Bulletin: The Miss Porter's School Magazine, Spring 2023

THE MISS PORTER’S SCHOOL MAGAZINE

COMING SOON: THE DAISY MARKET

Current seniors remember The Daisy Cafe as a place to hang out and eat the kinds of treats adolescents often crave. Closed because of the Main renovation, the space was converted to a mailroom that went largely unused during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new way of delivering packages and mail

meant the space was ripe for revival as The Daisy Market. Director of Campus Planning and Design Jackie MurrayJaniak (right, above) shows a student the color scheme for the reimagined self-serve store, which was made possible by a generous Ancient (official reveal coming soon!).

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

Spring 2023

Miss Porter’s School Community,

We expect our graduates to shape a changing world. This call to action resonates in our Ancients’ heads and hearts. The words of our mission statement are the guiding principles by which to live and lead. In Farmington, we engage students so they are prepared to live lives that are bold and ethical, informed and resourceful. The power of an MPS education is the life our graduates live as Ancients!

Sarah Porter founded her school 180 years ago, yet the mission statement is as relevant as ever. Our students and alumnae will have opportunities and will experience challenges they could never have imagined. Over these nearly two centuries, our network of Ancients has been a constant and steady presence and voice for the progress and success of women.

From Worldwide Sit-Down Dinners to Welcome Home Weekend, All-School Reunion and Ancientsponsored student internships, the power of the Porter’s network is unparalleled. Each generation of graduates has trailblazers who break barriers, lead change and create opportunities for others to follow.

Miss Porter’s School educates young women to become informed, bold, resourceful and ethical global citizens. Our power is in our network as we continue to shape a world that must be changed.

The Power of Porter’s How the Ancient network changes the world, and each other.

Features

Porter’s Center for Global Leadership Creating changemakers.

WAY TO GO!

Tyler Gaston ’23, senior captain of the field hockey team, was one of 16 Southern New England players named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association high school all-region team.

FALL PLAY

Mistaken identity? Slapstick? Drama? It was all there in “The Comedy of Errors,” by William Shakespeare.

Mountain Day

The freshman class couldn’t have had a better day to leave classes and study halls behind for a climb up Talcott Mountain last October.

Sharing knowledge

The fall Demonstrations of Learning were an educational event for the entire school community.

The school’s FaceUp group led by Kat Cokeley ’25, Leah Glaspey ’24 and Lucy Newmyer ’23 organized a bipartisan summit last fall to consider issues pertinent to the November midterm elections. Porter’s and Ethel Walker students heard from area politicians and community leaders and attended sessions on voting, democracy and politics.

CONFRONTING THE POLITICAL DIVIDE

Miss Porter’s School

Two of Porter’s athletes signed with Division I colleges. Ellen Jacobson ’23 will play lacrosse for Lafayette College, and Adi Botet ’23 is taking her soccer skills to the College of the Holy Cross.

Modeling diplomacy

Thirteen students participated in a Model United Nations conference at Avon Old Farms last December, with two taking high honors. Katherine Rosenorn ’24 won the Best Delegate award, and Isabella Kao ’26 was named an Outstanding Delegate.

What’s more harmonious than the Porter’s Perilhettes singing a cappella? The Perilhettes plus the Whiffenpoofs singing a cappella! Yale Music’s famous group came to campus for a workshop last November.

Adi Botet ’23 and Ellen Jacobson ’23.

WINTER CONCERT

“My Favorite Things” was the theme of the winter concert by the MPS Chorus, Orchestra and Perilhettes. The program featured an eclectic selection of pieces, ranging from Rodgers & Hammerstein and Disney to Chopin, Mozart and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miss Porter’s School

ECO TOUR

Juniors explored the rainforest, collected endangered plant specimens, documented migrating birds and released young turtles into the sea during their 10-day stay in Costa Rica in October 2022. It was part of their advanced interdisciplinary seminar within the school’s Global Citizenship Program.

CHILLS AND THRILLS

Seniors shot the rapids on the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts during 12th-grade Program Day last September.

The Power of Porter.s

“I’ve found that with a lot of my peers, there’s this constant thread in the back of their mind about ‘How am I serving others? How am I making the world a better place than it was the day before?’” said Sharifah Holder ’06, a Porter’s trustee and co-president of the Alumnae Board.

Shaping a changing world happens “in a million different ways,” said Head of School Katherine Windsor. “It’s not just the first faculty member, the first ambassador, or the first this or that. It’s about having the confidence to chart your unique path, to say, ‘I’m unique and I’m valuable.’ Whether it’s how you raise your children or how you break barriers for other women as a ‘first,’ all of these things have a compounding effect.”

This compounding effect is enhanced by what has been called the most powerful old girls’ network in the world, the Miss Porter’s School Ancient community. Led by the Alumnae Board and nurtured through reunions, online programming, Worldwide Sit-Down Dinners, informal gatherings and more, this community is a powerful force for connection and transformation.

The Power of Porter’s

Miss Porter’s School’s mission to prepare its students to “shape a changing world” might seem like a very tall order. Yet its Ancients, as graduates are called, have been doing just that—in ways large and small—for the past 180 years.

Sharifah Holder ’06 (top right) on the basketball team, junior year.

Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 and Student Head of Diversity Zoe Brown ’23.

Connecting

Fatimah Finney ’06 had no intention of being a published creative writer. The clinical mental health counselor and intercultural competence consultant was scrolling through the Ancients of Color Facebook page in 2021 when she saw a post by novelist Darien Hsu Gee ’87. Ms. Gee was looking for people of color to contribute micro essays to an anthology called “Nonwhite and Women,” which was published in 2022.

“I was at a place in my life where I hadn’t done any writing in a long time,” said Ms. Finney, who lives in South Orange, New Jersey. “I felt my life was too serious, and when was I going to get back to doing some fun things?” So she wrote the essay in the week before the deadline, and it was accepted two months later. It is an example of “how

Porter’s even on a random Facebook scroll could really change my life in a meaningful way because I’m an author now,” she said. “That’s pretty cool.”

When attorney Ayanna Butler ’99 was moving from Bloomfield, Connecticut, to Washington, D.C., in the fall of 2015, she asked the Alumnae & Development Office for a list of Ancients who lived in the District. She promptly invited about 20 of them, along with spouses and partners, to a “Friendsgiving” that has become an annual event cohosted with Ancient Kate Boisture Pippert ’96. She said she got the idea from fellow Ancient and former Alumnae Board Co-President Kate Osterman ’97, who had hosted Friendsgiving dinners when she lived in D.C.

English teacher Alysa

Auriemma ‘03

(left) works with a student.

