Sundial Fall 2022

SUN DIAL

PUBLISHED BY

The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road, Simsbury, CT 06070 +1 (860) 408-4467 | www.ethelwalker.org

Meera Viswanathan

BOARD

Orschiedt

Marion Paterson P’17, ’19

CONTRIBUTORS

Carlin Carr, Dr. Ned Edwards, Morgan C. Cugell, Gretchen Orschiedt, Isabelle Russell, Tyler Varsell, and Mary K. Fleeson Weddle ’68

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ben Barker, Isabel Ceballos, Liss Couch-Edwards ’07, Jim Healey, Michelle Helmin P’19, J. Steven Manolis, Katelyn Martinez, Gretchen Orschiedt, Marion Paterson P’17, ’19, Sorrel Reeves ’22, and Tyler Varsell

ADDRESS CLASS NOTES TO:

Advancement Office

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

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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 its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other schooladministered programs.

Dear Walker’s Community,

As I sit at my desk in 2022, I marvel that at this time last year and the year before, and the year before that, our worlds were about to metamorphose so radically, and we simply had no inkling. This is a special issue of the Sundial, an issue that is a retrospective of the last almost three years, representing the challenges confronted by everyone around the globe, but especially the impact on education and students. During this time, we focused our energies on managing the crises, ensuring the welfare of our students and adult community, both in terms of physical and mental well-being, and returning full-time to in-person teaching, which we have done for the last two years, albeit with various mitigation strategies coming into play at various times.

Three years ago, I worried about the logistics for our VITA students assisting families in lessadvantaged areas of Hartford with their tax returns, about our Valentine’s Day celebration, and what the winter semiformal might look like while balancing my travel to meet with alums and parents across the globe. Two years ago, I was fussing about whether and how we would manage in-person learning after our emergency distanced learning spring. Last year, we, like other schools, imagined that the crisis was behind us, not knowing that we would face a new variant of COVID-19 midyear, and return to some of the same necessary practices we had relinquished just months before. Perhaps it is just as well that Heads of Schools never know what lies ahead!

forward with issues of equity and justice. Every institution, especially schools, has had to cope with the political and social fracturing evident in the last two presidential elections and the subsequent assault on our nation’s capitol on January 6. We have borne witness to both the first female BIPOC Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, and the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade after fifty years. These have been history-making times.

Two years ago, our teachers taught an extra section each to help reduce class numbers, sacrificing part of their summers by enrolling in a course on how to design online courses, and then simultaneously teaching in-person and remote — both synchronously and asynchronously — heroes every one! Our staff members have stepped up equally, assuming greater responsibility, spending countless extra hours, and demonstrating that at Walker’s, every adult is an educator.

Has there ever been a period filled with so much challenge and change in peacetime in our country?

I doubt it. And yet we persevered on, and now in this, our 111th year, Walker’s is moving forward.

In the last two and a half years, we have faced many challenges: grappling with a turn-on-a-dime shifting to emergency remote learning via technology for all our students (kudos to our faculty!) How many person-hours have been spent coping with the flood of researching guidelines, planning, and preparation for school to re-open in person each year! That first year we reconstructed our campus with mountains of plexiglass barriers erected in our dining halls, one-way hallways, tent classrooms mushrooming on our lawns overnight, regular COVID-19 testing and quarantines, mandatory masks, and sixfoot distancing becoming de rigueur on campus.

Our societal challenge in the soul-searching wake of the nationwide protests around systemic racism across almost all marginalized groups, and in particular Black people, is critical. In this issue of the Sundial, you’ll read about how we as a school have dealt with many of these national issues on a school-wide level as students, faculty, administrators, and alumnae. You will also read how Walker’s has thoughtfully and deliberately moved

You will read about our COVID-19 policies and mitigation strategies and the fact that in the first year of COVID-19, we had not a single case of on-campus transmission at Walker’s while school was in session and that the total number of cases numbered less than a dozen that year. This is truly noteworthy. Even in the second year, we fared far better than most peer schools, something I attribute to several factors. We did it as a result of building a culture of shared trust and responsibility (a special shout-out to all our families of students who curtailed their activities in order to support the Walker’s ‘bubble’), assiduous planning by our school COVID-19 Task Force with the guidance provided by our Trustee COVID-19 Task Force, and a healthy measure of luck!

Last year we received the largest gift in the School’s history from one of our alumnae, $25,000,000, and concluded a Campus Master Plan as part of our three-year Strategic Plan. Our work continues apace as we aspire to new heights. Our strategic plan has led to the completion of over 75% of the 300-plus initiatives drafted to help us realize our strategic goals. The Campus Master Plan will provide the physical foundation and ambience for Walker’s in the next few decades, both in terms of material needs and the ethos for our Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program that you’ll read about in this issue of the Sundial.

Has there ever been a period filled with so much challenge and change in peacetime in our country? I doubt it. And yet we persevered on, and now in this, our 111th year, Walker’s is

moving forward. Today, our own community continues to focus on the silver lining — in the new ways we are able to engage with our own students, parents, and alumnae — who continue to forge ahead to better the world. The ability to host intergenerational events with both students and alums across the globe is truly a gift. We all have gained so much at this moment in time of being tested by circumstances beyond our control.

What have I learned as Head of School? Gratitude, patience, pragmatism, and the power of a sense of humor. Eric has been by my side throughout and is steadfast in his support, love of me, and our School. I have had the privilege

to work with a remarkable group of administrators and Head’s Council members, as well as the finest board chair, Kit O’Brien Rohn ’82, and group of Trustees I could imagine. I have never been more excited about all that is to come than I am right now with the momentum of all that we’ve been building — this is the moment of lift!

Meera Viswanathan Head of School

Health First:

A Retrospective on COVID-19 and our Community

WHEN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HIT THE COUNTRY IN MARCH OF 2020 and forced the closure of educational institutions nationwide, Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan met the challenge swiftly and decisively, with one clear agenda: “health first.”

The health of the students, faculty, and staff on campus was, of course, the priority, but also significant was the health of the School itself. Both short- and long-term implications extended well beyond the classroom, athletic fields, dormitories, and dining and meeting spaces; also considered were supporting the mental wellbeing of everyone in the community, taking care of the physical campus, and preparing for the ever-evolving nature of a global pandemic.

Early on, the School implemented a COVID-19 Task Force, consisting of administrative heads from all facets of school life, and led from the top by Meera, Joyce McIntyre, Director of Health Services, former COVID-19 Coordinators: Elisa Del Valle, Assistant Head for Student Life, Director of Social Justice and Inclusion and Dr. Ned Edwards, Dean of Faculty, Director of the Capabilities Approach Program. This fall, Isabel Ceballos, Head of Middle School is taking on the additional responsibilities as our COVID-19 Coordinator.

Walker’s administrative team, in partnership with its

COVID-19 Task Force, used the most up-to-date information available to establish protocols and guidelines while paying close attention to the importance of the health and safety of all members of the Walker’s community. Plans continue to be adjusted to follow the latest guidelines and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and national, state, and local officials and health care providers. This plan considers the ever-evolving situation, which requires administrators to be nimble and to adjust protocols and procedures as necessary in response to new research or guidance from government officials.

Walker’s Board of Trustees established a COVID-19 Task Force as a board committee whose membership included physicians, educators, and administrators with expertise at primary, secondary, and higher education levels and attorneys who work with schools on a variety of issues, including safety and security. This invaluable committee apprised the administration about current updates regarding COVID-19, connecting the School with experts in the field and needed resources. Outcomes included guiding the thinking behind new policies based on emerging best practices at schools and universities around the country, especially in Connecticut. This was critical to our success.

The Learning Environment and Outdoor Classrooms

Each modification to Walker’s academic program prioritized health and safety while delivering intentional educational experiences for all students. Before school began in fall 2020, all faculty members participated in a three-week professional development course with One Schoolhouse, an educational organization that has expertise in online, blended, and in-person learning. Through the course, faculty members explored best practices in designing, building, and teaching via hybrid learning. They were also able to network with other independent school educators from across the country as they reimagined their courses in a hybrid format. As part of this professional development, teachers were challenged to redesign their curricula to serve students learning in person on campus as well as those learning remotely.

Central to this work was a series of course standards, teacher competencies, and a hybrid course template from One Schoolhouse that we have adapted to reflect Walker’s mission and values. These standards and competencies offer support, structure, and transparency yet allowed teachers to be fully creative in designing learning activities and assessments. At that time, the goal was to streamline the experience for students as they navigated course materials and to be ready should there be a need to move to full-distance learning mode at any point throughout the year. Today, Walker’s is still prepared to pivot and meet the many modes that students may use while learning.

“In any given year, teachers go above and beyond. It’s hard to put into words what teaching this year has entailed. We are grateful for the health of our community and the way we hit many of the milestones, and maybe our teachers made it look easy. Truthfully, it was anything but. Our faculty members set aside their own apprehensions — and at times exhaustion — to be there for our girls. They connected with the students in the classroom, those on the iPad doing distance learning, and the ones who tune in later because of time differences. They’ve done it all superbly.”

- Sarah Edson, Former Interim Dean of Faculty

Dining

A hallmark of Walker’s is the closeness of the community, and one way we live community is by eating meals together. The main goal was to provide an environment for students to dine with one another while maintaining social distancing. By working closely with our partner, FLIK Independent School Dining, meal service was adjusted to ensure safety while still providing healthful dining options. Lunch blocks were organized according to grade and paired with seminar blocks or class meetings, providing enough time for the dining team to carefully clean and sanitize tables between blocks and to safely serve meals to all students, faculty, and staff. Abra’s, Walker’s main dining room, was arranged to ensure a minimum of six feet of physical distancing. Students waited in physically distant lines for food to be served to them, and were seated at tables outfitted with plexiglass partitions to create private spaces in which to eat. Dining spaces expanded to include

an outdoor dining tent, dorm common spaces, classrooms, and the living room. Campus faculty ate in dining spaces to foster connection and community despite the plexiglass dividers. As guidelines and protocols were relaxed over the course of 2022, the removal of the plexiglass dividers enabled a resemblance of normalcy in Abra’s and throughout our campus.

• Each class was streamed and recorded so students who were distance learning could participate live or watch a recorded version if they were in a different time zone.

• Communication was and continues to be consistent and regular; both teachers and advisers provide updates and feedback for students and parents.

• Class websites offered through PowerSchool are thorough and regularly updated to reflect classroom progress. Grading occurs regularly and in a timely fashion, and both assignments and grades are posted on Veracross.

• When teaching in any indoor classroom, faculty and students were physically distanced and have been required to wear approved face coverings at different times.

• Faculty no longer had designated classrooms, but instead taught in spaces that allow for physical distancing based on class enrollment.

• Larger spaces that have traditionally not been used for classrooms are now used to allow for adequate physical spacing for teaching. These spaces are outfitted with equipment to allow for a strong learning environment.

• Ten outdoor tent classrooms were installed in fall 2020 and again in the spring, weather permitting. These spaces allowed teachers to teach and students to learn while maintaining physical distancing and minimizing congestion within hallways and academic buildings.

• Non-instructional spaces adjusted for physical distancing were identified. Many were outdoors, where students could have lunch or relax during free periods. Clubs often met in the outdoor spaces.

We

of our female-led FLIK Independent School dining services team, an uncommon occurrence in

Both Maria Zarrillo, FLIK Food Service Director and Morgan Ramos, FLIK Executive Chef have

well-being of our community which is proven daily with the healthy options

delicious for everyone!

Dorm Living

The School took great efforts to ensure that all boarding students were able to enjoy residential experience as close to normal while also focusing on creating living spaces that were both functional and safe. All residence halls were outfitted with new furniture and cleaned and disinfected daily. Room fans were ordered as necessary to improve air circulation. Students living in the residence halls were required to wear face coverings when moving about the dorm halls and common spaces, and day students were not allowed in any dorms, until March 2022 when it was deemed safe to relax some of our protocols. As CDC Guidelines slowly evolved, so did our dorm living, albeit slowly. The health and safety of all our residents remain a top priority.

