2016 Summer Bulletin

Last Day 2016 Look to the night sky—find the celestial triangle p 2

New Mission Statement A Brearley education unfolds over a lifetime p 15

Truth and Boil Six alumnae pioneers in the culinary world p 36

THE BREARLEY SCHOOL

SOFTBALL ON RANDALL’S ISLAND—2016, 1952

Above: AAIS CHAMPS! May 18, 2016

Right: Field Day, 1952 (courtesy of Carol Mathews ’54)

Answer to last issue’s Brain Teaser: Mountain Day began in 1983.

Judith Jones ’41, Laura Maioglio Blobel ‘50, Sara Moulton ’70, Sabrina Sexton ’88, Leticia Young ‘95, Amelia Hall ’03 written by Janet Reich Elsbach ‘85

Head of School

Jane Foley Fried

Editor

Jane Newman

Graphic Designer Jennifer Bartoli

Editing Staff

Anne Bergen, Director of Development

Josephine Bergen David ‘61, Director of Communications Lewise Lucaire, former Director of Institutional Advancement

you, Lewise, for 34 years and 68 issues (and counting!) of Bulletin service.

If you have any questions or comments about this magazine, please contact Jane Newman: jnewman@brearley.org; (212) 570-8588.

Cover illustration by Eileen Evans, Brearley teacher of carpentry and staging from 1937 to 1975.

Special thanks to Eric Antanitus, Nathan Blaney, Ashley Garrett, Jordan Hollender, Paul Schneck, Scott Thode and members of the Brearley community for sharing photos with us.

Ellen Jewett ’77, President

Carter Brooks Simonds ’95, Vice President

Christopher L. Mann, Secretary Noah Gottdiener, Treasurer

Christine Frankenhoff Alfaro ’91

Reza Ali

Gideon Berger

Nicholas C. Bienstock

Elizabeth Chandler

Virginia Connor

Jane Foley Fried

Jane Gladstone ’86

Ivan M. Hageman

Munib Islam

Elizabeth Harpel Kehler ’79

Grace Offutt

Stephanie L. Perlman, M.D.

Julia Pershan ’88

David B. Philip

David Raso

Paula Campbell Roberts ’94

Modupe Akinola Robinson ’92

Terri J. Seligman ’78

Jocelyn Strauber ‘91

Andrew K. Tsai

Honorary Trustees

Georges F. de Ménil

Evelyn Janover Halpert ’52

David T. Hamamoto

Stephanie J. Hull

Alan Jones

Caroline Kennedy ’75

Edward F. Rover

John F. Savarese

J. Kellum Smith, Jr.

Priscilla M. Winn Barlow

Faculty Representative

Susan Sagor

REMARKS FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Today we celebrate the Last Day of the Class of 2016

With Brearley’s signature simplicity, this is the Last Day we gather in our beloved Schoolhouse, in this intimate space, to hear each other’s voices, to speak and sing and enjoy one another’s company. Let us be thankful for the students who have made many contributions to the community; the faculty and staff who have espoused so passionately their love for their disciplines and their work with students and families; and parents who have shared their daughters with us and supported the mission of this school to educate girls of adventurous intellect and generous spirit.

In keeping with a tradition I began a couple of years ago, I offer my letter to the graduating class.

Dear Seniors,

Today is a moment of commemoration and reflection. It is truly exciting to celebrate your graduation from Brearley, the first school in the United States founded to prepare women for college, especially just a few days after the first woman in American history has been nominated by a major political party to run for the presidency. It feels right to include mention of this momentous event at these Last Day exercises. However, I want to be careful to heed the advice of generations of past students who have counseled me, as well as former heads of school, not to get ahead of ourselves. Today is not about your career aspirations. Today we strive for simplicity.

I thought about what I could say that might be of some use to you at this moment of transition. Perhaps something practical that might ease the inevitable tug on your hearts as you wonder about life beyond 610.

I have decided to share a few words about the one thing I can promise about your future.

We may spend the better part of our lives searching for knowledge, but life, in many respects, is about “not knowing.” My question for us is: How can we act with humanity as we seek to balance the anxiety of “not knowing” with the human need to know?

Having come to know each other over the past four years, you are likely waiting for me to make some reference to the natural world, to offer a metaphor as a perch on which we can pause and reflect.

Not wanting to disappoint you on your big day, I offer you the sky, not the bright eastern light off our beloved East River, but the night sky. When not in New York, my husband and I live in a farmhouse in Vermont. Our home sits on open land surrounded by working farms. As good neighbors, we’ve grown accustomed to “shooing” errant cows home to their pasture and to having a pot of hot coffee ever ready for farmers who pop in for a visit. But a clear night sky still evokes a sense of wonder, when, observes Mark Helprin in A Winter’s Tale, “the universe is still complete [and] every-

continued on next page

“

You outgrow the simplicity of counting and need to rely on new methods of navigation...finding comfort with not having all the answers, with not knowing. ”

Mars and Saturn join Antares, one of the brightest stars to form a celestial triangle.

I look east and see Ursa Major, the Big Dipper—now I’m on my way. Lining up the two outer-edged stars on the bucket leads me to the Little Dipper and the brightest star on the end, Polaris or the North Star, “whose true fix’d and resting quality,” described Shakespeare, provides my bearings. I can navigate from here.

Just when I settle into my comfort zone and believe I have a handle on the galaxy, I read about some great discovery, such as the recent one that proved Einstein’s predictions of space time. Once again I’m humbled, back to feeling small, unknowing, but my curiosity remains undiminished.

This accordion-like experience of learning is a constant in life, and to seek comfort in not knowing requires deep breaths in and out and a perch. Your experience at Brearley reminds me of the phases of a night’s sky. Upon arrival at 610, like the first signs of dusk when you can barely see a few shining lights in the sky, your new teachers and few friends help you find your bearings in this uncharted world. As the planets and stars begin to emerge, one by one, you make your way through the program, traditions and events. You learn to read, to count, to run, to make new friends, to navigate the stairways, to ask for help, to be independent.

Just as you get into a groove, perhaps with the acceptance of your class mascot—the ferocious but lovable Tigger—or enrolling in the Middle or Upper School, the sky opens up and the stars reveal themselves faster than you can count, and the uncertainty sets in, uncertainty from

• moving from homeroom to discipline-based classrooms; or

• adjusting to the freedom of Upper School; or

• getting to know a classmate who does not share your background or opinion; or

• rising to the intellectual stretch of the last two years of Upper School; or

• applying to college.

thing that ever was is, and everything that ever will be is.” These “possible combinations,” he calls them, are both a beautiful notion and forever fill me with unease. They also are, no matter the temperature, what beckon me and my husband outside at twilight to watch the evening show. Wrapped in blankets, we sit back in our Adirondack chairs and wait for the celestial “actors” to appear. The ritual usually begins with my counting out loud, much to the consternation of my husband, “I have one, no, it’s a plane or maybe a satellite…and then…one…two… three, four…five, six, seven, eight…until, like a switch being flipped, the curtain opens to uncover a canopy of stars, immediately dwarfing my counting prowess.

In that instant, our being changes from active to passive. Having worked the land by day, as night dawns, we transition to being mere observers. As we sit and stare upwards, we see the beauty, we feel the beauty—it is awesome—and then there is a moment when to me, someone who likes to know where I am at all times, it becomes too much. Too much what? Too much that I don’t know or too much to know. I don’t understand what I see, yet I am forever compelled, like Tennyson,

To follow knowledge like a sinking star

Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

The sky that had invited me to watch now feels unfriendly, foreign, and I need a perch on which to orient myself.

I search for order by relying on my novice astronomy skills. Still in my chair, I begin with Jupiter, which appears immediately at dusk as the brightest light in the sky.

At these moments, you outgrow the simplicity of counting and need to rely on new methods of navigation, all the while taking deep breaths and coping with your and others’ expectations until you restore your equilibrium, finding comfort with not with having all the answers, with not knowing.

A Brearley education unfolds over a lifetime. An essential part of this process is to transfer the skills of critical and creative thinking, a love of learning, and seeing your role in a larger place and purpose to new environments—college, for sure, but also to your work, friendships, family and civic life. These skills are your guiding stars. They will help you work through the inevitable moments of vulnerability in the face of the unknown. But we must recognize and remain alert to these moments of vulnerability, which are essential to being human, for they can provoke behavior of which we are least proud.

Although I am still a relatively new Head of School, I know enough not to dwell on politics in a Last Day speech, but from a teacher’s perspective I feel the need to share in this Assembly my profound distress by the recent political rhetoric that invades our lives on a 24/7 cycle. I worry for all of the children who hear it and may question their sense of belonging and personal value. As with looking at the sky and trying to connect the stars, I search for the possible combinations of the political universe that confound me. The philosopher Martha Nussbaum views education as an institution that “cultivates the ability to see full and equal humanity in another person, perhaps one of humanity’s most difficult and fragile achievements.” This cultivation of what she calls “a public emotion” helps us “keep at bay forc-

“

While we cannot leave much of a track in space, we do leave one here on earth. ”

es that lurk in all societies, and ultimately, in all of us: tendencies to protect the fragile self by denigrating and subordinating others.”

