Sundial Magazine Summer 2024

SUNDIAL

The Ethel Walker School Magazine

THE SUNDIAL

PUBLISHED BY

The Ethel Walker School

230 Bushy Hill Road

Simsbury, CT 06070

+1-860-408-4467 www.ethelwalker.org

Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School

EDITORIAL BOARD

Gretchen Orschiedt, Assistant Head for Advancement

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19, Director of Alumnae Relations and Major Giving

Isabelle Russell, Stewardship and Donor Relations Manager

Tavia Lee-Goldstein, Director of Communications and Marketing

CONTRIBUTORS

Liss Couch-Edwards, Elaine G. ’25, Tavia Lee-Goldstein, Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ’89, Makayla N. ’25, Marion Paterson P’17, ’19, Katharine O’Brien Rohn ’82, Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Milly Z. ’25

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ben Barker, Ashley Bonet, Coffee Pond, ConnectHer Film Festival, Paul Costello, Liss Couch-Edwards ’07, Bethany Davis, Marissa Forde P’28, Allie Harris ’13, Cecilia L. ’25, Tavia Lee-Goldstein, Tom Kates, Chris Lawhorn, Brendan O’Dwyer, Marion Paterson P’17, Katelyn Rodriguez, Richard Russell P’26, Spencer Sloan, Stephen Wang, Leila Wetmore ’82, P’18, Winslow Photography, Rita Xiang ’24

ADDRESS CLASS NOTES TO Director of Alumnae Relations

The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road Simsbury, CT 06070 Or submit via email to: alumnae@ethelwalker.org

DESIGN

John Johnson Art Direction & Design

We make every attempt to publish accurate information. If you notice an error, please let us know so that we can fix it. Thank you.

The Ethel Walker School admits students of any race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national and ethnic origin in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other schooladministered programs.

ON THE COVER:

A Zentangle portrait by Emma A. ‘27, from Walker’s Drawing and Painting class. Zentangle portraits consist of small squares, each filled with a different illustration or pattern.

Dear Walker’s Community,

Greetings from Simsbury, whose summer landscape, thanks to all of the rain this spring, has turned into an emerald wonderland!

This has been a stellar year on so many levels — student achievement, scholastically; artistically and athletically including equestrian; and excellent retention of a brilliant and committed faculty and staff.

Our students embodying the Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program ethos have shown themselves to be fearless as they become financially fluent (all juniors becoming IRS-certified tax preparers and real investors in the stock market, seniors beating the markets by 19% and juniors by 22% in the late spring); they are Red Crosscertified in swimming and First Aid/ CPR; and possess both digital and rhetorical fluency far exceeding their peers. They have won national awards for their writing, their painting, their photography, and their filmmaking, among other pursuits. As well, the college acceptances have demonstrated their embrace of education and the possibilities it affords, earning admission at a wide variety of celebrated institutions, including the Ivies, Stanford, University of California, Carnegie Mellon, Spelman, Olin College of Engineering, Bates, and the University of Michigan.

This year, we also witnessed the opening of a new “green” residence hall, characterized by a host of environmentally-aware features, including green roofs, solar panels, rainwater collection, triple-glazed windows, and more. And for those of you who graduated in recent memory, you will be delighted to know that the proverbial “New Dorm” has at last been renamed. It now proudly bears the name of “Lucy Jean House” in honor of two extraordinary alumnae, former trustee Lucy Rosenberry Jones ’59, P’80, GP’21 and current trustee Jean Moore Edwards ‘69, who have cherished our beloved school in countless ways. Our distinctive

naming is in keeping with the name of the Head of School’s house, Debby’s House, emphasizing the centering of girls and women in our community.

We are hard at work on Phase II of our Strategic Plan, tentatively titled “Leading Out: Girls, Education, and Possibilities.” Our word “education” derives from two Latin words: educare, meaning “to train, to nurture” and educere, meaning “to lead out, to draw forth.” In other words, a true education means both being steeped in accreted knowledge from the past, which we hope to imbue and instill in our students, and in helping our students move out into the world into new horizons, new worlds of exploration.

These pillars are Academic Excellence and Walker’s Signature Programs; Sustainability; both environmental and financial; and, finally, Campus Vibrancy, encompassing all the learning and development that takes place outside the classroom spaces, including the arts, riding, athletics, residential life, and clubs as well as the venues in which these activities and programs take place.”

– Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan

Hence, our Strategic Plan focuses on three central pillars that will allow our treasured school to realize better the twin aspirations implicit in the idea of education. These pillars are Academic Excellence and Walker’s Signature Programs; Sustainability, both environmental and financial; and, finally, Campus Vibrancy, encompassing all the learning and development that takes place outside the classroom spaces, including the arts, riding, athletics, residential life, and clubs as well as the venues in which these activities and programs take place.

We are getting ready to usher in some new projects, such as

Stan-X, our partnership with Stanford University School of Medicine’s Diabetes Research Lab. Two of our outstanding science faculty members are being trained over the summer, a classroom is being retrofitted, and starting in the fall, we will be offering a new course: Advanced Scientific Research in Molecular Genetics, in which students will learn about genomics, gene editing, and the creation of new fruit fly strains for scientific research. Future courses will allow students to delve more deeply and learn more advanced techniques, including CRISPR.

You can understand why I am so excited! Our students are poised

and equipped to take on many new challenges, both expected and contingent. We are proud of their intellectual, physical, and interpersonal accomplishments. In the words of our school meditation, “let us never be afraid to follow where the truth may lead us.”

The blossoming time has passed and the fruiting has begun. You alums have led the way and we follow proudly in your wake!

Cheers,

Ms. Vis, a.k.a. Dr. Meera Viswanathan Head of School

Walker’s Celebrates 112th Commencement Ceremony

Since its inaugural Commencement ceremony in 1913, The Ethel Walker School community has convened to bid farewell to its graduating class. With life lessons, heartfelt charges, and warm well wishes, this tradition has endured for over a century.

On June 2, 2024, the community gathered once again under clear skies, enjoying a gentle breeze and radiant sunshine, to celebrate this year’s graduates.

The ceremony began with Dr. Eric Widmer, known affectionately to the students at Walker’s as “Mr. Vis,” delivering the invocation. He quoted the words of poet and author John O’Donohue, “Though your destination is not yet clear/ You can trust the promise of this opening/ Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning/ That is at one with your life’s desire/ Awaken your spirit to adventure/ Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk/ Soon you will be home in a new rhythm/ For your soul senses the world that awaits you.”

President of the Student Body Averi Rodriguez ’24 reflected on the Class of 2024, noting, “High school is a time of transformative change, giving students the space and opportunity to flourish into the person they’ve always wanted to be, and we could not have done it alone.” She went on to share words from her classmates, revealing the deep love and appreciation they share for one another, their school, and the adults in their lives who helped get them to the Commencement stage. She concluded, “Walker’s has given us all something to miss: irreplaceable memories that will last a lifetime. Although graduation is a time to reflect on the memories we have had, we call it Commencement for a reason — serving as a reminder that, even though this chapter of our lives is coming to an end, a new opportunity is just around the corner. Walker’s is not our end, but rather it is the foundation

that will allow us to flourish wherever our futures may take us.”

The 2024 keynote speaker, Bozoma Saint John, a renowned marketing executive, entrepreneur, and author of the memoir The Urgent Life, addressed the class with a meditation on the proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” She reflected, “I can testify that I’ve seen many a person on my own journey who has tried to climb the heights alone because they believed they would reach the destination faster. And no, the lesson isn’t that they reached their goal and were lonely. The lesson is that going fast meant that they didn’t get a chance to savor the journey. The true joy is in

the climb.” She continued, “Now, some of you might have seen my memoir… called The Urgent Life, and so you may be wondering if it’s hypocritical of me to urge you not to go fast when I clearly believe in urgency. Well, I’ll clarify that urgent doesn’t always mean fast. I’d like you to consider that urgency is not determined by the length of time, but rather by intention. If you are intentional about your life choices, I believe you can go far faster.”

Ms. Saint John elaborated on this important distinction, encouraging the graduates to make a simple exercise a part of their practice. “Don’t ask for other people’s opinion about your life,” she instructed. “Instead, make it a habit

2024 Keynote Speaker Bozoma Saint John

to rather ask for information which can lead you to your own decision…if you ask for others’ opinions, they might give you advice based on what they believe is right for you. So I ask that, instead of asking for opinions, you get information that will condition you to make your own decision, therefore relying on your intuition to make the right call.” She concluded her remarks on this notion: “Your intuition is your superpower. It is what makes you unique in the world. My hope for you is that you go far, using your intuition to live your life with urgency.”

The next segment of the program featured the presentation of Commencement prizes. First, the

prestigious Ethel Walker Smith Medal, awarded to an adult member of the school community whose service and dedication exemplify the vision, tenacity, and commitment of our founder, Ethel Walker Smith herself, was presented to Archivist Kim Harris Thacker P’24, ’27. Following this, the Prize for Scholarship, recognizing the top student in the senior class who has undertaken a remarkably challenging course load and excelled in each class, was awarded to Rita Xiang ’24. Lastly, The Beatrice Hurlburt Memorial Prize, given to a student of outstanding character — defined by integrity, honor, and unselfishness and demonstrated through positive leadership either actively or by example

— was awarded to Averi Rodriguez ’24. Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan concluded the 2024 ceremony with final words of encouragement: “While today is certainly bittersweet, with both leave-takings and memories of golden hours passed, we are far from mourning.” She shared fond memories of the class and reminded them of the charge Dr. Suzanne Piela P’22, ’28 gave them at Baccalaureate the evening before — to be mindful about what they take with them from their school days into their next adventure in college and beyond. She concluded, “Class of 2024, bring your overflowing, multifaceted love as you did at Walker’s, and we know you will be prepared.”

One Step Forward: Rita Xiang ’24’s Award-Winning Journey in Documentary Filmmaking

In the heart of The Ethel Walker School, a quiet transformation brews — a transformation powered by the passion and drive of students like Rita Xiang ’24. This year, Rita captured the Judges’ Choice Grand Prize at the ConnectHer Film Festival in Austin, Texas with her compelling short-form documentary “One Step Forward.” This accolade represents a tremendous personal accomplishment, and also a cause for celebration across the Walker’s community. Rita’s work exemplifies the spirit of Walker’s: ambition, thoughtfulness, challenging norms, bridging divides, and relentlessly pursuing improvement of the world in which we live.

A Personal Journey of Cultural Connection and Advocacy

Rita’s story is not just about winning accolades; it is deeply rooted in her own background and a fierce desire to make an impact. Inspired by her Aunt Ade — not a biological aunt, but a treasured neighbor and a dedicated Tibetan doctor who left home to study medicine and later returned to her hometown to provide better healthcare for its residents — Rita’s film shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes transforming lives in her hometown of Chamdo in Tibet.

“[Ade] was one of my role models growing up because she fearlessly took the challenge to study in another city out of Tibet and then bring back what she learned to benefit my community. So, I feel like she is such an important person to me that I made her story a documentary to empower more people in my community.” Rita explained.

“One Step Forward” explores the challenges of accessing medical care

We can use film as a means of access. We want to inspire and empower other people.”

– Rita Xiang ’24

in rural Tibetan areas, focusing on the unique struggles women face. The film follows Ade’s journey from her hometown of Chamdo to Guangzhou for her education and back again, highlighting her efforts to bring modern medical practices to underserved areas.

“I wanted to come to the underresourced pastoral area every time I had the opportunity,” Ade tells us in the film. “The diagnostic capacity in rural places is not high and many patients, especially women and children, do not get accurate and timely diagnoses and are not covered. If they don’t get a referral, they are left untreated. It would be much better to get treatment early on.”

The Filmmaking Process: Overcoming Challenges

The making of “One Step Forward” was not without its challenges. Rita embarked on this project during her sophomore year, planning to capture the scenic beauty and the stark realities of life in rural Tibet. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and logistical challenges related to filming in remote, high-altitude locations posed significant hurdles.

“Tibet has a high altitude. I had to inhale oxygen from an oxygen cylinder because, on my first day, I was like, ‘let’s film the hardest part!’ We climbed a huge mountain to film the scenes of mountains and rivers. It was just so hard,”

Rita recounted. She was also faced with familiar challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ade’s medical practice understandably came first, and Rita was left to negotiate with both Ade around her patient schedule and the hospital around appropriate times to film onsite.

Still, Rita celebrates these and others who helped her along the way, down to the smallest details. Community members lent her props for scenes, agreed to be filmed in the background, and even made her breakfast. “I am really grateful for not only how they helped me through the process, but how they trusted me.”

Despite obstacles, Rita produced a professional-quality documentary using both high-tech equipment and simpler tools like her smartphone. This blend of technology allowed her to capture the intimate details of Ade’s daily life and the broader landscape of the community and its medical system.

Educational Growth and Community Support

Rita’s journey into filmmaking was largely self-motivated. She learned from her teachers at Walker’s, but also through online resources, and even from the shops where she rented camera equipment. Her ability to adapt and learn independently was crucial, but the bolstering she received from her educational community was equally important.

“I have loved these three years studying at Walker’s. I am the type of person who always scares myself before anything starts… but after my first week here, I made a lot of friends and realized just how big my backup team is. Teachers and friends support me so well,” Rita shared gratefully.

Impact at the Film Festival and Beyond

The ConnectHer Film Festival was the culminating experience for Rita and her film. It was not only a platform to showcase her documentary, but also an opportunity to engage with a community of filmmakers who are similarly passionate about social issues, particularly those affecting women.

“The whole theme of the ConnectHer Film Festival is what their name means: to ‘connect her.’ It’s not only a connection between filmmakers interested in gender studies, but also the connection between filmmakers and the audience. We can use film as a means of access. We want to inspire and empower other people,” Rita shared.

The festival also served as a validation of her efforts and the importance of the issues her film addressed. Winning the Judges’ Choice Grand Prize was a moment of joy for Rita. “When I won, I was a little surprised… I knew that they were interested in the culture that I portray in the film, so I am really grateful to them for that part. But at the same time, I do always have confidence in myself,” she reflected.

Looking to the Future: Education and Ambitions

Rita sees film as a medium to share what she wants to share with the world, but it’s not her only medium. “During the whole project of doing this documentary, I felt like my main focus was still using the documentary as a means to send out a message,” she said. “I’m more interested in the message I want to send and what in-depth research I’m conducting in those areas. I feel like I want to focus on what is behind a message instead of what I use to convey it.” Other media she has explored include children’s literature. For example, she has written a children’s book, which was illustrated by her Walker’s classmate, Jane Chen ’24. She looks forward to continuing to explore this process at Stanford University in the fall — and to staying connected to Walker’s as the newest member of our Alumnae Board.

Rita Xiang’s journey from ambitious student to award-winning filmmaker illustrates the power of curiosity and purpose. As she steps into a future filled with possibilities, Rita’s story encourages all of us at Walker’s to pursue our passions and work to make an impact.

Rita Xiang ’24 (third from left) at the ConnectHer Film Festival

Katie R. ’26 is Leading the Charge

At the intersection of groundbreaking innovation and a passion for change stands Katie R. ’26, a beacon of ingenuity and resolve at The Ethel Walker School. Years before joining Walker’s, as an elementary school student, Katie discovered a passion for the power that youthful innovation has to change the world, which has taken her all the way to a global stage. Her journey is not just one of personal achievement, but a testament to the power of supportive communities like Walker’s and the relentless pursuit of solutions to our world’s greatest challenges.

A Spark Ignited in Childhood

Katie’s journey into the world of invention began in a 3rd grade classroom where she first learned about the “Invention Convention.”

The Invention Convention is “a K-12 invention education program that teaches students problem-identification, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and creativity skills and builds confidence in invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship for life.” As Katie learned more about the program, her innate curiosity met its first inspiration: helping her grandmother with the newly-challenging task of filling her pets’ bowls after a hip replacement.

Katie’s first entry to the Invention Convention was called the Freedom Feeder. It was a simple yet effective device engineered to ease her grandmother’s newfound challenge. The Freedom Feeder utilized a long tube to bring food from a standing height to a pet’s bowl. This invention laid the foundation for her path in innovation and problem-solving. “That really kickstarted my passion, my love for inventing,” Katie said about her younger days. This invention earned her a prize in her school’s local competition and a place as a Connecticut state finalist.

Evolving Innovations

With each passing year, Katie’s projects grew in complexity and impact. Her next invention was the Power Sole, a selfheating shoe insert powered by piezo elements — which create currents when force is applied. The Power Sole was an invention that addressed the needs of the wider world. Katie envisioned the invention warming the shoes of first responders, military personnel, and crossing guards, among others. It also was the invention that brought her to the national stage. It won not only her local competition, but also made her a state champion.

“I think that is really what made everything click for me,” Katie reflected,

“I was like, ‘Wow, this is something that I really want to do. And I will do.’ I love inventing. I love making new solutions to problems. [The Power Sole] got me to nationals, which was at the Henry Ford Museum, and that was an amazing experience. I got to speak with so many amazing kids and like-minded individuals. I loved it.”

However, it was her next invention, the Power Purifier, that marked the pinnacle of her young career, thus far, as an inventor. This device, designed to convert noise pollution into usable green energy, showcased her matured understanding of sustainable technology and her vision for its application in global challenges. “I used a lot of the technology I used in my Power Sole invention, like the piezo elements that act as a transducer… I used those in my Power Purifier. It just all came together and I thought, ‘this is what I like to do.’ I did a lot of research. This was a very research-heavy project.”

The Power Purifier represented yet another evolution in Katie’s progress as an inventor. Her technical expertise was growing, but so too was her vision for serving communities globally.

She envisions the device being used in remote areas, where traditional power sources are scarce, to harness environmental noise and turn it into electricity to power communities. She shares, “My main goal is to put it next to waterfalls in villages that don’t have access to power and energy. That can really make a real difference. I feel like energy power should be a basic right.”

With this latest invention, Katie was also determined to win! Like her last invention, the Power Purifier won the local and state Invention Convention competitions. This time, in addition to a chance to compete at nationals, it won her the Raytheon Technology “Technology of Tomorrow” award, a “Best in Show” award, a college scholarship, and a chance to

Early concept prototype for the final working Power Purifier from which Katie based her final working device — now a patent pending device.

I feel like this technology can really help shape the world, and I want to make it accessible to as many people as possible.”

– Katie R. ’26

compete at the Invention Convention’s inaugural global competition. This was the accomplishment that changed everything. “It just felt so empowering to know that, ‘wow, I can do this.’ It made me feel more confident in my invention, and it made me really believe that this is possible to achieve; this is not just something you see in the news. I can do it and it’s attainable.”

Due to complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global competition was held virtually and did not crown a winner. Still, it was a tremendous opportunity: “I got to meet and chat with kids from around the globe, which was very cool,” Katie shared before humbly adding, “I was the first student in America to get to make it to globals.”

The most exciting part of this story, however, might be yet to come. The Power Purifier won Katie a patent application. The patent is still in litigation, which Katie is hopeful will be

resolved by the end of this summer. True to form, Katie sees the excitement of the patent in its ability to help the world. “If [the patent] does go through, I really want to license this technology to impoverished nations. I’m not going to try to go and sell it and use it for personal gain. I feel like this technology can really help shape the world, and I want to make it accessible to as many people as possible.”

The Role of Community and Education

As Katie continues to grow, she is supported by an ecosystem of encouragement at Walker’s. From teachers who provide support to peers who share her enthusiasm for change, the community around her has been crucial. “I like how tight-knit the community is and the support that the teachers can give you,” Katie explained. Her passion isn’t limited to the sciences.

A lover of the arts and political science, Katie has also interned for United States Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, diving into political research and social media strategies. This blend of artistic, scientific, and political interests has shaped a well-rounded student poised to change the world.