• Sixty Adirondack chairs were purchased and distributed throughout campus, with tent classroom spaces and redesigned library spaces providing ample physical distancing opportunities. This plan takes into account how to maximize both indoor and outdoor spaces for instruction, gathering, and play.

• Office hours were scheduled daily via Zoom so teachers could meet with students, particularly those practicing distance learning in other time zones.

• The majority of hallways in Beaver Brook and the

Centennial Center were oneway to minimize contact. Passing time between class blocks was lengthened to accommodate new ways of navigating between classes. This extended passing time allows students and faculty time to step outside after a class if needed and for faculty to prepare for the next class.

• Activities in the performing arts, including theater, music ensembles, and lessons, are held in creative ways throughout the academic day and in the afternoons to allow for physical distancing in performing arts spaces.

• On Wednesday mornings, four blocks met virtually, with day students attending from home and boarding students attending from campus. Boarding students with single rooms remained in their rooms; students in doubles had one roommate participate in classes from their room and the other roommate participate from the library. This arrangement allowed for additional deep cleaning in our classrooms.

• Morning Meetings continued, via Zoom.

• Today, in fall 2022 we are well prepared to pivot and meet any exigency or mode of teaching and learning.

Sports and Co-Curriculars

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and after many discussions prioritizing community health, safety and well-being, the Founders League unanimously, and with great regret, canceled all Founders League interscholastic competition for the 2020–2021 fall and winter seasons. Team practice sessions remained in the regular schedule, following the academic day. Coaches worked with players to continue to enhance skills while closely following the guidance of sport-specific recommendations by the CDC, OSHA, and NEASC, among other organizations. Practices and intrasquad scrimmages were livestreamed to families and college coaches where safety measures allowed, providing an opportunity to showcase talent as well as help collect footage for recruitment videos.

All athletes wore masks at all times and relied on several bottles of hand sanitizer stationed nearby. Teams utilized grids and cones to maintain adequate spacing. Volleyball nets were erected outside to keep those athletes outdoors as much as possible. End-of-season intramural scrimmages provided a much-anticipated reward for students and parents alike.

“Our coaching staff kept a sense of normalcy for our teams at every level,” recalls former Athletic Director Kati Eggert. “We kept teams physically distant but not socially separate,” she says, noting that teams, while focusing on skills and other independent work for

the majority of the season, also built in time together off the field, engaging in activities such as pumpkin carving, group hiking, and filling psych boxes.

“Uniforms were still issued and worn to school; seniors were celebrated,” Kati adds. “Teams elected captains, and we gave out letters. Even though interscholastic competition was taken away, our coaches were creative and did a great job keeping the girls engaged. Moving towards the relaxation of protocols is something all of our athletes and coaches will enjoy — and are so today!”

Testing and Quarantine

The health of the community remains the highest priority, especially when making plans for reopening days. Extensive procedures were put in place for each new school year. Every September, these needs differed — from COVID-19 testing days before arriving on campus to preparations and plans for quarantining, if necessary. The School did administer and continues to administer COVID-19 testing today, whether frequent random sampling or conducting campus-wide testing, as needed.

The Ethel Walker School Health Center is staffed with full-time and part-time registered nurses. In fall 2020, the School instituted a daily check-in using Boardingware (an online boarding school management system) to monitor the health of students, faculty, and staff and maintain the highest standard of safety. The Health Center was physically arranged to allow for separate entrances and treatment spaces specifically designated for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 symptomatic patients when in-person visits were necessary. The Deck House, a free-standing residence on campus (now the home of Harrison Shure, Assistant Head of School, Dean of Academics), located up the hill from the barns, was equipped with necessary supplies to serve as a surge space to temporarily house students until they could be safely picked up by a parent or guardian.

Joyce McIntyre, Director of Health Services, is quick to credit the support of Meera Viswanathan, Head of School, the COVID-19 Task Force, and the entire network of surrounding independent schools as essential for keeping the School up to date and in line with protocols and best practices. “We had weekly Zooms with other health services directors, sharing the most up-to-date information,” Joyce explains. “That has proved invaluable.” Elisa Del Valle and Ned Edwards, both Former COVID-19 Coordinators, and today, Isabel Ceballos, Head of Middle School and current COVID-19 Coordinator regularly met and continue to meet, as needed, with other area schools’ COVID-19 Coordinators through the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, as does Meera, with other heads of school. Together, they coordinated and continue to coordinate today the School’s effort, response, and dissemination of information. “Our ability to transparently and consistently communicate with the community, and Meera’s consistent involvement, has been key,” Elisa explains.

Academic 2021-2022 Spotlight: Public Health

“Now more than ever we need students entering the public health field,” states Dr. Suzanne Piela, science department chair and the instructor behind one of Walker’s newest year-long course offerings: public health. “It is a necessary field that is key to our survival. We spend trillions of dollars in this country managing and treating chronic diseases, and we spend a fraction of that sum on public health practice. I want Walker’s students to understand that if we follow the public health model of prevention instead of treating after disease has already occured, then we could lead much healthier and happier lives.”

Although the genesis of the course was Suzanne’s personal passion for public health, the timing couldn’t have been better. It coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health was thrust to the forefront of modern medicine discussions. After designing and teaching several minicourses on epidemiology, Suzanne applied and was selected for a science ambassador program at the CDC in 2017 and spent an intensive week in Atlanta learning about epidemiology, public health, and how to create a public health high school course.

Suzanne used several sources to design the curriculum, including various college-level textbooks to get an idea of the scope of the content. She also consulted the CDC’s teacher resources website and the science ambassador programming to build the class, among other websites. Students read articles and journals, watched videos, and engaged in lectures and discussions.

Students also had a chance to experience epidemiological research firsthand as the Walker’s community engages in a study with Yale University’s School of Public Health in order to explore new forms of contact tracing centered around the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My primary goal for this course is to introduce the students to the topic of public health, and make them aware of the vast opportunities that are available in this field in order to make a local and global difference in the lives of others,” explains Suzanne. “I am also passionate about social justice, and so a secondary goal of this course is to enlighten students about the social determinants of health and how inequities surrounding these factors lead to poor health outcomes for marginalized groups of people.

“I want to inspire students to want to make a change and develop solutions to address these inequities,” she continues. “I hope that some of my students might find a passion for public health because as future voters and citizen scientists, students need to be informed about the agents that affect community health and recognize that a healthy life is a right of every individual — and not a privilege for only those that can afford it.”

New Trustees: Academic Years 2019-2021

Mary Lou Cobb

West Simsbury, CT Cobb Education Consulting, LLC

After graduating from Mount Vernon College, Mary Lou earned her Montessori Primary Diploma in 1964 before founding The Cobb School, Montessori, where she was head of school for 45 years. She is currently the founder and principal consultant of Cobb Education Consulting, LLC. Mary Lou is a founding board member of the Montessori Administrators Association, the Montessori Training Center of New England, and the Montessori Schools of Connecticut. She continues to serve on the board of the Montessori Training Center of New England. She has also served on SPHERE, a coalition of Connecticut independent schools dedicated to diversity and inclusion, and on the Commission for Membership and Accreditation for the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. Mary Lou is vice president of the Whole School Leadership Board and a trained instructor for the Association of Montessori Internationale’s Montessori for the Aging.

Dr. Eleanor “Elly” Daugherty P’26 Hartford, CT

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, University of Connecticut

Elly earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a master’s and a doctorate in education from Columbia University. She is associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Connecticut with responsibility for the health and well-being of UConn students. During her tenure at UConn, Elly has presented and published on women in leadership, free speech, crisis management, access to mental health care, resources for victims of sexual violence, and undocumented students’ access to affordable higher education. Previously, Elly was the assistant vice president for student life and the associate dean of the college for student life and alumni affairs at the University of Chicago, where she was responsible for providing senior leadership and strategic planning for student life initiatives. Elly has also held administrative roles at Columbia University and the University of Michigan. Her academic interests include diversity and inclusion among underrepresented college students and mental health. Elly’s daughter Annie is a member of the Walker’s Class of 2026.

Jean Moore Edwards ’69

Saint Helena, CA Owner, Moore Ranch Vineyards

Jean earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in education from Stanford University. She maintains a strong interest in curriculum development. Jean lives on Moore Ranch, a family vineyard business, which she operates and manages with her husband, Robert J. Edwards. Jean began her career in the Los Angeles entertainment business, where she produced docudramas for network television. She later became a pastry chef before moving to Napa, where she has lived for nearly 30 years, managing 80 acres of premium grape vineyards. Moore Ranch fruit supplies Cakebread Cellars, Sterling Vineyards, and other well-known wineries. Jean attributes her successes to her Walker’s education and remains an active equestrian, competing in hunter/jumper shows on the West Coast.

Ximena Eleta de Sierra ’83

Panama City, Panama

President of the Board of Directors, Fundación Gramo Danse; Founder and Co-Director, PRISMA Ximena earned her undergraduate degree in Languages and Linguistics at Georgetown University, and her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin. She worked as an English professor, as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations, and as an independent college counselor for 20 years. Ximena has danced professionally (aerial and contemporary) for over two decades. She is President of the Board of Directors of Fundación Gramo Danse, and founder and Co-Director of PRISMA— International Contemporary Dance Festival of Panama. She is also Fundraising Chair of the Georgetown Club of Panama Board of Directors, as well as member of the National Theater Board of Trustees and the Chamber of Commerce Creative Industries Committee.

Toan Huynh ’93

New York, NY

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

Toan earned her Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s Certificate in International Relations and Comparative Economics from Kyung Hee University. A former technology founder turned investor, she is also an advisor for early-stage startups, focusing on B2B SaaS, fintech, IT Services, and enterprise technology, with experience in private equity and venture capital funds. She serves as a non-executive director for private and public boards. Toan is currently an Independent Director for both Sunlight Financial and Flagstar Bank, as well as a Partner at Baylane Capital. Toan is an avid advocate for women in technology and finance and an active investor in the North American technology ecosystem.

Cynthia “Cynnie” Kirkland Kellogg ’60

Short Hills, NJ

Cynnie attended Smith College after graduation from Walker’s. She has a long history of supporting farm, forest, and coastal land conservation efforts. She currently serves on the boards of Greenwood Garden, a public garden in New Jersey, as well as the Coastal Conservation League and Drayton Hall in South Carolina. Cynnie also served for many years on the board of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and currently serves on its Advisory Committee. She has been an active member of the Short Hills Garden Club and the Garden Club of America. Cynnie is currently Co-Chair of Walker’s Copper Beech Society.

TRUSTEES

Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23

Ann Arbor, MI

President, Huhtamaki North America

Ann earned a bachelor of science in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School. She also completed Harvard Business School’s executive education program, Women on Corporate Boards. Ann is currently president of Huhtamaki North America, leading a packaging manufacturing business that services retail, food service, and consumer goods customers. Ann was previously managing director of the angel investment group, Four Provinces Investments LLC. She has also held positions as executive vice president of global products for the Intertek Group, vice president and general manager at Amcor Limited, and general manager at the General Electric Company and worked for both McKinsey & Company and Procter & Gamble. Ann has lived and worked for half of her career outside North America in Australia, Sweden, Germany, China, and Argentina. Her daughters both attend Walker’s: Janet Hedges in the Class of 2021 and Jordan Hedges in the Class of 2023.