Our great challenge, according to Nussbaum, is to broaden our “circle of concern” to include not only those whom we know and love, but also those whom we do not know—to understand and to feel that all lives affect ours and ours theirs. We know this intellectually, but we neglect to make this emotional connection, which results in our operating out of fear rather than by the strength of our humanity. The outcome of this emotional disconnect is that we often live, as the naturalist John Muir remarked, “on the world, not in it [with] no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything— undiffused, separate, rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate.” I feel it is imperative that we forge both an emotional and intellectual connection in order to engage fully in the world.

Extending the scope of the intellectual to the emotional is a leap—as big a leap as comprehending that the US 708 star moves about 745 miles per second. Or, closer to this class’s heart, as big a leap as your beloved Tigger can make—tigers can leap nearly 20 feet! And, as with any leap, there is a risk—connecting to those whom we do not know can make us feel small, incompetent and vulnerable. This, then, is where you need some scaffolding.

Reach for your perch.

Look to the night sky—find the celestial triangle.

Look east to the Big Dipper, hop to the Little Dipper, locate the North Star. Rest. Breathe in and out. Relish knowing for a moment—now dive back into the unknown.

Finding this emotional and loving connection is, I believe, inextricably linked not only to your future success but also to your happiness and to living a fulfilling life.

We share the canopy of stars. As Muir said, “We all dwell in a house of one room—the world with the firmament for its roof—and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving a track.”

Thankfully, while we cannot leave much of a track in space, at least yet, we do leave one here on earth. I encourage you to consider yours in relation to others by broadening your circle of concern, deepening both your intellectual and emotional commitments and looking up at the sky in awe and accepting what Shelley knew: “Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow.”

May your “morrows” be even more fulfilling than those you have had with us. Navigate them well, and may your tracks lead you, from time to time, back to Brearley to rest here with us, to share some stories and to engage in the unknown.

Sincerely, Your devoted Head of School

Class 16

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWEST ALUMNAE

FIRST ROW: Tessa Pelzman, Sylvie Thode, Electra Frelinghuysen, Alexandra Grasso, Carmen Ribadeneira

SECOND ROW: Mariam Ahmed, Lily Piao, Quinn Evangelakos, Katelyn (Yu-Mi) Kim, Rebecca Zhou, Olivia Siu, Jacqueline Stern, Abigail Poteshman, Abigail Solit, Minji Chung, Frances Hisgen

THIRD ROW: Adelaide Punt, Nancy Handelman, Arielle Saber, Lauren Goldstein, Larissa Nguyen, Ellen Sirower, Elena McKnight, Olivia Kier, Charlotte Kim, Annie Lehman-Ludwig, Romy Macari

FOURTH ROW: GeorgeAnna Tisdale, Emma Badini, Mina Morisaki, Jessica Cheng, Kira Neary, Catherine Jessica Yihui Lai, Julia Opatrny, Brooke Nagler, Valerie Shoates, Laura Habian, Jewel Carrier-Davis, Claire Kozak

FIFTH ROW: Elizabeth Mann, Kayla Williams, Connie Chen, Summer Jing, Allegra De Landri, Sabina Lowitt, Lily Segenreich, Saoirse Ryan, Hannah Rowen, Sophie Starck, Clare Bradley, Samantha Tham, Chelsie Alexandre, Claire Elliman

We would also like to congratulate the members of the Class of 2016 who went on to graduate from other schools.

UPPER SCHOOL AWARDS

Upper School Discursive Essay Writing Prize

Tiffany Lin, XI

Upper School Analytical Essay Writing Prize

Katelyn Yu-Mi Kim, XII

Upper School Poetry Writing Prize

Lily Segenreich, XII

Upper School Fiction Writing Prize

Polina Whitehouse, X

Juliet Whiton English Prize

Katelyn Yu-Mi Kim, XII

Catherine Fairfax MacRae ’96 Prize For Excellence in Both English and Mathematics

Quinn Evangelakos, XII

Upper School History Essay Writing Prize

Frances Hisgen, XII

Dorothy Mills History Prize

Frances Hisgen, XII

Ann Chalmers Greek Prize

Chelsie Alexandre, XII

Ann Chalmers Latin Prize

Sylvie Thode, XII

French Prize

Claire Elliman, XII

Spanish Prize

Olivia Kier, XII

Mandarin Prize

Charlotte Kim, XII

Judith N. Conant Mathematics Prize

Katelyn Yu-Mi Kim, XII

Frances Arnold 1893 Mathematics Prize

Summer Jing, XII

Science Prize

Jessica Lai, XII

Ursula Loengard Berens ’47 Art Prize

Elena McKnight, XII

Fanny H. Phillips Dramatics Prize

Sabina Lowitt, XII

Berta Elsmith Music Prize

Kira Neary, XII

The Brearley Alumnae Cup

Sylvie Thode, XII

Richard B. Stearns, Jr., Memorial Award

Charlotte Kim, XII

Head’s Award

Larissa Nguyen, XII

FACULTY AWARDS

Class of 1992 Award

Dr. Jeannie Drew Teacher of Science

Serena Marshall Weld 1901 Award

Mr. Clay Squire Teacher of Science

Sandra Lea Marshall ’73 Award

Mrs. Susan Sagor Teacher of English

Margaret Riker Harding

Lower School Fellowship

Mr. Zachary Papas

Room Teacher, Class I

Chairs for Excellence in Teaching

Mrs. Annie Byerly

Room Teacher, Kindergarten

Dr. Katherine Swett

Head of the English Department

Dr. Tom Wright

Head of the Classics Department

Class of 2016 COLLEGE DESTINATIONS

KUNZ ART COLLECTION

IX

Alexandra Baird

Jianna Boswell

Emma Boultinghouse

Victoria Brooks

Caroline Callender

Grace Cohen

Elizabeth Fittinghoff

Hafsa Hossain

Isabel Koral

Eve Kreshtool

Jaeyoung Lee

Katherine Nath

Margaret Peters

Emma Press

Anna-Helene Rockefeller

Lauren Scheller

Dipanshi Sharma

Syona Sidhu

Isabel Stern

Rachel Sturley

Rachel Tanibajeva

Elizabeth van Dyke

Noelle Yoo

X

Avni Ahuja

Davine Byon

Christine Cai

Pauline Cochran

Kamilah Cooper-Charles

Caroline Crystal

Blake Faucher

Genny Gottdiener

Aditi Gupta

Christina Habian

Isabella Hartman

Zoe Hopkins

Julia Jin-Wolfson

Alyssa Kapasi

Julianne Kier

Isabel Kim

Alexa Kourepenos

Deborah Li

Ruby Mendelsund

Clare Nimura

Catherine O’Connor

Mary O’Reilly

Margaret Parham

Madeleine Polubinski

Madeleine Rubin-Charlesworth

Isabel Selin

Caitlin Shoemaker

Grace Meade Sipp

Virginia Vogel

Kirsten von Rosenvinge

Emily Weiser

Polina Whitehouse

Emma Wong

XI

Rachel Alexander

Barbara Banchik

Allegra Colman

Kayla Gillman

Arushi Gupta

Myint Kyi

Ella Papanek

Lucy Rinzler-Day

Rachel Rose

Emma Sorkin

Margaret Sun

Isabel Tadmiri

Rose Teplitz

Hannah Zhukovsky

XII

Emma Badini

Quinn Evangelakos

Lauren Goldstein

Nancy Handelman

Olivia Kier

Romy Macari

Elena McKnight

Julia Opatrny

Brown University 2

Carleton College1

Carnegie Mellon University1

Colgate University 1

Columbia University 4

Cornell University 2

Dartmouth College 2

Georgetown University 1

Grinnell College 1

Hamilton College 2

Harvard University 7

Harvey Mudd College 1

Hobart and William Smith Colleges 1

Northwestern University 1

Oberlin College 2

Pomona College 2

Princeton University 3

Reed College 2

Stanford University 2

Swarthmore College 1

University of Chicago 2

University of Michigan 1

University of Pennsylvania 3

University of St. Andrews 1

Vanderbilt University 1

Washington University in St. Louis 2

Wesleyan University 1

Yale University 2

Co-Heads of Self-Government

by Alexandra Grasso and Elizabeth Mann

As we go forward today, we are grateful for what we have learned about the importance of community.

Community is a feeling: a feeling of pride, comfort, and attachment. At Brearley, a sense of community permeates everyday life. We respect, admire, care for and support each other as a matter of instinct.

This is what sets Brearley apart, and this is our greatest takeaway from a year of serving as self-government co-heads.

We are leaving our roles with a feeling of fulfillment and gratitude for all the inspiring people in our community. We realize that we could not have accomplished any of the things we’ve just mentioned without the help and support of so many people.

Ms. Segal and Ms. Fried: We cannot thank either of you enough for your enthusiasm and support through string debacles and every difficult decision.

Our Self-Gov Reps: You brightened our Thursday mornings in a way we never thought possible.