Envisioning the Future

As Katie looks ahead, her aspirations are as interdisciplinary as her talents. While she continues to pursue engineering and invention, her ultimate goal lies in politics. “I have wanted to be a politician my whole life, and that’s definitely the course that I’m still on. I do want to incorporate [my innovations] and further delve into my passion for engineering and inventing. I feel like as of right now, politics is always in my heart,” she says, contemplating her future. Katie plans to spend her remaining time at Walker’s deepening her political knowledge, her debate skills, and preparing for a future where she can bring about change on a larger scale.

A Beacon of Change

Katie’s story is more than a series of successful inventions; it’s one about the power of supportive environments, the impact of hopeful innovation, and the potential of technology to address global issues. As she looks toward her remaining years at Walker’s and beyond, Katie carries with her not just a pending patent, but optimism for the future: “I see there are all of these problems… it’s up to [the younger generation] to fix the world that was left for us. And yes, that is unfair, and you can be mad about it… but I just think critically about it. I just think: I want to be a part of the change.”

The Ethel Walker School Visiting Writer Seminar, now in its eighth year, is a semester-long course in which students have the rare opportunity to immerse themselves in a study of one writer’s works. Throughout the semester, students read a critical mass of texts by that writer, developing a deep and abiding knowledge of the writer’s style, form, and ideas. The course culminates with a visit by the author to Walker’s. Through master classes, writing workshops, and readings to the community, students are invited to ask the questions that only the author can answer. At the end of each semester, students in the Visiting Writer Seminar collaborate on a final project in which they conceptualize, lay out, design, and publish a class anthology of works inspired by the works of the visiting writer. This program is an example of the impact of our donors’ Annual Fund gifts in action.

The Power of Pen: Walker’s Visiting Writer Seminar

Fall Visiting Writer Ibi Zoboi

Written by Elaine G. ’25 and Milly Z. ’25

The New York Times bestselling author of National Book Award finalist American Street Ibi Zoboi visited The Ethel Walker School in November 2023 and worked with the Visiting Writer Seminar students. Throughout her visit, she taught and inspired the Walker’s community to “create dangerously.” Furthermore, she shared her story with poetry and taught students to find their creative outlets. Most of her literary works involved themes of identity and culture, coming from her experiences as a Haitian immigrant.

Ibi Zoboi was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and immigrated to the United States with her mother. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, she developed her appreciation for storytelling and literature, eventually leading her to pursue a career as a writer. Most of her works are based on teens, making them relatable

and engaging for Walker’s students. During Zoboi’s reading, students were deeply drawn to her alluring words about her work in progress as she expanded on her idea on female rage, teaching us that “writing is like acting.” Students in the Visiting Writer Seminar ended the amazing night by leading a discussion with Zoboi and asking her insightful questions.

Zoboi is also the author of Pride, a contemporary remix of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and middle-grade debut My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich. She is the editor of Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America. She coauthored the Walter Award and L.A. Times Book Prize-winning novel-in-verse Punching the Air with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. Her debut picture book, The People Remember, received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. Her most recent books include Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler, Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel, and Nigeria Jones.

Spring Visiting Writer

Carmen Giménez

Written by Makayla N. ’25

Publisher, translator, poet, and editor Carmen Giménez is a first-generation American born in New York and the author of six collections of poetry. She was named as one of Poetry Society of America’s New American Poets in 2009, won the Juniper Prize for Poetry, and received the Academy of American Poets Fellowship award in 2020. Giménez’s writing achievements extend to receiving an American Book Award for her memoir Bring Down the Little Birds: On Mothering, Art, Work, and Everything Else, and her poetry collections Milk and Filth and Be Recorder were finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award and National Book Award, respectively.

introduced to the students engaged everyone and sparked their creativity.

While visiting The Ethel Walker School in March 2024, Giménez engaged with the students of the Visiting Writer Seminar and shared valuable and motivational writing techniques. She explained that using a text manipulator — in which the words are messily structured and grammatically challenged — is one of the key ways that she discovers new trains of thought for poetry. The students in the seminar class were able to explore this entertaining and stimulating way of writing, which resulted in creating exciting starts to poems in a matter of minutes. On another occasion, Giménez introduced students to the concept of ordinary odes, or poems that praised ordinary items, such as socks. Odes in general are usually directed to important people, military members, and famous individuals. However, the concept that Giménez

Carmen Giménez’s stay at Walker’s included a radiant and illuminating evening of poetry reading. Giménez opened with a poem from her fairy tale-inspired collection Goodbye, Flicker and continued with poems about her daughter, her mother, and her mother’s illness. During the evening, she read new poems that focus on health issues like cancer, and her own version of Grey’s Anatomy, which sparked an enthusiasm in the younger audience. Giménez also shared with the audience a poem about the echoes between Latin and Hindu soap operas.

Her vibrant voice, variations of intonation, and unusual pauses gave everyone in the audience a profound experience, and underscored the differences between the written and the spoken word. The poetic masterpieces that Giménez read were a fusion of poetry and autobiography, mosaics of various feelings, and collages of mixed subjects. It was a feast for the hungry souls and minds of young Walker’s poets.

Through master classes, writing workshops, and readings to the community, students are invited to ask the questions that only the author can answer.

Snapshots Moments @ Walker’s

This page, clockwise from top left: 6th grade students visit the New England Aquarium; 10th grade students tour Trinity College; Dr. Edwards’ Investment Seminar; The Investment Club spends a day learning about finance careers in New York City; Hard at work on a Habitat for Humanity project in Texas

This page, clockwise from top left: Fun times at the Ba-Na-Na; 7th grade students bond at their retreat; Students share a moment during Thanksgiving Vespers Chapel; Dr. Mitchell with her Honors Electricity Lab students; Forensic Science Lacuna project; Students enjoy a snowy day; Students, faculty, and families celebrate Lunar New Year

This page, clockwise from top left: A weekend activity making blacklight spatter art; Students and faculty perform at the Old Girl Show; Middle School students work on collage art; Dancers perform in the Winter Dance Concert; Members of Walker’s yoga co-curricular; Walker’s alumnae gather in Palm Beach; Actors perform in the winter play Once in a Lifetime

This page, clockwise from top left: Walker’s softball at the mound; Walker’s tennis at a match; Walker’s equestrians at IEA Nationals; Walker’s swimmers bring home a trophy; Walker’s fans "gray out" the gym for a big basketball game against Miss Porter’s; Walker’s Equestrian Team brings home fourth place at Nationals; Fans storm the field before a playoff soccer game

The Inaugural Walker’s Cup

On a cool April day that saw morning rain give way to afternoon sunshine, The Ethel Walker School began a new chapter in its proud equestrian history — the Inaugural Walker’s Cup. Spearheaded by Assistant Director of Riding and Senior Trainer Ken Whelihan, the event, held at the Lorinda Payson de Roulet ’47, P’70 Show Ring, has quickly become a favorite memory of this year in athletics.

Ken Whelihan, in his debut year at Walker’s, wasted no time in leaving his mark on the School’s accomplished riding program. His proposal for the Walker’s Cup — a modified Nations Cup format involving six teams from various schools, each comprising four horserider combinations — was designed not only to challenge the riders, but also enhance their competitive spirit in a team-oriented environment.

“The course is very challenging,” Ken explained. “The worst score on the team is dropped in each round, so that builds suspense. It’s exciting for people to watch.”

The competition format is a departure from other traditional equestrian events that often focus on style and presentation. In the Nations Cup format, riders are judged objectively based on faults and time. This method offers a rigorous assessment akin to what riders might experience on international teams. “It really exposes the riders to what they’ll see if they get on to an international

team. There is something very different about [this format of] riding as a part of a team,” Ken noted.

The inaugural event turned out to be a festive day of friendly yet fierce competition. Teams from different schools brought their best to the ring, but it was Walker’s own team that triumphed, taking home the gold medal. Individual honors went to

Ainsley D. ’26, Alexandra P. ’27, and Julia Slade ’24, whose outstanding performances were pivotal in clinching the top prizes for their team.

As the sun set on the first Walker’s Cup, the groundwork was laid for what promises to be an annual highlight of Walker’s athletic calendar. The team is already looking forward to next year.

Creating Voice and Meaning: A Conversation Among Three Generations of Walker’s Women

Dr. Frances “Fran” Arnold ’69, Amy Y. ’25, and Nisha

Mungroo-Inga ’04

On Saturday, May 4, 2024, our Reunion Chapel speaker, Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ’89, asked us to consider, “What breaks your heart? For whatever breaks your heart, shapes your purpose.”* Later that day, three women — two alumnae and one current student — from different generations, backgrounds, locations, and experiences met to view a student art exhibit and to engage in a conversation about trauma, healing, catharsis, and ultimately purpose in women’s lives. Where The Ethel Walker School is a common denominator, the conversation between an artist who has found her voice, a victims’ rights lawyer, and a psychologist becomes deep, dynamic, and illuminating.

As a small child, current Walker’s student Amy Y. ‘25 was hesitant to speak in front of others; she gravitated towards art as a safe form of expression and was eager to explore other opportunities to follow her ideas and interests in a way that would challenge her and foster more growth on her life journey. She found such an opportunity at Walker’s, and the courage to follow her dreams halfway around the world. It did not take Amy long to immerse herself in new opportunities at Walker’s, where she found that both students and adults supported and encouraged her ideas in a school where everyone bolsters each other towards success. She is Co-Head of Justice League, Co-Head of the Asian Student Collective, CoHead of the Cicerone Society, a Student Advancement Ambassador, a varsity athlete in tennis and squash, and has been elected to the Big 7 for her senior year. Last summer, she attended Yale University’s highly selective Young Global Scholars program, participating in the Politics, Economics, and Law session. This summer, she is part of the Pioneer Research Program through Oberlin College, conducting research for an auto-ethnography project titled “Community, Diversity, and Inequality: Intimate studies of everyday social life.”

“A Tale of Coexistence,“ by Amy Y. ’25

Amy has immersed herself in what she’s passionate about, and has emerged as a leader in the Walker’s community, using her voice every day to engage with others and to get others to engage. The progression of Amy’s academic pursuits is a reflection of her journey from a general interest in studying law to a more sociologicallyinformed interest in pursuing international human rights law. The more she studies the people in the world around her, the more she wants to help people access what she defines as freedom: “the ability to have human rights and financial security, but in a broader sense, the freedom of thought and opportunity.”

*Read the full text of Dr. Minard’s Reunion Chapel speech on page 31.

Amy has maintained a strong focus on creative expression through art. She recently finished her AP Art course with a solo exhibition in the Letitia McClure Potter ’55, P’85 Gallery titled “Blossoming Flowers,” in which she explored themes of trauma, wounds, and healing for women’s minds and bodies through the lens of nature. It was here that she met with two Walker’s alumnae, a lawyer and a psychologist, to discuss some of the wider themes embraced in her art. In her artist statement, Amy says:

“What is the connection between women and nature? We often perceive nature as having magnificent power in creating life and embodying beauty,

Healing requires going back to the wound; you don’t have to stay there, but you have to put it to rest and take away the power it holds over you.” – Nisha Mungroo-Inga ’04

which indeed draws much attention to its ‘motherly’ role. With this concept, nature is admired for its breathtaking majesty (imagine yourself standing in front of a century-old tree). However, nature is not always glorious — it is covered with wounds, just like mothers and every female. The plant textures hiding from our eyes indicate its age and the ignored life history. Similarly, as women, we undergo many external and internal pains that are rarely acknowledged, but that shape us into who we are today.”

Over two decades earlier, Nisha Mungroo-Inga ‘04 made a much shorter physical journey to campus — from Hartford, Connecticut — but her psychological journey was a long one. A first-generation West Indian American, with parents from Trinidad and Guyana, Nisha arrived at school with a fierce determination to find opportunity and understand her own voice. At Walker’s, she established healthy emotional connections with peers and adults for the first time. Looking back, she acknowledges that this was the first place she could see examples of stability and possibility, and she began to dream. Her sister at home was responding to trauma by shutting down and turning within herself; Nisha was responding by reaching out and becoming, in her words, “an overachiever.” Academic success led her to become the first in her nuclear family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, followed by a juris doctor from the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover. She embarked upon a career path that she felt would bring her financial stability and the freedom to pursue a life very different from her upbringing.

Instability from her childhood re-emerged while she was in college, and a traumatic family event distracted her from being completely focused on

her degree. She says, “I didn’t get into the top-tier law school I wanted. I failed the bar twice. I am not ashamed of any of this. My spirituality is about standing in your truth, and this is mine.” Nisha’s early legal career was a journey seeking her true professional home. After she passed the bar, she had a solo practice, was a contractor in personal injury cases, and was a divorce lawyer. While the work was lucrative, she found that it was not satisfying: “Pushing heartbroken people for a paycheck? I’m a person who needs to connect, and you can’t connect when you’re practicing law as a business. There is a boundary that comes with money.” Freedom, it turns out, was going to come not through economic means alone, but through meaningful, creative, and healing work. She is now the Program Director and Supervising Attorney of The Victim Rights Center of Connecticut, providing free legal representation to victims of sexual assault. “I make a low salary,” says Nisha, “but it’s OK. The real power, I’ve found, is when we allow ourselves to be humans doing the work.”

Leading a team of attorneys at a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to victims of sexual assault, Nisha has learned that fulfillment can come through navigating personal trauma and finding the creative freedom to help others conquer their own trauma. With the loss of her sister in 2018, Nisha recognized the importance of facing wounds head-on in order to heal them, rather than merely covering them up: “Healing requires going back to the wound; you don’t have to stay there, but you have to put it to rest and take away the power it holds over you.”

A powerful part of her healing has been to reconnect with Walker’s. Following her sister’s death, Nisha came back to campus for the first time since 2004 to walk the grounds, describing Walker’s as her “safe, happy place.”

Her first time back inside the School and with classmates was for her 20th reunion. For two decades, these women (her classmates) were so important to Nisha in her mind, but she never felt ready to come back and see them in person. Returning now and talking publicly about her life has been a major milestone in her healing journey.

While on campus for Reunion, Nisha was able to meet Amy, along with fellow reunion alumna Dr. Frances “Fran” Arnold ’69, a clinical psychologist, a psychoanalyst, and a faculty member at McLean Hospital and the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. With years of clinical and academic experience in female development and trauma, Fran was drawn to this dynamic dialogue across the three generations of Walker’s women. The conversation focused on the role of creativity in working with loss, mourning, and trauma. Fran shared that where there is trauma, there is usually also a sense of loss, and some mourning has to take place. Creating something that matches the importance of what is lost is part of the healing. She described the term apres coup, meaning “after the blow,” which recognizes the fact that we don’t always know what to make of trauma at the time it happens, but over time we can make meaning and process it differently than in the moment. For Nisha, her sister’s death “sparked a life in me, and the most beautiful part is that I got to have a very different life.” Both Amy’s art and Nisha’s legal work are creative outlets that benefit others while also serving as tools for processing their own lives.

The three women also discussed the idea of “moral injury,” in which someone suffers psychological damage “done to one’s conscience or moral compass.” Fran shared that “adolescent girls often experience a moral crisis when their sense of what’s “right” collides with larger social expectations or hypocrisies. Amy knew something was “not right” for her in her previous

school, and was able to hold onto this knowledge and risk change. Her artwork is magnificent and communicates her authenticity and emotional presence regarding her experience. In Nisha’s situation, she describes loss and trauma, but ultimately turns moral injury into a personal errand: “social justice activism in the larger world,” precisely the sort of legal path to which Amy is also drawn.

Fran recognizes her professional work with others as part of her own ongoing self-evaluation. When she was a child, she found that reading fiction was a way of helping to make sense of her adult world. Later, psychology became a way of understanding human motivation and the unconscious processes that interfere with people becoming whom they wish to be.

“Healing is a process,“ Fran said. She views her profession as a continual process of growth and learning for her patients and also for herself. The ability to dream of a future, and to be able to make choices about that future, is critical. Nisha concurred, “my dream is to be able to raise more children and work for the healing of others, but my grandmother’s dream was simply to be able to read.”

Imagining the future for themselves and others led the conversation to the topic of freedom and its meaning. Amy questioned, “Why don’t some people try to self-heal and find freedom?”

Fran offered that such freedom can sometimes be prevented when trauma, loss, and grief cannot be processed, and defined one meaning of the word as freedom from a life where you unconsciously repeat self-destructive behavior. Nisha feels that freedom must take into account a person’s worldview. “Like an onion,” she said, “freedom has many layers.” She is drawn to the indigenous view that we are all born free, but we take freedoms from each other.

Both Nisha and Fran were fascinated by Amy’s piece, “Newborn Stretch,” in which the perfect skin of a newborn is contrasted with the stretch marks of the mother, and yet the two are inextricably intertwined. Fran said “the body can be the site of what is silenced.” From Nisha’s professional perspective, as women, “our bodies still aren’t ours — society is still making the rules about them. Some victims of sexual assault don’t even know they are victims because the ways it is defined are not always clear.” There is no end point to healing; meaning-making happens over a lifetime. Fran likens this process to artists’ retrospective exhibitions, in which we can bear witness to evolving styles, media, and themes during the course of their lives and careers. Even in this early exhibit, Amy has beautifully captured the variety of ways in which nature and women’s bodies can reflect

psychological issues. Similarly, Nisha is able to recognize the transformational journey she is on to heal herself through the work she does for others and the family she is building.

Trauma and beauty can go hand in hand down a path of freedom and creativity. As Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ‘89 said, heartbreak informs purpose “because when our hearts are breaking, we are forced to be fully alive. Our minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits are fully activated.” She went on to add that, “we open our hearts, even when they are broken, to hold suffering and joy simultaneously.” Our individual lives and issues as women find community when we can recognize, address, and grow from our wounds, celebrating the bonds of our collective experience.

Helping themselves and others to make sense of these complex issues lies at the very heart of what drives these remarkable Walker’s women.

Editor's Note: Some of Nisha’s quotes are from the article: White, A. (2021, October 12). The Real Power, Nisha Mungroo isn’t here for the paycheck. Connecticut Super Lawyers Magazine. You can read more at the included QR code.

“Newborn Stretch“ by Amy Y. ’25

“Rebloom“ by Amy Y. ’25

Sally Skinner Hart ’44 celebrates her 80th reunion in the Class Parade

The newest members of the Alumnae Community, the Class of 2024, at the Class Parade

Back to Where it All Began: The Ethel Walker School 2024 Reunion

Walker’s 2024 Reunion Weekend celebrating classes ending in 4 and 9 gathered alumnae on campus to reconnect.

Reunion 2024 commenced on Friday afternoon with a TEDxEthel Walker Women talk, which set the tone for the intellectually-rich events to follow. Alumnae Mally Cox-Chapman ‘69, Catherine Terry Taylor ‘79, and Nisha Mungroo-Inga ‘04 joined current students Izzy H. ‘25, Rita Xiang ‘24, and Amy Y. ‘25, sharing fascinating tales of their accomplishments beyond campus and reflecting on the shared Walker’s values that got them there.1 The day continued with the Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Reception, where we were proud to celebrate the extraordinary athletic achievements of this year’s inductees: Margaret Prizer Kenny ‘63, Jane

Hadden Geisse ‘72, Monique Lucas Conroy ‘79, and Kelly Tran ‘07. Next, Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan led a master class titled Bad Girls: Demons, Witches, Temptresses, and Blue Stockings — Stories of Female Resistance where she reflected on the question, “Why is it that the most interesting female characters in literature are the putative bad ones — the ones who will not conform, who resist societal pressures, and who prize their own agency?” The first day concluded with a Women of Color Conversation between students and alumnae, a food truck dinner, and the Golden Hours 50th Reunion Dinner for the Class of 1974.

