her.