And finally, the senior class: You have been the heart and soul of every event we’ve hosted. Whether leading discussion groups in your

houses, or dancing until the very last song at the dance, you have constantly inspired the community with your infectious spirit. It has been a gift and a pleasure serving as leaders alongside all of you.

As we think about the changes that this community is undergoing, we urge you all to remember what makes this school the place it is. It’s not the building; it’s not the pier; it’s not the senior homeroom. It’s all of you who infuse this space with life.

As we go forward today, we are grateful, not only for the community of supportive and exceptional individuals we have found here, but also for what we have learned about the importance of community. We know that, wherever we go, we will bring that spirit with us.

So, thank you to the ducklings, to Friday Flower, to 610. But most importantly, thank you to all of you.

Above right: Elizabeth Mann and Alexandra Grasso.

Class XII Speakers

by Katelyn Yu-Mi Kim and Arielle Saber

We hope you remember the love we have cultivated for each other and the attachments we have made.

One of our class’s most defining moments happened last fall, as we honed our recommendations for the class fund, the graduating class’s annual gift to the School. We wondered what legacy we wanted to leave. So after much productive discussion, among ourselves and with the administration, our grade suggested a common mission—community outreach—which we feel captures the remarkable self-awareness of our class, for it both acknowledges our privilege as Brearley girls and, furthermore, spreads the gift that is this place.

This past senior spring, we’ve had projects of all varieties, from performances, to student publications, to involvement in different political campaigns. The difference is astounding and is testament to the diverse paths we have taken.

So now, as we move off into separate cafeterias and food halls next year, to consume different yet still nutritious foods, we just want to say how much we have come to appreciate this exceptional group of people, who have affected us immeasurably. Like all meals, this one ends in sweetness, as we reflect on our

strange but wonderful menu, the friends we’ve eaten with, and the memories we’ve made.

Virginia Woolf writes in her novel The Waves, “We are not simple as our friends would have us to meet their needs. Yet love is simple.” And now, though we have changed in the past, and will continue to change in inconceivable complexity in the future—or really, who knows what life’s menu will throw at us—we hope you remember the love we have cultivated for each other, and the attachments we have made here at this institution, not to mention at this wonderfully strange wedding of sorts. So to the seniors, we look forward to laughing and dancing with you in the future—this is not our last hurrah together! And to the juniors, our love, and the bouquet, goes to you.

Above right: Arielle Saber and Katelyn Yu-Mi Kim.

Gideon Berger and his wife, Cassandra, upon seeing the lobby display of Class VIII and Class IX art on their first visit to Brearley, were left with a powerful impression: “We were so struck by the creative expression that enveloped the lobby,” he recalls. “There was a sense of energy and self-confidence that we wanted our daughter to be a part of.”

A Senior Managing Director at The Blackstone Group, Gideon received his BA in Mathematics and Physics from Vassar College and his MS in Applied Physics from Columbia University. He then earned a PhD in Computer Science from New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Prior to joining The Blackstone Group, Gideon was the founder and president of Ez-Ways, Inc., a technology start-up, and was founder and principal of a consulting firm specializing in database solutions.

Gideon and Cassandra have two children: Penelope, in Class V, and Marcello, an eighth grader at the Collegiate School. Gideon and his family love adventurous travel and recently returned from an exploration of Patagonia’s western coast. They also enjoy spending time with their extended families in Connecticut.

As their daughter enters her Middle School years, Gideon states that he and Cassandra appreciate her growing self-esteem and the “amazing role models found within the Brearley community.” His family also enjoys the beloved school traditions: “Our daughter was so excited to receive her red/white team assignment and class mascot and to be a part of these longstanding traditions.” Gideon anticipates working closely with Jane Fried and his fellow Trustees in support of a school and community that mean so much to his family.

Elizabeth Chandler has the Brearley experience encoded in her DNA. Her mother, Judith Davidson Rodriguez ‘52, ”loved her time at Brearley and often discussed it with her four daughters,” Elizabeth recalls. “Her experience very much influenced the decision to send our daughters to Brearley.”

Raised in Darien, Connecticut, Elizabeth attended Middlebury College, where she majored in Economics and Italian, and then joined Morgan Stanley, where she worked as an investment banker for eighteen years, advising sovereigns, cultural institutions and corporations in the U.S. and emerging

Clockwise from top left: with their familes, Gideon Berger, Elizabeth Chandler, Grace Offutt, David Raso and Jocelyn Strauber ’91.

markets. After leaving Morgan Stanley, Elizabeth and three partners founded ALKeMi, a management consulting company that advises start-up businesses. She is also an Executive Producer of the upcoming documentary Letters From Baghdad, about the life of 20th-century British explorer, archeologist and diplomat Gertrude Bell.

Elizabeth and her husband, Jay, a Senior Managing Director at Evercore, are the parents of Isabelle (Class XII) and Grace (Class IX). Elizabeth praises Brearley’s “strong school spirit” and notes its “wonderful job of retaining its connection with the past while evolving with the times. My daughters love the traditions— such as the Doughnut Assembly and the Red and White Teams—that have been passed down through generations of Brearley girls.”

Among her various roles as an active volunteer in the Brearley community, Elizabeth has co-chaired the B+STEAM Committee. Brearley’s engagement with technology is an area of great interest to her, and she looks forward to working with Jane Foley Fried and her fellow Board members in support of a school (and community) cherished by several generations of her family.

Grace Offutt joins the Board of Trustees for a one-year term as incoming Parents’ Association President. In her time at the School, Grace has served as Secretary of the Parents’ Association, Benefit Co-Chair, Class Representative and a member of the General Store and the Annual Fund Committees, and she has graciously lent a helping hand at numerous other School events.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Grace attended the all-girls Hathaway Brown School; her “positive and formative” experience there played a role in the decision to send her daughters to Brearley. Grace received an AB in English from Princeton, where she was active in Outdoor Action, the University’s outdoor education and leadership program in which she met her husband, Ted Polubinski, when she was assigned as his leader trainer. Grace earned a master’s in Education at University of Virginia.

True to their Outdoor Action roots, Grace and Ted, a litigation partner at Davis, Polk & Wardwell, along with daughters Mimi (Class X) and Elizabeth (VII), enjoy hiking, skiing and paddling in Vermont and the Adirondacks. Grace and her family re-

cently achieved a long-desired milestone when they summited their 46th Adirondack High Peak!

As the new P.A. President, Grace praises the “dynamic and supportive” families of Brearley and hopes to broaden opportunities for parent involvement. “I have so enjoyed getting to meet and work with other parents through School volunteer opportunities and am interested in helping parents find ways to participate that work for them.” Citing Brearley’s upcoming campus expansion and its recent B+STEAM and CoLaboratory initiatives, Grace notes: “It’s an exciting time in the School’s history, and I am looking forward to working with parents, administration and faculty in support of the School we love!”

David Raso and his wife, Melissa, were instantly smitten: “We loved Brearley from the moment we toured the School,” he recalls. “There is an intellectual energy that permeates the classrooms, and we are so excited that our daughters are members of the Brearley community.”

A native of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, David received a BS in Economics from Wesleyan University and a MBA from New York University. He worked as an equity research analyst at Lehman Brothers before joining Citigroup as a Managing Director. In 2008, David joined ISI, which became Evercore ISI, and is currently a Senior Managing Director and Partner, heading the firm’s Industrial Research Team. He was the youngest analyst inducted into the Inaugural Hall of Fame by Institutional Investor in 2011 and holds the longest current streak (15 years) as the #1 ranked financial research analyst in a sector. David also serves as Co-President of the Board of Fencers Club, a nonprofit organization that offers fencing programs for underserved communities and to returning military personnel.

David and Melissa are the parents of Sofia (Class VIII) and Olivia (Class V). Melissa is currently Co-Editor of eNews from Brearley and serves as an Admission Assistant. David and his family are avid travelers and enjoy spending time with Melissa’s family in Italy.

Pleased to be joining the Brearley Board, David notes that Brearley “has demonstrated that it can embrace change while remaining true to its core mission of educating and empowering young women to be engaged global citizens.

It is exciting to have the opportunity to work with Jane Fried and my fellow Trustees in implementing the School’s thoughtful strategic plan.”

Jocelyn Strauber ’91 is thrilled to be back at Brearley: “It is a very happy place for me and—more importantly—our daughter, who loves being a student.”

Now a partner in the Government Enforcement and White Collar Crime group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Jocelyn received her BA from Brown University and earned her JD from Duke University School of Law. Following law school, Jocelyn served as Law Clerk for the Hon. A. Raymond Randolph in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was then a Bristow Fellow in the Department of Justice’s Office of the Solicitor General, and served as a Law Clerk for the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. After working for several years as a litigation associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell, Jocelyn joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. During her eight years at the Office, Jocelyn was Deputy Chief and then Co-Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, where she supervised the successful prosecution of several high-profile terrorism and national security cases.