Sahba Sadegh-Vaziri ’82

New York, NY

Chief Financial Officer, Safar Partners, LLC President, Susa Associates, LLC

Sahba earned a BS in Electrical Engineering at MIT and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She is Chief Financial Officer at Safar Partners, LLC, a venture capital fund focused on early to growth stage technology startup companies from MIT, Harvard, and University of Rochester, specializing in clean-tech and materials science, life sciences, and artificial intelligence/ information technology. Prior to Safar, she worked as a financial consultant to leading marine hydrokinetic energy company

Ocean Renewable Power Company. She has 20 years experience financing power projects at Lehman Brothers, CS First Boston Corporation, and Bechtel Corporation. An Iranian-American who fled her homeland during the Islamic Revolution, Sahba is fluent in Farsi, Kurdish, French and Italian and has a keen understanding of and interest in geopolitical issues concerning Iran and Kurdistan.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

New Trustees (Continued )

Dr. Wilner “Wil” Samson P’20, ’23 Hartford, CT Lead Physician and Regional Medical Director, Hartford HealthCare Medical Group

Wil earned a bachelor of arts in economics from Vassar College and an MD from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is lead physician and regional medical director for Hartford HealthCare (HHC) Medical Group. His areas of expertise include clinical medicine (nephrology and primary care), school admission, medical education, employment disability, quality control, and compensation. Wil serves on the Accountable Care Organization board for HHC as well as the board for the Integrated Care Partners, a physician-led, HHC-affiliated organization. Wil began his professional career as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and was the site director for its nephrology fellowship program. Additional roles have included Admission Committee member, co-chair for the state of Connecticut retirement division, and member of the Examining Board and the Merits and Compensation Executive Committee. He subsequently joined Community Health Services, Inc. as chief medical officer, helping lead the organization in gaining patient-centered medical home recognition through the Joint Commission. His daughter Ella is in the Class of 2020, and daughter Kate is in the Class of 2023.

Emma Simon ’89 West Hartford, CT Managing Director, Marketing, Virtus Investment

Emma earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and a master’s in business administration from the University of Connecticut. She also completed a fashion design certification from Istituto Marangoni in Milan. She is managing director, marketing for Virtus Investment Partners in Hartford, CT. Emma has been an active member of the Hartford Wellesley Club, including serving as its president, and has volunteered for the Hill-Stead Museum in a number of capacities, including as a member of the Board of Governors. For Walker’s, she has volunteered as a member of the Alumnae Board (president), Auction Committee, Campaign Committee, Campaign Steering Committee, Centennial Honorary Committee, Development Committee, and Marketing Committee. She has also been a leadership solicitor, a Reunion Gift chair, class agent, Advancement Committee solicitor, and, most recently, a Reunion tri-chair in 2019.

Beth Strapp P’18, ’21

Granby, CT Ex Officio, President, Ethel Walker School Parent Association Senior Vice President, Berkley Healthcare Financial Lines

Beth earned her bachelor’s in education from Keene State College, a member of the University of New Hampshire system. She has worked in the insurance industry for nearly 30 years. She joined W.R. Berkley in August 2016 and now leads the Berkley Healthcare Financial Lines team, formed in 2018. Prior to joining Berkley, Beth was senior vice president at Chubb, Ltd., where she served as the Financial Lines health care product leader for 16 years. She has held various health care underwriting, product leadership, and management positions at Executive Risk, Inc. and Chubb & Son, having joined Executive Risk, Inc. in 1995. Beth began her career at the Travelers Insurance Company in 1990 in their managed care division in service and underwriting roles. Her daughter Caroline is a member of the Class of 2018, and her daughter Lizzy is a member of the Class of 2021.

Jamiah Tappin ’00 Boston, MA

Director, Health Resources in Action

Jamiah earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master of social work from the University of Connecticut. She is currently a Director on both the Health & Racial Equity and Grantmaking teams at Health Resources in Action in Boston. Jamiah works to strengthen neighborhood partnerships across sectors and supports the grantmaking team in facilitating processes and allocation of resources between Boston-based hospitals and community organizations. One of Walker’s first Middle School students, she went on to lead as President of the Student Body and later as Co-Chair of the Alumnae Board. In 2021, Jamiah received the Margot Rose ’80 Distinguished Alumnae Award, The Ethel Walker School’s highest alumnae honor.

Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 Cambridge, MA

Full Professor of Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Emiliana earned a bachelor’s in communications with a concentration in journalism from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, Venezuela, a master’s in public policy from Duke University, and a doctorate in education from Harvard University with a concentration in the economics of education. She was senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. A leading expert on education in developing countries, Emiliana has written extensively on issues affecting education systems in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions. Her papers and books cover topics ranging from policies to raising teacher effectiveness to school finance and early childhood development policies. Before joining Brookings, Emiliana served as the chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American Development Bank and at the World Bank in Washington, DC, where she held various positions in the Human Development Network. In July 2022, Emiliana began a new role as Full Professor of Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

2021–2022 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Katharine “Kit” O’Brien Rohn ’82 CHAIR DARIEN, CT

Dr. Shelley Marks ’81 VICE CHAIR

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Christopher L. Brigham SECRETARY WEST HARTFORD, CT

Thomas Regan P’13 TREASURER AVON, CT

Margot Campbell Bogert ’60 TRUSTEE EMERITA BEDFORD HILLS, NY

Elizabeth “Sue” Rockwell Cesare TRUSTEE EMERITA NORWALK, CT

Kevin Chessen P’17 SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Mary Lou Cobb WEST SIMSBURY, CT

Sarah Gates Colley ’75 TRUSTEE EMERITA HOBE SOUND, FL

Natalie Corbett P’21

EX OFFICIO, HORIZONS CHAIR AVON, CT

Dr. Eleanor “Elly” Daugherty P’26 HARTFORD, CT

Harriet Blees Dewey ’60, P’86, GP’21 RIDGEFIELD, CT

Leander Altifois Dolphin ’95, P’24 HARTFORD, CT

Jean Moore Edwards ’69 SAINT HELENA, CA

Ximena Eleta de Sierra ’83 PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

Lindsay P. Flynn ’05 WASHINGTON, DC

Toan Huynh ’93 NEW YORK, NY

Cynthia “Cynnie” Kirkland Kellogg ’60 SHORT HILLS, NJ

Charlotte Weidlein Lenzner ’05 EX OFFICIO, ALUMNAE BOARD CO-CHAIR BRONXVILLE, NY

Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23 ANN ARBOR, MI

Letitia McClure Potter ’55, P’85 TRUSTEE EMERITA GREENWICH, CT

Sahba Sadegh-Vaziri ’82 NEW YORK, NY

Pamela Safford ’81 NEW CANAAN, CT

Dr. Wil Samson P’20, ’23 HARTFORD, CT

Emma Simon ’89 WEST HARTFORD, CT

Beth Strapp P’18, ’21

EX OFFICIO, EWSPA PRESIDENT GRANBY, CT

Jamiah Tappin ’00 BOSTON, MA

Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 WASHINGTON, DC

Dr. Meera Viswanathan EX OFFICIO, HEAD OF SCHOOL SIMSBURY, CT

Emily Wick P’15 NORFOLK, MA

Teresa C. Younger BROOKLYN, NY

New Faculty and Staff: Academic Years 2019-2022

Carole Bernocco ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND BILLING BOOKKEEPER

Carole Bernocco joined Walker’s Business Office staff in 2021. She has over 40 years of accounting experience. Born and raised in New York, Carole enjoys walking, movies, and going to the gym.

Kristen Blatt BARN MANAGER

Kristen is a 2011 graduate of Centenary University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in equine studies with a concentration in equine business management. At Centenary, she competed on the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association team which won two national championships. Upon graduating from Centenary, Kristen worked as barn manager at Coole Park Farm in Millbrook, NY, for eight years prior to joining Walker’s equestrian staff.

Kathryn Bratslavsky ADVANCEMENT ASSOCIATE

Kathryn earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Connecticut, where she was a New England scholar, graduating cum laude. She enjoyed studying abroad in London, where she assisted in a primary school classroom as she continued her studies. She returned to UConn to earn a second degree, in psychological science. Following graduation, Kathryn moved to Denver to work at Children International, a nonprofit child sponsorship organization fighting poverty and helping children around the world. She later moved to Moscow to work in the education field — and travel — for two years before returning to the United States. Kathryn has worked in a leadership consultant firm under an I/O psychologist but ultimately returned to her passion: working in a school setting and supporting young women.

Liss Couch-Edwards ’07 GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND MEDIA MANAGER

Liss, a 2007 graduate of Walker’s, has come home to join our Communications and Marketing team. She has previously worked at Walker’s as a Photography and Graphic Design teacher before moving on to Hartford Stage as their Graphic Designer and subsequent freelance work. She is back at Walker’s sharing her talent behind the camera again while raising her young family. Liss graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and then went on to get her master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Hartford.

Bethany Davis COLLEGE COUNSELING ASSISTANT

Bethany joins Walker’s College Counseling team as an administrative assistant. While earning her Bachelor of Science in Aviation Business Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Bethany helped manage top private golf course pro-shops, golf tournaments and women’s leagues and later transitioned back to Embry-Riddle to work in the registrar’s office as an academic evaluator. Upon her return to Connecticut, she joined the College Counseling Office at The Master’s School where she worked as the college counseling assistant/student data coordinator. Bethany’s love for horses began right here at Walker’s at the age of 5 when she attended the Summer Riding Experience, which led to getting her first horse and she has been riding ever since.

Kelly DeVivo SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER

Kelly, a Connecticut native, started her 25-year event management career in Boston where she executed events for emerging tech companies. From Boston, she moved to Los Angeles as an account director for an event marketing and promotions agency. After enjoying several years in the California sunshine, she and her husband moved back to the East Coast to start a family, and have lived in Simsbury for 18 years. For the past decade, Kelly has worked as

a freelance event planner working with a variety of organizations including The Necker Cup, an annual Pro-Am tennis event hosted by Richard Branson on Necker Island. She is a graduate of Saint Anselm College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Kelly enjoys volunteering in her community and has done so for Simsbury Junior Woman’s Club, Gifts of Love, Dog Star Rescue, and for her children’s schools. She has two teenage boys, two dogs, and loves yoga, reading, and travel.

Ned Edwards P’07, ’10

DEAN OF FACULTY, DIRECTOR OF CAPABILITIES APPROACH PROGRAM

Ned is the first director of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program. He has considerable experience in various capacities in secondary independent education at two girls’ schools, including chaplain, teacher, director of social services, dean of faculty, and assistant head for institutional operations and strategic initiatives. His commitment to girls’ schools and girls’ education is seen not only in his career choices but also in his engagement with the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, for which he has presented at conferences and been both a participant and a facilitator in its Headways programs. Ned is a graduate of the College of Wooster, Yale University Divinity School, and Hartford Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has served four parishes. Ned’s wife, Gwen Couch, taught at Walker’s from 1999-2011, and his daughters, Liss ’07 and Mega ’10, attended Walker’s Middle School and Upper School. On weekends, Ned enjoys working in his woodshop, building electric guitars, sailing, playing the ukulele, and being taken for walks by his basset hound, Moxie.

Tavia Lee-Goldstein DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Tavia, a New England native, joined Walker’s in 2022 after serving many years as Director of Communications for an independent middle and high school in Houston, TX. In addition to her time in school communications and marketing, she has taught communications, film, theatre, and business & economics at the high school and college levels. She also spent five years directing an academic summer program for high school students. Tavia has an extensive film portfolio that focuses on short-form documentaries and also includes nationally distributed feature-length documentaries and television commercials. She and her family live on campus. She holds a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire and an M.B.A. from University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

Karim Mabrouk

FRENCH FACULTY

Karim joined The Ethel Walker School as a part-time French teacher. From Tunisia, Karim is a native speaker of French and Arabic. He earned a dual Bachelor of Arts and a dual Master of Arts in French studies and international studies with a focus on the study of human rights and peace and conflict resolution. Karim served as a teaching assistant in French and Arabic at the University of Connecticut, a teaching fellow and an adjunct at Trinity College, and a summer instructor at Yale University. He is currently team manager and head coach for the Mandell JCC of Greater Hartford swim team. Karim has volunteered and worked alongside several youth-focused organizations and is thrilled to be a part of the Walker’s family.