Miss Porter’s School

“We always have interesting conversations around the table,” said Ms. Butler, who previously led the Philadelphia group of Ancients and served on a panel that nominated people for Alumnae Board positions. “We have people who are in politics and lawyers and physicians and all sorts of very different folks who make the dinner conversation very diverse. There’s always a weaving in of Porter’s experiences.”

Bhutan native Jamyang Penjor ’08 was living in Brussels, Belgium, and working on an MBA last year when she decided to host a virtual Worldwide Sit-Down Dinner for the first time. The three other participants were all in the United States, ranging in class years from 1978 to 2015.

“Even though we had never met, there was an atmosphere of trust because of our time at Porter’s,” said Ms. Penjor, noting that the Zoom dinner went on for two hours. “No matter where we were or what we were doing, everyone seemed to be very aware of what’s happening in the world. Everyone’s doing something to contribute and help out in their own way. Now, having a daughter and thinking about what I want for her, it makes me want to make sure she has the opportunity if she wants to to go to a place like Porter’s.”

Alysa Auriemma ’03, who has taught English at Porter’s since 2018, describes the alumnae network as being “like a secret society that everyone’s a part of. The difference is there’s automatically a sense of being there for everyone. I know that I could text anybody from my class about anything, and I’d probably hear back from them pretty quickly.”

“Even though we had never met, there was an atmosphere of trust because of our time at Porter’s.”

JAMYANG PENJOR ’08 MBA candidate

The Power of Porter’s

is

knowledge

through online and in-person presentations, internships and social media.

Rachel McGrath ’09 is a senior principal systems engineer at Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Connecticut. She began hosting Miss Porter’s interns because she had enjoyed the tutoring she was able to do early in her career and because she wanted to contribute to the school.

“It seemed like something that I would have thought was cool when I was in high school and I didn’t have the opportunity for,” she said.

A senior-year internship at Porter’s turned into a paying gig for Rishitha Talluri ’22, a freshman at the University of Michigan who works six hours a week creating social media content for Pasito, a financial technology company co-founded by Pauline Roteta ’07.

“When I was at Porter’s freshman to junior years, I didn’t see how the alumnae network could help, but doing the internship and connecting with Pauline, I really saw how powerful the Ancient network could be,” she said. “I had this instant connection. And now, at Michigan, there are two juniors and three seniors from Porter’s who have been really helpful, helping me figure out my path.”

Maggie Garczynski Johndrow ’06 is a financial advisor and managing partner at Johndrow Wealth Management in Westport and West Hartford, Connecticut. She has served as a class rep, hosted Worldwide Sit-Down Dinners, led online seminars for fellow Ancients and mentored Porter’s interns. “Giving back to Porter’s is my top extracurricular activity,” she said. “I just love our alumnae network because everyone just genuinely wants to see the other person succeed.”

That network helped her find a new employee a few years ago. After she posted a job to the Miss Porter’s School Facebook group, a member of the class of 2014 applied and was hired. “It certainly helped to know she was a Porter’s alumna,” said Ms. Johndrow. “You know the work ethic that’s instilled at Miss Porter’s.”

Sometimes the learning is very personal. Every year, a panel of Ancients returns to Farmington for “Imagining Life,” an event where they meet with the senior class and have frank discussions about the paths their lives have taken after Porter’s. Endowed in memory of Obidimma Olga Ibimina Okobi ’94, this is “an opportunity to think about life as it really exists,” explained Christine Pina, Porter’s chief advancement officer. “It’s not all roses and bon bons. It can be all kinds of things. But the thing that will be a constant for our graduates is change and innovation, and they have to be ready to adapt. That’s why the alumnae network will be so important to them.”

Learning

a lifelong process, and many Ancients generously share their

with fellow alumnae and current students

Miss Porter’s School

“When I was at Porter’s freshman to junior years, I didn’t see how the alumnae network could help, but doing the internship and connecting with Pauline, I really saw how powerful the Ancient network could be.”

RISHITHA

TALLURI

’22 Social Media Intern, Pasito

MAGGIE GARCZYNSKI JOHNDROW ’06 Financial advisor and managing partner at Johndrow Wealth Management

The Power of Porter’s

Shaping

Some Porter’s alumnae are making their impact on the world by returning to Farmington, working in a variety of roles to help Porter’s grow and evolve through the generations.

When Lauren Melman, MD ’97 was at Porter’s, the school doctor was an older man, and the girls often had to go off campus to consult with him. Now she’s the school doctor and medical director, the Colgate Wellness Center sees most students on campus for their health care needs, and, she says, “We have made a lot of changes to keep up with what health care means for young women today.”

That means more mental health counseling and support, increased access to women’s reproductive health care and an emphasis on wellness. “We’re teaching our students to be their own health care advocates,” she said. “We’re impressing on them the importance of wellness, which is really important in a world where there’s a lot of stress.”

Director of Counseling Amanda Kice ’93 came back to Farmington in 2014. “I’m really proud of how far we’ve come in our department,” said the licensed social worker.

“When I started, it felt like we were doing good work with counseling, but now it feels like there’s a schoolwide interest and desire to have as much information about mental health as possible seeing it as a positive, a way we can really thrive and do well in all areas of our life.”

Kaitlin Faticoni ’07 , fre at M i ss P o r et r ’ .s

KAITLIN FATICONI ’07 Assistant Director of Alumnae and Parent Engagement

Miss Porter’s School

Ms. Kice and the department’s two other counselors have integrated themselves into all aspects of school life, serving as chaperones on international trips, helping out with sports and creating a relaxation room in the wellness center where students can unwind between classes. “When I think about being a student here 30 years ago, it is so different now, being open about mental health,” Ms. Kice said. “Our students today are grappling with a great deal of things that are so important and essential to their development in a healthy and productive way with supportive adults at Porter’s and at home.”

Associate Director of Admission Maya Silva Thompson ’17 said being an Ancient informs every aspect of her job. Being able to tell prospective students that it wasn’t so long ago that she was in their position is an icebreaker during interviews, and being Black empowers families of color to ask about her four years in Farmington. Back then, she said, “I felt a responsibility to educate adults and my peers about things that were going on, but now there’s an overall sense that it’s everyone’s responsibility to educate themselves especially the adults in the community. There’s so much more support, in my opinion, for students of every different background, whether it’s racial or religious or sexual identity.”

The 2022 graduation ceremony was dedicated to Assistant Director of Alumnae and Parent Engagement Kaitlin Faticoni ’07, who was honored for her positivity, humor and kindness traits the seniors got to see up close because she serves as a dorm affiliate for Humphrey Dorm.