Reunion Banquet Dinner

Reunion Tri-Chairs Elena Miller Shoch '59, Alex Alcoff '94, P'27, and Katherine Hypolite-MacMannis '04

Alumnae enjoy the food truck dinner

Saturday’s full day of programming began with breakfast and an LGBTQ+ student and alumnae gathering. Next, the always-vibrant class parade showcased the unique spirit of each class and led directly into Reunion Chapel. This year’s Chapel featured an inspiring reflection by Reunion Chapel Speaker Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ‘89. Dr. Minard — an Adjunct Professor in International and Public Affairs and Brandmeyer Fellow for Impact and Sustainable Investing at Columbia University, the Associate Director of the Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Public Square at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and the Founder and CEO of Manarine LLC — addressed the crowd on the power of looking to the human heart to address issues both personal and global.2 Betsy West Sneath ‘74 spoke on behalf of the 50th reunion class, bringing the whole audience to laughter and tears throughout her reflection on her time at Walker’s. Their words and the entire Chapel program resonated deeply, reminding all those in attendance of the enduring values and friendships formed at the School, a fitting setting in which to officially induct the senior class into the Alumnae Association.

Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan led the afternoon’s programming with her State of the School address, providing insights into

current initiatives and future plans for the School alike. This was followed by a Master Class on Walker’s History with Archivist Kim Harris Thacker P’24, ‘27, exploring the rich tapestry of our shared past. Early evening activities began with the Alumnae Ride, Pickleball Tournament, a Meet and Greet with Walker’s art students, and a Cocktail Reception and Kentucky Derby Viewing Party. The evening culminated in a banquet dinner, followed by the music and camaraderie of the annual Ba-Na-Na Dance Party and Piano Bar.

The final day of the weekend offered a serene Equestrian Walk and Talk, a presentation from Walker’s current Community Partnership student

leaders, and the opportunity for alumnae to participate in a Community Partnership with Unified Arts themselves. Attendees also had the opportunity to cheer on current student athletes at their home lacrosse games — concluding the weekend with spirit and pride.

A special thanks to the 2024 National Reunion Tri-Chairs Elena Miller Shoch ‘59, Alex Alcoff ‘94, P’27, and Katherine Hypolite-MacMannis ‘04 for their leadership in creating an unforgettable weekend!3

1You can read more about some of these stories on page 22.

2 You can read Dr. Minard’s remarks in their entirety on page 31.

The Alumnae Ride

Members of the Class of 2014 pose with Director of College Counseling Clarissa Basch P’15

Warm greetings at the Golden Hours Reception and Dinner for the Class of 1974, hosted by Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan

3 Scan the QR code at right to watch videos and view photos from the weekend.

The Walker’s Athletics Hall of Fame Committee and its newest inductees

Alumnae and students engage at the Meet and Greet with Walker’s Art Students

Announcing the official naming of Lucy Jean House in honor of Jean Moore Edwards ’69 and Lucy Rosenberry Jones ’59, P’80, GP ’21

The Class of 2004 poses with the Sundial Bowl

Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan delivers the State of the School Address

Reunion Awards

MARGOT TREMAN ROSE ’80 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNAE AWARD

The Margot Treman Rose 1980 Distinguished Alumnae Award is The Ethel Walker School’s highest honor. It is presented to graduates of the School who best exemplify Margot Rose’s attributes, ensuring that her work, dedication, and influence will be remembered now and always. When awarded, it honors alumnae who, by their devotion and talent, elevate the work of their profession, influence their community, or give extraordinary service to their School.

Many congratulations to our 2024 recipients:

Jean Moore Edwards ‘69 and Lucy Rosenberry Jones ‘59, P ‘80, GP ‘21

SUNDIAL BOWL

Awarded each year to the class with the largest percentage of classmates registered for Reunion Weekend.

Hooray Sunray to the Class of 2004!

LONG DISTANCE AWARD

Presented each year to the attendee who, based on their address, lives farthest away from Simsbury, Connecticut. This year’s recipient was Martha Scott Mouer ‘69 who traveled 4,977 miles from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii!

THE ELIZABETH NASH MUENCH ’55 TRAY

Awarded annually to the Reunion Class(es) that have achieved the highest level of participation in the Annual Fund for Walker’s by Reunion Weekend.

Hooray Sunray to the Class of 1969!

THE CLASS OF 1944 BOWL

Established in 1994 and awarded to the Reunion Class(es) that raises a gift to the Annual Fund for Walker’s between $50,000 and $74,999.

This bowl will be awarded after publication.

THE TERESE TREMAN WILLIAMS ’55 BOWL

Established in 2000 in recognition of Terese Treman Williams’ remarkable, generous, and dedicated achievements on behalf of Walker’s, the bowl is awarded to the Reunion Class that raises a gift to the Annual Fund for Walker’s between $75,000 and $99,999. This bowl will be awarded after publication.

THE GATES FAMILY BOWL

Established in 2002 by Sarah Gates Colley ’75, Trustee Emerita, in honor of her parents, John and Christine Gates, and her family’s longstanding relationship with The Ethel Walker School, the bowl is awarded to the Reunion Class that raises a gift of $100,000 or more.

Congratulations and thank you to the Class of 1969!

Members of the Class of 1969 pose with the Gates Family Bowl and The Elizabeth Nash Muench ’55 Tray

What Breaks Your Heart and Shapes Your Purpose

Reunion Chapel Speaker Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ’89

Good morning students, fellow alumnae, and friends. It’s an honor to be speaking to you all from this sacred perch in the Chapel, which holds many warm memories. Before I begin, I would like to honor the life of my dear Walker’s singing buddy Colleen Aimee Cecile Szabo ‘89, who recently passed on. Colleen was always full of life, joy, and a selfless love, the kind that can be easily taken for granted. She was smart, a fiercely loyal and caring friend, and her laughter was infectious. She raised her siblings while as a day student at Walker’s, working several jobs, and became a young mother. Her beautiful voice, strong spirit, and warm heart will be remembered by all who knew her. I dedicate these remarks to her.

Heartbreak moves us to the point of needing to do something.”

As a professor and consultant for the past 20 years, I have worked with students and clients on how to find their purpose and mission, from how to design more impactful businesses, investment funds, and social innovations, to how to create effective teams and make investment policy decisions. Before engaging in any design work or teaching social impact, I start by asking them what questions move them, especially for students, or what global issues keep them up at night. I need to understand what personally matters most to them, and why. I need to know their story. The truth is, these are big questions for all of us, and some have never asked them or don’t feel ready to answer them — and some don’t feel anything at all. When in doubt, I tend to share the advice of Rainer Maria Rilke, and instead of looking for answers, simply live the question. But that advice doesn’t always resonate. Most people need more tangible roadmaps.

– Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ’89

to be fully alive, our minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits are fully activated. As French philosopher Simone Weil said, “What happens, happens to our bodies.” Heartbreak moves us to the point of needing to do something about it, because it’s an unsustainable condition. Sometimes, we decide to take action to change the situation, but often we can’t, especially when it involves another person. Knowing when we can and cannot change our situation can often be the very purpose of the journey itself.

The question I want to share with you today, which I find most helpful these days in discerning what matters most to us is this: what breaks your heart? For whatever breaks your heart, shapes your purpose. I believe this is because when our hearts are breaking, we are forced

Our Dean at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, where I currently teach, recently sent an email with the first line, “I am heartbroken by recent events on our campus.” It’s a shockingly intimate admission for a senior leader. What makes events heartbreaking, and what can, and should, we do about it, especially in those instances when we cannot change the situation? There are as many answers to this question as there are individuals on campus; but, one thing is certainly universal: our human hearts are powerful, complex things that respond to both beauty and tragedy in ways we cannot fully understand, and we can feel heartbroken about things, and simultaneously elated about other things, that we have never seen, experienced, or even imagined.

In her Tanner Lecture on Human Values at Yale in

1998, titled On Beauty and Being Just, Elaine Scarry talks about how we wish there to be beauty even when our own self-interest is not served by it. In alignment with moral philosopher Adam Smith’s definition of self-interest, Scarry argues that people seem to intuit that their own self-interest is served by distant people having the benefit of beauty. It is, she explains, “why people get so upset about the disappearance of kelp forests they had never even heard of until the moment they were informed of the loss.”1 Her work on beauty and justice, like Smith’s emphasis on “other-regarding behavior” in Theory of Moral Sentiments illustrates how our hearts are, to quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

In all cases of heartbreak, we humans have no choice but to accept the state of our hearts, decide how best to tend to it, and then work to locate strategies, some already within us and some outside, that will provide restoration. In the raw aliveness of broken-heartedness, we often find truth beyond our sadness, and we start to question our motivations for striving: to belong, to be accepted, to be loved by the world. We begin to reclaim and reprioritize what matters most to us. Heartbreak forces us to slow down and look inside. As a mindfulness meditation instructor, I see how the heart process leads to mindful contemplation, and the space that opens, as a result, in our minds and hearts allows us to examine the quality of our hearts more honestly. This, in turn, shapes our actions to be more rooted in compassion, for ourselves and for others. The fact is, in the United States, the need for contemplation, connection, and compassion has become a question of survival.

another and toward a manufactured reality”.3

This personalized-but-never-personal online environment is leading to dangerous and damaging behaviors for youth, especially girls. Motivated by the fear of not being seen, the need to have constant attention leads to anxiety, depression, and violence, for the self and others. Fears of not being enough or not having enough are easily deepened by any type of economic or social insecurity. We see this especially among working-class middle-age white men in the U.S., who are more susceptible to being recruited by extremists and more likely to commit suicide than any other population group in the country4. These statistics affect all of us, tangled as we are in the web of mutuality.

We are living in a time when distraction leads to domination, and it has made people more distant, even hostile, to the tender virtues of care, connection, compassion, and kindness. With the ubiquitous presence of social media in a post-modern capitalist understanding of time as money, we have allowed our attention to be monetized, as Matthew Crawford writes in The World Beyond Your Head, and “if you want yours back, you’re going to have to pay for it.”5

What breaks your heart? For whatever breaks your heart, shapes your purpose.”

– Dr. C. Sara L. Minard ’89

The U.S. Surgeon General’s recently published report reveals the devastating news that never in American history have we been more lonely, isolated, or depressed, increasing the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges, and lacking connection, increasing the risk for premature death, fundamentally affecting our overall mental, physical, and societal health.”2 Enter the digital age, and while the top 1% own 52% of all income and the poorest half just 8.5%, and inequality the highest it’s ever been, further confirming as myth the idea of American meritocracy, we search for refuge in the attentiongetting technologies that “direct us away from one

Attention, Simone Weil said, is the rarest and purest form of generosity. Attention derives its meaning from the French word, attendre, meaning “to wait.”

Personally, I am always so thankful for the generosity of family and friends who know how to wait, because I learned a very important lesson as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal: Your time is not the only time, and there are things you cannot see or understand that shapes the meaning of time for other people. I am grateful when people wait for me, whether it’s when I am late to a restaurant (which happens more than I like to admit), waiting for a flock of ducks to cross a busy city street, or waiting to express gratitude before breaking bread. When we turn our attention to pausing, waiting, resting, and finding quiet in the noisy world around us, really listening, we relinquish our striving and obsession with needing to know and control what is next. We sense that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, and the humility of this fact brings a profound sense of peace and freedom.

This is how social scientist Dacher Keltner describes the experience of awe in his wonderful book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life; it’s the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current

understanding of the world. What is challenging about this is when we have a broken heart, all that we can focus on is ourselves, and for good cause! We cannot heal or be a restful place for others when we are not working on healing ourselves.

One strategy on how to both experience the freedom of awe and stay present in the aliveness of heartbreak comes from Buddhism: it is the practice of equanimity, which means balance. It’s the balance that is born of wisdom, recognizing there is pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disrepute always happening simultaneously. It’s just in the very nature of things.

Equanimity endows compassion with courage because it’s not easy to come face to face with suffering without looking the other way, without trying to repackage it, or call it something else and not just crumble in a ball and feel overwhelmed. That kind of stability — that upliftment — comes from equanimity. We see what we can do and what we can’t do. We remember how much we don’t know, and we open our hearts, even when they are broken, to hold suffering and joy simultaneously.

And not just for ourselves, but for every being we encounter, or what is called sympathetic joy. Equanimity in a mindfulness practice is helpful in that it challenges binaries. Rev. John Thatamanil of Union Theological Seminary in New York City explains, “We say to ourselves, if I need to think more clearly, then I need to feel less.” It is precisely this binary thinking about how the body and brain work that has misguided human societies for centuries, given a false sense of security in deferring to falsely rational market forces, and justifying corporal acts of violence. Buddhist poet Steven Nightingale writes: “Science is thought by some to be dry, technical, and quantitative. It is not. Study is exaltation. Fact is miracle. Number is portal. Understanding is joy. Poetry and spirituality are thought by some to be abstract, ethereal, private. They are not. Nature is language. Mind is sensual. Soul is earth.”

When we practice equanimity and mindful contemplation, rooted in the heart, we cultivate our ability to serve as a place of rest for others, which is what the world desperately needs. We listen without needing to control the outcome. We let time and space be defined — first, by how best to love someone and

tend to their needs, how to respond without needing to “fix” them, accepting them as they are. Father Richard Rohr describes contemplation as a kind of seeing that is much more than mere looking, because it also includes recognizing and thus appreciating. The contemplative mind does not tell us what to see, but teaches us how to see what we behold. We are moved, from contemplation, to ask more questions, like the one asked by African American social justice activist, scholar, and public theologian Ruby Sales, “Tell me, friend, where does it hurt?”

I’ll leave you with some words of the late Barry Lopez, the ardent steward of the land, fearless traveler, and unrivaled observer of nature and culture. This is an excerpt from his book Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World 6:

“It is a good idea to love each other and to love the Earth. It is the only way we can make children. It is the only way we can have a place to abide. And by those two things perpetuate ourselves. No one knows what human destiny is, but surely it must be our hope that it is something good, that it is striving toward what we call God. And we know that it is love and all that love contains — passion, awe, allegiance, ecstasy, respect, selflessness — that carries us in that direction. To love is to discover and rediscover life, to encourage and protect it, to marvel at it and serve it.”

Blessings to you all. Thank you.

1 Scarry, Elaine “On Beauty and Being Just” Yale University, March 25 and 26, 1998, p. 123

2 “New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm about the Devastating Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States”, www.hhs.gov; accessed May 2023: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/03/new-surgeon-generaladvisory-raises-alarm-about- devastating-impact-epidemic-lonelinessisolation-united-states.html

3Matthew Crawford (2015) “The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction” New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 10

4Graham, Carol, The Power of Hope: How the Science of Well-Being Can Save Us from Despair, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023)

5 Crawford, p. 12

6Lopez, B. Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World, p. 30

Dr. Minard posing with her classmates following Reunion Chapel

KATHARINE O’BRIEN ROHN ’82 CHAIR

Conservation and Education Nonprofit Leader

EMMA SIMON ’89 VICE CHAIR

Managing Director, Marketing, Virtus Investment

THOMAS REGAN P’13 TREASURER Partner, Brown Rudnick LLP

MICHAELYNN WARE P’28, ‘29 SECRETARY

Head of BEWS Legal Affairs, Ericsson

ALEXANDRA BADGER AIRTH ’83 Director, Mars Foundation Board

MARGOT CAMPBELL BOGERT ’60

Trustee Emerita

Board of Trustees, The Frick Collection and World Scout Committee

ELIZABETH ROCKWELL CESARE

Trustee Emerita

Former Head, King Low Heywood Thomas School

MARY LOU COBB

Cobb Education Consulting, LLC

SARAH GATES COLLEY ’75 Trustee Emerita Retired, Goldman Sachs

Dear Alumnae and Friends,

DR. ELEANOR DAUGHERTY P’26

Vice President for Student Affairs, Georgetown University

MARGARET G. DAVIS P’26

Owner, Sienna Mountain Ranch

HARRIET BLEES DEWEY ’60, P’86, GP’21

Trustee Emerita

Educator and Philanthropist

LEANDER ALTIFOIS DOLPHIN ’95, P’24

Managing Partner, Shipman & Goodwin, LLP

JEAN MOORE EDWARDS ’69 Owner, Moore Ranch Vineyards

XIMENA ELETA DE SIERRA ’83

President, Board of Directors, Fundación Gramo Danse; Founder and Co-Director, PRISMA

CHARLES HIRSCHLER

Managing Member, CHMBR Partners LLC

TOAN C. HUYNH ’93

Partner, Baylane Capital; Independent Director, Sunlight Financial, Flagstar Bank, and Bankers Financial Group

SARAH JOHNSON ’78, P’10

Managing Partner, NY Carbon

BARBARA THOMAS KENNEDY '69 Manager, Standard Enterprises, Inc.

As we turn the page on another school year and on this issue of The Sundial, I am filled with immense pride and joy. You may notice that each student and alumnae profile in this issue celebrates the remarkable power of women and girls bolstering one another, a force that has been fundamental to our growing Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program and the spirit of our community.

These stories epitomize our commitment to fostering a culture where students and alumnae uplift one another, overcoming challenges together. Through collaboration and mutual support, Walker’s women strengthen each other, both within and beyond the walls of Beaver Brook.

As we look excitedly to the next school year, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to those who are concluding their service on the Board of Trustees. Christopher L. Brigham, Kevin Chessen P’17, Charlotte Weidlein Lenzner ’05, and Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85, your dedication and hard work have

CYNTHIA KIRKLAND KELLOGG ’60

Conservationist, Nonprofit Leader, and Philanthropist

DR. SHELLEY MARKS ’81 Surgeon, Palo Alto Medical Foundation

ANN O’HARA P’21, ’23 President, Huhtamaki North America

LETITIA MCCLURE POTTER ’55, P’85 Trustee Emerita

ALVARO RODRIGUEZ P’24

Director, Enterprise Project Management Office, OhioHealth

BETH STRAPP P’18, ’21

Senior Vice President, Berkeley Healthcare Financial Lines

KELLY LEE TANG P’27

Chief Data Scientist, Bendable Labs

JAMIAH TAPPIN ’00 Director, Health Resources in Action

CYNTHIA T. VEGA ‘82 Managing Partner, C.T. Vega & Asociados, SRL Ex-Officio, Alumnae Board Co-Chair

DR. MEERA VISWANATHAN Ex Officio Head of School

TERESA C. YOUNGER

CEO and President, Ms. Foundation for Women

been invaluable, and your contributions will have a lasting impact on our school’s legacy. At the same time, I am thrilled to welcome the new members joining our board. Charles Hirschler, Sarah Johnson ’78, P’10, and Cynthia T. Vega ‘82, your fresh perspectives and enthusiasm will undoubtedly propel us forward as we continue to nurture the next generation of our School’s progress.

Thank you all for being part of this extraordinary community. Your continued support and engagement are what make all of our achievements possible.

Warmly,

Katharine “Kit” O’Brien Rohn ’82 Chair, Board of Trustees

CHARLES HIRSCHLER

Managing Member, CHMBR Partners LLC

Greenwich, CT

Charles earned a B.A. in economics from Harvard College and an MBA from Columbia University, and participated in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative in 2021-2022. He is the Managing Member of CHMBR Partners LLC, an early-stage investor, and Associate in Bioengineering at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Charles has significant business and nonprofit board experience domestically and internationally, and a passion for physiology, health, and athletic performance optimization. In the 1970s and 1980s, he developed physiology expertise using the first real-time computers, hardware, and software Olympic athletes use to train and monitor their fitness. This work propelled Charles into investing in and advising information technology, active lifestyle, health-, bio-, and med-tech companies. He is a competitive skier and rower who has developed and tested skiing and rowing equipment, athletic footwear, wearable technology, and training programs. He lives in Cambridge, New York, and Connecticut, and is the husband of Walker’s alumna and former trustee, Ruth Streeter ‘72.