Jocelyn and her husband, Mark Gordon, a corporate partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, are the parents of Sydney (Class VII) and Austin, a fourth grader at Dalton. Noting that it has been “wonderful to experience the School as a parent,” Jocelyn observes that Brearley has maintained its unparalleled commitment to academic excellence while embracing “diversity of cultures and learning styles.” She has also enjoyed the ongoing “open and thoughtful dialogue” between parents and the school administration about the academic and social aspects of the Brearley experience. Jocelyn is looking forward to learning more about Brearley from the Board perspective and is excited to work with her fellow Trustees in support of the School “at such a vital time in its history.”

Profiles were written by Charlotte Kingham, who is an attorney and frequent contributor to Brearley publications. Charlotte and her husband, Barry, are the parents of Victoria ‘14, a junior at Williams College, and Will, a junior at the Trinity School.

SINCERE

THANKS

To Our Retiring Trustees

Clockwise from top left: François de Ménil, Marisa Gardini ’85, Georgia Levenson Keohane ’90, Kathleen Moriarty ’71 and Naomi Press.

François de Ménil

Parent of an Alumna

Architect, François de Ménil Architect, PC Trustee, 2010–2016

Board Committees: Budget and Building Ad Hoc Committee: Building Steering Committee

Marisa Gardini ’85

Alumna

Managing Partner, ED LLC Trustee, 2010–2016

Board Committees: Audit and Development

Ad Hoc Committee: Student Life Committee (2012–14)

Georgia Levenson Keohane ’90

Alumna and Current Parent

Executive Director, Pershing Square Foundation Trustee, 2010–2016

Board Committees: Building and Trusteeship

Ad Hoc Committees: Student Life Committee (2012–14), Affordability Task Force (2012–13) (Chair); Strategic Planning Steering Committee (2013–14); Mission Committee (2015–16)

Kathleen Moriarty ’71

Alumna

Partner, Kaye Scholer LLP Trustee, 2010–2016

Board Committees: Audit, Development and Investment Ad Hoc Committee: Women in Finance Steering Committee

Naomi Press

Current Parent and Parent of an Alumna President, Parents’ Association, 2014–16 Trustee, 2014–2016

As we look back over the last few years to all Brearley has accomplished with the guidance of the Board of Trustees, it is with deep gratitude that we pay tribute to the five trustees who are retiring this year. They have worked on such key Board committees as Audit, Budget, Building, Development and Investment and provided leadership for special initiatives in affordability, strategic planning, student life and school mission. Adding their special perspectives—as alumnae, parents, and professionals—to Board work, they have helped to ensure the strength and excellence of Brearley.

Leading during a time of great change and productivity, these trustees have our respect and gratitude for their devotion to Brearley and for their hard work, leadership, guidance and wisdom.

Profiles were written by Lewise Lucaire, who retired as Director of Institutional Advancement at Brearley in June of this year.

MISSION STATEMENT

Brearley’s mission statement was formally created in 2004. During the 2015–16 school year, a committee of trustees, administrators, faculty and staff, with community input, regularly convened to create a statement of purpose that reflects Brearley’s new strategic vision. The following was adopted by the Board of Trustees on June 14, 2016.

THE BREARLEY SCHOOL

Established 1884

K–XII independent school for girls in New York City Academic excellence. Liberal arts tradition.

Cross-divisional teaching.

The Brearley School challenges girls of adventurous intellect and diverse backgrounds to think critically and creatively and prepares them for principled engagement in the world.

Guided by a dedicated community of adults, students develop a command of many disciplines, a love of learning and a resilient and generous spirit. The bond among students and with their teachers is rooted in a passionate exchange of ideas and an appreciation for the unique and lively contributions of each individual.

A Brearley education unfolds over a lifetime. The School instills in its alumnae the confidence to pursue their ambitions and the wisdom to live balanced and purposeful lives.

Brearley’s 2016 Benefit, “Classical Brearley Music & Merriment in May,” was held on May 16 at the Town Hall Theater. The family concert was made possible by the creativity, dedication and expertise of current parents Alan Gilbert, the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, and cellist Kajsa William-Olsson, along with pianists Emanuel Ax and Alessio Bax, show director and visual artist Doug Fitch, and other special friends. The festive event, which raised over

$400,000 for the 2016 Brearley Teaching Fund, also featured the talent of the Brearley community, including artists, poets, dancers and the Upper School Orchestra, as well as a surprise performance by past parent and current grandparent Itzhak Perlman! A huge thank you to co-chairs Donna Fergang and Pam Sole and the Benefit Committee, and to all the students, faculty and staff who made Music & Merriment a night that will not soon be forgotten.

Top Left: Doug Fitch, Jane Foley Fried and Alan Gilbert.

WELCOME

Development & Alumnae Relations welcomes Amelia Wilson, who joins the department as Annual Fund Director. Amelia arrives from Brooklyn Friends School, where she served as Capital Campaign Project Director, leading a successful campaign to fund a new Upper School facility. Amelia has advised a range of nonprofits on fundraising and strategy.

Summer Happenings Ten adventurous Upper Schoolers embarked on the June trip to China, chaperoned by Mr. Gao and Mr. Papas (top); campers in activity at Brearley’s 29th Summer Start, the June day camp for Classes K–VII (bottom left and right). Congratulations

TO THE BREARLEY COMMUNITY’S PULITZER PRIZE HONOREES

Alissa Johannsen Rubin ‘76 and current parent William Finnegan were both awarded a Pulitzer Prize—Alyssa (New York Times), for International Reporting, and William, for his autobiography Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life. Sarah Maslin Nir ‘01 (New York Times) was a finalist for the Local Reporting category.

The 2016 Frances Riker Davis Award Recipient

TAMERA STANTON

LUZZATTO ‘75

Tamera Luzzatto has dedicated her professional and personal life to public service, working to build coalitions across political and policy lines. From environmental policy work, to service on the staffs of Senators Rockefeller and Clinton, to her most recent work as a senior vice-president with the Pew Charitable Trusts, Tamera is known for her “three C’s” approach: Coordinate, Communicate, Collaborate. She works predominantly behind the scenes, facilitating and bringing about much-needed reforms on a wide swath of issues, spanning (but not limited to) environmental protection, chemical toxins, food safety, energy use, children’s health, women’s reproductive rights, veterans’ affairs and criminal justice. Tamera has earned an impressive reputation for bipartisan collaboration, with little-to-no public fanfare for her tireless efforts for the public good.

Anna Korkeakivi ’78

Emma D. Dryden ’82

Sarah Moulton ’70

Clara Bingham ’81

Mariève Rugo ’51

Farewell and thank you

to the five retiring faculty and staff members of 2015–2016: JOHN “JC” COOGAN, ANTHONY FORDE, HOWARD HALL, LEWISE LUCAIRE and LAURIE WILLIAMS (not pictured). Collectively they have given more than 150 years of invaluable service to Brearley. For their profound contributions and dedication to the School we are deeply grateful.

Send Us Your Submissions!

LOIS KAHN WALLACE BREARLEY WRITER’S AWARD

Submissions are now being accepted for the Lois Kahn Wallace Brearley Writer’s Award. The Award, established in 1999 by the late Lois Kahn Wallace ’57, honors and encourages a Brearley alumna at the beginning of her career as a published writer, or the beginning of writing in a new genre. Adult fiction and non-fiction works are eligible, as are books for children and young adults. The award is conferred approximately every two years and carries an honorarium. Please apply, or if you know someone who deserves the award, encourage her to apply. Please submit four copies of the work of your choice to Daryl Gurian Stern, Alumnae Relations Manager, The Brearley School, 610 East 83rd Street, New York, NY 10028. If you have any questions, contact Daryl at 212-570-8516 or dstern@brearley.org.

THANK YOU

to all the alumnae, parents and friends who generously support Brearley each year. Your gifts through the Annual Fund benefit faculty salaries, financial assistance and core educational needs.

Brearley appreciates the 750+ alumnae, parents and friends who responded to the Parent and 610 Challenges. These spring efforts secured an additional $150,000 for the Annual Fund, which raised over $3.6 million in the 2015–2016 year.

For a list of past Lois Kahn Wallace award recipients, please visit http://www.brearley.org/ alumnaeawards.

We are grateful for the loyalty and commitment of our alumnae and parent bodies, who participate at rates of 43% and 99%, respectively. Every gift makes a difference for today’s students and faculty, and we thank you for continuing this strong tradition of support.

ANNUAL FUND 2015–2016

THANK YOU

Gloria Gronowicz ’69

Alicia Fortinberry ’69

Doris Murray Kuhns ’47

Claudia Meininger Gold ‘79

John “JC” Coogan, Anthony Forde

Howard Hall

Lewise Lucaire Security Supervisor Food Services, Baker Music Department, Violin Director of Institutional Advancement

FICTION? NONFICTION?