Ms. Faticoni brings those same personal qualities to her work with Ancients, especially with those who have felt disengaged. “How do we repair the harm that has been done?” she asked. “How do we show Ancients that we’re doing the necessary work to fix some of the things that caused them to feel they don’t belong? There are actionable steps being taken to make sure that when we say we want to be an anti-racist institution, that this is happening.”

English teacher Alysa Auriemma ’03 looks back on the teachers who inspired her as a student and strives to emulate them. “If the students know you’re there for them, the difference is palpable. The tone is different, the energy is different I aspire to that kind of impact,” she said.

Being an Ancient is valuable in other ways, too. “It really informs my job. I am able to understand the way that life is here, when there’s a no-homework night because of a tradition or a program,” she said, noting that “school life now is really not that different, but at the same time everything’s different. There’s so much more focus on the learning that’s happening and also on supporting every learner.”

“When I started, it felt like we were doing good work with counseling, but now it feels like there’s a schoolwide interest and desire to have as much information about mental health as possible—seeing it as a positive, a way we can really thrive and do well in all areas of our life.”

AMANDA KICE ’93 Director of Counseling

The Power of Porter’s

Dr. Alice Hamilton: The Ancient who invented occupational health

When Alice Hamilton, M.D., looked back on her life at the age of 88, she said this: “For me the satisfaction is that things are better now, and I had some part in it.”

How right she was. The Indiana native and member of the Miss Porter’s School class of 1889 was a physician and a tireless campaigner for social justice. Dr. Hamilton was “the principal person to bestow scientific respectability on the field of industrial toxicology in America,” wrote

In 1910, the governor of Illinois appointed her to the nation’s first panel to investigate workplace disease. Focusing on the lead industry, which had sickened men she knew from Hull House, the team inspected factories, interviewed workers, reviewed medical records, and educated owners and managers about the dangers of lead poisoning and ways to operate more safely.

Madeleine P. Grant, author of

“Alice

Hamilton: Pioneer Doctor in Industrial Medicine.”

Soon after, the U.S. labor commissioner tasked her with a national survey into lead poisoning. Other studies of munitions plants during World War I, the incidence of tuberculosis in miners and stonecutters, mercury poisoning in felt hatmakers followed.

In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 55-cent stamp in her honor, noting that her discoveries “led to worker’s compensation laws, safer working conditions, and the abolishment of child labor.” And Hamilton Hall, which houses the history and English departments at Porter’s, is named for her. Inspired by the reform and social justice movements of her time, Dr. Hamilton moved to Chicago in the late 1890s to help poor and immigrant workers. She lived in the famed Hull House settlement home, where she ran a wellbaby clinic and taught pathology at the Women’s Medical College of Northwestern University. She also treated immigrants with work-related health conditions and deepened her expertise in industrial toxicology.

In 1919, she became an assistant professor of industrial medicine at Harvard Medical School the University’s first female faculty member. She went on to write “the first, most complete, authoritative text on ‘Industrial Poisons in the United States,’ Ms. Grant wrote, and she was the foremost expert on lead poisoning in the country.”

Dr. Hamilton was one of several Hamilton women who attended Miss Porter’s School three aunts, three cousins and three sisters. Her sister Edith went on to become a renowned classicist, head of a private school in Baltimore and author of the wildly popular “The Greek Way.” Margaret became an educator and headmistress at Edith’s school, and sister Norah was an artist.

Miss Porter’s School

Invest in Girls

Head of School Katherine Windsor has observed that women don’t like to talk about money. But she thinks they should.

“The fact is, this school was built by women and their money,” she said. “Every gift that comes in, large and small, matters to me and matters to the generations yet to come. Almost every living graduate has benefited from philanthropy in one way or the other, because someone gave a building, or made a capital gift, or gave to the annual fund.”

Chief Advancement Officer Christine Pina said everyone associated with Miss Porter’s “should be proud of our dynamic legacy of women investing in women,” particularly because less than 2 percent of all total philanthropic giving in the United States is directed toward organizations supporting women and girls.

“I encourage everyone to consider how their values align with and are reflected in their charitable giving,” she said. “Wanting to invest in Miss Porter’s should be an essential part of being active in the Ancient network. Gifts of any size are meaningful and impactful.”

Want to learn more?

Visit: porters.org/giving-overview

THEODATE POPE

Class of 1888, Architect and Philanthropist

ALICE HAMILTON

Class of 1889, Physician

EDITH HAMILTON

Class of 1888, Educator and Author

The Power of Porter’s

What our faculty members have been learning, doing and presenting

In November, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction Nelle Andrews P’22 and Chief Academic Officer Tim Quinn presented “Moving to Mastery” at The Association of Boarding Schools’ annual conference in Washington, D.C.

History teacher Katrina Council attended the New England Museum Association’s Annual Conference, which will help her to increase students’ understanding of the concept of public history.

Alexandra London-Thompson participated in “Curtains Up!”— a Juilliard School course that explored the shows recently featured in Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, including an exploration of new trends and themes.

Math teacher Eileen Mooney’s paintings were featured in 60 Main Street’s Gilbert Gallery last fall. Ms. Mooney is the Elsa Parker Armour 1905 Teaching Chair.

Sophie Paris, director of the Institute for Global Education and the Porter’s Center for Global Leadership, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Global Education Benchmark Group Board of Directors.

Sophie Paris and Lesley Skenderian P’18 presented “Global Seminar Series – How the Pandemic Spurred a Global Program” at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference last summer. The Porter’s seminar series has reached more than 450 girls in 27 countries.

Science teacher Christine Scanlon now holds the Independence Foundation Teaching Chair for distinguished teaching, demonstrated excellence over time in the classroom, and leadership within an academic discipline.

Newly appointed English Department Chair Melissa Schomers now holds the Pauline Foster Reed Teaching Chair, which goes to a distinguished member of the English Department.

History Department Chair Lisa-Brit Wahlberg P’23 now holds the Lucile Thieriot Walker Teaching Chair for distinguished teaching, demonstrated excellence over time in the classroom, and leadership within an academic discipline.

Head of School Katherine G. Windsor was honored by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in December 2022 with a service award. It recognized “individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to promoting high quality education for all students through consistent and generous involvement as a volunteer with NEASC.” In addition to serving on the organization’s Visiting Teams, she recently completed two three-year terms and a one-year extended term as a commissioner on the Commission on Independent Schools.

Kelly Woodbury attended a Latin Pedagogy Workshop offered by the National Louis University (NLU) & Illinois Classical Conference (ICC). This conference helped Ms. Woodbury to retool her units so they are better, more engaging, and more effective for students. The conference also introduced teachers to diverse authors and voices whose work can be used in the classroom.