SARAH JOHNSON ’78, P’10

Managing Partner, NY Carbon Palm Beach, FL

Sarah earned a B.S. in biology from Saint Lawrence University and is currently Managing Partner at NY Carbon, the largest biochar producer in the Hudson Valley. She has over 40 years of work experience in finance and digital entertainment, as well as fundraising and leadership in the nonprofit sector. Sarah was formerly a portfolio manager of the Franklin Income Fund, then Co-CEO and Co-Founder of the New York-based firm Green Hummingbird Entertainment. She has been involved in the film industry as both a producer and an investor, is a member of the Producers Guild of America, and has won both Emmy and Oscar awards for her work. She currently sits on the boards of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Sustainable Nantucket, and Woodstock Film Festival, and is an Emeritus board member at St. Lawrence University. At Walker’s, Sarah has previously been a member of the Board of Trustees, is the parent of a graduate of the Class of 2010, and was awarded the 2007 Margot Rose ’80 Distinguished Alumnae Award.

CYNTHIA T. VEGA ‘82

Managing Partner, C.T. Vega & Asociados, SRL

Santo Domingo, DR Ex-Officio, Alumnae Board Co-Chair

Cynthia earned a B.A. in psychology from Wellesley College and an MBA with a concentration in International Finance and Business from the University of California, Berkeley. She is Managing Partner at C.T. Vega & Asociados, a boutique investment banking firm, as well as a board member at Grupo Popular Dominicano, Banco Popular Dominicano, and various other organizations. Prior to returning to the Dominican Republic, she worked for JP Morgan Chase’s Investment Banking division in New York and was a member of Dominicans on Wall Street. Cynthia has previously been Vice President of the Stock Exchange in the Dominican Republic. Her mother, her sisters, and multiple cousins also attended Walker’s.

1947

Ruth Cummings Mead

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1948

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Lee Mills Petty writes, “The Class of 1948 must be getting very small now. I’m 94, legally blind, and living in a lovely community that takes good care of me. My dearest friend from Walker’s is my classmate, Alexandra “Sandy” Potts Pool, who lives in Florida. We are in regular touch; we see each other every summer as we have for 60 or 70 years. I am blessed every day by her friendship, which started at Walker’s. My body at 94 is not at its best, but my mind still seems to be active. I wasn’t ever a good student, but Sandy was one of the outstanding students. I think Walker’s has evolved into a very good educational school with an outstanding head

of school. A lovely story that wouldn’t have happened without Walker’s: My classmate Barbara Crosby de Loes had a daughter who married my son because of their mutual godmother — another Walker’s classmate Mary Kane Blair Hayes+, who introduced them! I have many happy memories involving my Walker’s friends. Sending best wishes!”

1950

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Edith “Nancy” Read Lamb writes, “At 92, I am still married to George Lamb (95) and living in our own home in Wilton, Connecticut. All three married children and their families live within 30 minutes of us and we have watched all five grandchildren grow up to become wonderful adults. Four are college graduates and the youngest one is in her sophomore year. Emma Grimes, our oldest granddaughter, went to Walker’s and graduated in 2012. We have had an interesting and exciting life with focus on family. Have been able to include the children and then some of the grandchildren on many trips across our country and to the Galapagos.

Although old age isn’t much fun, our younger generations are helping us survive. What a joy!”

1951

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Leonor Lobo de Gonzalez sent news:

“I spent three glorious fall terms auditing courses at my alma mater, Harvard, from 2014–2018. Rented an apartment at the Radcliffe Institute in the Radcliffe Yard and felt all of 18 again. I took courses on Chinese philosophy, opera, Shakespeare, and one extraordinary course on poetry from the great, late (she died recently) poetry critic, Helen Vendler. Last May, I was in Spain (Jerez de la Frontera, where my husband was from) for a birthday party given by a daughter to her 101-year-old mother. Quite an event — you can be sure that barrels of Gonzalez sherry were consumed! Other than

Leonor Lobo de Gonzalez ’51 on her way to Helen Vendler’s lecture at Harvard, and in front of her father’s office building with her son, Boris, in Havana, Cuba

Two generations of Walker’s alumnae: Ruth Cummings Mead ’47 and Lorinda “Linda” Payson de Roulet ’47, P’70 at lunch in Florida with Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70

that, I am involved in a writing group called “Scribblers,” which keeps me pretty busy. My son, Boris, lives near me, is well, and very busy with his charming boutique hotel, The Caribbean Court. We often travel together, including a devastatingly sad trip to Cuba in 2016. Last but not least, I celebrated my 91st birthday this past January. So, yes, I am still breathing!”

Rachael Jenkins Sherrill writes that she is still living on her own in a condo in Damariscotta, Maine. “Life at 90 is a bit slower, but I’m right in town so I can walk to restaurants, shops, etc. I’m still volunteering for the hospital, playing bridge, doing a lot of reading, and enjoying family visits.”

1952

Carol Grady Andrews

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1953

Susan “Susie” Kleinhans Gilbertson

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Roberta “Bobbie” Gerstell Bennett says, “I’ve lived in the same house for 54 years and am still loving it. I work hard on the garden which was created by my husband, who was an architect and landscape architect. Our one child, Laura, is a graduate of Princeton and now a director of an outstanding old masters art gallery in New York. She travels to Amsterdam, London, and Paris once a year for the large art sales and enjoys knowing people from Europe.”

Susan “Susie” Kleinhans Gilbertson writes, “I had a lovely time with Clarissa “Chris” Yantiss Downey in January — we felt like schoolmates all over again! Time vanishes! I also saw Jeannie Ballentine Riegel — never long enough of a visit though! Her daughters are wonderful. Nice bunch of younger Walker’s girls who get together a lot in Palm Beach, Florida understand, and that’s a good thing! See a lot of Nancy “Missy” Kitchell Lickle ’53’s+ sister Renée, who’s become a good friend, so I also see her daughter Ashley Lickle O’Neil ’78 who’s

great. I missed seeing Dr. Meera Viswanathan in Florida this year when I couldn’t attend the event.”

Louise “Rusty” Hodgman Huff writes, “I was included in a Minnesota visit of Dr. Meera Viswanathan and Gretchen Orschiedt from the School. We met at The Landings Hotel in Wayzata for breakfast. I am so thrilled with Walker’s and the progress over the years. Our girls are women able to multitask. My experience as a 1953 graduate set the tone for the rest of my life. Not only did I learn, but I made lifelong friends. Thank you to my parents and Walker’s. Go Suns!”

1954

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1955

Letitia “Tisha” McClure Potter

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Jenny Stewart Chandler says hello to all, is playing duplicate bridge as a favorite pastime, and has traded in her golf clubs for a croquet mallet!

Bettina “Tina” O’Neil Lyons writes, “So many years have gone by, but I remember Walker’s fondly, with mostly good times and a great education. I love seeing how the School has changed, a very different school from our cloistered, isolated life. We were all boarders, forming close friendships. I have lived in Tucson, Arizona ever since. I graduated from the University of Arizona, married a native Tucsonan (Dan), and raised three great sons. I now have four grandsons and one granddaughter, all graduated from college and out in the world earning a living. One grandson married last year and now I have a great-grandson. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by most of my family and to get to watch a baby boy grow up. I am a widow now, an unwanted phase of life, but I keep busy playing golf, doing yoga, walking, reading, and enjoying a ladies’ group. I spent a day with Alice Cooley Trachtenberg last fall. She joined me for a day on board my Hudson River cruise.”

Elizabeth “Liz” Nash Muench says, “In late April, I attended a lovely memorial tribute to our classmate, Susan Salant Wierdsma+, at Spring Island, South Carolina, where she had been living for many years. She had made many, many friends there through her love of tennis and later, at the bridge table, where her prowess really showed. I envied her steel-trapped mind. I shall attend the graduation of my grandson, Forest Nash Gill, in early June from Watkinson School in West Hartford, Connecticut. He will go to Tufts University this fall. Tom and I continue to travel between South Carolina and Vermont spending six winter months in South Carolina

Clarissa Potter ’85, Alex Potter, Letitia “Tisha” McClure Potter ’55, P’85, James Potter

and the summer and fall in North Hero on Lake Champlain. All continues well and I am happy to report I am able to visit with dear classmate Terry Treman Williams with whom we have wonderful chats about our time at Walker’s. My son, Chas Gill, lives a full life in Bowdoinham, Maine, where he and his wife have a successful CBD business. Their children are my pride and pleasure.”

1956

Adrianne Massie Hill

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Aileen “Missy” Turnbull Geddes writes, “April has been a big month for our family. We have just returned from our granddaughter’s wedding in Florida, and we welcomed our first great-grandchild into the family (Nora Aileen Geddes) on April 9. We feel so lucky to be able to experience all these happy events.”

1957

Jean “Jinny” Tilt Sammis

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Jean “Jinny” Tilt

Sammis says, “Hello, Class of 1957! Hope all is well with everyone. Class-wise, I’ve only seen Kenny King Howe and her husband, Nat, who are moving into a new apartment in Greenwich, Connecticut. I’ve seen Tisha McClure Potter ’55 recently, who looks as lovely as ever. Of course, I see my sister, Priscilla Tilt Pochna ’59 often, as she is in New York City and loves it there. Our Randolph, Vermont life is winding down. Brunswick School bought our Three Stallion Inn and 600 acres of the Green Mountain Stock Farm a few years ago, and now, sad to say, our wonderful

home is for sale. Greenwich is beautiful at this time of year. Sam and I are fine. I’ve had cataract surgery in both eyes this winter, which is marvelous. Hear good things about Walker’s.”

1958

Barbara “Barbie” Welles Bartlett

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1959

Elena Miller Shoch

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

After the reunion, I was thrilled to be in New York for a few short days — I had not been there since 2018! While in the city, I had a wonderful visit with Lynn Sheppard Manger, who reports: “My wonderful husband of almost 60 years (three-quarters of my life), Bill Manger, died peacefully in his sleep at home on February 28, 2024, at 103 years old. My children and grandchildren have been very supportive as we all help each other at this time. Luckily for me, they are all nearby. And there is some good news in all the sadness: my granddaughter, Samantha, is getting married in September and her sister Caroline, who married in 2022, is having a baby boy any minute now (he arrived safely since Lynn wrote this). I will soon be a great-grandmother!”

I have seen Anne Dobbin Bailliere in San Francisco several times during her holiday visits to her two daughters who both live in the area. We have enjoyed lunches with longtime San Francisco resident Michele du Pont Goss. Anne continues to enjoy living in her Baltimore family home, and was going to be very busy with grandchildren and their graduations from Colorado to Maine this summer. Michele and Anne also see each other during summer visits to Fishers Island.

Martyn Smith Belmont moved into a retirement community in Pasadena this spring. After a bad fall two years ago that fractured her jaw and injured her back, she was forced to give up a lifetime of tennis and energetic activity. Martyn has retired from real estate, the Garden Club (she was a past president) and her community boards for a more sedentary life, and continues to enjoy bridge with friends and on the computer.

Ann Middleton Buckley still lives in Lake Forest, Illinois but has recently moved to a condominium on Lake Michigan with her longtime partner. She was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, but has a good oncologist and is doing well.

Nancy Rathborne writes, “Last spring, I had spinal laminectomy for pesky sciatic stenosis pain, left me walking only with a walker so followed by October cervical laminectomy... I am still on a walker. I am determined to walk independently through PT and a trainer! Thankfully, in the year before the surgeries, I was able to take my son and grandkids on an extraordinary Safari in Tanzania. Sadly, my son is now in hospice. Otherwise, I’m just fine and wishing all my classmates health and happiness!”

Greetings, classmates! It has been much too long since I have asked for news from you. I hope that these short notes may inspire you to be in touch with me for future issues of Take Note. I was happy to be able to attend our 65th reunion in May, and glad that Margaret “Meg” Lindsay and Priscilla “Penny” Reynolds Roosevelt were also able to attend. Penny and her husband Kermit still spend half the year in Princeton, New Jersey, and from May to December, go to their Nantucket home. Meg and her husband Gary have just moved to the superb retirement community of Fox Hill in Westwood, Massachusetts. Meg continues to paint and write poetry; she has been published and has shown in several galleries quite successfully.

My own news is bittersweet: I was very proud to have my Pasadena garden accepted for inclusion in the Smithsonian Archives of American Gardens — a significant honor. After 27 years of GCA, I have just gone associate. I continue to be the Pasadena Representative (Ambassador) for the Garden Conservancy and organize and run annual garden Open Days tours. I have been the Pasadena Representative for 18 years and I am hoping to finally find a successor. In 2019, my dear husband Jamie Shoch was diagnosed

Abigail Trafford ’57 has recently published her newest book, High Time, a memoir.

with Parkinson’s disease and a blood pressure disorder that ended our traveling days. COVID kept us in a stringent California lockdown, and Jamie eventually required full-time care. He passed away peacefully at home in 2022. Now that we are all octogenarians, (and most of us are widows), our lifestyles have changed and we have adapted to our new circumstances. We have learned (and are constantly reminded) that diet, exercise, mental stimulation, and friendships are the key to happy and healthy senior years. (And, watch where you put your feet!!) I hope that all of you are well enough, and have family and friends that make your days fulfilling and happy. Please stay in touch! Warm saludos from your class correspondent, Elena Miller Shoch.

1960

Phyllis Richard Fritts

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Margot Campbell Bogert writes, “I had a lovely lunch with Mary Ann Shoenberg Margaretten and Tania Whitman Stepanian in San Francisco last January. We all looked terrific and had such a good time catching up. Otherwise my life goes along between South Carolina and New York, where I continue to be involved with the Frick Collection and its renovation and move back to the mansion on 70th Street. Jerry and I are both healthy so we feel blessed.”

Marilyn Hodges Wilmerding says, “I’ve moved into a senior living place in Denver where I’ll go as needed though I primarily want to be in the mountains as long as I can be. A stranger approached me on my first day there and said, ‘I know you, Marilyn — I went to Walker’s just behind you.’ And of course I remembered her then: Mickey MacDougall she went by, now called Loraine MacDougall Miller ’61. Can you believe it — from two totally different worlds with two quite different lives and now we’re reconnected. Small world sometimes! I have to add she’s very chic, perfect hair, always fashionably dressed, unlike yours truly, and I’m so glad she’s here 65+ years later. Cheers!”

1961

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Robin Gorham Sedgwick shared news of her exciting 2023, which included a “BIG” birthday as well as trips with children and grandchildren to Bermuda, France, and Italy.

1962

Sage Dunlap Chase

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sage Dunlap Chase writes, “Unbelievably, this is the year that most of us turn 80! In retaliation, Susan Carkhuff Evans has published a delightful riff on aging titled You Have to Laugh that is available on Amazon that will make you feel less alone as you transition.

My birthday message to the class last month elicited several responses and loving messages to all, Pamela “Pam” Kirwin Heintz and Elizabeth “Betsy” Balis Goodyear among them. Catherine “Cathie” Smith Leonard celebrated her big day in Spain with her daughters. Mary Goodyear Glenn had unexpected tributes from afar collected at her older daughter’s house. Marcia Corbin spent her day with nieces and nephews in Aspen.

Robin Gorham Sedgwick ’61 shared photos of her travels with daughter Hilary on the Amalfi coast, with Hilary and granddaughter Evie, and with grandson James in Bermuda, as well as her garden and wisteria in Old Lyme, Connecticut

Susan Carkhuff Evans ’62’s new book

Susan “Quinta” Symonds Bodin is busy rescuing her gardens which were stormdamaged this winter. Suzanne “Suzy” Fox sent a lengthy catch-up (see more below) including several losses and happy news of a divorce-turned-friendship. Several of us regularly exchange political concerns, but do not want to contaminate class exchanges with divisive commentary!

My 80th is not until January, so I have plenty of time to consider how to be useful on the planet. My last few years have been focused on leading discussions for our local Lifelong Learning program on controversial contemporary issues such as racial bias, gender fluidity and, this year, neurodiversity. In this fast-changing world, it is important for our age group to stay informed so that we don’t become irrelevant! Our scattered family continues to celebrate major events together when possible (two weddings this year, a tiny one in Hawaii last January, and a good-sized one in Oregon happening in September).

Some of us were able to cheer on a daughterin-law running the Boston Marathon to raise money for fentanyl awareness. Dick and I can’t keep up with all the graduations and jobrelated moves! As with most large families, we have ongoing challenges, but on the whole, things are good and we feel blessed.

As we celebrate this milestone year, we remember fondly those who are no longer with us. Moving on from loss is a major challenge facing most of us — gratitude for having known them helps in healing. I hope this year brings unexpected joy for all of you!”

Linda Hale Bucklin writes, “I am still competing on the national level in tennis. I’m on a 75’s team of 12 women from across the

United States who will play for the United States in the Austrian Championships this September. My fourth book, The Distant Shore, was published in 2020, (stories of love and faith in the afterlife). I am hoping to write one more book about challenges, joys, questions, and decisions we confront as we enter this final phase of life here on earth. I am so grateful that my three sons and family live near me.”

Suzanne “Suzy” Fox sends lots of news: “Hi everyone! Congratulations to all of you who have turned 80. I will be right there with you in November! Congratulations also to Susan and to all our other writers — Chrystal Thomas Schivel, Harrah Lord, Margie Holley, Linda Bucklin, and anyone else I might be forgetting. Since I completely missed sending any Christmas or New Year letters in

2023, here is mine to all of you: I had three highly meaningful memorial services in 2023: one for a good friend, one for my brother, and one for my 97-year-old mother-inlaw. My brother’s memorial was outside of Philadelphia, and Allan (my ex-husband and friend) and I stayed with Chrystal and John for the first couple of nights in Princeton, New Jersey. They took us to the fabulous Seward Johnson Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, where there are a wide variety of sculptures, including ones that depict famous paintings and have life-sized (and larger than life) sculptures of people. Happily, I will see Chrystal and John next week when they come out to Seattle to visit their daughter and her family.

After my brother’s memorial, we went to Mum Mountain in Schwenksville,

Linda Hale Bucklin ’62 at a National 75 Mixed Doubles tournament (left), and with her family

Suzy Fox ’62 visiting the Seward Johnson Grounds for Sculpture in NJ

Pennsylvania, which has a fascinating nursery of exotic plants. I had never seen a plant with polka-dot leaves before. Incidentally, my niece is 6'2" and my nephews are 6'4" and 6'5". For most of my adult life (before I started shrinking), I was almost 5'8", but I felt like a shrimp next to my family. I swear I did not wear that flowered shirt every single day of the trip, but I seem to have worn it whenever pictures were being taken! Thinking of all of you and sending love!”

Harrah Lord writes, “It’s been a busy end to my seventh decade: I wrote my first book, Steam, Sea, Stone about my writers’ retreat to Iceland in 2021 (they just opened up for tourism after the COVID shutdown); started taking courses at Maine Media Workshops, satisfying my long-delayed interest in photography; my one and only granddaughter got into the college of her choice for film directing; and John and I continue to focus on becoming kinder to one another and others and NOT on the changes our bodies are undertaking! I have recently been in touch with Suzy Fox, Cathy Smith Leonard, Pam Kirwin Heintz, Marcia Corbin, and Susan Carkhuff Evans (love her delightful book). I hope to catch up with more classmates. The plunge into our 80s creates a new common denominator!”