FACULTY AND STAFF SHARE A BOOK FROM THEIR SUMMER READING (OR RE-READING) LIST

ANNIE BYERLY, Kindergarten

Daughters of the Samurai, by Janice Nimura ’89

ENVER CASIMIR, History

The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvior

CAROLINE CHANG ’08, English

James Merrill: Life and Art, by Langdon Hammer

ANALISA CIPRIANO, College Advising Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline

CAROLYN CLARK, College Advising

How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success, by Julie Lythcott-Haims

ARLENE FABIO, Human Resources

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

JANE FOLEY FRIED, Head’s Office

Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid Undset

DARCY FRYER, History

Life, Death and Growing Up on the Western Front, by Anthony Fletcher

NATASHA GRAY, History

The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters, by Karl Rove

JIM KARB, Science

The Gita: For Children, by Roopa Pai

JODY KRAUSE, Registrar

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

GAIL MARCUS, History

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

JIM MULKIN, Academic Life

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

LISA POLLACK, Upper School Office

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

KEBA ROGERS, Counseling and Wellness

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth

CLAY SQUIRE, Science

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, by Susan Cain

KATHERINE BARRETT SWETT ’78, English Villette, by Charlotte Bronte

BETTY WILSON, Human Resources

Edge of Eternity, by Ken Follett

—With excerpts from the June 2016 e-News from Brearley article Novel (and Nonfiction) Thoughts, by Charlotte Kingham.

During the 2015–16 year Jane Foley Fried traveled to alumnae events throughout the country, including Boston, North Carolina, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Clockwise from top: at the home of Amy Moss ‘70 in Durham, NC, on February 5, with former Head of School Priscilla Winn Barlow; at the Los Angeles gathering on June 26, hosted by Deborah Davis Ascheim ‘82; at the San Francisco gathering on June 27, hosted by Amanda Eaken ‘95.

CALLING ALL AUTHORS

The Parents’ Association is seeking authors in the Brearley community— alumnae, faculty and staff, current parents and students—to participate in this year’s Book Festival, which will be held on November 17 and 18. If you would like to have your book sold or be considered for the Author’s Night Panel (November 17), please contact us. Books must have been published in the past 12 months or be published before November 1, 2016. We look forward to hearing from you!

—Nandita Sodhi (vnsodhi@yahoo.com), Maria Gottdiener (nylawmom@aol.com) and Su-en Wong (suenwong@gmail.com), Brearley Book Festival Committee Co-Chairs

ALUMNAE EVENTS

ALUMNAE, SHARE YOUR UPDATES!

COMPLETE OUR ELECTRONIC FORM (WWW.BREARLEY.ORG/ PAGE/ALUMNAE/ UPDATE-YOUR-PROFILE) CONTACT

DARYL GURIAN STERN DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ALUMNAE RELATIONS

DSTERN@BREARLEY.ORG (212) 570-8516

SEND INFO TO ALUMNAE RELATIONS THE BREARLEY SCHOOL 610 EAST 83RD STREET NEW YORK, NY 10028

ALUMNAE WEEKEND 2016

2016 Alumnae Weekend

It was wonderful to see so many alums back at 610! This year’s Alumnae Weekend honored classes ending in 1 and 6. The Class of 1941, the oldest to return to celebrate its reunion year, was represented by Judith Bailey Jones (for more on Judith, who is featured among our Food Pioneers, go to page 38). However, alumnae from over 22 non-milestone reunion classes were also visible! The weekend kicked off with over 130 people attending the Broadway musical Waitress and a talk-back hosted by the director, Diane Paulus ‘84. Friday and Saturday’s programming included the luncheon, Turbo Talks, school tours, a cocktail party, buffet breakfast and a special reception for the 50th Reunion Class. In addition to teacher-led classes, one on Plato’s Republic and the other on 3D Printing and the Maker Movement, this year’s selection also included a student panel and a presentation on the campus project by Marianne McKenna of KPMB and Jane Foley Fried. Another new feature this year was children’s programming on Saturday morning. For full coverage of the weekend, visit the reunion section of the Alumnae homepage: www.brearley.org/alumnae.

—Daryl Gurian Stern, Director of Events & Alumnae Relations

65TH REUNION CLASS OF 1951

60TH REUNION CLASS OF 1956

75TH REUNION CLASS OF 1941

70TH REUNION CLASS OF 1946

55TH

45TH

35TH REUNION CLASS OF 1981

30TH REUNION CLASS OF 1986

REUNION CLASS OF 1971

REUNION CLASS OF 1961

40TH REUNION CLASS OF 1976

20TH REUNION CLASS OF 1996

50TH REUNION

50TH REUNION CLASS OF 1966, with Jane Foley Fried.

50TH REUNION SPEECH

These Are the Girls

by Carol Krugman Maller ‘66

Let’s start with the full disclosure: The next few minutes are brought to you by the Class of 1966, represented today by the woman immortalized as one of two “Class Clowns” in the Yearbook. A Yearbook, I might add, whose cover was not navy blue, but rather navy blue, covered with white and yellow daisies—a first in the history of The Brearley School. That about sums up who we were. It was, after all, the Sixties, we were congenitally incorrigible and we rarely, if ever, did what was expected of us. If we weren’t blatantly rebellious, we were creatively subversive, enjoying every envelope-pushing moment. Whether it was tormenting a substitute teacher à la Peter Sellars in “The World of Henry Orient,” or cutting out of school early to stake out a screaming spot across from the Plaza Hotel entrance when the Beatles first arrived in New York, we were on it, all over it and totally into it—whatever “it” was.

I expect that everyone in this multigenerational audience knows who the Beatles were, even if only as historical figures. However, if you have no clue who Peter Sellars was, or how all of us who wore the Brearley uniform were represented in a box office flop called The World of Henry Orient, then get thee to Google. And while you’re in Google, look up “Beatles 4 Ever.” Yes, that’s us, holding up the handmade banner we had created during study hall earlier that day. Fortunately, when our shrieking countenances showed up on the front page of every local newspaper the next morning, we were not identifiable as Brearley Girls so the reputation of the School was not compromised. Had it been otherwise, one can only imagine the aftermath in the headmistress’ office the next day.

Given all the accomplished and articulate alumnae of the Class of 1966, you may be wondering how the former class clown made it through the rigorous selection pro-

cess to give this address. It was actually pretty easy—I volunteered first. Or maybe I was the only volunteer, but no matter. Any of us could be up here, because, really, how difficult can it be to encapsulate the experiences of 43 girls and the memories of the women they have become over the past 50 years—in 5 minutes? No problema! We nailed tougher assignments than that back in 6th grade. I was originally going to start out with a riff on the whole number 50 thing—you know, 50 Ways To Leave Your Locker, 50 Shades Of Grey Hair, etc., but my classmates deserve more than the facile and the obvious. Having said that, here is a short list of facile and obvious ways to identify a member of the Class of ‘66, five decades after graduation:

1) She can recite the Lord’s Prayer in both English and French, even if she is Jewish.

2) When Chariots of Fire came out in 1981, she not only got the reference, but also went to the movie just to hear “Jerusalem” again (and most likely sang along and cried).

3) When she walks into an elevator, she immediately goes to the rear, turns around and faces the door. She is incapable of making a sound and has to force herself not to shush anyone who dares to talk until the doors open again.

4) She knows that a declension is not something you do with your teeth when you are angry.

5) She knows what a posture picture is, still doesn’t get that whole thing and hopes that shredders had been invented by the 1970s.

6) When she hears “cheezits” and “martinis” she does not say gesundheit and offer an adult beverage.

A few weeks ago, I sent out a request to my

continued on page 32

“ There ain’t a thing that’s wrong with anyone here, That can’t be cured by a senior year, Of truth and toil at the cultural Brearley School.”

15TH REUNION CLASS OF 2001

5TH REUNION CLASS OF 2011

10TH REUNION CLASS OF 2006

h h h

CLASS WITH MOST ATTENDEES THIS YEAR WAS 1961 (OVER 25)

RSVPs TO REUNION EVENTS

FUN FACT:

MOST SENIOR ALUMNA IN ATTENDANCE

BEBE STETSON ‘39

HIGHEST ANNUAL FUND PARTICIPATION FOR A REUNION YEAR CLASS 1976 (WITH 64%)

h h h

25TH REUNION

25TH REUNION CLASS OF 1991, with Jane Foley Fried.

25TH REUNION SPEECH

Our Excellent Brearley Education

By Amy Finkelstein ‘91

It’s great to be back at Brearley. The last time I stood before you was on June 7, 1991, at our “Last Day Exercises”—even 25 years later I distinctly remember that we were not to call it “graduation.” As Senior Class president, I delivered one of the “Last Day” speeches. I remember being very anxious about that speech—as I recall it was supposed to be “meaningful” and funny. I wasn’t sure I was up to either, and I struggled a lot with draft after draft.

Expectations, I hoped, would be lower for a 25th reunion speech. Or at least that’s what I told myself when I signed up for the task. But when it came time to write it, I found myself remembering all the difficulties I had with my speech 25 years ago, and wondering why on earth I thought it would be so much easier this time around.

Of course, this time, I’m not nearly as busy as I was at 17. In the spring of 1991 life was hectic indeed—finishing up classes, learning to drive, trying to learn from my more worldly classmates about some of the things I might encounter for the first time in college… In fact, I suspect it would have greatly surprised me at the time if someone had told me that there was anything busier or more stressful than being 17.