Miss Porter’s School

“We can be champions of the school within our community in Asia, we can get more people to know about Miss Porter’s, get their daughters to attend Miss Porter’s, and then hopefully this results in them donating to the school.”

Esther and Harvey Lee

Many ways to be philanthropic

Hong Kong residents Esther and Harvey Lee both attended U.S. boarding schools and universities, so it was only natural that their two daughters would do so, too. Their younger child, Tiqa Mae Lee ’25, is a sophomore at Miss Porter’s School.

Due to the pandemic, the family wasn’t able to visit Farmington before Tiqa enrolled. Since she started school, the couple has witnessed the team spirit and tight bonding of the Miss Porter’s community, Ms. Lee remarked during a visit to campus last fall. “I really treasure that unique girl power, girl spirit within the school that is rarely seen in other schools,” she said. “We’ve found that the sense of pride and camaraderie is very strong. And we’ve also witnessed how Tiqa has blossomed in the past year. She’s truly turned into a very confident and eloquent young lady.”

The couple has donated generously to the school’s annual fund, but they see philanthropy as more than just giving money. “We look at things we can do as parents to support the school that go beyond

finances,” said Mr. Lee. “We can be champions of the school within our community in Asia, we can get more people to know about Miss Porter’s, get their daughters to attend Miss Porter’s, and then hopefully this results in them donating to the school.” Last November, the couple and two other Porter’s parents hosted a reception for Ancients, parents and prospective parents at the Hong Kong Club.

Ms. Lee, a successful entrepreneur, and Mr. Lee, a former investment banker, are well positioned to advocate for Miss Porter’s abroad. She is founder of Prestique, a prominent Hong Kong public relations and events management company, and also serves on several boards in the United States and Hong Kong. The couple is looking forward to getting to know Miss Porter’s better in the coming years, said Mr. Lee. “I’ve been telling Tiqa that yes, she’s studying at Porter’s, but she’s not the only one who gets to experience it,” he said. “We as parents get to have that experience as a family, too. We really want to be part of the Porter’s community.”

Grier Torrence P’21, ’23

Paint-smudged wooden easels. High ceilings. Five hundred square feet of northwest-facing windows. A thicket of potted plants. Olin 213 is where creative magic happens, overseen and encouraged by Art Department Chair Grier Torrence.

Mr. Torrence, who came to Miss Porter’s in 1998 to teach painting, drawing and printmaking, is the school’s longest-serving faculty member and the Margaret How Wallace ’27 Teaching Chair. When he’s not teaching, he can usually be found working in the corner of the classroom with oil paints and brushes ready on a shelf behind his desk.

Although he holds degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and the Yale University School of Art and has been a working artist for decades, Mr. Torrence wants students to see him wrestle with his own challenges while he paints. Even if you’re a pro who has been featured in 36 group exhibitions and 23 solo shows, as he has, it’s still difficult to make art.

Students are welcome in the studio classroom anytime, and being there with them is always the high point of his day, said Mr. Torrence, who advises the Art Club. He calls the students “bright and inspiring and courageous” and fondly recalls the year when his advisees gifted him with self-portraits they made for his birthday.

“A lot of what I try to do is have every student feel loved and treasured,” he said about his approach to pedagogy. “I try to help each person grow, like the plants I brought from Brooklyn all those years ago. Give them everything they need. Sunshine and good nutrients, which for an educator are special attention to the particular person and their needs.”

Miss Porter’s School

01 RAW MATERIAL

When I’m not working, I’m painting. Oil paint is intrinsically beautiful.

02 TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Can’t work without these!

03 AFRICAN MASKS

I bought these masks from a vendor outside the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I like that African art is all about geometry and construction.

04 CHESS, ANYONE?

One of my favorite pastimes.

05 AFRICAN INSTRUMENT

The language of all the arts is about intervals, harmonics and things beneath the surface.

06 BOOKSHELF

A wonderful collection of art books, catalogs and rarities.

Linda N. Cabot ’76

Artist and activist

Artist, filmmaker, conservationist and philanthropist

Linda N. Cabot ’76 didn’t take any formal art lessons until after she finished college. But an art history class at Farmington with long-time teacher Alice Delana proved foundational to an adult life filled with art and advocacy. Researching a paper on the 18th-century English artist and satirist William Hogarth, she remembers “being fascinated by the power that art can have for social change and social impact.”

That early insight paired with a passion for the ocean nurtured through decades of sailing off North Haven Island in Maine led Ms. Cabot to produce a one-hour documentary in 2009 that explored environmental issues in the Gulf of Maine. Filmed during a weeklong cruise with her two daughters aboard the family’s sailboat, “From the Bow Seat” featured interviews with scientists, fishermen and other experts on the Gulf’s history, topography and environmental challenges. It appeared, and can still be seen, on Maine Public Television.

Two years later, she founded Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs (bowseat.org), a Boston-based nonprofit whose mission is to engage youth in environmental conservation and advocacy through the creative arts.

“Bow Seat is all about creative advocacy, art making, social impact and environmentalism,” said Ms. Cabot, who is a trustee of the New England Aquarium and Women Working for Oceans. “And I think it stemmed from being aware, early on, of the power of art as not just something to admire or to look nice hanging on a wall, but as something that really can have meaningful social impact.”

Bow Seat hosts an annual Ocean Awareness Contest, which invites youth ages 11 to 18 to submit creative works in response to an environment-related theme. Nearly 30,000 students from all 50 states and more than 130 countries have participated in the contest since 2011, and Bow Seat has awarded over $625,000 in scholarships to advance the winners’ creative talents and passion for the environment. Participants can also have their work exhibited or published beyond the contest. The organization also encourages environmental activism through a council of youth leaders who serve one-year paid terms to help peers around the globe advocate for their future and the environment. Elizabeth Akomolafe, this year’s student head of school at Porter’s, is a member of the panel. In 2021, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) endorsed the contest as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Miss Porter’s School

Activism in education and art

Ms. Cabot’s activism and philanthropy are not confined to Bow Seat. She is a life trustee of Neighborhood House Charter School in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and a founding board member of Horizons at Dedham Country Day School, which is a tuition-free, six-week summer enrichment program for low-income children and youth in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. She said the catalyst for her involvement with these organizations was a six-week stint as a volunteer tutor in a Hartford public school during her junior year at Porter’s. “I think if it wasn’t for that Winterim experience, I would never have really understood the power of education and also how under-resourced kids are really struggling,” said Ms. Cabot, who studied psychology at Harvard University and graduated in 1980. She did not pursue formal art training during college. “I was afraid to take an art class because my voice felt very small,” she remembered. “I was worried that I’d take a class and somebody would say, ‘You’re doing it wrong. You have to do it this way.’” Once she developed her own art practice, she felt confident in her own abilities as a painter and began taking night classes at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston while working as a medical researcher during the day. She is now a trustee of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Since 2018, she has been sharing her art via the textiles and apparel she sells at LindaCabotDesign.com. The business was inspired by Ms. Cabot’s love of her grandmother’s expert needlework and the way it made her home such a warm and welcoming place.