1963

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Margaret “Peggy” Prizer Kenny ’63 (second from left) on campus for her induction into The Walker’s Athletics Hall of Fame, pictured here with family including her sister, Dana Prizer Devereux ’68 (second from right)

Suzy Fox ’62 visiting with family

Harrah Lord ’62 with husband John

Pamela Wasley Hughes ’63 at a family reunion on Kauai, Hawaii

1964

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1965

Sarah Elting Doering

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sarah Elting Doering writes, “I’d love to see anyone who finds herself out here in the Los Angeles area. I keep in touch with Linda Vander Poel Duryea and Sarah Wood Blumenstein. Linda is coming out in May for a college graduation, so I’m looking forward to seeing her in person then. My three children and two exceptionally wonderful granddaughters live out here too, which is such fun. We love the outdoor life all year long. I am on the Walker’s Alumnae Board, which grants me an inside look at what’s going on at the School — a whole different world than the one we knew. The Ethel Walker School girls today are being given unbelievable opportunities to

grow into interesting adults who are strong leaders, curious adventurers, and passionate advocates of their interests.”

1966

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Eve Endicott reports that she is now spending her winters in Washington, DC, on the edge of Georgetown, where her younger son, Oliver, works at the World Wildlife Fund and lives with his wife. Eve plans to spend spring/summer/fall at a lake cottage in Litchfield, Connecticut, near where she grew up and where family members still live. In her now abundant free time, Eve writes and travels, with lots of hiking in her recent past, including: Everest Base Camp with Oliver, who summited; the last part of the Camino de Santiago; and, last summer, the Lake District, U.K. after a crossing on the Queen Mary II with August, her then 9-year-old grandson. August lives with his parents and younger brother in Easthampton, Massachusetts, where Eve enjoyed 10 wonderful years of babysitting before recently selling her house to downsize to Litchfield. Eve would love to connect with Walker’s folks in either DC or Connecticut.

Patricia “Princie” Tierney Falkenhagen writes, “After living in Connecticut for 68 years and the same house for 46, Bob and I moved to the Pacific Northwest and are loving it. We are closer to our eight grandchildren and are able to spend more time doing things with them. The eldest goes to St. Andrews in Scotland and the next in line will be attending the University of Colorado at Boulder this fall. The others are busy riding, playing soccer, running track, playing baseball in between skiing, surfing, and hiking. We are basically spectators! I send my best wishes to my classmates and hope you are as happy and healthy as I.”

Janet Stott writes, “My husband Arthur and I are now in our second year back east from California and, strangely, living within three miles of Walker’s. Mixed memories of my time there, but even though they are not all good, driving down Bushy Hill Road now — at age 75 — offers a wonderful chance to reflect.

I am also very proud to see how the School has changed.”

1967

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Eve Endicott ’66 hiking in the Lake District, and with her hiking group at Santiago de Compostela (third from right)

Caroline “Docey” Baldwin Lewis writes, “Life switched gears when my first grandchild Quentin Daniel Drew Lewis joined our family on December 5, 2023. Now I am captain of the Love Boat. I’m still involved in projects in Nepal, the Philippines, and Indonesia, but curtailed all that global travel (except for pleasure trips to Scotland) during and after the pandemic.”

1968

Kimberley “Kim” Smith Niles

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Claudia Ramsland Burch writes, “I’m adjusting to life with my husband living in memory care. I traveled to Boston in January and met up with Kimberley “Kim” Smith Niles at the Vermeer exhibition at the MFA. Always a delight to see her and her husband, John. I also keep up with Ann Stone Costello, who lives in Vero Beach. I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Japan, and plan to spend a portion of this summer at my family’s home in Colorado. Would love to hear from Walker’s classmates!”

Docey Baldwin Lewis ’67 finally gets her grandmother wish: Quentin Daniel Drew Lewis

Wendy French Nolan ’67 (left) together in the Adirondacks with, from L to R: Ann Stone Costello ’68, Susan Nichols Ferriere ’69, and Lee Brookfield Rafferty ’69

Claudia Ramsland Burch ’68 visiting the Imperial Garden in Tokyo

1969

Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Ann Watson Bresnahan writes, “Loved celebrating our 55th Reunion! Happy to report the birth of our fifth grandchild (fourth girl). Still living in Maine amidst the blueberry fields and encourage visits from classmates. Walker’s is an amazing school these days.”

Gillian “Jill” Reighley Christensen writes, I’m doing well and enjoying time with my six grandchildren (ages 7 to 16) as often as possible. We had a wonderful trip to Mexico over Christmas, and it was nice to have the whole family together. That doesn’t happen often. I still spend time in the summer on

Nantucket – my favorite place! And this year, a trip to Simsbury for our reunion was definitely a highlight. I loved seeing so many classmates – and missed those who could not attend. I’m still living in Palo Alto, but I will always be a New Englander at heart!

Jean Moore Edwards writes, “I am writing this having just attended the spring Board of Trustees meeting at Walker’s. This group of remarkable women is truly inspiring and the School is vibrant! The upcoming Reunion weekend will cap a remarkable week for me back at Walker’s. On the home front, husband Bob and I split our time between our vineyard home in St. Helena, California and a mountain home in Colorado. Our two children are thriving with beautiful families that have gifted us with three wonderful grandchildren. I still have way too many horses in my life, but feel so grateful that I am still fit and healthy enough to thoroughly enjoy them. Life is full. Let’s hope we all can enjoy many more Reunions at Walker’s. Best to all!”

Jan Muller Finn writes, “First and foremost I was sad to have missed attending our 55th reunion at Walker’s. Let me take this opportunity to give a shout out to all my classmates from 1969 and send them my very best wishes! Now to the more mundane details of my life. My husband Paul and I continue to thrive in the Charleston, South Carolina area and both of us are in good health and spirits. The weather here is conducive to outside activities almost all year round and we try to take advantage of that benefit. Paul has become a daily gym rat and swims

laps on a regular basis. I play tennis 4-5 times a week (doubles only, as I don’t have the requisite stamina to play singles!) I am on three competitive teams and between clinics, lessons, and matches I stay very busy and love every moment. I only wish my game skills were improving, but I totally enjoy the camaraderie and good spirits of the women I play with. I am very fortunate in that regard.

Jan Muller Finn ’69

1969 classmates together in Kentucky! L to R: Jill Reighley Christensen, Martha Scott Mouer, Lisa Elkinton Barr and Mary Whitt Fishel

Jean Moore Edwards ’69 and her horse Oak Island at the Sacramento Spring Classic

We enjoy having visitors to showcase Charleston and all it has to offer. At the end of July, the whole Finn clan is gathering here for a mini family reunion, and we are really looking forward to having them here under one roof. It will be crowded, but lots of fun! Paul and I also travel quite a bit to visit our three children. We are lucky that each one lives in a great place to visit. Our son Tyler, his wife Lucia, and their two daughters Elena and Audrey (6-1/2 and 3, respectively) reside in Brooklyn, New York. Our daughter Ashleigh, her husband Matt, and their son Wyatt (aged 1-1/2) live in Denver. Our daughter Courtenay lives in Newport Beach, California. In all three locales, we have the chance to eat well, attend sports events, and visit museums. Most importantly, we have the chance to spend time with our children and their respective families and friends. As for international travel, we ventured outside the states for the first time since COVID. Paul, Courtenay, and I spent Christmas in Mexico. We had four days in Mexico City, and as Courtenay is an art curator, we couldn’t have had a better guide. We then ventured to the Yucatán Peninsula, where we spent seven days at a lovely resort on Xpu Há beach. All in all, everyone in the Finn family is doing well and in good health. And I can’t ask for anything more than that! Cheers!”

Ruth Harrison Grobe writes, “Our family has spent the past year coming back from the COVID crisis, and we feel extremely lucky to have gotten through with everybody healthy and employed or in academic settings of one level or another. I am currently involved in

a lot of advocacy work with and for people with disabilities and have learned a great deal about the enormous societal challenges faced by people with disabilities more than 30 years after the passage of the ADA. Rich continues to organize volunteers to rehab historic housing in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. Last summer, in honor of my daughter’s 40th birthday, we traveled to London and attended the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament.”

Katy Murphy Ingle writes, “The past few years have been good ones, with my daughter Gina in Switzerland having had a new baby in June - that makes 5, all under the age of 10! I still visit spring and fall (Bill comes with me in the fall) so I just returned from there and had a great time with them. I needed to recover when I got home - they are a very lively crowd! She has her hands full with homeschooling as well. We visit Daniel and family every Christmas in San Diego, where he is still designing websites and attending seminary classes at night. I have been painting portraits of my grandchildren (check out ingledesign.com) and enjoying working in our garden, with weekends sailing at the Ingles' family cottage in southern Wisconsin in the summer. Bill loves being retired and is finally doing all those things he put off for years. We were able to go to Florence and Tuscany in 2022, where I had been as a student, as well as attend my 50th Stanford reunion last fall along with a special reunion of my co-ed co-op in Lake Tahoe. I loved our reunion weekend - Walker's did a terrific job! - and so enjoyed seeing everyone. It is wonderful to see our classmates doing so well, and we missed those who couldn't make it. Congrats to Jean for her excellent work as a trustee and being recognized for it! Love to all, Katy”

Lisa Pagliaro Selz ’69, Susan Nichols Ferriere ’69, and Gail Chandler Gaston ’70 together in March 2024

Katy Murphy Ingle ‘69 in Bern, Switzerland with with grandchildren (L to R) Florentina (9), Benyamin (9 months), Maëva (8), Dylan (5), and Indira (3)

Barbara “Barbee” Thomas Kennedy writes, “Since the pandemic, Brian and I have been to Ireland with our whole family including three grandgirls. This June, we are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with a river trip from Budapest to Munich. I finally got to see Walker’s girls competing at Wellington. Most recently, enjoyed catching up with classmates at our 55th reunion. I do love going back to a Walker’s that is so alive with happy and amazing girls!”

Sarah Wood Lewis says, “So sorry to have missed the 50th (and the 55th!). In the photos, everyone looks like they're having a wonderful time. I'm very happy to have two of my children and all my grandchildren living nearby in Vancouver. Our eldest son has been working in Chicago for the past five years, and I've enjoyed getting to know that city and its interesting history. I also try to find time to get to Paris every year, in an effort to keep up my French (thank you, Mme. LeFaivre). These days, though, Parisians seem to prefer to practice their English. Hope I can finally make it to the next reunion!”

Cate Lord writes, “As of March 16, I am living in Flagstaff, Arizona, closer to my children and grandchildren and within walking distance of one of my brothers. Not much news — older, more weary, wiser(?), semiretired(?). I may continue to work as a hospice nurse once I am settled.”

Anne Sprole Mauk writes, “I live in Norwalk CT and enjoy gardening, partaking in our local garden club affairs and am doing ceramics. I retired from my Physician’s Assistant career autumn of 2022 after 40 years of enjoying my exciting and challenging work in Pediatrics and NICU. I am now able to travel more, which I love. This winter I traveled for three weeks with Kim Matthews Wheaton ’6), her sister and six other friends to India, mainly the Rajasthan area. They say it's a trip of a lifetime, which is totally true. We had an amazing, informative guide and saw so many sights including four Bengal tigers. My biggest news is that my daughter Madeline with Cystic Fibrosis is getting married. She is so lucky to have new medications to keep her basically healthy and to be looking forward to a fruitful, happy future. Everyone who

attended reunion weekend seemed to have a fulfilling, enjoyable time. Certainly in our first reunions we were not as comfortable with ourselves or with EWS as it had been during our years there. Our classmates were able to share and talk more than ever before. The school has blossomed into such an exciting environment full of learning, growth and support on all levels. My spirit was uplifted by all I experienced during the weekend. WOW! What an amazing place! There is superlative guidance with Meera at the helm and all faculty are top notch educators. How lucky it would be to be a Walker’s girl now. Thank you to all my classmates with whom I shared time during our reunion. We need to keep up our friendships and return again as we grow in this life.”

Laurie Cherbonnier Nielsen writes, “We continue to live between Winnetka, Illinois and Naples, Florida with my energy-charged 102-year-old mother, who cannot return to London because her elevator has been out since July. I have a daughter on each coast: Emily in Delaware and Genevieve in San Francisco. I loved attending our 55th Reunion, reconnecting with long-lost friends, and seeing how much the School has changed.”

Andrea Marschalk Scheyhing writes, “Our 55th reunion was an engrossing and reflective reunion, dappled by many beautifully smiling, familiar, and engaging faces. All these old friends seemed wiser and felt more entwined, as we once were, so many years ago. Dr. Meera Viswanathan gave a spellbinding slide show on the remarkable “Bad Girl” figures in Japanese and Greek literature that was powerful and dense. Also, the food was excellent, tours of the new buildings and renovations were remarkable, and the last evening dance was great fun! Thank you all who contributed in so many ways to make this weekend possible.

Usually, I’m in my painting studio here in Stamford, Connecticut, trying to figure out how to create a three-dimensional landscape using oil paints on a flat surface with an intriguing composition, comparing color temperatures, edges, values, relationships, size, and detail. Or else, you will find me in our garden with Peter, weeding, whacking, dividing, and transplanting, or pursuing another passion, pickleball. I’m looking forward to my first international trip in years to Iceland in August on a ship with some girlfriends, as well as a decade’s-old return summertime vacation with dearest friends in Maine.

Kim Matthews Wheaton ‘68 and Anne Sprole Mauk ‘69 traveling in India

Lily is in her second year at Fordham University, Lincoln Center campus, getting her MSW degree. She’s very excited to accept her internship next year at the United Nations. We also just adopted a 9-year-old female Yorkie mix, Daisy, who is the sweetest and very funny. I’m still working on this painting (at right).”

Barbara Burke Valk writes, “The big news here is the imminent arrival of our first grandchild. Joanna and husband Anthony live in New York City so we are only a train ride away from home in CT. We are overjoyed!! Husband Lance is fully retired and I am not far behind with a limited schedule at the Pequot Library. Fortunately we are in decent health (knock on wood) so we travel a bit when we can. I'm still active in my church, and at age 72+ I try to focus my energies on efforts with land conservation and restoration. We live in challenging times but I'm trying to believe we will muddle our way through. Here's hoping....Barbara”

As for me, Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa writes, “I’m still in Arizona, painting plateaus and desert landscapes. I’m also very involved in managing our Sikh Gurdwara in central Phoenix. We’re looking forward to our grandson-to-come this summer. Loved our 55th reunion. The School continues to inspire!”

1970

Gail Chandler Gaston

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Wendy Wenk Adams has lived in Florida’s panhandle with her husband Nick for over 30 years, recently building a house on a lake. Since retirement, Wendy has taken up quilting, donating her creations to charitable causes that benefit hospice patients, neonatal babies and veterans.

Tally Smith Briggs writes, “We continue to enjoy life in Westport, Massachusetts, with a daughter visiting from Denver and sons and grandchildren living in the Boston area. Our travel tends to focus on sporting events and hiking in national parks. All is well.”

Tally Smith Briggs ’70 with family

“Split Rock Falls, Elizabethtown, NY,” by Andrea Marschalk Scheyhing ’69

Faye Alexandra Bullock (possible Class of 2042!), granddaughter of Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70 and greatgranddaughter of Linda Payson de Roulet ’47, P’70, proudly wearing her Walker’s bib!

Leslie Brooks has published three new books: The Magic Willow, The Christmas Santa Fell Asleep, and The Moon Has Fallen. She has also been creating mixed media paintings. She is showing at Arthouse Gallery in Wilmington, Vermont, and will again present at the Colrain Annual Open Studio Event the second weekend in November. Leslie’s studio is open by appointment in Colrain, Massachusetts. Her artist website is lesliebrooksart.com.

Whitney de Roulet Bullock and her husband Clark had lunch with her mother, Lorinda “Linda” Payson de Roulet ’47, and Ruth Cummings Mead ’47 at the Jupiter Island Club this spring. Whitney and husband Clark also welcomed a new granddaughter, Faye Alexandra Bullock.

Catherine “Kim” Conway Coleman and Payson love living in Palm Beach, Florida and see many other Walker’s alums there. Fun fact: next year Kim and Payson will have four grandchildren at Deerfield (two girls and two boys) which is where Kim and Payson met at a Walker’s-Deerfield dance!

Cornelia Guest ’70 with her children Jack, Andrew, and Aune Mitchell at the wedding of Jack and Daeyoung Lim in September 2022

Carlina Paul Della Pietra and husband Richard split their time between Washington, Connecticut, and New York City. Daughter Mia lives in Central Harlem and is the Director of Academic Operations for a charter network. Carlina has a small custom wall art business and recently worked as a story editor/consultant on an independent film.

Mary Morehouse Ethington continues to work as an educational consultant with students from 8th–12th grades “to help them make the most of those formative years! Whenever I get a break, Steve and I travel to California and Colorado to visit our five grandchildren. I was sorry our 50th reunion intersected with COVID — maybe we can plan for our 55th!”

Cornelia Guest is still working, teaching English and Scrabble. “My Scrabble students won the North American School Scrabble Championship this spring, making this the eighth year in a row I’ve coached the winning team. I also run Scrabble tournaments and will be hosting a benefit for the Alzheimer’s Association this summer. My son Jack married Daeyoung Lim and they are living in Washington, DC. Andrew is in Brooklyn, New York and working for the American Academy in Rome. My daughter Aune is living in Seattle and working in IT for Nordstrom. I’m in Connecticut with my sassy Corgi, Lacey. Cannot believe it is our 50th college reunion year!”

Kathleen “Kathy” McCombe writes from Greenville, South Carolina: “I am so grateful for family and friends at this season of life! My siblings live nearby and we enjoy revisiting family memories (which may or may not be so accurate), playing Mahjong, and the occasional trip together. I sing with several musical groups, which reminds me of the hard work Miss Sala put us through! I periodically play the piano for two church services and the harp at senior center events and recitals. I knit for charity, particularly preemie hats for local hospitals. I have loved cruising in the past years, most recently to Nassau and Bimini.”

Dorothy Kirmse Scarlett has lived in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania for almost 50 years and is still loving it!

Victoria Lee Covington Graham has her two sons in nearby Charlotte, North Carolina and loves being a grandmother to three!

As for me, Gail Chandler Gaston, I cannot believe this is my 50th year in New York City! Jamey and Frances are nearby, in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. I enjoy traveling — whether to other countries, our cabin on Lake Superior or winters in Florida — reading, needlepoint, and “puzzling.” Please let me know if you come to NYC!

1971

Cynthia “Cynny” Smith Evanisko

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Marie “Betsy” Ballenger

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Deborah “Debbie” Seaman

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Cynthia “Cynny” Smith Evanisko writes, “Sorry to share the news of Lucy Sprague Frederiksen’s+ passing last November after a long battle with cancer. She fought a very good battle and finally succumbed on November 24, 2023. Condolences to her husband and two daughters. Clearly, she led a full and rich life!”

Elizabeth “Libby” Grant writes, “I am still practicing law (trusts and estates) since 2020 with the law firm of Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC. We just moved into our beautiful new offices in Greenwich in March. My husband Mark Pruner is a realtor at Compass in Greenwich, Connecticut and works with a great team including his brother, Russell. We still live in Greenwich with my mother, Swan McLean Grant ’39, who, at 102, is still going strong, two wonderful

Scottish Deerhounds, Islay and Maida, and an assortment of chickens. We are planning two trips to Nantucket, Massachusetts this year, a possible trip to Scotland in the fall and hope to play more golf.”

Deborah “Debbie” Seaman reports, “I had a great time getting together with Charlotte Smart Rogan at Charlotte’s apartment in a beautiful new complex in Westport, Connecticut that was converted from an old brick mill. We walked into town and along a path by the Saugatuck River, talking non-stop and solving the problems of the world. Charlotte also mentioned that she is full of ideas for new novels, so stay tuned! I, Debbie, am busy with substitute teaching, my garden, and planning a trip in September with my family to the Dordogne region in Southwest France, where many years ago I reported on châteaux bed and breakfasts for European Travel & Life.”