Much about my subsequent life I think would have surprised my 17-year-old, New Yorker self. Certainly it never dawned on me that that driver’s license I was working to acquire would have uses other than as a form of ID. And I’m sure I would have been surprised—or perhaps puzzled is a better word—if someone were to have told me that I would be living in Massachusetts in a place called Brookline; I had heard of “Brookline” to be sure, but I always assumed it was just a pretentious way some people had of pronouncing “Brooklyn.”

But I don’t think I would have been sur-

prised to learn that, 25 years later, I hold many vivid, wonderful memories of my years at Brearley—of my classmates, of my teachers, and of our many years together. Still, at 17 I could not have fully appreciated the value of our Brearley education, or how grateful I would be for it, 25 years later.

The minute I got to college the benefits of our excellent Brearley education were already apparent: our teachers had taught us how to read, how to write, how to think analytically. But it was only much later that I realized the most important value of a Brearley education: we had been taught not just to confront challenges, but to embrace and enjoy them.

Many of my friends in college and graduate school had glided easily through high school. Not me. It wasn’t until I was struggling with my doctoral dissertation that I found anything as challenging as I had at Brearley. Our 6th grade assignment to make maps of Odysseus’ journey. Our 8th grade term paper on the Communist Manifesto. 9th grade geometry proofs with Ms. Conant. The senior essay on Paradise Lost. I have vivid memories not just of the work being incredibly difficult, but that it was clear it was supposed to be difficult. By definition, no matter what we did, the message we would get from the teachers was: you can make this better. The paper could be more concise, the argument more persuasive, the geometry proof more elegant. Here are some suggestions. Go try again. And the key point: this kind of feedback should be taken not as a discouragement but as a source of inspiration, a glimpse into a much greater potential than we had ever imagined.

I’m now a teacher myself. I’m an economics Professor at MIT where—yet another shudder from my 17-year-old self—I must admit my mascot is once again: the beaver.

continued on page 32

“ We had been taught not just to confront challenges, but to embrace and enjoy them.”

50TH REUNION SPEECH

continued from page 27

classmates for their best and worst memories of their time here at the Brearley. Many memories are similar, many are distinctive and all are still quite vivid. Most of the very best memories relate back not to events (although there were some doozies) but to people, especially our teachers—how much they taught us, the enthusiasm and passion they shared with us, unexpected acts of kindness and compassion, their commitment to preparing us for a life beyond 610 East 83rd Street. We all took things from our time here that have remained with us over the years. One classmate spoke for many when she responded, “I imagine you would agree that all of us who have/had professional careers had to reinvent ourselves many times over, and I know, in my case, the tools that I received from my Brearley education allowed me to do this multiple times.” Amen. I am chugging along in my 5th career at the moment, and I still wear my Brearley tool belt to work every day.

As we remember our teachers, we also remember our classmates, every one of them, because we were so few and so together for so long. On a celebratory occasion such as this one, it is sad to realize that, among those who could not make the trip to join us here today, are those whom we have lost permanently over the years: Nao-

mi Nicoll, Laurie Davison, Christina Legg, Janet Lovelock, Jan Oppenheim, Abby Bartlett, Janet Callender, Ruth Ganz, Julie Hopper and perhaps others not recorded by the Alumnae Office. They are very close in our hearts and thoughts today.

As for those of us who have been able to gather for this golden occasion, I am reminded of Ronald Reagan’s famous speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of D-Day. Especially moving was his acknowledgement of a group of grizzled veterans sitting in front of him, looking out over the Normandy beach. “These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc,” he said. We’re a lot less grizzled, and a lot better looking than that gang for sure, but I expect that we feel some of what those old guys must have been feeling at the time—nostalgia, amazement at how quickly time has passed, a bit of où sont les neiges d’antan, and most of all, delight at being together again to share stories and memories that only we can share. It is a special bond and this is a most precious time for us.

Class of 1966, please rise. Ladies and gentlemen, these are the girls of 610 East 83rd Street—then, now and forever.

To listen and sing along to the Senior Show of 1966, go to www.brearley.org/66show.

Brearley is Social!

25TH

REUNION SPEECH

continued from page 31

My research is on questions relating to how to best design government policy for the US health care system. Not an easy problem! And certainly not one where I have found any easy answers. Indeed, by definition, research is about trying to solve problems that are hard to solve. Because if the question is interesting and the solutions simple, someone would have figured it out already. So I spend my days struggling to make progress, getting stuck, trying to get unstuck, and often taking one step forward, two steps backward.

The single greatest challenge I have with my own students is how they handle these challenges, which are an integral and unavoidable component of research. For many, everything in school up until now has come easily for them. Being stuck, not knowing how to solve a problem, hearing that their first attempt isn’t good enough—these are often totally novel experiences for them. And this always reminds me of what I am most grateful for in my Brearley education: the deeply ingrained lesson not just that it’s “OK” if something is hard, but in fact that that’s the whole point: to find the outer limits of your current abilities and then to work hard and seek help to go even further. So if you’re not struggling, you’re missing the mark, and need to move the goal posts until you find where it gets really hard. I try to convince my students of this. I try really hard to impart this lesson to my young children. I hope I’m half as successful as my Brearley teachers were in making them believe it.

Like and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/brearleyschoolnyc), Twitter (@BrearleyNYC) and Instagram (@BrearleyNYC) for school updates, photos and more! Alumnae, stay connected with your classmates through the Brearley Alumnae Group: (facebook.com/groups/brearleyalumnae).

So in the end, of course, it was my Brearley education that enabled me to pull it together to stand up before my classmates and my school 25 years later. To banish the niggling worries of “what on earth do my classmates remember of my 17-year-old self that I wish they had forgotten” and “what on earth do I have to say to them about Life Beyond Brearley” and instead to say to myself: Come on. You’re a Brearley girl. You can do this. Give this speech your best shot and hey—if it really falls flat—Brearley, being Brearley, will give me some encouraging words, constructive criticism, and an assignment to come back and try a bit harder for our 50th reunion. I’m sure I can master this genre by then.

ONGOING

MAY–AUGUST

CAMPUS PROJECT

590 EAST 83RD STREET SCHOOLHOUSE TIMELINE

SEPTEMBER–DECEMBER

EARLY 2017

FALL 2019

Outreach and project updates to neighboring buildings

Environmental remediation prior to demolition

Demolition of 70–74 East End Avenue

Groundbreaking and start of construction

Anticipated opening and ribbon cutting for new building

Brearley looks forward to continuing to update our community on the progress of the campus project, a key component of the School’s Strategic Vision.

CONCEPTUAL RENDERING (DESIGN STILL IN PROCESS)

continued on next page

ALL RENDERINGS ARE CONCEPTUAL (DESIGN STILL IN PROCESS)

AUDITORIUM

SCIENCE LAB

LOWER SCHOOL CLASSROOM

GYMNASIUM

Lucinda Childs ‘58 in her studio on Broadway. Photo by Michael O’Neill

PIONEERS IN FOOD RECIPE

ALUMNAE INGREDIENTS

• Judith Bailey Jones ‘41, author and longtime Alfred A. Knopf editor, credited with introducing to the world Julia Child, M.F.K. Fisher and Madhur Jaffrey, among other culinary heavyweights.

• Laura Maioglio Blobel ‘50, owner of the oldest New York restaurant still in the same family, which has withstood the trials of time and, more than a century later, continues to thrive.

• Sara Moulton ‘70, who stars in a long-running cooking show on PBS and who just released title #4 in a string of best-selling cookbooks.

• Sabrina Sexton ‘88, a teacher at the Institute of Culinary Education who spreads her expertise and love of cooking to aspiring chefs.

• Leticia Young ‘95, who with her critically acclaimed restaurant in Harlem has played a key role in making the neighborhood one of the city’s hottest dining scenes today.

• Amelia Hall ‘03, an artist-turned-baker (who proudly brings her sourdough starter wherever she goes).

DIRECTIONS: Share with Janet Reich Elsbach ’85 their work experiences, lessons learned, wisdom acquired and advice they might offer to rising professionals, sprinkled with reflections of Brearley and its undiminishing influence on them.

YIELD: Six remarkable women making immeasurable contributions to the culinary landscape of America, and beyond.

SERVE: On the following pages.

Janet Reich Elsbach ‘85 is a writer and teacher living in the Berkshires.

—Jane Foley Fried

Editor, Alfred A. Knopf, 1957–2009

JUDITH JONES ’41

Above: Judith and Julia (Child), at Judith’s home in Vermont.

I think my own love of cooking was born when I was about nine years old and I had my first dog, a Scottie I called Sally MacGregor. I had been longing for a dog, but my parents made me wait until I was old enough to walk her alone on the New York City streets in winter and to feed her. In those days, supermarkets weren’t overflowing with canned and dried pet foods, let alone “treats,” so feeding an animal meant cooking. But it never seemed like a chore to me. I loved standing at the stove listening to the sizzling sound a few pieces of meat made as I fried them, and enjoying the good smell that rose up from the pan. I liked sharing some of what we were eating with a creature I treasured. It was my way of caring for her.