“This blended my conservation ethos with my love of textiles,” she said, noting that she wanted “to raise awareness about consumption and consuming wisely with the environment in mind.” Her table linens, apparel and infantwear are made of sustainable fabrics like cotton, hemp, and linen and are all sewn by hand in Massachusetts.

A single, powerful thread has been woven through all of Ms. Cabot’s pursuits, and she acquired it at Porter’s. It’s “the knowledge that women are capable of leading. That’s a very powerful thing for a young woman to feel.”

Linda Cabot lives with her husband, Ed Anderson, in Westwood, Massachusetts, and North Haven, Maine. They have two daughters.

“This blended my conservation ethos with my love of textiles.”

Porter’s Center for Global Leadership Is Creating

CHANGE MAKERS

600+ students / 30 countries

Some 600 students from 30 countries have participated in the PCGL offerings to date.

CHANGE MAKERS

40+ Ancients

More than 40 Ancients have been integral to the programs’ success.

ChangeMaker’s Institute Summer in Farmington Global Seminar Series

A three-week online seminar for girls from Spain and India held during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has grown into a robust set of programs that connect and empower girls around the globe.

Through online programming and summer residences in Farmington, the Porter’s Center for Global Leadership (PCGL) is equipping middle and high school girls with the knowledge, skills and mindset to be changemakers in the world. “In doing so, we are extending the school’s mission to educate and advance women and girls in leadership and as changemakers,” said PCGL Director Sophie Paris.

Several programs fall under the PCGL’s umbrella: (1) ChangeMaker’s Institute, a four-course certificate program cofounded in 2020 by Ms. Paris and Ancients Catherine Lindroth ’04 and McKenzie Roller ’20; (2) Global Seminar Series; (3) Summer in Farmington (for middle- and high-school girls); (4) Summer Online courses for high school students; and (5) Porter’s LEADS (for middle schoolers). Some 600 students from 30 countries have participated in the PCGL offerings to date, and Ancients have been integral to the programs’ success.

More than 40 Ancients have lent their expertise as guest speakers, panelists, facilitators and teachers, Ms. Paris said. “It’s a connection with school and beyond. They care about the future of young women, and I’m sure a lot of it goes back to their time at Porter’s. These Ancients feel strongly that PCGL programming should be accessible to any high school girl around the world.”

In 2022, Ancient Nancy Zhou ’18 worked as a teaching assistant and residential advisor for Summer in Farmington, which brings middle and high school girls to

campus for one-, two- or three-week residencies. “All of our PCGL scholars have such inspiring life stories that led to their passion, and it was such a joyful experience connecting with them,” she said.

Yeabsira Desalegn heard about ChangeMaker’s Institute from one of her high school teachers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Eager to have an impact on her community and her country, she has completed two of the institute’s four courses and is enrolled in the third. “I’m changing and developing myself so that I’m prepared to address problems and change the world,” she said. “I know I will be making big moves and will make a change.”

Ms. Lindroth said participating in ChangeMaker’s programs makes her feel like “I’m talking to the future leaders of the free world. And I’m honored.”

Kristen E. Guest ’04 is a licensed social worker who has been co-facilitating ChangeMaker’s Institute since 2021. “This institute is creating connections the world over,” she said. “If we want peace, love and joy throughout the world I know I do it would certainly be helpful to know and care about the people who want the same, no matter where they are.”

“I’m changing and developing myself so that I’m prepared to address problems and change the world.”

—Yeabsira Desalegn

Miss Porter’s School

Summer Online

Porter’s LEADS

MEET SOPHIE PARIS

Sophie Paris, director of the Porter’s Center for Global Leadership and a professional photographer, never set out to be a teacher. But in 2010, a funny thing happened in the small Haitian village where she lived and worked. Children began trailing her around town, fascinated by the foreigner and the camera she carried with her everywhere. So she procured some used cameras and began holding workshops to teach the kids how to use them.

Up until then, Ms. Paris had spent 14 years traveling the globe as a photojournalist for the United Nations (UN), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton Foundation, and various newspapers and wire services. When the UN sent her to Haiti in 2004, the Ohio native became enchanted by the country and its people and stayed for eight years.

Surprised by how much she enjoyed sharing her love of photography with the children in her village and looking to move back to the United States with her infant son, she began applying for teaching jobs in 2012. She began working at Porter’s that fall.

In Farmington, Ms. Paris brought the world into her classroom. “Everything I did as a photographer had to do with diving deep into a discovery of the human condition,” she said, so it was

natural to teach about “issues and different cultural spaces and community” along with the technical aspects of making an image.

“Often in my travels, I might be the only American, or the only female, or the only white person,” she said. “Who you are, who I am, informs our perspectives. Global education is the right space for me to be in.”

Since arriving on campus, Ms. Paris has designed and launched the Institute for Global Education, through which every 11th-grade student is required to travel abroad, and she has established a two-year diploma Certificate in Global Studies. She was a natural choice in 2020 to help create and lead the Porter’s Center for Global Leadership, which makes the school’s pedagogy accessible to girls around the world through online programming and summer residencies.

“I’m forever a learner and a student of life,” said Ms. Paris, who lives on campus with her husband, her son and the family dog.

“I learned how to learn in a way that involved active observation and listening, as well as sharing and connecting through this shared understanding of the human condition.”

“Who you are, who I am, informs our perspectives. Global education is the right space for me to be in.”

—Sophie Paris

Looking Back

Family weekend

There was no shortage of fun activities for Family Weekend, October 13 – 15, when parents and siblings got to enjoy sporting events and “Coffee with Kate,” a music and dance showcase, an athletic spirit bonfire and more.

Reunion 2022

All-School Reunion 2022 brought close to 300 Ancients back to Farmington from 28 states and seven countries from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. A highlight was the formal dedication of the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris ’71 Student Center.

Glenda Newell-Harris MD ’71, poses in front of the new student center, which was dedicated during Reunion weekend.