1972

Gilda Rogers correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Cynthia Anderson-Barker writes, “First, many thanks to Walker’s for a totally unexpected and amazing surprise at our 50th reunion celebration in 2022. I was presented with the distinguished alumnae award, and it is a memory and experience that I shall always cherish — especially when I think about what my Walker’s history teacher said

about me on my high school grading sheet: ‘Cindy is a born rebel. This could become a strength!’ That spirit has carried me forward during these challenging times, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to give back to the communities I work in as a civil rights lawyer. Our class is very, very special. We have been gathering off campus every other year for the past 10 years at different locales to connect, reminisce and enjoy each other’s company. We will rent a house near Myrtle Beach from October 15–22, 2024. Some of us will be there for a few days, others for the whole week. Our classmates Lisa, Aimee, Dee, Karen, Tori, Mimi, Gilda, Beryn, Jane, Deedy, Prisca, Cathy, hopefully Reggie, maybe Sarah, and even Joanna for a bit of time will all be part of this year’s ‘Sister Fest.’ If you have not signed up…. come join us!”

Karen Brooks says, “This was a year of many travels. After a week in Portland, Oregon visiting my son who has two little boys, I flew to Santa Barbara, California to visit my brother. My daughter and fiancé drove down to meet us there. I also visited another aging brother in Austin, Texas and spent two weeks in Portugal (with my sister, Susan) visiting our brother who had been in the hospital for several months there. Our trip was grueling and at the same time beautiful. He passed away after we got back, but it was good to see him. In between, I was able to finish building the cabinets in my little house in Florida (flooded in Hurricane Ian), get the wood stove in the cabin, keep the sheep business going (thanks to a neighbor spotting me for chores), and keep on singing. Somehow I thought by now I would be slowing down, but it doesn’t seem like I’m ready.”

Karen Brooks ’72 shared photos of her cabin in Florida and the view on her trip to Portugal.

Sarah House Denby writes, “I have my stepson Charley and his wife Jackie living with us since August while they re-do their house in Providence, and it’s been great! They cook and clean and leave no mess, and our house is big enough that there’s plenty of space so we’re not on top of each other. We’re lucky — having adult children (45 and 42) can be a nightmare. We’re thinking their house will be livable by mid-to-end of May. We had a lovely trip to Italy in the fall, seeing Rome, Milan (our “hub”), Turin, Lake Como, Verona, and Geneva. Took a side trip by driving to Nice, France to visit some Brit friends who have a house there. Bonus was my son came from Switzerland to Milan for three days! VERY warm — Rome was about 80 degrees, yuck. Went to Martinique for a week in January for some lovely weather and lovely French language and food, then to Switzerland late January for granddaughter’s first birthday — perfect weather. We took a train from Lausanne to Bern to see son Ted’s office — like something out of Silicon Valley! Very hi-tech, all these 30-somethings running around (he’s 40, marketing manager), very high energy. All different nationalities. I felt like the mom of a rock star. We were fishing in Florida (tarpon in Boca Grande) and seeing friends in Sarasota at the end of April. Next up is Dublin, Ireland then Cornwall for a dear friend’s 70th birthday late May/early June, then home in Rhode Island for the summer! Have room for visitors, pool, and golf course amenities if anyone’s in the area.”

Barklie Eliot writes, “I can’t believe I’m about to turn 70. Yikes! I’m really enjoying retirement, particularly eating breakfast in my PJs and rarely having to rush for anything. I volunteer for Audubon one morning a week selling native plants and propagating oak trees, which we give away for free. I’m a huge promoter of planting native as a way of preserving insect and bird life. I hope everyone has recovered from the inertia and isolation of the “COVID Era” and is now out and about again. Love to all of you!”

Beryn Frank Harty says, “My hubby and I have been traveling since February 11 of this year. We began with a road trip in California along the Pacific Coast Highway, starting with a stop to visit with Cynthia AndersonBarker and Tim in Los Angeles. After seeing some in-laws in Carmichael, we then flew to Sydney from L.A., and boarded a Viking cruise around Australia, through Indonesia, and then to the Far East — with stops in Java, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. We’ll continue with a Seabourn cruise in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea and also have a stop in Guam. Whee!! Best to all, Beryn.”

Jill Englund Jensen writes, “Greetings from Delaware. I think I have reached the end of my working career and now am even busier with volunteer activities, gardening, and apiculture. I started working with fostering rescue dogs about a year ago. This way I can have an endless supply of dogs without becoming a crazy dog lady. The biggest danger is becoming a foster failure — which I did with the last foster. I continue to travel when time and budget allows. I am taking my life into my hands and traveling to Costa Rica for 12 days with my nine- and 11-year-old grandsons this July. I’d like them to experience the joy of travel. In August, I am going to Alaska to ride the length of the Alaska Railroad. But right now, it’s all about getting plants planted, weeds weeded, and dogs walked. I am looking forward to our upcoming get together.”

Alison McCall says, “My significant other, Peter, and I built a house, completely black, in beautiful Lyme, Connecticut over five years ago, and moved out of New York City, where I raised my children. Last summer, I bought out my siblings for ownership of a family home in Florida, a home that’s been in our family since 1960. This lovely community,

Sarah House Denby ’72 with Jacques Pepin at a local art club, where he was raising funds for Community Kitchens

Beryn Frank Harty ’72 shares photos from her travels this year

called Mountain Lake, is an oasis in the middle of Florida, in the lake region. I had dinner in early March in Mountain Lake with Mary Mountcastle, whose sister Kathy bought a house there a few years ago. It was so wonderful to catch up with Mary and her sister, Laura Mountcastle ’74. I have two sons and a daughter, all of whom have their own families, which entails five grandchildren for me ranging from almost three months to eight years.”

Mary “Mimi” Mead-Hagen writes, “News for Lee and I — we are raising a seeing-eye puppy! His name is Zeke and he’s very sweet! Lucky for us — there is a great community of puppy raisers in Princeton, New Jersey that can puppy-sit, so no worries about vacations! I believe these pups are bred specifically to be smart and kind! Best wishes to all xx”

Regina Scruggs writes, “I visited Maine in September 2023 and caught up with Deborah “Deb” Leon ’73 and Laura Arnold ’73. In Bangor, there was an unexpected trip to see the home of Stephen King! It was the highlight of a fun Sunday afternoon. We didn’t find the master at home, but a number of other King fans were gathered on the street, including a few clutching copies of his just-published 60th book, Holly.”

Alison McCall ’72 and family

Mimi Mead-Hagen ’72’s seeing eye puppy, Zeke

Regina Scruggs ’72 in front of Stephen King’s house, Bangor, Maine, September 2023

Laura Arnold ’73, Regina Scruggs ’72, and Deb Leon ’73 together in Maine

1973

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1974

Vanessa Guerrini-Maraldi Wilcox

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sarah “Sally” Schade Bowman writes, “I was delighted to be back at Walker’s for the first time in 50 years (for our 50th reunion) and glad to see the many great changes! My husband (who had a great time at Reunion!) and I are dividing our time between Yorktown, Indiana and Wilmington, North Carolina. Looking forward to a trip to Africa in August.”

Jami Lin Heiman Levy writes, “Logistics for the two days complicated Reunion for me; I would have loved to walk the halls with you and reminisce. No kids, so no grands. Dedicated to (and working to share) life’s passions along with traveling with Joel (39 years — whew)! Grateful for ‘getting-younger’ clients, my chemists and fabulous, YOUthDuo, Reverse-Aging SkinCARE — who knew I'd

have a pop-up spa at a farmer's market for 12 years? Launching initial ‘Galactic Spirit’ online course this summer — five years in creation, blending Mayan, 13-Moon Calendar with Evolutionary Quantum Thought. Excited to facilitate Egyptian tour highlighting the six-minute total solar eclipse in Luxor, August 2027 and of course, visiting all sacred pyramids, temples and tombs — yeah! We’ll be marvelous at 70 walking with the ancients (always missing Lois)!”

Olivia Lovelace writes, “Had a great time at our 50th Reunion and reconnecting with everyone there! Thank you, Liz Higgins and the Walker’s team for putting it all together! My husband and I have been living in Norwalk, Connecticut for the past 30 years. We have two wonderful children. I am currently working part time in a doctor’s office. During COVID I rediscovered kayaking — have kayak, will travel. Cheers to all!”

Paulette “Polly” Castillo ’73 with the “apple of her eye,” grandson Rafael

Members of the class of 1974 gathered at the home of Elizabeth “Liz” Palmer Higgins. L to R: host Sally Schade Bowman, Starr Winmill Shebesta (kneeling), Darby Tench Leicht, Lissa McCullough McDonald, Kate Bentley MacPherson, Leslie Storer Self, and David Provost

Sally Schade Bowman ’74 with her husband Scott

Jami Lin Heiman Levy ’74 in Egypt

Katherine “Kate” Bentley MacPherson says, “I am enjoying living in Perrysburg, Ohio with my husband and busy working in our architectural firm in Toledo, Ohio, while Scot is also a professor of architecture. Our son Grant, now 28, is a professional tennis instructor and coach. Besides a lot of tennis, paddle tennis, gardening, and house renovations, with design, art, and travel thrown in here and there, we are happy to slow the pace and savor family and friends. Our 50th Walker’s reunion was a real BLAST to reconnect and embrace all the fabulous characters of our class — those that made it and others who we missed. Our door is open for a visit if you are in the area!!”

Tracey Smith writes, “I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida in September to a beautiful new building — I waited over three years for it to be built! Love it here. Still single and have the cutest cat — Creamsicle! Sorry I missed the Reunion.”

Vanessa Guerrini-Maraldi Wilcox writes, “Hello Classmates, I was sorry I could not make our 50th Reunion and see you all. I had a very good excuse: my daughter, Julia Wilcox, married Giacomo Carlesi on Saturday, May 4 in Otranto, Puglia, in Italy. It was a beautiful ceremony followed by several days of family celebrations. Pure JOY! Julia is living and teaching in Lecce in Puglia. John and I are so very happy that she continues our connection with Italy and my Italian roots. Please come say hello and visit if you stop by

New York City. Only a few classmates live in NYC. I continue my work as an educational consultant. I am now a grandmother! My son, Daniel, and his wife, Francesca (more Italian connections!) welcomed a baby girl, Ottavia, on January 20, 2024. I want to thank Liz for helping to organize such a successful 50th Reunion. She did an incredible job to reach out to many classmates and make everyone feel included. Be well. Cheers from Italy! A presto cari amici! xo Vanessa”

Sylvia Wommack Winchester says, “Thanks to everyone that worked so hard for a great Reunion. All the activities, food, and especially the company were awesome. Although time has flown by, I feel everyone enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect, reminisce, and celebrate. Retirement for Marcus and I has been wonderful! We spend time between our Florida home and farm in Georgia. Saltwater fishing, hunting, and travel remain our favorite pastimes.”

Tracey Smith ’74 with her cat, Creamsicle

Vanessa Guerrini-Maraldi Wilcox ’74’s daughter Julia at her May wedding in Italy

Members of the Class of 1974: Betsy West Sneath, Sylvia Wommack Winchester, and Carol Wyeth

Sylvia Wommack Winchester ’74’s son Michael with his wife, Tracie

Sylvia Wommack Winchester ’74’s daughter Jessica and granddaughter Madison

Melvin Fleming

1975

Veda Pendleton

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Barbara Hillman Laporte writes, “Hi all. Still loving Delray Beach, Florida after 45

years! My husband Stefan and I recently retired from a long career as directors of tennis — we had an amazing run together. We are enjoying our grandchildren living in Delray Beach and Rowayton, Connecticut, and are looking forward to spending summers in Rowayton starting in June. Hope to see fellow Walker’s sisters at some point.”

Doris “Veda” Pendleton writes, “I retired in June 2022 after more than 30 years in education, having spent 17 years in higher education and 14 years in public education. For the past year and a half, I have traveled and visited with my family. In March 2023, my travels took me to Cape Town, South Africa, where I visited an early-childhood center in one of the informal settlements. I was curious about teacher expectations of students experiencing poverty. After listening to the students speak and recite poems in two languages, I soon realized that the teachers

has just published her third novel, Civilisation Française, with Heliotrope Books.

held high expectations for each student and believed they could be successful in academic endeavors. My travel companion and I also toured Robben Island (where the late Nelson Mandela and other political leaders were imprisoned), the Cape of Good Hope, and Table Mountain. Two days after my return, my aunt, Doris Pendleton, joined the rest of our ancestors. I am named after her, and she was the last of her generation. Soon after my retirement, I re-fired and am currently an independent consultant with the University of Kentucky as I work to grow my small business, Veda Pendleton & Company, and my nonprofit, The Institute for Nurturing and Educating Together (iNET). Read more about them at vedapendleton.com.”

Veda Pendleton ’75 on top of Table Mountain in South Africa and at “Thurby,” the Thursday before the Kentucky Derby

Barbara Hillman Laporte ’75 with her family in Gulfstream, Florida, including four grandchildren aged six, four, three, and six months

Mary

’75

Sarah Smith Sangree ’75 and family, Christmas 2023

Sarah Smith Sangree says, “I am director of community engagement for a large animal shelter and live in Summit, New Jersey with my husband and dogs. Thinking about retirement but no definite plans yet. Our oldest son lives in San Francisco with his fiancée and works in tech; son #2 is a bond trader who lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York; son #3 is a litigator for a large law firm and also lives in Brooklyn; and our daughter is a Ph.D. candidate in molecular and cellular biology at UPenn. No grandkids yet, but plenty of grand-dogs, as pictured in the attached photo. In very sad news, Claire Lamb Solly passed away from cancer on April 9. I attended a beautiful celebration of her life on Hilton Head, South Carolina, where she and her husband, Carl, lived. In addition to Carl, Claire is survived by two children, Joe and Reed. Here’s her obit: keithfuneral.com/obituary/claire-solly”

1976

Ourania “Nita” Koutsoukos

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1977

Juliet “Julie” Ward Flood

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1978

Katharine Swibold

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sarah Johnson writes, “I am currently living in Palm Beach and frequently see several of my Walker’s classmates, including Leatrice Dean Elliman, Ashley Lickle O’Neil, Tina Gibbons Roberts, and Susie Josephson Horgan, as well as KC Wideman Pickett ’77. Ellen Gerry Breed ’79 is also in the neighborhood. I became a grandmother last August (daughter Ann Lufkin ’10), and my son Chauncey and his wife are expecting my

second granddaughter in September. I am playing a lot of bridge and golf but stay very engaged with my organic farm in Saugerties, New York (White Feather Farm) and then spend the rest of the summer in Nantucket, Massachusetts.”

Victoria Falk Michaelis writes, “My elder son, Peter, got married September 23, and we LOVE his wife! We also got a mini

Bernedoodle puppy, Baxter, who is a terror, but he’s cute. We had an amazing year of weddings and travel. Ran into Donna “Dar” Reimer Barrett ’79 and Lisa Danforth Hurst ’79 at dinner the other night. So nice to have lots of old friends around!”

Katharine Swibold writes, “My husband and I went on a wonderful spring trip to Greece in March 2023 with our 30-year-old daughter, who lives in Barcelona (where she is a stand-up comedian, performing in English mostly, but also in Catalan and Spanish!), my husband’s mother, sister (and her boyfriend and son), and brother. We had not been to Greece since our honeymoon in 1988, and it was great to be back in one of my favorite places in the world! Our 33-yearold son is married and lives in Brooklyn, New York. He works as Senior Manager, Ecommerce Operations at HODINKEE, Inc. His wife is director of communications at Saint Ann’s School. No grandchildren yet,

Annie Lufkin ’10, new grandson Tucker, and grandma Sarah Johnson ’78

Class of 1978 members L to R: Victoria Falk Michaelis, Helen Hummer Feid, and Ellen Fauver Reimer

Katharine Swibold ’78 and family in front of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, March 2023

but we are hopeful! I’ve been working as an Administrative Assistant at the Horace Mann School Nursery Division in New York City for five years. Another highlight of 2023 was our 45th reunion in Simsbury. We had a great contingent from the class, and we all had a blast! I hope more will join us for our 50th(!) in 2028. I love being a member of Walker’s Alumnae Board, as it gives me the opportunity to give back to the School I love, to work with alumnae from other decades and the great staff, and to meet the amazing students who will be alums soon! Still love living in Tarrytown, New York! Come visit if you’re in the area.”

1979

Karen Polcer Bdera

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Karen Polcer Bdera writes, “The past year has been challenging. I broke my ankle stepping off the transportation bus to the start of the New York City Marathon in November — but that has healed, and I will attempt to redeem myself at this year’s event. Nick had major spinal surgery in March, but is recovering well (he continued his tradition of attending our 45th reunion this year). Reunion weekend was so much fun — lots of changes on the campus, and the energy of the students was so wonderful. The next one is a big one! May of 2029. Hope to see EVERYONE there!"

Lisa Danforth Hurst writes, “On April 20, we celebrated the marriage of our daughter Lizzie to a fellow Middlebury College classmate, Charlie Oberrender, at Windsor, Vero Beach, Florida and participating in the festivities were a couple of Walker’s grads: Ellen Gerry Breed and Lela Schaus Philip. My two sons have also started their families and we have two grandbabies, with more on the way!”

Gretchen Dill Levine says, “Marc and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in November 2023. We also welcomed our first grandchild/son, Henry, in February 2023. We are currently setting up a second home in Atlanta complete with fully equipped/ furnished nursery for Henry and his siblingsto-be. We plan to spend winter and spring in Atlanta and continue to be at home in Concord, Massachusetts for summer and fall where there is more room for our two German Shorthair Pointers to run.”

Nancy Mack von Euler takes on a new role this summer as President and CEO of the Norwalk Community College Foundation, after seven years as Horizons Executive Director at New Canaan Country School. Congratulations, Nancy!

mission is to inspire confidence and drive excellence. Frustrated with current offerings in the market, they are designing traditional golf wear that feels elevated and fresh. Elliott and Rose apparel is beautiful and flattering while solving key performance restrictions found in most women’s golf wear. The line is designed for the long game to be worn on and off the course. To keep up-to-date on all things Elliott and Rose, follow them on Instagram @elliottandrosegolf.

Linda Loteczka Gilbert writes, “I just reached the eighth anniversary of losing my beloved husband. It has been very difficult for me. 2023 was my time to start my life over. I’m a professional artist and my passion is making jewelry. My dream was to try to sell my work, and it’s been a resounding success. I sell all my work in Berlin. I was stationed in Munich with the Army and I am a native German speaker, so it was natural for me. It is an understatement to say I am elated and grateful for my success.

I recently returned from a first-time, sixmonth visit to Lviv, Ukraine. My father was from Lviv and our family operates a famous flying school. People from all over Europe go there for instruction. It was wonderful

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Elliott Buck and Margot Ross Rose have formed a company, Elliott and Rose, to create golf clothing for women. Avid golfers, their

Karen Polcer Bdera ’79 with husband Nick at The Race to Deliver four-miler in Central Park

Lisa Danforth Hurst ’79 with granddaughter Heidi Harrison Hurst

Gretchen Dill Levine ’79 hanging with grandson Henry, Christmas 2023

Logo for Elliott and Rose, which creates exceptional golf wear for women

meeting my cousins! The reason for my trip, however, was to help the war effort. I volunteered making large camouflage netting and trench candles and packing donated energy bars for the soldiers. Being too old to volunteer for the Ukrainian military, this was my way to contribute hands on! It was a wonderful experience, but it was also sobering. I met a wonderful Austrian man while I was there and things are progressing well. I feel blessed and optimistic about this new chapter of my life!”