Regina Martin

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Regina Martin joined the Business Office staff as a senior accountant in December 2020. She graduated from The University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. Regina has spent the past 30 years in nonprofit accounting, specifically long-term care, healthcare, and child health and wellness in the greater Hartford and Waterbury areas.

Katelyn Martinez

MIDDLE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AND ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR

Katelyn joins Walker’s from her previous role as an assistant teacher for Horizons at The Ethel Walker School and as the School’s art intern in past summers. She is also Walker’s newest dorm faculty member. Katelyn is a recent graduate from the University of Hartford; she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and has an impressive portfolio of original artwork that has been accepted and shown in key exhibits, including ARIE Magazine and the Goldfarb Juried Student Exhibition.

Beth McWilliams CFO/COO

Beth is the former chief financial officer at Shattuck St. Mary’s Educational Services in Bath, ME, and has previously worked in financial operations at independent schools throughout the Northeast. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Robert Morris University and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Gannon University. She is a former board member for the Massachusetts Association for Non-Profit Schools and Colleges, a member of the Independent School Association of Northern New England and the National Business Officers Association.

Megan (Danyliw) Mulhern ENGLISH FACULTY

Prior to joining Walker’s, Megan taught several English courses at Westminster School and the YK Pao Secondary School in Shanghai. There, she developed a school-wide reading program. She also taught at Lawrenceville School and Emma Willard School and worked for the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. Megan earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brown University and a Master of Arts in literature from Middlebury College.

Courtney O’Connor

ASSISTANT TRAINER

Courtney joined Walker’s after completing her graduate degree from the University of Findlay while working with its Hunt Seat Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) team. She has worked in many facets of the equestrian industry and brings this expertise to her position. Along with working with Findlay’s nationally-ranked IHSA team, Courtney has been involved in IEA since high school and has experience at the A and AA levels. At US Animo, for whom she traveled extensively to the biggest show venues in the country, she worked closely with top riders and trainers. Helping young people gain confidence and excel in the sport is a huge motivator for Courtney, and with the value she places on education, she will excel at Walker’s.

Pamela Safford ’81

ASSISTANT HEAD FOR ADMISSION AND ENROLLMENT

Pamela holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from Carleton College and a master of science degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, she was the Director of Enrollment Management and Financial Aid at The Country School in New Canaan. Pamela has also been employed as Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Deerfield Academy; Associate Head for Communications, Enrollment, and Planning at Concord Academy; and Director of Admission at Northfield Mount Hermon School. Pamela is a founding trustee and former chair of the board for the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals (AISAP) and she currently serves on the board of the Enrollment Management Association (EMA). Committed to supporting professional development among her peers, Pamela regularly presents at various national conferences including IECA, NAIS, SSATB, and TABS.

Harrison Shure

ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL AND DEAN OF ACADEMICS

Harrison comes to Walker’s from The Loomis Chaffee School where he served as the History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Department Chair and Associate Director of the Kravis Center for Excellence in Teaching. In addition to these administrative duties, Harrison was a history teacher and the coach of Loomis’ IEA Equestrian Team. As Walker’s Assistant Head of School and Dean of Academics, Harrison will be the academic visionary voice on campus and will lead the continued development of curricula and innovative pedagogies that carry forward our strong academic vision for the School. He will oversee program evaluation and ensure alignment of a curriculum that reflects the School’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging. Harrison will partner with other administrators including Dr. Ned Edwards, Dean of the Faculty, and Isabel Ceballos, Head of the Middle School, on hiring a diverse and dynamic faculty and guiding a teacher performance evaluation system that promotes professional growth. Harrison holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts degree in American History from Pace University.

Tanya Szuluk

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

Tanya started at Walker’s in October 2021 as the Administrative Manager in the Barn. She supports riding events, billing, scheduling, and other administrative duties in the department.

Kim Thacker P’24, ’27

ENGLISH FACULTY, SCHOOL ARCHIVIST

Kim Harris Thacker teaches 6th and 7th grade English at The Ethel Walker School and is the School’s archivist. She is a wellpublished magazine writer and essayist with a keen interest in history and community, and in connecting the past and the present through the medium of story. Born and raised in Wyoming, Kim has retained a love of the outdoors, which she shares with her husband, Walker’s Upper School English teacher Dr. David Thacker, and their two daughters, Molly ’24 and Liesel ’27.

Leila Wetmore ’82, P’18

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND ANNUAL GIVING

Leila was born and raised in New York City and came to Walker’s as a freshwoman in 1978. After graduating with degrees in political science, art history, and French from St. Lawrence University, Leila returned to New York City and began her career in not-for-profit fundraising and management.

Leila worked for and provided consulting services to organizations including Planned Parenthood of New York City, Lenox Hill Hospital, The American Field Service, and the National Academy of Design, among others. In 2001, Leila moved with her husband and two young daughters to Darien, CT, and continued her not-for-profit career, most recently as the Executive Director of the Darien Nature Center. Leila’s daughter, Eliza, is a 2018 graduate of Walker’s.

FIELD NOTES:

Science Teacher Brings Galápagos Experience Back to Campus

The textbook came alive for Walker’s science teacher Dr. Julia Sheldon when she took a memorable trip to the famed Galápagos Islands as part of an expedition with the National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions. From the first day, she was awestruck by the animals around San Cristobal harbor, from crabs to iguanas to sea lions to many different species of birds.

The opportunity to go to the Galápagos was part of an effort by National Geographic and Lindblad to engage alumni of its Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship program; Dr. Sheldon was a fellow in 2014. Her program took her across the globe, including to National Geographic’s headquarters in Washington, DC, as well as to Norway and Arctic Svalbard on an expedition. She also developed an interdisciplinary elective in Arctic studies for Walker’s students.

In 2019, Dr. Sheldon was one of just 18 former fellows selected from more than 125 applicants to travel to the Galápagos for a pilot alumni program. In this interview, she talks about the program and the trip and how she plans to bring what she saw to life on campus.

Could you transport us to what you saw and experienced on the islands?

It was truly a magical place. We woke up around 6:00 a.m., drank amazing Ecuadorian coffee, and ate an array of interesting tropical fruits — all while we watched the sunrise. It was a wonderful way to start the morning. Every day was full of new adventures, such as snorkeling with a very friendly young sea lion who swam right up to my mask before quickly flipping upside down to make a loop and return again.

On another occasion, we visited Genovesa Island and saw many different kinds of birds. I fell in love with birds on my expedition to Svalbard and have been actively birding ever since. The chance to visit this pristine spot and interact with so many unique birds was incredible.

Surprisingly, we also saw some feral animals, including a kitten in the middle of nowhere on our search for land iguanas. We had the opportunity to talk with a veterinarian from Darwin

Animal Doctors about the volunteer work he does with dogs and cats on the islands, which was very interesting.

Could you tell us what was so special about going to the Galápagos?

I treasured this opportunity to get back out into the world and experience somewhere so unique, and so dedicated to conserving its uniqueness. It’s a place all my students have heard about and so many people dream of visiting.

I could go on about the trip forever, but a few highlights include up-close encounters with the fearless animals; daily snorkeling trips among penguins, sharks, and sea turtles; and the chance to get to know another fellow, Kathy Eldridge, from Muscle Shoals, AL, and hear about her school community and her experience in Antarctica. These are the unique exchanges that make the program so powerful.

AND

My goal is to develop an elective course about climate change and to use my experiences in the Arctic and the Galápagos, two wildly diverse and important ecosystems, as jumping off points for the class.

In August 2021, Dr. Sheldon was asked back to the Galápagos Islands as a National Geographic Alumnae. The opportunity to bring along her friend and colleague science faculty member Dr. Suzanne Piela to join her on this second trip was a gift. Their mutual friendship and collaboration has brought a wealth of incredible knowledge to Walker’s campus including the Honors Bio Chemistry course through Yale University Small World Initiative (SWI) Crowdsourcing Antibiotic Discovery and also co-teaching a Master Class to alums during Reunion 2022.

The fellowship gave you the opportunity to interact with National Geographic photographers. This must have been fascinating. Could you tell us more?

I had the privilege of meeting and learning from several National Geographic photographers. It was really a dream come true. I especially remember how photographer C.T. Ticknor shared with me the Hawaiian concept of “kuleana,” the symbiotic relationship between privilege and responsibility. This really struck a chord with me. It has been an important reminder to recognize and utilize the gifts that I have been given and share them with others. My Galápagos expedition is allowing me to find new ways of doing this.

How do you hope to bring what you learned and saw there into your classroom?

The expedition was an incredible privilege that is helping me better understand the world and the big problems Earth faces — and to recognize, and live up to, my own responsibility to help make things better. I’ve already been sharing my experience with students and the wider Walker’s community. It has been amazing

to come back to campus and share all I saw.

My goal is to develop an elective course about climate change and to use my experiences in the Arctic and the Galápagos, two wildly diverse and important ecosystems, as jumping off points for the class. It’s clear that Walker’s students are hungry to learn more about how climate change is affecting our planet and will continue to affect it in the future. I was so pleased to see that more than 30 Walker’s students attended the Hartford Youth Climate Strike last fall and that they are ready to take more action.

Experiencing the Galápagos firsthand has given me so many new things to wonder about and has reenergized my teaching at Walker’s. I am so grateful to the National Geographic Society, Lindblad Expeditions, and the Walker’s community for providing me with this opportunity.

Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speakers Series

The Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speakers Series is made possible by an endowed fund created through the contributions of generous donors in recognition of Margaret Huling Bonz upon her retirement in June 1999 after 11 years as Head of The Ethel Walker School. The endowed fund will be used to bring a distinguished woman visitor to the campus of The Ethel Walker School on an annual basis for the benefit of Walker’s students, faculty and staff. Other constituencies associated with the School community, as well as special guests from the larger community, may be invited to the annual event as deemed appropriate. The priority, however, should always be that of enriching the experience of the students, faculty, and staff of The Ethel Walker School.

Lynn Lyons, LICSW

Licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist Lynn Lyons visited campus as the 2019 Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speaker. During workshops and presentations, Lynn spoke with faculty, students, parents, and members of the local community, using her sense of humor and experience to share insight and engage the community on topics to which most everyone can relate: worry and anxiety.

Lynn, who holds a master’s degree in social work from Boston University and is a licensed clinical social worker, has been in private practice for 28 years, specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children. She travels internationally as a speaker and trainer on the subject of anxiety, its role in families, and the need for a preventative approach at home and in schools. She is a sought-after expert, appearing in the New York Times, Time, NPR, Psychology Today, and other media outlets. With a special interest in breaking the generational cycle of worry in families, Lynn is the coauthor of two books on anxiety: Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous & Independent Children and the

Sara Bronin

The 2022 Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speaker is Professor Sara Bronin. Ms. Bronin spoke in April 2022 in the chapel to the entire campus community, sharing insight into her background and the many opportunities she has had the privilege

companion book for kids, Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids.

To learn more about Lynn’s work, please visit her website at www.lynnlyons.com.

to act upon. She did so with humorous anecdotes about her family, experiences, and the amount of luck she has had with all of the doors that opened for her. Professor Bronin is a MexicanAmerican architect, attorney, professor, and policymaker whose interdisciplinary work focuses on how law and policy can foster more equitable, sustainable, well-designed, and connected places. Her background of impressive roles includes her current one as a Professor of the Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, an Associated Faculty Member of the Cornell Law School, and a Faculty Fellow of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Among other visiting positions, Professor Bronin has taught at the Yale School of Architecture and the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and has been a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Kleinman Center on Energy Policy and at the Sorbonne University in France. In addition to her work in the education sector, Ms. Bronin is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a past chair of the State & Local Government Section of the American Association of Law Schools.