From Love Me, Feed Me: Sharing With Your Dog the Everyday Good Food You Cook and Enjoy

Judith Bailey Jones ’41 fell in love with language at Brearley: “I remember literally trembling with excitement the first time I read Gerard Manley Hopkins, and all the authors we studied were just as thrilling.” Also exciting were the detailed comments teachers took the time to make on her writing: “We worked so hard, all of us, but the thing was that you wanted to.”

After Brearley, Judith headed to Bennington, and from there made her way to Paris. “I wasn’t so much interested in food as it was just a part of me,” she says. She fell in love with the French attitude toward food, and then she fell in love with her husband, Evan Jones, and then, through their magazine collaboration, she began a career as an editor, starting out at Doubleday, where she plucked the Anne Frank manuscript from a slush pile and pushed it into publication. She moved on to Knopf, first editing translations of Camus and Sartre for an American audience, then ultimately applying her lifelong love of language to eminent authors like Langston Hughes, Elizabeth Bowen, Anne Tyler and William Maxwell.

In addition to keeping company with such authors throughout her more than 50 years in publishing—she edited all of John Updike’s books but his first—she’s perhaps best known for recognizing the merits of then-unknown Julia Child’s monumental Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which had been rejected by another house.

Judith went on to make household names of Child, Marcella Hazan, Madhur Jaffrey, M.F.K. Fisher, Edna Lewis and Marion Cunningham, among others. This collective effort to teach Americans to love eating transformed the grim, canned-mushroom state of affairs in America’s grocery stores into its present cornucopia.

While Judith undeniably turned herself into a formidable factor in the men’s club of publishing, she never saw herself as a pioneer or a champion of women’s equality: “What I want women to be is themselves,” she says. “There’s so much creativity that’s been suppressed over the years.”

Judith retired from Knopf in 2009 and, at 92, still divides her time between a New York City apartment and a home in Vermont. She has written several books of her own, including the engaging memoir, The Tenth Muse. She followed this with a book about fine cooking for one, after the death of her husband in 1996. Now she shares the joy of eating well with Mabon, the latest of her canine companions and the subject of her recent book, Love Me, Feed Me: Sharing With Your Dog The Everyday Food You Cook and Enjoy. “Cooking to feed another being—well, it’s more

than camaraderie, very much more than that.” With a fond glance toward the little white furball at her feet, she added with great tenderness and maybe a little regret, “though he doesn’t like things as spicy as I do.”

BOOKS BY JUDITH JONES

Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!, with Evan Jones*

The Book of Bread, with Evan Jones

The L.L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, with Angus Cameron

The Book of New New England Cookery, with Evan Jones

The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food*

The Pleasures of Cooking for One

Love Me, Feed Me: Sharing with Your Dog the Everyday Good Food You Cook and Enjoy*

*Available in the Brearley library

LAURA MAIOGLIO BLOBEL ‘50

Owner, Barbetta Restaurant

Laura Maioglio’s parents had no intention of leaving the family restaurant to her. “My father, a very gentle and intellectual person, said there was no way the business could satisfy my intellectual valences—just as it had not satisfied his, I imagine,” she says. That restaurant is Barbetta. At 110, it’s the oldest restaurant in New York still owned by its founding family. Laura, who has made an epic art history dissertation of her 56 years at the helm, wasn’t a defiant daughter and didn’t set out to prove him wrong. She once told her father that she preferred the Brearley cafeteria to the food at the restaurant, so at the time a great love of Italian cuisine was not the main motivation either. She just couldn’t bear to see the restaurant pass into the hands of a stranger. So in the spring of 1960, she went to see the man who had agreed to buy the business. “I did this outrageous thing,” she says, giving a clear impression that she is describing a personal anomaly. “I started to cry.” A month later, the contract was torn up, her father and mother left for the family’s summer home in Piemonte, Italy, and Laura had closed Barbetta’s doors in order to remake the establishment into something else entirely. “I wanted it to be as Piemontese as possible,” she says, referring to the region where her family originated. There followed a period of negotiating to purchase some period antiques, and arranging to faithfully reproduce others, until every detail from the chandeliers to the boiserie presented the correct picture. Authenticity of this kind has been the backbone of her stewardship of the landmark townhouses, purchased by her father from the Astor family, and of the cuisine. The restaurant is nearly synonymous with the white truffle, which in its early days on the menu boasted a supply chain that led from a farmer near the family home to a cousin of hers who knew a flight attendant whom he’d meet weekly (in season, of course) at Malpensa airport for the handoff. With Laura (who is married to Nobel prize-winning scientist Günter Blobel) in charge, the restaurant has garnered awards and distinctions by the armload. She acknowledges it has been hard work, but not because she is female. “I grew up thinking of myself as a person, not as a woman,” says Laura, who went on to Bryn Mawr from Brearley in homage to Millicent Carey McIntosh. “Mrs. McIntosh opened Brearley’s doors wider than the city’s ‘old guard,’ and that’s the only reason I was able to attend. We lived above the restaurant, and though class was never mentioned outright at my interviews at other schools, I do recall one admissions director looking down her nose to remark that my shoes were ‘certainly well-shined.’” At Brearley she found the education “a revelation,” which—along with the roast beef in the lunchroom—satisfied her truest hunger. Though her father fell ill and never saw the restaurant in its redone state, there’s little doubt that the life of the mind he wanted for his daughter is one she has found and nurtured in the space he created.

Photo by Mary Newman

SARA MOULTON ‘70

Author and Celebrity Chef

During a particularly occupied phase of Sara Moulton’s famously jam-packed career, she was the full-time executive chef at Gourmet magazine, had two kids at home, and was working a third gig as the host of a live, call-in cooking program on the Food Network. “And I mean truly LIVE,” she is careful to clarify. “Not ‘taped in front of a live audience’ live, but the kind where anyone at all could call up and ask anything.” Her day job left her a slim 15 minute margin to get to the studio from the magazine, but there was no question, thanks to Brearley, that she would show up anything other than totally prepared to take questions from left, right and center field about whatever the ingredient of the day happened to be. “I remember thinking, thank you, Brearley, for teaching me how to study or this would not even be possible.” Brearley also unleashed her on the world with a strong sense of how women could help each other. When Sara came to New York in 1981 to seek a chef’s position, she was armed with a letter of introduction from former employer Julia Child. Still she couldn’t land a job in a top-tier restaurant, where the chefs were all European men. Sara had been active in the establishment of the Boston Women’s Culinary Guild, and it quickly became clear that a similar entity supporting women in food was needed in New York. The call for interest in a New York Women’s Culinary Alliance led to a first meeting of 70 women at La Tulipe, the Greenwich Village gem where Sara had eventually landed a chef gig—in a kitchen run by a woman. Now in its 35th year, the NYWCA is a formidable network with close to 240 members and working broader agendas such as nutrition education throughout the city, but the central aim is still women helping other women succeed. Since that time, while cooking with one arm—her stint at La Tulipe led to the position she held for over 20 years at Gourmet—and changing the landscape for women in food with the other, Sara has maintained a consistent television presence on the Food Network, Good Morning America, and PBS (where Sara’s Weeknight Meals is currently in its fifth season), and written four top-selling cookbooks. The latest, Sara Moulton’s Home Cooking 101 (see page 20), traces right back to those core principles she picked up at Brearley. “Foundational techniques!” she says. “If you learn how to cook—how to keep your knife sharp and what it can do, how your stove works, how to balance flavors—then you can cook anything, any cuisine.”

Photo courtesy of Oxmoor House

SABRINA SEXTON ‘88

Director of Culinary Education, Institute of Culinary Education (ICE)

After realizing as a pre-med that the doctor’s life was not for her, Sabrina Sexton set out to find herself an active, hands-on kind of profession. She praised Brearley for giving students a sense of the limitlessness of the careers they could choose from, but even so, for her cohort, a career in food was an unusual choice. “I recently had a Brearley senior come through ICE doing an independent study,” says Sabrina, “but in my day, a career in food just wasn’t on the radar.” Brearley did prepare her for the idea that whatever she chose, it would have to be something demanding, and that she would have to be excellent. “I remember the most startling part about college wasn’t the boys, it was this idea that you could ask for an extension instead of just getting your work done. I thought, really? You can DO that?” She’s also conscious that Brearley is where she learned to be a teacher. “More than college or really anywhere else I’ve studied, I learned from Ms. Helman, Mme. Kostka, Ms. Leonard, Mr. Tokieda—all of them—that good teachers create a culture of expectation. Expect students to never be content with halfway, to always be reaching toward excellence. Model the kind of commitment and standards you expect them to demonstrate.” It’s that heady sense of being among strivers that has carried her upwards in her career. “Ever since I was there, every place I’ve gone, I’ve tried to surround myself with people who are at least as motivated as I am. If I had to point to my one ‘Brearley Thing,’ it would definitely be that.”