Deana Washburn says, “After our 40th reunion on campus was canceled due to COVID, as was our anticipated reunion with the Class of ’81, we took matters into our own hands to plan a mini-reunion in Mystic, Connecticut in May of 2021. A great time was had by all, so much so that we gathered again in 2022 and 2023. Stay tuned for 2024! Our group included (in some combination, depending upon the year): Daria Blackham, Ann Marenakos ’81, Jayne Wasley Nigro, Barbara Atkatz Ogden ’81, Cindy Marsh Powell ’81, Kari Richardson Riess ’81, Mary Bebel Schinke ’81, and yours truly. Special thanks to our ‘locals,’ Ann and Jayne who hosted everything from a seafood boil to a lobster picnic, a lighthouse tour and a tour of Jayne’s newly remodeled salon: Giabonni’s & Company. Putting my hair in Jayne’s capable hands was like a trip back in

time — straight to Smith, circa 1978, where I was a willing guinea pig when it came to her haircuts and ear piercing! I also enjoyed re-connecting with Susan “Susie” Holmes and meeting her younger daughter Lucy at our 40th Dartmouth College reunion (where we greatly missed Cookie Camp Gattine.) Susie, who joined the alumni glee club to perform many of the old school songs, would surely have made Miss Sala proud! Other exciting news: Susie was recently appointed Executive Director of the Endangered Species Coalition, capping off a career devoted to conservation legislation.”

1981

Veronica “Roni” Leger

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1982

Cynthia Vega

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Celebrating 60th birthdays for the class of 1982: Top photo: December, 2023: Whitney Riegel ’83, Hooey Stewart Wilks ’82, Kit O’Brien Rohn ’82, Tracey Reifler ‘82, Lee Gowen ’82, Leila Howland Wetmore ’82, P’18, Emily Eckelberry Johnson ‘82

Bottom photo: February, 2024: Whitney Riegel ‘83, Leila Howland Wetmore ’82, P’18, Emily Eckelberry Johnson ‘82, Tracey Reifler ‘82, & Eliza Wetmore ‘18. Unfortunately, as we age, we get a bit slower; by the time we took this picture, Lee Gowen ‘82 had left.

Emily Eckelberry Johnson ’82 (right) was spotted recently at a dog show by Sarah Keating Glass ’90 because she was wearing her Walker's ring!

Hunter B. Fauser, grandson of Hope Wickser Lufkin ’82

Jill Keffer Crowe writes, “I will be moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina this summer. I will continue to teach at a middle school there and am excited about it!”

Hope Wickser Lufkin writes, “I am sharing a photo of the first-born of my oldest, Missy Fauser, and her husband Kirk. They currently live in Los Angeles, but are hopefully moving east sometime soon!! Missy has her own business as a travel specialist and Kirk is a lawyer. My youngest, Taylor Durkee, and

her husband Kendall are expecting their first child in September! They live in Atlanta, where Taylor works for United Talent Agency and is a learning and education executive. Her husband is a consultant. I keep in touch with Lee Gowen Marine a great deal and we are planning a get-together in Connecticut this spring, where I hope to see Kit O’Brien Rohn, Leila Howland Wetmore, Tracey Reifler, Emily Eckelberry Johnson, and many more! My husband and I love our new home in Amesbury, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River. Best to all!”

Tracey Reifler writes, “As we all head into our 6th decade, Darien, Connecticut was the hot spot for celebrating this milestone. Grabbed some amazing women to ring in my 60th in December. Leila’s 60th was celebrated with a blowout birthday party in February.”

Jennifer “Jenna” Schnabel Wedemeyer writes, “I have moved back to my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky from Chicago where I was for 35 years and have gone into business with my mother. She and I are both interior designers but have never had the opportunity to partner. We just wrapped our first year of business and have completed new builds or large-scale renovations in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, and the Bahamas. Check out our website: schnabelinteriors.com/”

1983

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Alex Badger Airth writes, “Hi all from Newport Beach, California! Our son, Chandler, just graduated from Tulane and will be moving to Los Angeles after a graduation trip to Asia. Our oldest daughter, Graysen, lives in New York City and works at the United Nations. Our youngest, Hailey, is a freshman in high school here in Newport.”

Ana Perkins de Cordova hosted Walker’s VITA student leaders to meet with schools to learn about implementing a similar program in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Ximena Eleta de Sierra says, “I saw several of you in our 40th Reunion last year. We had a blast!!! Hope we don’t have to wait another 10 to meet again! I have been lucky enough to go back to campus often as a trustee. It’s looking gorgeous and the newest dorm (almost completed a few weeks ago when I was there) is a gem! I continue performing

Jenna Schnabel Wedemeyer ’82, P’16 with her mother

Alex Badger Airth ’83 at her son, Chandler’s, graduation from Tulane University, May 17

Ximena Eleta de Sierra ’83 “In love!” with her three-month-old grandson Matías

Sahba Sadegh-Vaziri ’82 and family in front of the Trevi Fountain

and doing choreography, which makes me ohso-happy. I’m fortunate indeed. Another big source of smiles is Matías, our 3-month-old blue-eyed grandson, who causes me to melt every time I see him! He’s my son Roberto’s son. My daughter Estefanía is getting an MBA at Columbia. We enjoy her every time we’re in New York. My youngest son Alejandro is also bringing us happiness, as he is doing well in his work in New York and will be marrying a smart and sweet Colombian girl in Cartagena this December. Finally, I have a book of my poems coming out in August! Those of you who want to practice your Spanish, let me know! Kisses to all! ¡Besos a todas! — Ximena”

Mary Lotuff Feeny writes, “I am looking forward to seeing classmates and other

Walker’s extended family on Nantucket this July. Weather permitting, we will be sailing out to Nantucket on our ‘new to us’ 50-yearold sailboat. I saw Garrett Handley Dee in Boston last week, while she was visiting her son at Boston College.”

Laura Scott reunited with Romayne Campbell in London last summer. It was just as if a day had not gone by!

1984

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Laurann Licopantis Claridge says, “I’m excited to attend our 40th reunion this spring along with Shawn Lester Swett. I’m coming from Houston where I’ve lived for nearly 30 years. My sister Lizbeth “Liz” Licopantis King ’87 and started our own business, Claridge + King (Claridge is a family name I’ve used professionally) 16 years ago. We design and manufacture a line of women’s clothing specializing in shirts and woven pieces. I also write for a lifestyle publication mostly concentrating on new restaurants, design, and spas.”

Kathleen Sullivan writes, “Entering my third year in San Francisco with my wife, Dr. Rebecca Levison. I am the Executive Director of a non-profit called Openhouse. In a year, we will break ground on our third affordable housing development for older adults in San Francisco. We live near Japantown with our wonderful pup JoJo, and this year I will do the AIDS Lifecycle for the sixth time.”

Kathleen Sullivan ’84 with her wife at the Openhouse Spring Fling fundraiser in April 2024

1985

Elizabeth Potter Giddings

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Esther Pryor

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Surina Khan writes, “After nine years as CEO of Women’s Foundation California, last fall I stepped aside and passed the baton to our next leader. Meanwhile, my partner,

Surina Khan ’85 (right) and her partner, Jenny, celebrating 22 years together with a trip to the California desert

Laura Scott ’83 with Romayne Campbell ’83 and Romayne’s eldest daughter, Hester

Ann Carol Madonia Hamm ’84, Vera Gibbons ’85, and Sarah Johnson ’78 together at lunch in Palm Beach

Jenny Terry, is retiring from a 30-year career as a university professor, teaching in gender studies, at the end of June. We will relocate full time to our home in Sea Ranch, CA on the Sonoma Coast. I’m not sure what is next for me work-wise. I’m doing a little bit of leadership coaching and serving on the Boards of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the American LGBTQ+ Museum — other than that I think I may try and settle into semiretirement!”

Gwendolyn “Wendy” Walker says, “I am still writing novels and raising my three sons, though the youngest is now in college! My latest work is an Audible Original piece called Mad Love and I’m working on a new print novel this summer!” Wendy was a guest speaker in one of our Literary Walker’s alumnae book talks this year, discussing her novel What Remains.

1986

Tahra Makinson-Sanders

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Tahra Makinson-Sanders writes, “It has been a crazy start to 2024. After many years of being super active, especially the last 10 years in triathlon, my body decided it had had enough. I had a hip replacement in December 2023, then somehow really finished off my rotator cuff with a big bang, which needed

emergency surgery in February of this year. Apparently I couldn’t leave well enough alone and stay on sidewalks for a while, so I then fell down on my surgical shoulder on a hike, and had to have that redone in early May. That all aside, I moved out of San Francisco two years ago to the cute little village of Tiburon, California just across the water. I work at a venture capital firm in Mill Valley, and love the group. We’re small and invest in things ‘good for people and planet,’ and I’m hoping it’s the last ticket to retirement, lol. I’m a mom to two little fur babies, Oliver and Katy, my sweet kitties who are by my side during recovery. If any of you are ever in my neighborhood, including Kelly Tran ’07 who lives a mile away, let’s get together!”

Claudia Mesch Smith says, “We are still in Seattle 32 years later, after moving here in 1992 for Damon to go to grad school. Now that we have launched three adult children — Elsa (28), Adelaide (25), and Orson (22), we have extra bedrooms for visitors! I resigned from Fred Hutch Cancer Center after 29 years in 2021 and then started a small surface pattern design business. Check it out at gridsmithstudio.com. I love connecting with Walker’s alumnae on social media and even better in person, so looking forward to our 40th in two years. Xoxo”

1987

Lori Stewart

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Nigar Alam’s debut novel, Under the Tamarind Tree, was published this past August in the United States (November in the United

Wendy Walker ’85 with her three sons

Tahra Makinson-Sanders ’86 and her “fur babies!”

Nigar Alam ’87 and the U.S. edition of Under the Tamarind Tree

Meet Mary Jo Dornan ’87’s Terry, a polydactyl dwarf

Kingdom) and was long-listed for the Center for Fiction 2023 First Novel Prize. She says, “One of the most lovely outcomes of the book’s release was getting reconnected with old Walker’s friends. After decades, I met them in Miami, Florida, Manhattan, and Brooklyn, New York; and it was a complete joy!” Nigar was also a guest speaker in one of our Literary Walker’s alumnae book talks this year!

Mary Jo Dornan writes, “I am currently living in Denver and working as an accountant. I get out skiing and hiking when I can. I have four kids (a statistician at the Pentagon, a director at a swim school, a sound engineer at Red Rocks, and an 11-yr-old still at home), two grandkids, two cats, one dog, and one dragon.”

Marie Kuipers writes, “My first book will be published in the fall! We’re All Mad Here is a darkly funny memoir about grief, loss, roller derby, emotional support poultry, and making family dysfunction my bitch. (Can I say that in the Sundial magazine?) My freshman spring at Walker’s is featured in my favorite chapter, “Feathers from Charlie.”

Julia Wilcox shares, “I am a reading specialist, tutoring kids with dyslexia and other learning challenges in and around Alexandria, Virginia. I keep in close touch with many Walker’s friends. In fact, I am a very proud godmother to sons of Pammy Johnson Gammill, Maria Paleologos Green, and Shay Graydon ’88. In addition

to fly fishing, I also enjoy competing in ballroom dancing — mainly waltz, tango, foxtrot, rhumba, cha-cha, and salsa. I would love to get together with any classmates in the Washington, DC Metro area.”

1988

Carolyn “Carrie” Pouch

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Margaret “Dolly” Meinert Eschbach writes, “I spent much of last summer at the Lexington County Blowfish stadium where I wrote ‘patriotic minute’ announcements for the home games. Topics included the names of the 13 U.S. soldiers who were killed in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, voting reminders and election information, appreciation for the local Fort Jackson recruits and all military, and (what I hope were) interesting facts about the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, presidents, and this country’s forefathers. The baseball season was a great success with the ‘Fish winning the Coastal Plain League championship.’”

1989

Marsha Davis

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

sphynx cat

Julia Wilcox ’87 fly fishing in the Bahamas

Dolly Meinert Eschbach ’88 spent last summer writing “patriotic minute” announcements for her local stadium

While in Paris last year, Alumnae Board member Fiona de Kerckhove ’89 (right) caught up with Lauren Howard Sentuc ’90 (left) and Mary Melvin Fleming ’75 (center)

Jenny Belknap ’90 was recently honored by her industry women’s organization — Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) — as one of their 2024 Achievers! Read the article using the QR code here.

1990

Amanda Pitman

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Jenny Belknap ’90 was recently honored by her industry women’s organization — Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) — as one of their 2024 Achievers!

Rebecca Karabin-Ahern writes, “My children Kara Ahern (16) and Michael Ahern (13) started a 501c3 nonprofit four years ago named ScoopsforTroops.org. They raise money for post-9/11 critically injured veterans and pay for them to attend a healing retreat in Rome, Maine at the Travis Mills Foundation along with their families. They recently partnered with Tunnel to Towers and hosted a golf tournament last August in Farmington, Connecticut.”

Tanya Bradford Ouhrabka writes, “This year my last baby went off to college, so I am now an ‘empty nester.’ Seems like just yesterday I was graduating from Walker’s and headed to college myself.”

Amanda Pitman writes, “This past August I moved from New York City to Ithaca, New York for a job at Cornell University. It’s been a big transition but I’m beginning to settle in and am looking forward to summer in the Finger Lakes region. I’m working as a

program manager at Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and spent the past year launching two dairy innovation initiatives focused on entrepreneurship. It’s been a sprint! Please send me a note if you’re in the Upstate New York area.”

Rebecca Karabin-Ahern ’90’s family at a charity golf tournament, and her son Michael Ahern receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor Youth Service Award in recognition of his work for veterans

Tanya Bradford Ouhrabka ’90 and family in August, 2023, “before everyone flew the nest!”

1993

Augusta “Mimi” Morrison Harrison

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Toan Huynh launched her investment firm, which invests in non-traditional founders building industries of the future — climate tech, infrastructure tech, financial systems enablement, and web 3.0 innovation (alinea.vc). Anchored by institutions and family offices, Toan is hoping to change the landscape for women and girls going into tech and finance and create a virtuous circle for all. She says, “In the midst of travel, work, and micro-naps, my kids are keeping me busy, with Gordon turning four and Sabrina turning 10.”

C. Johanna Hill Vásquez writes, “Last November I moved to Geneva and started my post as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization. I am married, with a son that is 10 years old, and very happy to be practicing the French I learned at Walker’s.”

1991

Sarah Keefer

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1992

Whitley Ram Schoeny

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Ann Huynh was recently appointed Managing Director and Co-Head of the Houston office of Getzler Henrich & Associates, a premier consulting firm focused on restructuring and corporate finance advisory. Alex and Audrey are officially teenagers! Alex (9th grade) will be a camp counselor and a lifeguard this summer, and Audrey (8th grade) is a softball rock tar in addition to being a kitchen scientist and total foodie!

Jasmin Marquez Whitehead writes, “Greetings to all the women of The Ethel Walker School community! Many of my classmates can attest that from the beginning of my time at Walker’s, music played a huge part of my life. I showed up to the dorm with a record player and a boom box. Upon graduating college, I began my career in the music industry. Although I pivoted away from music into media and sports, my role has once again evolved and is focused on music at the NBA. It has been a full circle moment. This opportunity brings back so many cherished memories of my time at Walker’s. I’ve always enjoyed exploring new music and bringing awareness of new artists or what’s trending, while honoring the legacy of all genres and its impact on our collective experiences. In this role, I’ve been honored to once again work with some of the most talented artists and musicians in the industry in order to bring to life tentpole events, marketing activations, and season-long experiences across the game of basketball.”

1994

Philippa “Pip” Eschauzier Earl The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sofie Taurel Warren writes, “I was sorry to miss our 30th reunion this year, as my year at Walker’s continues to be one of the

Johanna Hill Vásquez ’90 celebrating 30 years of the TRIPS Agreement at the WTO

Huynh cousins (children of Ann Huynh ’92 and Toan Huynh ’93) L to R: Audrey, Sabrina, Gordon, Alex, and Wesley

Toan Huynh ’93’s children Sabrina and Gordon

Jasmin Marquez Whitehead ’93

most impactful times of my life. Hopefully I will get back before the 50th reunion! I am a photographer, still living in Barbados, married, and have two boys studying in the U.K.”

1995

Nicole “Nicky” Lewenson Shargel

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1996

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1997

Alicia Benedetto

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Karen Crowe

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sumitra Daswani writes, “I’m still living in Mumbai, India after eight years, working as a Holistic Health and Nutrition Coach and Sound Therapist. My husband, Harsh, and I were blessed with our second daughter last year. Ila is now three-and-a-half years old and Uma is eight months old. I am hoping to make it to the next reunion, and would love to see some friends visit us here in India. Missing you all!

1998

Brooke Berescik-Johns

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Rachael Rosselli writes, “The past year has seen the stars align for me — finally! I got married over Memorial Day Weekend in 2023

on Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Massachusetts. My husband Andrew Haynie (Atherton, California) and I have made our new home in Ipswich, with our quirky rescue dog, Gumbo, after a long-distance relationship during the pandemic. It was wondrous having my parents walk me down the aisle and Meredith Davison in my bridal party. My cherished ‘Old Girl,’ Courtney Massenberg ’96, joined in the celebration too. I’ve been working for the American Red Cross as Senior Corporate Philanthropy Officer over the past six years and volunteer at the Boston Food Pantry and VA Medical Centers across the state as often as possible. My love of the arts is alive and well — going to see Boston Ballet perform and attempting to relearn the piano. I’d like to think Ms. Dorothy Silverherz and Mrs. Dorothy Cowles would be proud. To all alumnae: Please contact me at rsrosselli@gmail.com if you’re in the Cape Ann area.”

1999

Vivienne Felix

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2000

Allison Quigley

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Kara Ouellet Lucht writes, “Being the parents of two very active teenagers keeps my husband Justin and me pretty busy these days! Our son, C.J., is heading into his sophomore year at Avon Old Farms, where he plays football, hockey, and lacrosse. Our daughter, Hallie, is going into 8th grade. She is a member of the Fins swim team and is involved in theater and orchestra at her middle school. I am looking forward to being back on campus in the spring to celebrate our 25th reunion!”

2001

Alicia Little Hodge

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Sumitra Daswani ’97 and family on a recent holiday to Sri Lanka

Rachael S. Rosselli ’98 and Andrew M. Haynie on May 28, 2023

2002

Holly Jackson

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2003

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Nisreen Bayazid writes, “We have opened a nursery school and couldn’t be more excited about our newest endeavor. Go SUNS!”

2004

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Elizabeth “Liz” Acorn writes, “Thankfully, all is well here in Sonoma County, California. I’ve been volunteering part of each year at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (which takes place each January), but most of my time is spent hanging out with my main toddler man, Noah, who will be turning three

C.J. and Hallie Lucht, son and daughter of Kara Ouellet Lucht ’00

Melissa Scully ’02 married Nathan White on October 21, 2023 in Norwich, CT

Elizabeth “Liz” Acorn ’04’s son Noah Joseph, “the silliest goose!”

Nisreen Bayazid ‘03 and family

in August. He’ll be starting preschool this fall, and I’m looking forward to reviving my massage practice when he does. Still dancing, though mostly around my kitchen, which is more than enough for me. I’ll be going to dance in the redwoods in a few weeks though; that should be a trip! Hope everyone is feeling good and full of sun rays.”

Nisha Mungroo-Inga says, “I had a baby boy, Francis Inga, on August 6, 2022.”