Professor Bronin is also a published author of several books and treatises on land use and historic preservation law, and she

has written over two dozen articles on renewable energy, climate change, housing, urban planning, transportation, real estate development, and federalism. She is also active in public service and has served on the board of Latinos in Heritage Conservation and as an advisor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Sustainable Development Code. In 2020, she founded DesegregateCT, a pro-homes coalition that successfully advanced the first major statewide zoning reforms in several decades in the State of Connecticut. She also has won several design awards for her family’s National-Register-listed 1865 brownstone in

Hartford, CT. Ms. Bronin holds a J.D. from Yale Law School (Harry S Truman Scholarship), M.Sc. from the University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholarship), and a B.Architecture/B.A. from the University of Texas. During her years in law school, she clerked for the then-Judge Sonia Sotomayer on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Professor Bronin brought a wealth of impressive experience and distinction to our Bonz Lecture Series this year and is in equally impressive company with our many prior speakers.

The Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speakers Series

We are pleased to announce this year’s 2023 agreed upon speaker is Karenna Gore, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. Watch for more information to be forthcoming.

Past speakers include:

2022 Sara Bronin

2019 Lynn Lyons

2018 Gitte Pedersen-Botero P’21

2017 Tiffany Dufu

2016 Laura Tierney

2016 Maggie Wheeler 2014 Edna Adan

2103 Faith Middleton 2012 Janet Hansen 2010 Pamela Trotman Reid 2007 Abigail Trafford ’57

2006 Marie Wilson

2005 Patricia Marx Ellsberg ’55

2003 Olympia Snow

2001 Gloria Steinem

2000 Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

Director of Social Justice and Inclusion

Elisa Del Valle presented “Unlearning Our Socialization to Build Solidarity” at the fifth Annual Women’s Leadership Conference at the University of New Haven. Workshop participants took a deep dive into the manifestations of internalized sexism and the ways this internalization harms women in their relationships with one another. Under Elisa’s guidance, Walker’s was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Graustein Memorial Fund to support the creation of a racial literacy project at Walker’s.

As a result of the grant, four girls and two faculty members attended the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference in December of 2019 in Seattle, WA.

World Languages Chair Chris Semk co-authored a book chapter with Juliette Cherbuliez (University of Minnesota), Religion, Ritual, and Myth in A Cultural History of Theatre in the Age of Enlightenment It examines the relationship between tragic theater and religion in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France but also in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Russia.

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-5) Visits Walker’s

During the 2019-20 school year, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, the U.S. Representative for the Fifth Congressional District of Connecticut, visited campus. She met with student leaders, faculty, and administrators, and addressed the community during lunch. In her remarks, Rep. Hayes encouraged students to use their voices, advocate for themselves and others, and blaze their own trails. In her meeting with the Big 7, Rep. Hayes spoke about the representation of women in politics, and the role schools play in shaping the next generation of women leaders.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Rep. Hayes taught high school history in Waterbury, CT, where she encouraged her students to participate in community service work. She first garnered widespread notice when she was selected Connecticut Teacher of the Year before going on to earn distinction as 2016 National Teacher of the Year. That led to an invitation to the White House from President Barack Obama. In her capacity as National Teacher of the Year, Representative Hayes traveled the country and the world as an ambassador for public education, engaging all stakeholders in policy discussions meant to improve outcomes for students.

Rep. Hayes was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2018, making her the first African American woman and the first African American Democrat to represent the state of Connecticut in Congress.

Director of Social Justice and Inclusion Elisa Del Valle; Science Department Chair Dr. Suzanne Piela; Grants and Foundations Officer Dr. Kim Pereira; Congresswoman Jahana Hayes; Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan; Head of the Middle School and Executive Director of Horizons at The Ethel Walker School Isabel Ceballos; and former Director of External Affairs Michelle Helmin

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes talked with members of the Big 7 during her visit to campus and shared her thoughts with the community about the role schools have in shaping the next generation of women leaders.

Distiguished Commencement Speakers

Jahana Hayes

Walker’s Class of 2021 keynote address was delivered by The Honorable Jahana Hayes, U.S. Representative for Connecticut Fifth Congressional District. She detailed three pieces of advice to those assembled after she kicked off her shoes to deliver a passionate address to the graduates of Walker’s 109th Commencement exercises, about living a life of purpose. “Embrace failure. I have failed more than most people have tried. Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase,” said Hayes. “Be the best you that you can be. The blueprint for success will look different for each and every one of you. Your gift is different from every other person in this room.” Hayes also added, “Be of service. Live a life of purpose and responsibility. Remember. It is a privilege to serve. The sooner you realize that your gifts are not your own…by giving, you actually receive. You will decide if it will be a moment or a movement.”

Shabana Basij-Rasikh

Shabana Basij-Rasikh was the 110th Commencement Cerermony speaker. The keynote address was delivered on May 29, 2022. Ms. Basij-Rasikh is an Afghan educator, humanitarian, journalist, and women’s rights champion. She is the Co-founder and President of the School of Leadership in Afghanistan (SOLA). SOLA’s mission is to provide access to quality education across her homeland, where girls’ education is often prohibited or forbidden. Noting this point about the obstacles in life, she went on to say, “We aren’t the same, you and I. We come from very different backgrounds and there were very different roadblocks put between us and our education. But we overcame them. We got past them, and we didn’t do it alone — we had our families behind us, we had our teachers behind us, we had people who believed in us and now here we are, together at commencement.”

Ms. Basij-Rasikh, in her quiet and understated way, yet with her strong words and powerful message, gave all of the graduating seniors a message of hope for the future as strong, bright, young women. She added, “We aren’t the same, but we are more alike than you might realize, and here is something we share and will always share: As girls, as women, we know that we have the power to change the world.”

The Ethel Walker School Visiting Writer Seminar

The Ethel Walker School Visiting Writer Seminar is a semester-long course in which students have the rare and special 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 before the course culminates with a visit by that person to the school. During this visit, the writer will teach master classes, conduct writing workshops, and participate in class discussions. The writer will also deliver a schoolwide assembly and a public reading to our community. The magic of this course is created in the collaborative and symbiotic exchange between the writer and the student. Learning and inspiration move from the writer to the student but also, we hope, from the student back to the writer.

Our Visiting Writer Seminar course is a wonderfully unique way to introduce Walker’s students to real writers. We have been so fortunate to have hosted so many accomplished and award-winning writers of all kinds of genres since our program began. Last spring’s visiting writer was Rebecca Makkai who visited us in April and spent valuable time with our students as well as our wider community.

Immediately after finishing the week on campus on April 7, 2022, she was named a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow by the Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Created and initially funded in 1925 by Senator Simon and Olga Guggenheim in memory of their son John Simon Guggenheim, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has sought since its inception to “further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions.”

REBECCA MAKKAI SPRING 2022 Visiting Writer

Andrew Carnegie Medal Winner, 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalist

Rebecca Makkai is the Chicago-based author of the novels The Great Believers, The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower, as well as the short story collection Music for Wartime. The Great Believers was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and received the ALA Carnegie Medal and the LA Times Book Prize, among other honors. Makkai is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University, and she is the Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago.

Her work has been translated into 20 languages, and her short fiction has been anthologized in The Pushcart Prize XLI (2017), The Best American Short Stories 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016 and 2009, New Stories from the Midwest and Best American Fantasy, and featured on Public Radio International’s Selected Shorts and This American Life.

MAHOGANY L. BROWNE

FALL 2022 Visiting Writer Gund, Mellon, and Rauschenberg Fellow

Mahogany L. Browne is a Brooklynbased performance poet. She received an MFA in writing and activism from the Pratt Institute. Browne is the founder and publisher of Penmanship Books, which she created “as the answer to the performance poet’s publishing problem.”

An award-winning performance poet, she is also active in the spoken word community. She has released five LPs of her work and has served as the poetry program director and Friday Night Slam curator for the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

She is the author of several poetry collections and chapbooks, including I Remember Death By Its Proximity to What I Love (Haymarket Books, 2021); Kissing Caskets (YesYes Books, 2017); Smudge

(Button Poetry, 2016), Redbone (Aquarius Press, 2015); and #Dear Twitter: Love Letters Hashed Out Online (Penmanship Books, 2010).

She is also the author of the young adult and children’s books Vinyl Moon (Crown, 2022); Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice (Roaring Brook Press, 2020); Black Girl Magic (Roaring Brook Press, 2018); and Woke Baby (Roaring Brook Press, 2018). In addition, she is the editor of His Rib: Stories, Poems & Essays by HER (Penmanship Books, 2007).

ADA LIMÓN SPRING 2023 Visiting Writer

National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón is an American poet, of Mexican-American descent, who grew up in Sonoma, California. She attended drama school at the University of Washington, where she studied theatre. After taking writing courses, she received her MFA from New York University in 2001. Upon graduation, Limón received a fellowship to live and write at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In 2003, she received a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and in the same year won the Chicago Literary Award for Poetry.

She is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her book Bright Dead Things was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her work has been supported most recently by a Guggenheim Fellowship. Limón now lives in Lexington, Kentucky where she writes, teaches remotely, and hosts the critically-acclaimed poetry podcast, The Slowdown. Her new book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, is now available from Milkweed Editions.

VISITING WRITER SEMINAR

AIMEE

ANNE FADIMAN

NAOMI SHIHAB NYE SPRING

and Lannan Fellow

DIAZ FALL 2018

Foundation Fellow, Pulitzer Prize Winner

TINA

ADA LIMÓN

Laureate,

Book Critics Circle Award Winner

BROWNE FALL

Rauschenberg Fellow

REKDAL

CAROLYN FORCHÉ

Finalist,

and Lannan Fellow

T. DUNGY

Fellow

EWS Girl Scouts Go for the Gold

Hooray Sunray to Ally Pelayo ’20, Jynaiya Grizzle ’21, Kate Weiss ’’21, Mackenzie Zeytoonjian ’’21, and Catherine D.’23, who all earned Girl Scout Gold Awards! The Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting; fewer than six percent of Girl Scouts nationally achieve this distinction.

Ally Pelayo ’20 grew up in Hong Kong, where she did the majority of her Scouting. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she and her family returned to the U.S. during her sophomore year. She saw an opportunity for a project related to the environment, having spent many wonderful days hiking in Olympic National Park. In a partnership with the North Olympic Land Trust in Port Angeles, WA, Ally developed a series of informational signs that were installed in the land trust area. She also launched a Love Where You Live: Wellness in the Woods session, inviting community members to gather to practice yoga and learn more about the environment and conservation.

Jynaiya (Niya) Grizzle ’21 has been a Girl Scout since pre-K, so it was only fitting that she recently earned the highest award in Girl Scouting. Fueled by her compassion to help others, Niya identified children who are medically or economically compromised and in need of basic school supplies. Niya’s Gold Award project, The Book Bag Drive, provided more than 100 backpacks filled with school supplies to children at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, children with cancer and blood disorders at Children’s Hospital SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and 15 children in Haiti. Read more about Niya’s project by visiting https://jynaiya.wixsite.com/website.

Katherine “Kate” Weiss ’21 was born in September 2003 at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC), weighing in at a mere 1 lb., 6 ounces. Kate was born prematurely at 26 weeks gestation. When asked about why she chose the project she did for her Girl Scout Gold Award, Kate said, “I was born at 26 weeks and spent almost all the time until full term in the NICU. I did this project to give back to the nurses, doctors, and other staff who took care of me during my two and a half months in the NICU.”

Preterm babies often tug at the tubes and wires they are hooked to during their time in the NICU because they are searching for their umbilical cord, which brings them comfort. Kate crocheted small octopuses to be placed near the babies after proper sterilization. “The tentacles on each octopus are thick enough to simulate an umbilical cord,” said Kate, “bringing the babies much-needed comfort.”