Photo courtesy of ICE

LETICIA “SKAI” YOUNG ‘95

Co-owner, LoLo’s Seafood Shack and CEO of Island Time Hospitality Group

Leticia Skai Young and her husband, chef Raymond Mohan, combined their Carribbean roots and long food histories to open LoLo’s Seafood Shack in Harlem in 2014. It’s the first step in a big plan. Recently recognized as one of “26 Wonder Women” changing the face of the fast-casual sector, Skai has been thinking a lot about being female in a male-dominated field. “It’s especially interesting being part of a husband and wife team—we each had separate successful careers, and we continually draw on that to bring out the best in each other, but often in public I’m perceived as ‘the wife behind the chef.’ I chuckle to myself. I know where I really stand.” She traces that immunity to outside judgment directly to her schooling. “It’s beyond ‘we didn’t have to compare ourselves to boys,’” she says. “At Brearley I learned to be a person who has to live up to my own standards, not to measure myself by other people’s. When women—when anyone—focuses like that, they tend to far exceed everyone’s expectations. Especially their own.”

Photo by Emon Hassan

AMELIA HALL ‘03

Bakery Sous Chef, Roberta’s

A chance meeting with a restaurant-owning friend launched Amelia Hall from an art background—she has a degree in Printmaking from Cooper Union— into the food world. Amelia, who’s landed a series of plum spots in hip kitchens around the city since, says this isn’t as much of a departure as it seems. “I really appreciate how there are always interesting things coming in to the kitchen, and there’s a constant opportunity to turn them around into something beautiful to offer people.” Amelia says cultural changes in the last decade have made that career more rewarding than it once was. “Traditionally, food was kind of a male-oriented pirate ship, and women were not welcomed, especially not in a creative role. But that’s shifted. Every kitchen I’ve worked in has had a huge female presence.” Aside from an art faculty that allowed her to spend countless hours in the still life set-up on the 7th floor (and the cafeteria’s “unholy” raspberry bars), Amelia cites one other supremely valuable facet of a Brearley education. “Algebra!” she exclaims. “You think you’ll never need it but I scale recipes every day, and consider myself lucky to have learned it so well.”

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD AT BREARLEY!

In May we asked alumnae on Facebook to recall their favorite food at Brearley. The response was overwhelming. Here is the breakdown—the number next to each item corresponds to how many votes it received.

HOT ROLLS (AKA JOEY’S, AKA ANTHONY’S)

CREAMED CHICKEN WITH RICE AND PEAS

RASPBERRY BARS

SHEPHERD’S PIE:

HONORABLE MENTION GOES TO LONDON BROIL, OREO CAKE, CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE, FRENCH BREAD PIZZA, CHICKEN CROQUETTES, VICHYSSOISE AND MAC & CHEESE

BIRTHS

1992 To HEATHER MULKERNS and Tom Benaway, a son, Myles Cyril Benaway1

1994 To NICOLE MACOTSIS-HEFNY and Ahmed Hefney, a daughter, Kenzi Athina Macotsis Hefny

To YULIYA JHANWAR and Edu Morales, a daughter, Viola Aanya Morales2

1995 To Ryan and INDIA LANDRIGAN BAYLEY, a daughter, Petra Peregrine Bayley3

To EMILY HYLE and Phillip Nelson, a daughter, Eleanor Thrace Nelson

To ANDREA KASSAR and Timothy McKenna, a daughter, Cecily Anna McKenna4

1997 To Brendan and JOANNA LACK LOWE, a daughter, Felicity Violet Lack Lowe

1998 To ANN KELLY and Javier Lezaun, a son, Imanol Kelly Lezaun

To William and LYN DEVON REARDON, a son, Jack Arbon Reardon5

1999 To IBIJOKE AKINOLA-MICHEL and Jean-Claude Michel, a daughter, Chloe Michel

To STEPHANIE FIELDING and Julian Merschen, a daughter, Sloane Fielding-Merschen

To JOSIE RODBERG and Pankti Sevak, a daughter, Anjali6

To Jeffrey and RACHEL SAFFIAN GOULD, a daughter, Sadie7

To SUSANNAH GELTMAN and Yuriy Prilutskiy, a son, Jakob Harold Aleksander Prilutskiy8

To LILY HAYES SALZBERG and Matt Salzberg, a daughter, Hazel Rose Salzberg9

2000 To SABRINA TAMRAZ, a daughter, Sierra Lily

To Timothy and DENA TWAIN SIMS, a daughter, Isabelle Jackson Sims10

2003 To MAGGIE GALLIN and Kevin Knox, a son, Theodor Erik Knox

2004 To Joseph and STEPHANIE ROSS FRANKEN, a son, Jacob Ross Franken

MARRIAGES

1979 ALLEGRA KLEIN to Ahmed Ali Yaseen Al-Shuwaili1

1994 KIMBERLY KAHN to Satadru Pramanik2

1998 REBECCA BIENSTOCK to Greg Daniels3

2000 MEREDITH JAMES to Jacques Vidal4

2008 JADE ALEXANDRIA JOHNSON to Alex George McCammon James5

IN MEMORIAM

1938 Margaret Spencer Hunter

Louise Bristol Ransom

Maria Kidder Rogers

1950 Eleanor Townsend

1954 Laura Rockefeller Chasin

1955 Melinda Parks Conrad-Cooke

1956 Suzanne Schell Pearce

Margaret Sheffield

1957 Catherine Grace Cahill

1958 Christine Dickson Hilger

1960 Constance Morrow Fulenwider

1964 Amy Linker Bonoff

Whitney Burnett MacLeod

1970 Theresa Perrone

1971 Hilary Stock

1984 Sophie Deprez Kry

1987 Elizabeth Leigh Greenman

WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR MILESTONES! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE YOUR PHOTOS, PLEASE BE SURE THEY ARE HIGH RESOLUTION. IF SENDING FROM AN IPHONE, CHOOSE “ACTUAL SIZE” WHEN PROMPTED.

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2016–2017 PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP

PRESIDENT Grace Offutt

VICE PRESIDENT/TREASURER Nancy Park

VICE PRESIDENT Kara Boultinghouse

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Lorena Lopes

CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

K Ellen Turchyn, Willa Fawer, Tina Bristol

I Aliza Waksal Pressman, Kashmala Sharif, John Lin

II May Kang Ho, Haynee Johnson

III Caroline King, Lindsay Higgins

IV Ultan Guilfoyle, Purva Patel-Tsai

V Cory Nangle, Natalie Ross

VI Monica Machado, Cindy Brauer

VII Athena Tapales, Wendy Leon

VIII Bethel Gottlieb, Hannah An, Maria Deknatel

IX Jessie Vanamee, Elizabeth Gormley

X Mona Baird, Elizabeth Callender

XI Margot Rubin, Kim O’Connor

XII Elizabeth Chandler, Elisabeth Cannell

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION Katie Brennan ‘92, TBD

BENEFIT Pam Selin, Rima Khalil

BOOK FESTIVAL Wandy Hoh, Marty Haessler, Kim Reece, Nandita Sodhi, Su-en Wong, Maria Gottdiener

BREARLEY ATHLETIC SPIRIT Nancy Gillman, Mona Baird, Daryl Gurian Stern

BREARLEY UNOFFICIAL Jennifer Lee, Margaret Lee

B+STEAM Andrea Fisher, Robert Massick, Jennifer Usdan McBride ’91

COMMUNITY LIFE AND DIVERSITY Sheila Hopkins, Shellae Versey, Anne Ross

COMMUNITY SERVICE LIAISON Deborah Brown, Jeannie Uyanik, Erin Galvin

E-NEWS FROM BREARLEY Ashley Garrett, Melissa Raso

FAMILY ACTIVITIES Michelle Jacoby, Whitney Mogavero

FESTIVAL OF CULTURES Jenny Lee, Denise Nassisi

GENERAL STORE Sheri Feigen, Maha Hayat, Ellen Masseur, Jill Worth

HOSPITALITY Melissa Roske, Jenny Carragher, Laura Forte

JOINT SCHOOLS ACTIVITIES Alex Fallon, Patricia Farman-Farmaian, Tina Vasan, Zoey Stein, Tiffany Trunko, Natasha Rafi-Riaz, Diya Sawhny Puri, Carrie Stegman, Claudia Rader, Kathryne Lyons

LIAISON TO PARENTS IN ACTION Eloise Donofrio

LIBRARY ASSISTANCE Dolly Geary, Deb Blanchard

LOST & FOUND Beth Strauss, Ashley Acharya

PHOTOGRAPHY Patricia Walker, Leyla Bader

SAFETY PATROL William Scherlag, Landon Wickham

SPEAKER SERIES Cassandra Berger, Laura Morgan-Moscahlades, Kim Shariff

UNIFORM EXCHANGE Kim Jennifer Cook, April Marshall Clausen

VALENTINE BREAKFAST AND FACULTY CELEBRATIONS Hallie Nath, Donna Fergang

WELCOMING Julie Gamboa, Alison von Rosenvinge, Sonia Deb, Jamie Kim-Ross

• Including Brearley in your will or trust

• Naming Brearley as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401K or other retirement plan

Join this generous group of supporters and become a member of the Samuel Brearley Society, honoring those who have included Brearley in their estate plans.

For sample estate language and further information, please contact Phoebe Geer, Assistant Director of Development, at (212) 570-8609 or pgeer@brearley.org.

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer day. —Lewis Carroll

Art by the Lower School.