More Looking Back

2022 American Architecture Award

Centerbrook Architects and Planners won a 2022 American Architecture Award for its reimagining of 60 Main Street, the iconic campus hub originally built in 1831 as a hotel.

Professional Achievement Award

Human Resources Director Jeannette Kopinja received the 2022 Professional Achievement Award from the National Business Officers Association.

Miss Porter’s School Day of Service

Ancients across the country participated in the 2022 Miss Porter’s School Day of Service in early December, donating 144 units of blood and making 1,000 “Holidays for Heroes” cards for active service members and veterans.

Kopinja, Human Reso

Miss Porter’s School

Looking Forward

Make your voice count

The Alumnae & Development Office is conducting a census of Ancients to learn how we can serve them better. More than 1,700 have responded have you? If not, email alumnaerelations@ missporters.org to receive your unique ID and link to the survey. We’re partnering with The Inclusion Firm to analyze the data and we look forward to reporting back to you in the fall.

Ancient Book Club

Watch @mpsancients on Instagram for details about upcoming Ancient Book Club Zooms. Email alumnaerelations@ missporters.org with questions or recommend a book by contacting Nicole LaMotte ’88 at nlamotte@mac.com.

SEPTEMBER 21

“Horse” by Geraldine Brooks

The Guardian calls it a “confident novel of racing and race.”

NOVEMBER 3

by Priya Parker

“Parker offers a decoder ring for the secret forces at work when we gather for business, crises or celebration,” says author Joshua Cooper Ramo.

Gatherings

Miss Porter’s has been on the road this spring, and we’ve loved seeing our Farmington supporters! Look for us this summer and fall here:

Boston

Dallas

Fisher’s Island, New York

Hanover, New Hampshire

Houston

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

New York City

Philadelphia

Prouts Neck, Maine

Vinalhaven, Maine

Washington, D.C.

Visit porters.org/calendar for the most up-to-date event details or email alumnaerelations@missporters.org with questions.

OCTOBER 13-15, 2023

Reunion 2023

Calling all classes ending in 3 and 8! Watch your email, @mpsancients on Instagram and Miss Porter’s School Ancients on Facebook for details and join your classmates in Farmington for an action-packed weekend.

Visit: porters.org/reunion-weekend

“The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters”

Gaylynn Burroughs ’95

Daisy Pin recipient

“Nothing is impossible to learn. There’s something about accepting challenges not being afraid to try, to persist, to believe that you can do something and knowing that I have everything that I need to figure out how to do this.”

Growing up in a working-class Black neighborhood in Irvington, New Jersey, boarding school was not on Gaylynn Burroughs’s radar. So, when her middle school teacher invited her and a few other students to have lunch with someone from her town who was then at Miss Porter’s School, Ms. Burroughs was amazed to learn that such a place existed.

“Knowing there was a person who was there, who grew up in our neighborhood, made it seem like it was something achievable and tangible and real,” she said, noting that she decided to apply to Porter’s after that lunch with Crystal Dickinson ’93. Admitted on a full scholarship, she embarked on a journey that led her to Yale University, to law school at New York University and into a career advocating for women and families.

Porter’s Head of School Katherine Windsor presented Ms. Burroughs with the Daisy Pin the Alumnae Association’s highest honor during Reunion last fall in recognition of her many contributions to the school. She is the youngest person and the first African American to receive this high honor.

A trustee from 2012 to 2021, Ms. Burroughs was a class representative for more than a decade and served on or led committees for her class’s 5th, 10th, 20th and 25th reunions. She also served on the school’s reaccreditation committee and is a member of the Sarah Porter Society, whose members have served as a trustee or on the alumnae board. Now the director of workplace equality and senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C., Ms. Burroughs works to shape federal policy on workplace issues such as unequal pay, discrimination against pregnant women, sexual harassment and more.

“Gaylynn is our modern-day Sarah Porter in the sense of thinking [about] and advocating for women’s rightful place at the table,” Dr. Windsor said in an interview, noting that Ms. Burroughs

Miss Porter’s School

Past Daisy Pin honorees

1963

Mrs. Robert Porter Keep*

Margaret Porter Ijams ’12

Ellenor Cook Lane ’15

Katharine Bunker Parsons ’18

Eleanor Ames Powell ’24

Mary DuBois Schwarz ’29

Annie Burr Auchincloss Lewis ’20

1965

Mrs. Hollis French*

Harriet McClure Stuart ’07

1967

Anna Matheson Wood ’01

1969

Katharine Derr Barney ’18

1970

Dorothy Dennis Marsh ’10

1973

Nancy Fenton Perkins ’35

Gloria Barnes Van Norden ’41

1979

Elizabeth Buffinton Briggs ’44

1980

Polly Fenton Dickerson ’37

Alice Rutgers Dodge ’37

1981

Emily Parsons Ridgway ’29

1982

Louisa Copeland Duemling ’54

1984

Margaret Porter Davis ’52

Elizabeth Hanavan Hube

Lynn Weyerhaeuser Day ’49

1986

Caroline Morgan Macomber ’50

1988

Margaret Taube Harper ’53

1989

Edwina Shea Millington ’49

1990

Lucy Pulling Cutting ’54

1993

Rachel Hammond Breck ’25

1994

Emily Ridgway Crisp ’59

Eleanor Ashforth Harvey ’43

1995

Marie Powell Hincks ’45

1996

Jean Marckwald Chapin ’56

1997

Alice Babst Bent ’27

Sally du Pont Cahill ’47

1999

Judy Olin Higgins ’54

2002

Virginia Wells Truesdale ’52

2003

Isabel Morrell Beadleston ’28

2004

Milbrey Rennie Taylor ’64

2005

Edith McBride Bass ’50

Beverley Waud Sutherland ’55

2006

Marianna Mead O’Brien*

2007

M. Burch Tracy Ford*

2008

Elizabeth Mead Merck ’38

2009

Barbara Higgins Epifanio ’79

2012

Mimi Colgate Kirk ’57

2013

Judith Milliken Holden ’68

2014

Margaret Nash Gifford ’48

2015

Anne Stillman Nordeman ’65

2018

Nancy Klingenstein Simpkins ’73

2022

Gaylynn A. Burroughs ’95

has been a trusted advisor over the years.

“Sarah Porter founded the school because she saw that lack of education was a barrier to women being able to actualize themselves, and Gaylynn has linked arms with me to ask, ‘What do girls need today?’ She is able to provide me with clarity on what the barriers are today and, also, what some of the solutions are.”

*Former head of school

Ms. Burroughs said it was “a huge honor” and a “shock” to be awarded the Daisy Pin. “I really had no idea! My mother was there, and she said she took me up to Porter’s in 1991 and that I just never left. It’s not only the school but the community it has fostered … the school has given me so much and I feel privileged that I’m able to give back.