Kate donated 80 octopuses to CCMC that she and other volunteers made for the babies. Throughout her life, she has met many nurses who helped in her care. But, she says, this visit to CCMC was different. “This most recent time was the one that really humbled me as to how lucky I am to be here today.”

For almost as long as she can remember, Catherine D. ’23 has been involved with the Girl Scouts of America. At five years old, her parents enrolled her in a local Brownie troop, and now, more than a decade later, Catherine has stayed committed to the organization’s mission to empower young women to make the world a better place. This year, she achieved the organization’s highest honor, the Girl Scout Gold Award, with a gamechanging project for her community, designed to be accessible worldwide.

Catherine knew quickly that she wanted to focus on an issue that many people around the world face, but one that also hits close to home. She chose to raise awareness around epilepsy, a neurological condition a close family member had lived with for most of their life, and a disorder that more than 50 million people suffer from, as well. Epilepsy causes seizures, and Catherine’s family had taught her what to do in case her relative had one. However, as she talked with friends and family about the condition, she realized a lot more awareness was needed.

“I was surprised by how many of my peers knew little to nothing about the disorder, let alone what to do if they ever came across someone experiencing a seizure. I saw an opportunity to combine my love of science and medicine with my passion for public service, all while developing a program and materials designed to educate and empower people throughout our communities,” explains Catherine.

Catherine dove into planning her project in her local

Mackenzie Zeytoonjian’s ’21 Gold Award Project, “Give and Receive,” aims to empower children who have different abilities by showing them that all people can make an impact on their community. Through “Give and Receive,” children ages four to seven with differences such as Down syndrome and autism worked together to create beautiful artwork for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. The art, displayed on hospital walls, encourages feelings of safety and calm. “My main goal in accomplishing my Gold Award was to promote the fact that these amazing children can give to their community by helping others and develop a sense of empowerment that they did something great for their community,” said Mackenzie. “Together we successfully completed two art programs and created a great partnership with Walker’s dance program! Big thanks to Ms. Soule for all her help in the process!”

community of Los Angeles, but when the pandemic hit in 2020, she quickly had to pivot her plans. She moved online and expanded her geographic range, reaching out to the Epilepsy Foundation in Connecticut, as well as to hospitals and universities both in Connecticut and California, eventually building a team of people that she interviewed over the internet and by phone. Her final project is a self-produced mini-documentary, along with a number of additional tutorial videos, all of which are posted on a dedicated YouTube channel. She also created several downloadable resource documents, with editorial reviews from some of the top experts in the field.

“Perhaps the single most exciting part of the journey was when I was finally able to post and present my finished products, and I began to receive notes and comments from people around the world,” says Catherine.

Back on campus, Catherine is busy balancing all her other activities — as a Cicerone, a member of Northfield League, a co-head of Science Club, and an Honor Board representative — and is the first to point out that this latest accomplishment is just one more milestone she could not have reached without the help and support of many others. In addition, she says her project helped give more direction to her future: “My Gold Award project has strengthened my desire to have an impact on community health, whether as a physician or in some other role I have yet to discover. Who knows? I’m hoping I can continue to stay focused while remaining open to new opportunities and experiences ahead!

Jordana Doshna ’21: Flying Solo

Jordana Doshna ’21 has a unique view of the world — quite literally. She recently earned her pilot’s license to fly solo and spends any chance she can soaring thousands of feet above us all.

“The most amazing part of piloting is seeing the world from a different perspective,” she says. “It’s like looking at the little villages they set up in museums but very realistic. My favorite thing is flying over the coast and looking at the waves on the beaches. You don’t realize how small they are.”

Jordana got the idea to start flying by accident. Her family

lives near the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. They are part of the Sponsor Family Program, which pairs a Coast Guard cadet with a local family. The Doshnas’ first cadet, Ryan O’Neill, went on to flight school and returned with many stories, inspiring a young Jordana.

She started her own flying career slowly, but quickly fell in love with being in the air. In between schoolwork and all her other activities, including time spent on the varsity field hockey, lacrosse, and ski teams, Jordana has been training at Coastal Air in Connecticut. She says one of the most terrifying parts of the preparation has been practicing stalls. But nothing has been more exhilarating than her first trip up alone.

“It was so peaceful, yet overwhelming,” she recalls, describing it as one of the biggest adrenaline rushes she has ever experienced. “I went home and ran the fastest three miles of my life!”

Jordana is working toward getting her full private pilot’s license as soon as possible with the intention of being a Coast Guard rescue pilot. But before that, she has plans to try to leave a piece of her love for flying at Walker’s. She started an organization called Flight Club this year, hoping to connect to people who have similar interests — and perhaps even inspire them to take up a new view of the world.

Valarie L. ’25 Takes to the Sky

Then, eighth-grade student, Valarie L. ’25 shared her experience of flying a plane for the first time, inspired by her aunt, pilot Patricia White, pictured right.

“I have several cousins who are pilots — however, the cousin who inspires me the most is my cousin Patricia (Pat) White. My cousin Pat joined the Air Force when she was 18. She was the first African American woman to complete undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, in Oklahoma. She received her wings from 1st Lt. Pete Hargrove, the instructor pilot. She is also the first Black woman to graduate from the Air Force Academy to complete pilot training.

Pat is a Gulf War veteran and has been a pilot for over 35 years. Currently, Pat is a first officer for United Airlines on the 787 aircraft. She has been piloting for United Airlines for 28 years — and her flight assignments are mostly international — Germany, Japan, Australia, India, and Israel, to name a few destinations. When I was 10 years old, Pat told me that I could fly with her when I turned 13. I was so excited for this summer because I was turning 13. COVID-19, however, stopped our plans. In 2018, my cousin Pat flew across the country from Nevada to Connecticut to attend a Girls in Aviation program with me just for the day. I felt extremely proud because she was the only African American pilot at the event and she flew so far just to support me.

At Walker’s, we learn that girls are capable of accomplishing anything that males can achieve. My cousin Pat is my hero pilot.

She has broken a few barriers — she was the first African American graduate from the Air Force Academy to complete pilot training, she is one of a very few African American female pilots, and she is just amazing. I want to be a barrier-breaking, over-achieving, brave, and amazing OBGYN who can also pilot a plane just for fun.”

Although I couldn’t fly with my cousin Pat this summer, I was still determined to fly when I turned 13. On July 13, I copiloted my mom’s friend’s small aircraft out of Brainard Airport in Hartford, CT. We flew over East Hampton, Middletown, Newington, Cromwell, and New Britain. We could see Long Island Sound from where we were. Taking off and landing in a smaller aircraft feels different from a larger aircraft. When we took off, I could feel more turbulence, however, the landing was smoother. I think the scariest part was when I turned the plane around. I thought I was turning the wheel too much. Being up in the air felt scary, thrilling, and breathtaking. I know cousin Pat is proud of me for achieving my goal of flying at the age 13 and I can’t wait to do it again.”

Walker’s on the Road

The Young Women of Color Conference was recently held at Miss Porter’s School. Christina Fares ’22, Jynaiya Grizzle ’21, Asha Haug ’22, Vanessa Lois ’21, Grace Mugo ’21, and Nafarrah Ramsey ’21 attended. Students from area schools gathered to talk about issues affecting young women of color. The day’s activities were organized by student leaders.

Nafarrah Ramsey ’21, Jynaiya Grizzle ’21, and Vanessa Lois ’21 Photo by Stephen Wang Photography Exchange Program with St. Catherine’s School

Before the pandemic hit, Walker’s former Director of International Enrollment Suzanne Buenaventura was in Shenzhen, China, visiting with consultants and prospective families. She found time to visit with parents of current Walker’s students. “It was such a pleasure to be able to enjoy a lovely dinner with Walker’s Shenzhen

families. It’s such a gift to be able to connect with parents and be so warmly welcomed during my visit,” said Suzanne. “They are so very grateful and comforted by all of the love and attention their daughters receive during their time at Walker’s. I am thankful to be able to share a glimpse of their daughters’ lives in Simsbury.”

Four students traveled to Melbourne, Australia just before COVID-19 hit, with math faculty member Daniele Ness for a two-week exchange with St. Catherine’s School. Vanessa Lois ’21, Jynaiya Grizzle ’21, Sophia Botero ’21, and Kate Weiss ’21 spent time with their host families, attending classes and activities at St. Catherine’s, and exploring the area.

“Traveling to Australia was both a captivating and astonishing experience,” said Vanessa. “What wowed me in Australia was how kind the people there were. My host family made me feel at home far from my own. I got to see new things, fulfilling

my dream of meeting a koala, and I even got to feed kangaroos. I have made lasting friendships with the girls at St. Catherine’s and my classmates. I have learned that traveling, especially

with girls at Walker’s whom I would not normally speak to, brought me closer in touch with the core of the school’s foundation — community.”

Xia Cui (mother of Yifan M. ’23); Lingli Deng (mother of Sisi Feng ’20); Jiqi “Jack” Huang (father of Tian Huang ’21); former Director of International Enrollment Suzanne Buenaventura; Ailing Si (mother of Siqi “Alisa” Z. ’23); Lizheng “Jenny” Huang (mother of Tian Huang ’21); Lihua Chen (mother of Zixi “Keira” Wang ’21); and Lingling “Shelly” Han and Dayuan “Jack” Gu (parents of Zhiyi “Alice” Gu ’22)

Mountain Day

Each year in the fall, the entire Walker’s community participates in Mountain Day to celebrate the successful start of the school year. Most years Mountain Day is a tightly kept secret until the day before. With COVID-19 in our midst, the last few years adjustments were made to accommodate the current need to be in compliance with state mandates with an altered schedule, groups sectioned off by grade as well as locations. However, we persevered and went out to enjoy the day in nature! Recent locations to keep tradition alive included: Talcott Mountain, Great Pond, Town Forest Trail, Stratton Forest and Penwood State Park.

Opening Days

A Constellation of Skills: The Capabilities Approach Program

Why do girls often steer clear of certain areas and disciplines?

Though myriad factors are at work, the key question is this: What can schools do to address this disparity and support girls to fulfill their great promise and potential?

The answer: reimagine girls’ education.

A recent New York Times op-ed led with a provocative title: “Why Girls Beat Boys at School and Lose to Them at the Office.” In this article, Lisa Damour explores a crucial question about girls’ learning: “What if school is a confidence factory for our sons but only a competence factory for our daughters?”

Social scientists have long described various behavioral differences between women and men that highlight what has been termed “a confidence gap”; if we want to disrupt this pattern of traditional socialization of girls, we must eschew cheery platitudes of encouragement in favor of a strategy that will help girls shed the internalized blinders that preclude them from realizing their full potential as doers, thinkers, and creators.

Walker’s has emerged as a leader among girls schools in its quest to disrupt this gendered mindset. With the support of a prestigious Edward E. Ford Foundation Education Leadership Grant, the Capabilities Approach Program, as it has been implemented over the course of three years, equips girls with 10 capabilities, broken into four thematic areas: fluencies, discoveries, agencies, and a selfselected capability. The program allows for both challenge and failure by encouraging girls to be confident and resilient while embracing a growth mindset.

“We are reimagining girls’ education in a way that seeks to disrupt gendered mindsets,” says Head of School Meera Viswanathan. “I was drawn

to the thinking of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and his work on justice and the capabilities approach. He suggests that justice is measured by the ability of a person to engage in an array of actions that help her realize her full potential according her own system of values. Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program is inspired by Sen’s research and focuses more specifically on the iterative process of success and failure as necessary stages of girls’ learning.”

Ned Edwards joined the Walker’s faculty in the summer of 2020 as the first director of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program. He brings considerable experience in various capacities in secondary independent education, specifically at girls schools, including substantive engagement with the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, where he has presented at conferences and been both a participant and a facilitator in its Headways programs.