Sarah Prager says, “I’ve been writing up a storm and have four published books out: Queer, There, and Everywhere: 27 People Who Changed the World (for teens), Rainbow Revolutionaries: 50 LGBTQ+ People Who Made History (for middle schoolers), A Child’s Introduction to Pride (for middle schoolers), and Kind Like Marsha (for elementary school kids). Besides being a writer, I’m a speaker on LGBTQ+ history and love my jobs. After a divorce, I moved to western Massachusetts

with my two kids (7 and 4) and now am engaged to my fiancé, Aspen. I spoke at an allschool assembly at Walker’s last year about LGBTQ+ history and had a great visit!”

2005

Emma Bedford-Jack

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Emet North (Bogdonoff) has recently published their debut novel,

Charlotte Weidlein Lenzner writes, “My husband Jed and I were so thrilled to welcome Chloe Dodge Lenzner into our family on June 30, 2023. She’s a true joy and really lights up around her big sister Lily (3). Life is hectic but beautiful with these two energetic and curious ladies!”

Sarah Prager ’04 signing books in New York City

Charlotte Weidlein Lenzner ’05’s daughters Chloe and Lily

Reema Dedania ’06’s son Teddy

In Universes with Harper Books.

Katelyn Santella ’06

Nisha Mungroo-Inga ’04 with husband Hide, son Francis, and stepdaughters Chloe and Sydney

2006

Ebony Moses

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Marielle Vigneau-Britt

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Alle Shane

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Reema Dedania and her husband, Christoph, welcomed a baby boy (Theodore “Teddy” Taylor) in May 2023. Teddy is all smiles all the time. He already had visits to our new Atlanta home from his mom’s Walker’s classmates Emily Sappington and Andrea Coggins Toivakka and welcomes others!

Katelyn Santella writes, “I have recently accepted a new role as Supervisor and Curriculum Coordinator at Mount Snow

Childcare in West Dover, Vermont. It has been a wonderful opportunity to take the next step in my career.”

Emily Sappington became a British citizen on April 22, 2024 after six years living in London.

2007

Emily Casey

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Jeanette Pelizzon

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

After 12 years in Florida, Mallory Moore Schowe, her husband Matt, and her daughter Giada moved back to Connecticut in July 2023 to be closer to family. She is currently working at a law firm in the Hartford area in the marketing department.

Jeanette Pelizzon writes, “2023 was a big year for me. I officially put down roots in

Jeanette Pelizzon ’07 with Bob in San Diego

San Diego, CA by buying an old 1950s beach bungalow. I am living out my SoCal surfer dreams which may or may not have been influenced by the early aughts smash hit ‘The O.C.’ I also officially launched my web design agency, Neon Seahorse Design. We build custom brands, websites, and applications. When I am not at my computer, I am trying to surf as much as possible or taking my 3-legged sidekick, Bob (pictured), on beach adventures. If you are ever in the area, please reach out. I would love to grab some coffee and show you around!”

2008

Kathleen Kirby

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2009

Caitlin Moss

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Spencer Waybright Cook says, “My husband and I welcomed our first baby boy, Landon Reynolds Cook, into the world in September. We recently moved to Stonington and are loving being back in Connecticut!”

Mallory Moore Schowe ’07, with husband Matt and daughter Giada

Spencer Waybright Cook ’09 and family

Katherine Gavin says, “I graduated from UConn with my Master of Social Work the same weekend as the Reunion (which I did attend). Upon graduating, I have accepted an offer at True North Evolution, which utilizes wilderness in the therapeutic process.”

Elizabeth “Liz” Nadeau writes, “I’m currently an orthopedic surgery resident at the Medical University of South Carolina. I have been working with The Perry Initiative and Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society to help inspire and recruit more women into orthopedic surgery! I’ve found a passion for running ultramarathons and recently placed second overall female in the Antelope Canyon 100-mile race in March. I also recently married my husband, Robert Stroud. We live with our two dogs, Ries and Porter in Charleston, South Carolina.”

Amanda Petruskevicius says, “I graduated with my MSN from Villanova University and now work as a Nurse Practitioner at an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery practice in the Philly suburbs. I still play volleyball in adult leagues (outdoor and indoor!) and started to venture into the wild worlds of pickleball and golf!”

Alanah Percy Westcott writes, “My husband and I are expecting our first baby in October!”

2010

Marianne Pettit Watt

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Annabelle Hicks currently lives in Vernon, Connecticut with her partner, Russell, and their three dogs: Coda, Heidi, and Leo. During her undergraduate studies in French and music at Colby College, Annabelle distinguished herself as one of the top sprinter/jumpers in New England, particularly excelling in track and field. As a many-time MVP for Colby College’s Track and Field Team, she set numerous records that still stand today. Her remarkable athleticism earned her the opportunity to compete at the NCAA National Championships in the Long Jump event. Throughout her collegiate career, Annabelle received numerous accolades, both athletic and academic, in the Eastern United States for her outstanding performances in sprints and jumps, showcasing her exceptional athletic prowess alongside her academic achievements.

After teaching at private boarding schools for six years, Annabelle pursued her Ph.D. in Literatures, Cultures, and Languages at UConn, specializing in French and Francophone Studies, Welsh Studies, Festival Studies, Comparative Cultural Studies, and Ethnomusicology. She has just completed her fourth year in the program and thoroughly enjoys teaching both undergraduate and graduate students at UConn. Additionally, Annabelle serves as Editorial Assistant for a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. During her time at UConn, Annabelle was a member of the UConn Alpine Ski Team and represented the Nationals Team, which achieved third-

and fifth-place finishes and earned her double First Team Scholar All-American recognition. She has conducted ethnographic fieldwork in Nova Scotia, Wales, and France, where she is crafting a documentary set for release in spring 2025. Annabelle is also preparing to defend her doctoral dissertation in spring 2025. Having presented her research at numerous conferences, Annabelle is currently in the process of publishing manuscripts in prestigious academic journals. Outside of academia, she maintains her passion for music by singing and playing the piano. Her newest hobby is downhill mountain biking, or park riding, which she enjoys with her partner, family, and friends.

Annabelle Hicks ’10

Jonell Brown ’13

Sahra Ibrahimi ’13

Katherine Gavin ’09 receiving her MSW from UConn

Madison Morsch ’13 at her bridal shower pictured with Emilee O’Brien ’13, and with her fiancé Ross at a friend’s wedding

2011

Kelsey Ballard

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2012

Jordana “Monet” Clarke

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2013

Ameena Makhdoomi

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Paige Williams-Rivera

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Jonell Brown shares that she recently did a headphones commercial with Amazon x Loop.

Danielle Shubat ’15 holding a Northern Pike she caught for work. She was collecting Northern Pike to spawn in order to stock them around Connecticut.

Madison Morsch celebrated her bridal shower with classmate Emilee O’Brien in April. She will be marrying Ross Haigler in July.

In May 2024, Sahra Ibrahimi graduated as a member of Delta Omega, the public health honorary society, with a Ph.D. in maternal and child health from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is assuming a new position as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Global Health at Denison University in Fall 2024. She is excited to move to Columbus City, OH this summer. To learn more about her, check out her website at https://sites.google.com/umd. edu/sahra-ibrahimi/home

2014

Olivia Aker

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Taryn Anderson

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Brittany “Britt” Camacho

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Artemis Talvat

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Lisa Volg

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2015

Emily Mauldin

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Talia Basch

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Danielle Shubat writes, “After working for three years in the Inland Fisheries Division at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), I have decided to go back to school to pursue my Master’s degree. I have been accepted to Eastern Illinois University and will be moving out there soon! While there I will also be working as a Graduate Assistant Researcher in their Center for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.”

Caroline Olesh writes, “I recently was invited to attend two special events (Vision Pro and International Women’s Day) at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, which was really exciting for me!

I took part in Apple’s 2024 International Women’s Day event at their new Apple

Developer Center. It was an enjoyable day where I connected with women developers who create apps for Apple’s App Store. I was honored to attend this inspirational day filled with panels conducted by women leaders at Apple and learning the ins and outs of developing apps for Apple’s platforms.

The second event was fascinating because I got a behind-the-scenes look at Apple Vision Pro, their new spatial computing headset, before its public release. A live Q&A was facilitated by Apple experts, and it was an interesting experience learning how to build apps for visionOS.”

L to R: Class of 2015 members Sage Tourigny, Jackie Flynn Mills, Jessica Kantor, Jessica Brighenti, and Annie Peavy celebrating the engagement of Annie to her fiancé Lionel Marshall (wedding planned for February 2025)!

Walker’s guests in attendance at Chloe Silverman ’15’s wedding: Alexis Pancavage ’24, Lauren Braverman (Middle School) ’14, Chloe Silverman ’15, Olivia Aker ’14, Claudia Luciani ’21, Arley Kost (Middle School) ’15, Julia Luciani ’20, Caroline Niland ’18, Madeline Niland ’15, Lauren Pancavage ’21, Julia Cuissart de Grelle ’15, and Artemis Talvat ’14

Chloe Silverman ’15 married Shaya Lomax in West Hartford, Connecticut on October 14, 2023

Caroline Olesh ’15 at Apple’s Visitor Center in Cupertino, CA

Ella Ross ’15 married Maggie Bland on June 8, 2024 and Walker’s alumnae were present across generations! L to R: Taylar Clark ’15, Nikaya Manley ’15, Katelyn Jo ’15, Claire Graham ’15, Maggie Bland, Ella Ross ’15, Alexandra Borreil ’15, Victoria Gawlik ’15, Amina Niass’15, Ruth Harrison Grobe ’69 (Ella’s great-aunt!); not pictured: Chloe Silverman ’15

2016

Georgia Paul

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2017

Idabelle Paterson

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Irene Wang ’16 started medical school last year at the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

2018

Caroline Strapp

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Margaret “Garet” Wierdsma writes, “I’ve started my own professional contemporary dance company, Garet&Co,

which is in its third season. Our mission is to strengthen and celebrate the contemporary dance community in CT, and to create safe and sustainable spaces for dancers. We’ve had the honor of performing at many incredible theaters and venues across the Northeast including Symphony Space, Ailey Citigroup Theatre, The Warner Theatre, Dixon Place, and TADA Emerging Artists Theatre. You can find us on all social media platforms at @garet.co and on our website, garetwierdsma.com.”

Garet Weirdsma ’18 and her company during an in-studio dress rehearsal in January 2024

As part of her Zoo Animal Enrichment class at Texas Christian University, Abi Welch ’20 and her team built an “enrichment arm with resistance“ for elephants.

Jingyi “Adela” Yan writes, “I’m currently living in Houston, TX, and working towards a Ph.D. in the Genetics and Genomics program at Baylor College of Medicine. Although I missed the Reunion last year, I definitely want to be there for the next one! Happy to connect with alumnae in the same field!”

2019

Katherine Dunn

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Xinyu “Hazel” Wang graduated from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude in 2023 and moved to New York City to work at Bernstein as an equity research associate covering companies in the SMID-Cap software and SMID-Cap internet sectors.

2020

Brianna Vega

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Brooke DeLorey graduated cum laude with a degree in communications from the College of Charleston.

Hannah Theriault graduated from Miami University (Ohio) summa cum laude with a B.S. in sport communication and media and minors in journalism and Italian. She is halfway through her master’s degree in sport management there and will graduate in May 2025. Hannah is currently working as the sport information director for No. 25 Miami softball.

Liyanni Vazquez writes, “This May, I graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in economics, a minor in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights, a certificate in Latin American Studies, and a citation in Spanish. After graduation, I will be doing a year of service with the Americorps Legal Advocate Program of Massachusetts. I will be a legal advocate for the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee of Massachusetts, primarily helping with legal issues regarding

DeLorey ’20

her graduation from the College of Charleston, with parents Wendy Hodgkins DeLorey ’83 and Christopher DeLorey

Hannah Theriault ’20

Liyanni Vazquez ’20 (photo by Tony Rinaldo)

Brooke

at

the unfair discipline of and inadequate education for historically marginalized students.”

2021

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Janet Hedges qualified for the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship in Tryon, North Carolina this May.

Sabrina Gries says, “After spending my sophomore year at Walker’s through ASSIST and getting the chance to take honors biochem, I decided to study pharmacy after finishing high school in Germany. I am now a second-year student at the University of Hamburg and couldn’t be more thankful and happy that Walker’s led me on this path.”

Eva Mazzola received the Ted Mullin Memorial Fellowship at Carleton College to study Roman prostitution and its impact on city space in Pompeii.

Lucia-Hope McCarthy writes, “I became a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer! I focus on a holistic, conservation-centric way of teaching and I now work for a scuba company in New York, where I go to New York University! :)”

2022

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Elizabeth “Lily” Ridgley writes, “In January, I had the opportunity to study abroad in the United Arab Emirates with my Business Fellows honors program. We stayed in Dubai for a week, visited Sharjah for a day, and then stayed in Abu Dhabi for a week. This was an incredible experience, not only in the international business aspect, but in the travel aspect as well. This was my first time in the Middle East, and I really enjoyed it! Although the trip was only two weeks long, we packed in a lot of learning, sightseeing, and eating! I went on a hot-air balloon in Dubai, a safari and ATV ride in Abu Dhabi, and visited the

Burj Khalifa and the Grand Mosque. My favorite part of this trip was visiting the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. The architecture and design was stunning. I have never seen a religious site as beautiful as the Grand Mosque. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the UAE and I hope to visit all seven emirates at some point in my life!”

2023

Your class needs a correspondent! Contact Director of Alumnae Relations

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested. +deceased

Lucia-Hope McCarthy ’21 completing her instructor training in Utila, Honduras

Lily Ridgley ’22 in the Dubai desert

IN MEMORIAM

Alumnae of The Ethel Walker School

1936 Marion Nute Docter

1941 Sallie Cronkhite Richard Niece: Phyllis Richards Fritts ’60

Sister-in-laws: Phyllis Richard Gerrity ’37+, Jane Schmeltzer Richard ’37, P’60+, Vera Richard Wood ’39+

1942 Florence Forgan Wheeler

Sister: Joan Forgan Parks ’41+

1944 Esther Johnson McDonald

1944 Louise Lamont

1944 Marian Morton Brown

1944 Mary Studebaker Winder

Sister: Lillian Studebaker Hardy ’42+

Cousin: Helen Studebaker MallersMeyerhoff ’49+

1949 Marie Connors Sulger Roberts, Former Trustee

Daughter: Sarah Sulger Anderson ’84

Cousin: Patricia Connors Warrender ’60

1949 Pamela Pond Goss

1949 Linda Mitchell Davis

Stepmother: Former Head of School Natalie Galbraith Mitchell

1949 Norma Kent Lockwood

1952 Jane Roesler Corcoran

1954 Mariana Reynolds Heap

1954 Royce Lake Lehmann

1954 Betty Richards Tripp

Sister: Barbara Richards Pitney ’56

1955 Susan Salant Wierdsma

Nephew: Former Trustee Frederick Wierdsma P’18

Great-niece: Margaret Wierdsma ’18

1957 Joan Preston O’Neil

Cousins: Jean Tilt Sammis ’57 and Priscilla Tilt Pochna ’59

1960 Alita Weaver Reed

Mother: Alita Davis Weaver ’24+

Niece: Cynthia Reed Klein ’79

1962 Dinah Day

Sister: Patricia Day Storm ’57

1965 Janet Taylor Lisle

Mother: Janet MacColl Taylor ’40+

Cousin: Louise MacColl Bellows ’43+

Sister-in-law: Catherine Terry Taylor ’79

1971 Lynette Lombard

1971 Lucy Sprague Frederiksen

1971 Barbara Marsilius Link

1979 Iris Zwack

1986 Patricia Marie Coughlin

1989 Colleen Szabo Payne

1999 Nicole Jeanne Kuhnke

1999 Meaghan Kate McLean

2009 Lauren Rubio Mandia

IN SYMPATHY

Friends and Relatives of The Ethel Walker School Community

Deborah Marie Alvestad, Former Walker’s employee

Lorraine A. Bilich, Former Walker’s employee

James L. Buckley, Brother of Jane Buckley Smith ’42+, Patricia Buckley Bozell ’44+, and Maureen Buckley O’Reilly ’50+; Father of Priscilla Buckley Illel ’74; Uncle of Kimberley Smith Niles ’68, Talbot Smith Briggs ’70, Jennifer Smith ’76, Patricia O’Reilly ’77, Priscilla O’Reilly ’78, Ann Smith O’Reilly ’80, Anne Charlton Stone ’81, and Carol Charlton Ehreth ’84

Michael Francis Burke, Husband of Sally Beath Burke ’78

Maxine Carley, Grandmother of Heather Carley ’09

Stanley Cohen, Father of Former Trustee Shayna Luciani ’93, P’20, ’21 and Former Trustee and current Walker’s employee Amy Paul P’16, ’18; Grandfather of Chloe Silverman ’15, Georgia Paul ’16, Holly Paul ’18, Julia Luciani ’20, and Claudia Luciani ’21

Margaret Curtin, Former Walker’s employee

Andrew Nicolas Dijounas, Grandfather of Lauren Pancavage ’21 and Alexis Pancavage ’24

Dale Forster Dorn, Husband of Lacey Neuhaus Dorn ’65; Brother-in-law of Elizabeth Neuhaus Armstrong ’73 and Joan Neuhaus ’76; Cousin of Margaret Neuhaus Weekley ’68 and Catherine Shopneck ’72

John Frey, Husband of Hilda Carey Frey ’66; Father of Katrine Frey ’99

Christopher H. Getman, Former Trustee and Father of Hilary Getman Pearson ’86

Debra Gordon, Mother of Sarah Gordon ’14

Henry Hadfield, Infant son of Angela Henderson Hadfield ’04

Michele C. Harris, Former Walker’s faculty member; Mother of Kelly Harris ’08

Lynn Glenn McAtee, Wife of Former Trustee John McAtee, Jr.

Gould C. McIntyre, Husband of Walker’s employee Joyce McIntyre; Father of Jill McIntyre Fitzgerald ’92; Uncle of Paige Trigony ’05

Norma Geddes Milka, Grandmother of Lauren Milka Thibeault ’08

Richard Valentine Munch, Father of Elizabeth Munch ’93

Stuart Michael Oltman, Husband of Hilogene Gay Oltman ’74

James Piper III, Husband of Mary Gibbs Piper ’57

Elizabeth Powell, Former Walker’s faculty member

Max Salvatore, Grandfather of Eleanor Salvatore ’22

Carla Sartori, Former Walker’s employee

John Robert Sherwood III, Husband of Elisabeth Dobbin Sherwood ’57; Brother-inlaw of Anne Dobbin Bailliere ’59

Rene R. Trespalacios, Husband of Susan Gardiner Trespalacios ’74; Brother-in-law of Margaret Gardiner ’67

Ausencio Vidriesca, Walker’s employee

Margaret Ludwig Wallace, Mother of Kathleen Wallace Wee ’79

+ Indicates pre-deceased

NOTE: All listed here were known to the Advancement Office between our last publication and April 30, 2024.

Girls Education is Important!

The Annual Fund for Walker’s is a fundamental component of the School’s operating budget. Since 1911, philanthropy has supported Walker’s mission and commitment to prepare girls to make a difference in the world.

Your gift to Walker’s ensures that this generation of students will benefit from an environment designed for them to excel.

By investing in girls education at Walker’s, you participate in something essential, something that will directly deepen the experience of our faculty and students.

With you, our students can accomplish so much!

Please contact Leila Howland Wetmore ’82, P’18 with questions about giving at lwetmore@ethelwalker.org

Ways to Give:

Online: www.ethelwalker.org/support

By mail:

Annual Fund for Walker’s

The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road Simsbury, CT 06070

By phone: +1-860-408-4250

230 Bushy Hill Road • Simsbury, CT 06070

Walker's students marvel at the solar eclipse