“I was very lucky growing up, and very aware that my personal situation could have turned out really differently,” she said. “It always seemed unfair that the opportunities I had weren’t given to everybody. I didn’t set out to be a lawyer as much as I set out to have an impact on people’s lives.”

Reflecting on her time in Farmington, Ms. Burroughs said she was grateful for the confidence she gained and for the realization that “nothing is impossible to learn. There’s something about accepting challenges not being afraid to try, to persist, to believe that you can do something and knowing that I have everything that I need to figure out how to do this.”

This has served her well, she said, because “unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world. There are people who are going to tell you you can’t do something because they don’t like the way you look, or the way you talk, or where you came from, or where you work any number of things you have no control over.”

Married to Matthew Howard and the mother of 13-year-old Zora, Ms. Burroughs said she would be thrilled if her daughter ended up at Miss Porter’s. “But I’ve told Zora that this has to be her own decision and that she has to make her own way,” she said.

“Knowing there was a person who was there, who grew up in our neighborhood, made it seem like it was something achievable and tangible and real.”

Leslie-Hart Fenn Tapscott ’36 | 11/18/2022

Harriette Allen Mellen 1942 Sister

† Nancy Allen Maxwell 1930 Sister

† Patricia Allen Wall 1941 Sister

Sylvia Paine Constable ’47 | 11/20/2022

Linell Nash Smith ’50 | 7/28/2022

Linell Smith 1970 Daughter

Frances R. Smith 1973 Daughter

† Isabel Nash Eberstadt 1950 Sister

Joan Wyeth Greer ’51 | 7/4/22

Nancy Livingston Hopkins ’51 | 12/29/22

Mary Stackpole Trost ’51 | 3/17/22

Mary Boyer Hambro ’53 | 6/14/2022

† Mary Holmes Jones 1926 Mother

Samantha Strawbridge Eddy 1987 Niece

Laura Armour Cook ’57 | 10/28/2022

† Elsa Parker Armour 1905 Grandmother

† Elsa Armour Osborne 1929 Aunt

† Adrienne Osborne Ives 1950 Cousin

† Gwendolyn Osborne Lincoln 1951 Cousin

Karen Osborne McGovern 1958 Cousin

Alison A. Ives 1974 Cousin

Sandra Ives Powel 1976 Cousin

Courtney O. McGovern 1990 Second Cousin

Dana Hyde Scrymgeour ’58 | 8/28/2022

† Florence Hyde Russell 1933 Mother

Ashley Jones Tagatac 1982 Daughter

Madeline H. Tagatac 2016 Grandaughter

† Georgia Hyde Slacke 1925 Aunt

Gale Winslow Minot 1971 Step Cousin

Jean Hamilton Pearman ’59 | 7/17/22

Jean Newhard Mortimer 1979 Daughter

Marie Gordon Whitbeck ’59 | 9/14/22

† Marie Antoinette Townson Gordon 1936 Mother

Marie Whitbeck McNabb 1984 Daughter

Elizabeth M. McNabb 2015 Grandaughter

Lucia Gordon Gumaer 1961 Sister

† Barbara Townson Weller 1941 Aunt

† Andrea Townson Lashar 1953 Aunt

† Leslie Weller 1971 Cousin

Harriet Warner Jones 1977 Cousin

Lisa Colfax Townson 1977 Cousin

Mary C. Sheeline ’75 | 12/12/22

† Harriett Moffat Sheeline 1940 Mother

Leonora M. Sheeline 1976 Sister

† Evelyn Lanman White 1924 Great Aunt

† Edith Moffat Harding 1939 Aunt

Leonora Moffat Ellison 1949 Aunt

† Josephine Ross Turner 1942 Second Cousin once removed

† Sheila White English 1950 Cousin once removed

† Elinor White Montgomery 1955 Cousin once removed

Sarah L. Blake 1978 Second Cousin

Mary H. Smith ’81 | 8/26/22

Elisabeth H. Sloan 1977 Sister

Palmer Sloan Harckham 1978 Sister

Tara Thomas ’83 | 8/11/22

Regina Travers Stettinius ’87 | 12/30/22

Diana Buchanan Reynolds 1988 Sister-in-law

Katherine L. McSpadden ’00 | 7/26/22

FORMER EMPLOYEES

Abigail O’Brien | 12/11/2022

Director of Annual Giving, 2010–2013

Nancy Davis | 2/16/2021

Director of Communications, 1976–1988

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

Joanna Gerber P’97

passed away on Oct. 17, 2022, at her home in West Hartford, Connecticut. She served as a trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 1996 to 1997, chairing the Current Parent Committee, and was the mother of Ancient Christina L. Gerber ’97. Born in Berlin in 1938 to Helmut and Anna-Luise Seydel, Dr. Gerber earned her medical degree from the Heidelberg University Faculty of Medicine. Trained in anesthesiology, she practiced at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut for 32 years with a subspecialty in obstetric anesthesia. Her family described her as a dedicated physician who was “trusted by countless patients and treasured by her colleagues.”

Dr. Gerber was active in Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford, where she planted a garden that grew vegetables for the community and for the Loaves and Fishes Ministries’ soup kitchen. She was also a master gardener who volunteered with the Elizabeth Park Conservancy and a tutor with the Literacy Volunteers of Hartford.

Dr. Gerber is survived by her daughter, Christina, of New York City; her sister, Marlies Haas, of Germany; brothers Helmut and Christian Seydel of Germany; sister-in-law Margaret Gerber Benedini and husband Ernesto Benedini of Lugano, Switzerland; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her former husband, William H. Gerber, and her sister, Lotti Köhnlein.

IN MEMORIAM

Margot Hawley Spelman ’53 a trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 2002 to 2005, died in New York City on Dec. 1, 2022. She was president of the Alumnae Board from 2001 to 2003.

Mrs. Spelman was born in New York on Sept. 4, 1935, to Leopold and Helen Holt Hawley, a renowned portrait painter. After graduating from Porter’s, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a master’s degree in elementary education from New York University. She taught third grade before marrying Hoyt Spelman III in 1961, when she began offering private tutoring to students in first through 10th grades. Once her two children were school age, she became a learning specialist at the private Manhattan school they attended, which is now called the Trevor Day School. She retired in 2016.

Mrs. Spelman is survived by her daughter, Laura Hawley Spelman; her son, Alexander Macdonald Spelman; and four grandchildren. Her husband died on Dec. 2, 2022, one day after her passing.