“There’s this idea that something happens after high school or in the midst of high school where girls aren’t getting the skills they need that allow them to achieve at the highest level,” observes Ned, who also teaches ethics and social justice at Walker’s. “We know there are certain skills that girls need in order to be as forthright in the boardroom as they are in the classroom.

“We identified a very specific set of skills that we wanted to focus on,” he continues. “They are skills that we think will ensure success into the future after they

Why do female students tend to become less vocal as they progress through school despite success?

graduate from Walker’s. The Capabilities Approach Program covers everything. At its very core, it is about learning something new and acquiring the ability to pivot when needed in order to gain skills. It’s about the resilience that is acquired by trying something and taking chances. When it works, it’s great, and when it doesn’t, we try something else. That’s the kind of resilience we want our students to learn.”

Social justice is at the heart of the Capabilities Approach Program, Ned explains, citing the emphasis as integral to every component of the program. “We want to make sure that our students, faculty, and staff all have an understanding of the vocabulary and the concepts and why this is important for us to do.

“Capabilities came out of the philosophical understanding of wanting to realize human potential for all,” he states.

Ned frequently likens the capabilities approach to an iceberg: “Voice, confidence, agency, STEM, the ability to collaborate — you get all these just by attending a girls school. That’s the top of the iceberg.

“The capabilities are what’s underneath that’s giving the girl the ballast,” he continues. “It’s the part of the iceberg that you don’t see, and it’s unique to Walker’s. All those things that are underwater — the agencies, the fluencies, the discoveries, the self-selected — are the Capabilities Approach

The Capabilities Approach Program offers a different way of thinking about learning beyond the traditional curriculum. Walker’s views these capabilities as a constellation of skills, interwoven and building on each other, with the end goal being more than the functional mastery of the skill itself. Instead, we view these capabilities within a larger lens that encompasses the development of resiliency, an understanding of social justice, and the importance of girls working together toward a greater aim.

Program that Walker’s is offering. They ground a girl. They give her an even keel.

“These are the things that keep our girls true, that keep them stable and allow them to move forward up to the boardroom,” Ned states. “Our girls will carry these skills with them throughout their time at Walker’s and throughout their lives.”

Most of the Capabilities Approach Program is part of Walker’s seminar program that features several mini-courses the girls take outside of their academic programs. Ninth graders take Positive Psychology, Digital Literacy, and Social Justice. Tenth graders take Coding, Women’s Health, which includes CPR, sustenance, and sustainability, giving girls a focus on the intersection of nutrition, wellness, and the environment where girls learn how to nourish their bodies, their spirits, as well as the Earth. Eleventh grade teaches financial literacy, including the understanding of income tax, and also starts them on their college trajectory. Seniors also take College Counseling, give a Senior Speech, learn a self-selected capability that they teach to others, and end the year with College Prep, an introduction to life on a college campus.

Walker’s has made tremendous strides with its financial fluency offerings, explains Ned, citing Girls With Impact as

THE INITIAL TEN CAPABILITIES:

AGENCIES

1. Self-defense

2. Swimming

3. First aid certification FLUENCIES

4. Digital: Today, acquiring a wide range of digital skills is necessary across all disciplines. As early as sixth grade and up through advanced courses, students are immersed in projects that require

coding. Our dean of academic technology and innovation explores with students a range of digital fluency topics, including creating a personal digital footprint, digital citizenship and differentiated learning styles. One group already well established in these areas is Walker’s Wirecats, the first all-girls robotics team from New England to compete in the FIRST FRC World Championship.

5. Financial: Historically, women lag in the acquisition of financial fluency, resulting in women’s owning and managing few assets. Through Walker’s Capabilities

We know there are certain skills that girls need in order to be as forthright in the boardroom as they are in the classroom.

Ned Edwards, Director of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program

well as the United Way Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Since 2017, Walker’s girls have been IRS-trained to prepare personal income taxes for low-income filers in the greater Hartford, CT, area. To date, they’ve secured more than $650,000 in tax refunds and earned income tax credits for area low income families. This year the investing capability is being added. All seniors are receiving $1,000 to invest, and then track returns to learn about investing strategies.

Digital fluency has two components: digital citizenship and coding. “In the digital age, it’s very important for the girls to understand and know how to be good citizens with their devices and their digital interactions,” Ned says, noting that every girl takes a digital citizenship class. “Coding allows the girls to have the ability to understand how coding works and acquire coding skills that will help them in college and beyond,” Ned explains. “Both the VITA program and the

approach program, our girls will learn more about finances through our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and our Senior Investing Program. VITA is an IRS training program that allows our girls to prepare personal income tax returns for low-income families. Our Senior Investing program, debuting this fall of 2022 allows all of our seniors to invest $1,000 in the stock market, track returns and learn first-hand about investing strategies. Both of these real-world activities are enhanced with elective classroom work, giving students a firsthand look at the complexities

— and understanding — of personal finance and investment.

6. Rhetorical: Having the confidence and skill to speak eloquently and convincingly in front of an audience and ensuring that their ideas are heard are skills that all Walker’s students develop both inside and outside the classroom. Classroom work, community partnerships, and affinity groups are just a few of the many stages on which to safely test — and hone — a wide range of rhetorical skills.

DISCOVERIES

Sustenance and sustainability

International experience

Paid internship

SELF-SELECTED CAPABILITY

10. Capstone project: Each student completes a project that features a unique fluency, experience, or agency that she chooses.

The Ethel Walker School Capabilities Approach Program

LIFELONG IMPACT OF ALL-GIRLS’ EDUCATION

Research shows that girls school graduates have stronger academic skills, higher self-confidence, greater cultural competency, increased political engagement, and stronger community involvement. Girls schools are leading the way in closing the gender gap in STEM fields: Compared to coed peers, girls’ school grads are six times more likely to consider majoring in science, math, and technology.

coding program give girls skills that would allow them to be marketable in some unique ways.”

Rhetorical fluency is aided in large part by Walker’s public speaking program, which is being expanded to include aspects of debate. “We also want our girls to acquire digital presentation skills, as we have all come to know the importance of presenting in formats such as Zoom,” says Ned.

“Our head of school, Ms. Vis as she is known to the girls, has this wonderful idea to have the girls graduate with the ability to be able to speak for two minutes on any subject they are given without any ‘ums,’ ‘likes’ or ‘you knows,’” he continues.

The Capabilities Approach Program covers everything.

At its very core, it is about learning something new and acquiring the ability to pivot when needed in order to gain skills. It’s about the resilience that is acquired by trying something and taking chances.

In 2021 we dedicated a Senior Capstone Project, the self-selected capability. “If nothing else, we want to and need to give our girls both voice and agency, both of which seem to be lost at the boardroom level,” notes Ned. “So we’re giving our girls the ability to choose something that they want to take a deep dive into; something that they really want to study, and that they’re passionate about.

Ned Edwards, Director of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program

“For example, I have an advisee who wants to be a quantum physicist. She wants to do rocket science,” he says. “She could choose something like that and work with NASA’s program for high school students. Poetry. Epidemiology. Veterinary science. Whatever a girl can think of and whatever she’s passionate about.”

Part of the capabilities philosophy is that every community determines its own needs and skills that its constituents need, says Ned. It’s a philosophy that’s been ingrained at Walker’s since day one. “Ethel Walker herself embodied a sense of capabilities,” he observes. “When she wrote about why she started the school, she named three things: she wanted to create something new that was her own, she wanted to take a risk, and she wanted to learn by doing. Those three things are a wonderful summary of the capabilities approach.” He continues, “It’s in our DNA. The capabilities approach is what makes Walker’s stand out as a girls school. Nobody else is doing something like this — that is this comprehensive — and I think it’s pretty exciting.”

Social Justice and the Capabilities Approach

Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program, which recognizes social justice as a primary goal, seeks to enable all Walker’s students to develop a variety of capabilities. It addresses divergences in backgrounds and preparation, offering a foundation for all Walker’s students to flourish as well as develop their cultural competence as global citizens. Walker’s students learn, live, and grow with people of different ages, interests, nationalities, sexual orientations, religion traditions, political affiliations, and racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Multiple classes and activities enable girls to improve their knowledge and develop their desire to shape a society that is more equitable for all.

The E. E. Ford Foundation

In 2019, Walker’s was awarded a prestigious Educational Leadership grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, in support of the Capabilities Approach Program. This $250,000 grant required a 1:1 match from the school community over the course of three years. Astonishingly, support for the initiative was immediate, and Walker’s matched the grant in the first year alone. During the 2019-2020 school year, Walker’s introduced the agencies, followed by the 2020-2021 school year by incorporating the fluencies. Last year, during our 2021-2022 school year the Capabilities Approach program was fully functioning with the addition of the final components, including discoveries and a self-selected capability, which each girl will choose for herself. Beginning in the fall of the 2022-2023 school year we are adding to our Financial Capability: in addition to our VITA program, we are adding an investing capability for seniors, where they will invest funds, track returns and learn about investing strategies.

Celebrating a Community of Diverse Unities

Walker’s Ward and Williams Center

BY CARLIN CARR

Ethel Walker’s vision for launching a school for women in 1911 was a bold idea. Founded with the principles of paving the way for a better and more inclusive world, Walker’s continues to fulfill those founding ideas in new and innovative ways. Most recently, the school established the Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice to provide a space for continued thought, reflection and action toward creating a community of belonging, both in the classroom and beyond.

“We have spaces for sports, for the arts, and now we have a space for sanctuary and reflection,” says Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School.

SPHERE Consortium

And while the Center may be new, the focus on justice is at the School’s very core. When Dr. Viswanathan arrived at Walker’s — the first woman of color at its helm — she knew that it carried with it the opportunity to see the school and its mission through a new lens. She began reflecting on the institution’s founding documents, including the school meditation. One line, in particular, rang in her head: “for in love lies the key to life.” The new head of school found this to be more than a concluding idea in a powerful poem, but rather, a guiding idea.

“It was a moral compass,” she says. “If love translates to our human relationships, then it asks us foundational questions about

In 1968, The Ethel Walker School became a founding member of SPHERE, which today is a consortium of 13 independent schools from the greater Hartford area whose mission is to encourage and assist member schools in collaboration to sustain diverse, inclusive, and culturally responsive environments for teaching and learning. Member schools seek to foster respect for difference and an understanding of multicultural perspectives in curricular and extracurricular programs.

justice and how we understand, know, and ultimately treat each other,” says Dr. Viswanathan, who herself recalls incidents she’s faced because of her skin color as an Indian-American. She sees Walker’s as a safe and open place to explore belonging and what that means — a place of “diverse unities.”

Questions of race and identity have become more urgent and pressing in recent years with the murder of George Floyd and issues of gender. She says that young people have been at the fore of not only thinking about accountability for the past but the direction forward. “They are leading us to ask questions about some of our foundational beliefs about justice,” she says.

The opening of the Ward and Williams Center in 2021 has been a key step in the ever-evolving process of becoming a better

AFFINITY GROUPS

Faculty Affinity Groups

community for all. Based at the physical heart of campus, on the second floor of Beaver Brook, the center has already become a hub of activity, says Director Elisa Del Valle. “It’s a busy place. We built it and they came.”

The space, which has a giant table for working and collaborating as well as soft seating for relaxing and dialogue, also has a robust collection of related books. On the walls are photos of pioneering alumnae who reflect the broad diversity of the community. They also act as powerful reminders of how far the school has come since Casey Ward ’71 and Donna Williams ’71 — for whom the Center was named — become the first two Black women to graduate from Walker’s, joining an all-white class in 1971.

And while Del Valle describes the space as one of “joy, respite and learning,” she also says the space is a place for acknowledgement of the struggles community members such as Ward and Williams have faced. “It offers a place to reflect as a community on how Walker’s collectively can do better,” she adds.