IN MEMORIAM

Lucius Milan “Buzz” Whitaker Jr. passed away on Oct. 23, 2022, at age 90. He was a trustee of Miss Porter’s School from 1980 to 2008.

A longtime Farmington resident, Mr. Whitaker owned the Edward H. Deming Insurance Agency for many years. In Farmington, he was involved in many local organizations and served as a volunteer firefighter, a Mason and a member of the Riverside Cemetery Association. He was also a member of the Exchange Club of Farmington and a recipient of the Book of Golden Deeds. Mr. Whitaker moved with his wife, Arline Belicka Whitaker, to Mystic, Connecticut, after his retirement.

Mr. Whitaker was predeceased by his wife, who died three days before him. His son, Lucius Milan Whitaker III, died in 2019. He is survived by his daughter, Lindsey Brennwald, and her husband, Dan; his granddaughter, McKenna Brennwald of Farmington; his sister, Judy Murphy; and his brother-in-law, John Belicka Jr., and wife, Sue.

“Trusted by countless patients and treasured by her colleagues.”

The family of Joanna Gerber P’97

Submitting your note! 1947

DEADLINE

Aug. 1, 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. Lowresolution 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 names 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.

Marian Stone ’47 submitted a video note in which she said she was eager to be represented in Class Notes “because otherwise, people will think I’ve gone bye bye.” Marian fondly remembers sitting next to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis ’47 and Iris Jennings ’46 in their history of art class, which she loved. English class was also a pleasure, she says, but she avoided math “like the plague.” Still, she managed to graduate “on the second honor roll.”

1955

Hope Connors ’55 writes that her husband, Edward Phillips Connors, passed away on July 26, 2022.

1957

Anne Blodgett ’57 spent her earlier years painting her New York studio and raising three children. She also had some success in her life with tennis, winning the New York State 40 and Up Ladies Doubles trophy with the help of an excellent partner. She also participated in a biathlon. More recently, her life has been filled with painting and writing, and she credits Miss Porter’s School for her talents. She notes that daughter Laura Comfort ’84 has become an outstanding scholar and athlete.

1962

Head of School Katherine Windsor poses with a silver teapot and creamer given by Dorry Swope ’62. The tea set had been presented to Sarah Porter, Dorry’s great, great aunt, on the occasion of the school’s 25th anniversary.

1966

Peggy Cadbury ’66 spent four months last summer and fall traveling around the United States with her husband in their Ram Promaster camper. They visited classmates Lorie Harris Amass ’66 in Flathead Lake, Montana, and Cecie Clement ’66, at her home in New Haven, Connecticut.

Peggy Cadbury ’66, left, and Cecie Clement ’66.

Left to right: Grace Butler Johnson ’62, Martha Miller Massey ’62, Kate Windsor, Mary Hallock Field ’62, Katherine Carpenter McCallum ’62, Dorry Swope, Chris Olson Robb ’62, Ali Hall Watkins ’62 and Gretchen Groat Blake ’62.

Lorie Harris Amass ’66, left, and Peggy Cadbury ’66.

Miss Porter’s School

1982

Singer-songwriter Susan Kean Cattaneo ’82 launched her newest album, “All is Quiet,” in her first concert since Covid. (It was packed!) In the audience were Susan’s mother, Joan Jessup Eddy ’47 and classmates Mary Nevius Lansing ’81 P’22 and Ellie Roane Large ’81. Other guests included Shaver Carey, former head of the theater department and house parent, and Michèle Gorman, former head of admissions, French teacher and director of alternate learning experiences. Susan is a professor of songwriting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

1990

Natalie Harvey ’90 has been named director of cultural affairs for the Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

1991

Karena Elwell Rasser ’91 shared that her company, Top It Off Accessories, had an item selected for the holiday 2022 “Oprah’s Favorite Things” list.

1997

Kate Hemphill Gwin ’97 and her husband Geoffrey Gwin welcomed a son, George Huntley, on April 10, 2022. He joins his three half-siblings, Isabella, Maya and Cecil.

1989

2000

Annie Lennon Carroll ’00, a member of the Producers Guild of America, met Steven Spielberg at a special screening of “West Side Story” in New York City in February 2022. She writes that she has had an exciting career in television and

video since graduating from New York University’s film school, where Lynne McVeigh ‘59 was her advisor and remains a mentor. Annie says she loves telling visual stories and draws daily inspiration from life in New York with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.

Left to right: Michèle Gorman, Joan Jessup Eddy ’47, Susan Kean Cattaneo ’82, Shaver Carey, Ellie Roane Large ’81 and Mary Nevius Lansing ’81.

Laura Shoaf ’89 was awarded the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) award in 2022 for services to Economic Regeneration in the West Midlands.

Pamela Chadwick ’00 and her husband Michael Chadwick welcomed a daughter, Claudia Helena Chadwick, on Sept. 7, 2022. Pamela reports that the baby 8 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long was just one pound and one inch smaller than Michael was when he was born.

2005

Eleanor Bradley Healy ’05 welcomed Caroline Bradley Bancroft Healy on Feb. 10, 2022. The baby joins her big brother, Wells.

2010

Carolyne Ouya ’10 completed her second marathon in Chicago on Oct. 9, 2022.

2011

Page Meredith ’11 married William Fowler in Oxford, Mississippi, on Nov. 26, 2022, with several beloved daisies by her side.

2009

Taylor King ’09 recently accepted a new position at Connecticut Wealth Management as a senior financial advisor. Taylor has helped hundreds of people through life transitions and continues to develop plans for the firm.

Page Meredith and William Fowler with members of the class of 2011 (left to right): Eileen Roteta, Karelle Fonteneau, Clare Kenny, Samantha Lodge, Montana Ortel, Caroline Wood, Julia Shelzi, Reyna Venkat and Jaclyn Lena.

2014

Susannah Davies ’14 ran the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6, 2022, with a time of 3:29. Callie Brzezinski ’16 was there cheering her on!

2020

Anna Foster ’20 auditioned for and competed in the “Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory” television show in August. She is in the third year of the veterinary medicine program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

2018

Katia Portela ’18 worked as a digital assistant on Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s campaign in 2022.

Audrey McMillan ’20 is a marketing major at Bentley University with a double minor in management and sports business. She’s also the president of the women’s club hockey team, where she plays center and defense. Other activities she’s involved in include the women’s leadership program and serving as a tour guide and orientation leader. She says she loves being able to do what she loves at a school that allows her to learn what she is passionate about.

“Ninja Warrior” Anna Foster ’20

Audrey McMillan ’20

Katia Portela ’18 holds a campaign sign for U.S. Senator John Fetterman, D-PA.