The

Student Affinity Groups

The

The Black

The

The

American

(BSU)

That idea of “doing better” is always evolving and what justice looks like today is not the same as it looked in 1971. “Every day we start again and say, ‘Where are we and what we can do better?’” says Dr. Viswanathan. “Social justice is not a fixed idea.

In the 1960s, financial aid was a form of social justice. That doesn’t mean that this is the end; it’s part of a continuum.”

(LASO)

Wings (Gender and Sexuality Alliance)

The Jewish Student Union (JSU)

The Student White Anti-Racist Group

The ways in which the community at Walker’s is engaging with justice and inclusion is far-reaching. To start, Del Valle is also the Director of Student Life, and believes that bringing together these two areas under her purview ensures that the work of the Center is not remaining within the boundaries of the physical space. She sees its work and ideas emanating onto the playing fields and into the classroom and dorms.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE

At Reunion 2021, the year that marked the 50th anniversary of Walker’s first Black graduates, Cassandra “Casey” Ward ’71 and Donna Williams ’71, the Class of 1971 announced a $100,000 endowed gift to name the new Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice in honor of their pioneering classmates. The gift was part of a focused effort by the Class of 1971 to raise funds in celebration of their 50th reunion. Class members continue to support this endowment and the Ward and Williams Center.

RECOMMENDED READING

The following is a list of titles recommended by the leaders of our White Anti-Racist Educators (WARE) affinity group on campus.

So You Want To Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Tatum

Caste, by Isabelle Wilkerson

The Little Book of Restorative Justice, by Howard Zehr

Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race, by Debby Irving White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo

How to be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram Kendi Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond

Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality by Jeannie Oaks

Walker’s has also committed to offering courses at every grade level that incorporate critical thinking and understanding around equity and justice topics. There has also been an emphasis on collaborating with student groups and organizations and engaging with alumnae to further advance this work. More broadly, since 1968, Walker’s has been a founding member of SPHERE, a consortium of 13 independent schools from the Greater Hartford area collaborating to sustain diverse, inclusive, and culturally responsive environments for teaching and learning.

Back on campus, Elisa has also championed the creation of an

We’re creating a place where everyone has a fuller sense of themselves on campus. It’s our mission and mandate.

~ Dr. Meera Viswanathan

L to R: First Black Student Body President Lori Stewart ’87, Director of Social Justice and Inclusion Elisa Del Valle, Donna Williams ’71, Head of School Meera Viswanathan

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE

The Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice

The Ward and Williams Center, officially named in May 2021 during Reunion, is a physical space located on the second floor of Beaver Brook, for learning, growing, and cultivating belonging in the community, across difference and through difference.

“We have all done harm, experienced harm, and are accountable,” explains Elisa Del Valle, Assistant Head of

Student LIfe, Director of Social Justice and Inclusion at Walker’s.

“How do we teach accountability to young people? That is the work of the Center. My hope is that the Center is where students who have been historically excluded can come for respite and also experience joy. In justice work, it’s not all hardship and isolation and being excluded. There is growth and joy that is cultivated in communities of color and in queer communities that often also goes unacknowledged.

Equity Committee, a task force that will build and implement a three- to five-year strategic plan and streamline the process for considering suggestions for foundational change across the school community in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. And, at the heart of all of it is the Ward and Williams Center.

“If we lead with the center,” says Del Valle “at the center of the community, then we won’t lose our way.”

Dr. Viswanathan agrees. She says that the work that needs to be done is not simply a philosophy that lives only in documents and traditions. “We’re creating a place where everyone has a fuller sense of themselves on campus,” she says. “It’s our mission and mandate.”

STUDENT CONFERENCES

NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference

SPHERE Student of Color Summit

Jumoke’s Middle School Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Oratory Contest

CAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference

Community GAYme Nights

The Young Women of Color Conference (Walker’s, Choate, Miss Porter’s School, and Loomis Chaffee)

“As an institution, we need to do a better job at holding both the complex history of historically excluded communities and the joyful and intellectual contributions that those same communities have brought to Walker’s, Simsbury, the state of Connecticut, our country, and the world. Introspection is really important, and girls need to know who they are and how they have learned before they start to do anything else in the world.”

The Equity Team

The Equity Team is a taskforce created to build and implement a three- to five-year strategic plan and streamline the process for considering suggestions for foundational change across the School community related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. This fall, a selection committee reviewed applications from the Walker’s community to bolster the team with additional members; the committee was able to select a robust group of individuals based on their interests, backgrounds, and ability to identify areas that are in need of utmost support in this capacity.

The selection committee included Director of Social Justice and Inclusion Elisa Del Valle, History Faculty member John Monagan, former Interim Dean of Faculty Sarah Edson, Head of Middle School Isabel Ceballos, and Chief of Staff Heather Bucknam.

Last year, we were so pleased to welcome our initial Equity Team community members. Class Representatives Kristen St. Louis ’21, Akira Hippolyte ’22, Lauren K. ’23, Averi R. ’24, Alumnae Representative April Bolton Mwangi ’00, Middle School parent representative Dr. Stephanie McCall P’25, Upper School parent representative Gary Jones P’21, former faculty member Rebecca Rojano, and former staff member Princess Hyatt.

Alumna Veda Pendleton ’75

Visits Walker’s to Launch Her Newest Book

Dr. Veda Pendleton ’75 talks with members of the Black Student Union during a lunchtime discussion about her latest and fifth book, “Prepped: Coming of Age in Black and White America.”

Walker’s alumna Dr. Veda Pendleton ’75 came to campus for the launch of her new memoir, Prepped: Coming of Age in Black and White America. Throughout her story, Veda juxtaposes her southern upbringing with that of her prep school experience at Walker’s and comes to understand that the journey prepared her for a life living with both differences and similarities among women of all hues. A dynamic discussion was followed by a reception with Veda, whose daughter Lauren joined her for her visit. In her remarks, Veda talked about where Walker’s has been as a school, where we are and where institutions such as Walker’s are continuing on this journey.

Since the launch of her book, Veda has hosted virtual discussions, has spoken at the Association of Independent Schools in New England’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference, and has just launched a podcast called Prepped.

Interview With the Esteemed Dr. Veda Pendleton ’75

BY VANESSA LOIS ’21 AND ANASTASIA REID ’21

As students of color, Vanessa and I had a desire to interview Dr. Pendleton to gain a greater understanding of our developing sense of self within a community of people who don’t resemble similar cultures. Vanessa and I discussed life at Walker’s with Dr. Pendleton, eager to understand a time unlike our own. Vanessa and I recorded the following series of questions and responses

hoping to further develop our ideas about our cultural identity and create a plan to ensure we would be recognized and understood. Through Dr. Pendleton’s thoughtful responses, we saw fragments of ourselves, sparking hope for our futures as young women of color.

– Anastasia Reid ’21

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE

What was student social life like when you attended Walker’s? Were there many class indicators?

Social life at The Ethel Walker School was strongly connected to money, which was the norm back in the 1970s. But, with trips and going places, the School took care of the costs, which meant I could participate in everything everyone else was participating in.

To fit in, we used money to invest in halter tops for dances and events. There was not much financial insecurity, especially with the uniforms, but the main class indicator was Bass Weejuns shoes. Another factor that indicated class were names. Famous names, or just names of future donors to the school, were apparent.

“Skinfolk ain’t kinfolk” stood out in the excerpt Ms. Catherine Reed read in our English 11 Honors class, especially because we believed that those who were like us were our community here at first too. How did race affect your outlook on Walker’s ?

Allyship consisted of manipulation when I was a student here.

What, then, is your perception on selfsegregation?

The politics of self-segregation depend on if it’s meant to do good or meant to do bad. Behind it all is language and effective communication. With a good sense of self already, exposure to self-segregation will not do much harm, exposure being a spark. Internalization of stereotypes is when self-segregation begins to do harm.

Do you wish there had been affinity groups during your time at Walker’s?

I came in 1972, and the first Black student to graduate from Walker’s graduated in 1971. Survival was my priority at Walker’s. Affinity groups would have been nice, though.

Did you feel a desire to code switch?

Everyone code switches.

Do you feel you have fully taken ownership of your identity as a Black woman?

I would like to think I take pride in my blackness! I don’t want you to be colorblind, I want you to see all of it! [I have learned] that there is more than one way of being Black and female, and all [ways] are equally valid.

How did the all-girls environment prepare you for life beyond the classroom?

DR. PENDLETON’S WORDS OF ADVICE:

“Get some gumption, even if you have to borrow someone else’s. Fake it ’til you make it.”

Walker’s was foreign to those in Pine Bluff, AR. It was published in a paper that I got into college at 15 years old when in reality I was just going to boarding school. It felt like I was off doing something else. Walker’s was an insulated environment, a cocoon.

What are your feelings toward any microaggressions you faced at Walker’s?

Because I was exposed to racism so prematurely, Walker’s taught me to accept human frailty, and to acknowledge that weakness.

Did Walker’s change your opinion about race in general?

Walker’s did not change anything about my perception of race. It could have made me more aware, but I was from Pine Bluff, AR. My upbringing, though, I credit [for] helping me take ownership of my blackness. Being told I was loved, feeling loved, being complimented and told I was beautiful gave me self-confidence and a sense of self. I was able to take full ownership of all of this melanin. This was all nurtured at Walker’s.

It taught me to gather my sense of self and determination and to expose my children to various topics in order to spark their educational curiosity. At Walker’s I had the privilege to see my first Broadway play, which was Hamlet — an amazing experience. This factored into giving my own children further educational opportunities, and so I worked hard to ensure my children were given exposure to the world.

Would you have liked for your daughter, Lauren, to attend The Ethel Walker School?

I went to an all women’s college, [which influenced me] to maintain the expectation of women fulfilling leadership roles. The education you receive at Walker’s is so special. You are receiving education with headphones on to enable you to reap the most out of your education you can [while being completely focused].

What is something you want us, especially as women of color, women of Black heritage, to take as advice for our futures and the futures of others like us at Walker’s?

Be and embrace who you are and all of its glory. Each person has three things: Self love comes first. Second comes skin, the wrapping. A lot of times people get too hung up on the wrapping and fail to see what’s inside. Third, and most important, is the gift inside.

ALUMNAE PROFILES:

Creative Journeys that Lead to Financial Fluency

BY HOPE MCLEOD ’70

Walker’s prepares young women for jobs that don’t exist yet. What will they look like? What skills will be needed? Who knows? But one thing’s for sure: every profession — from education to robotics to the creative arts — relies on financial fluency. This ability to understand numbers and manage money stacks up in our increasingly algorithmic-driven world as a lifelong skill honed through trial and error.

To gain some insight, this feature explores the professional lives of two successful alumnae on their creative journeys to finding financial fluency: Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85, an education economist, and Veonous M. Jacques ’88, a results-oriented entrepreneur.

Though each woman chose a different path, the two have a lot in common. They both do work based on unique financial models: Emiliana engages in strategic funding for educational priorities, and Veonous attracts investors to support her innovative ideas. Neither set out to do this type of work. They zigged and zagged and slayed a few dragons along the way. They each chose to have a family. In a bit of serendipity, each has two children from her first marriage and three stepchildren from her second.

With confidence and perseverance, these women have overcome countless obstacles to construct fulfilling careers while feeding their creative talents, including becoming published authors, playing the piano, and singing — all passions nurtured at Walker’s.

Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 Veonous M. Jacques ’88

DR. EMILIANA VEGAS ’85 AND VEONOUS JACQUES ’88

Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85 began her journey in her country of origin, Caracas, Venezuela. Because her parents valued education, they sent Emiliana and her older sister, Maria C. Aguilar ’84, to Walker’s. Though academically prepared, that first year at Walker’s triggered some insecurity in Emiliana.

“It was difficult to be away from home,” Emiliana recalled. “I was very close to my mom in particular.”

She also was the youngest in her class — only 16 years old when she graduated. “I was really small too,” said Emiliana, as a student under 5'2", and recalls memories of how immature she felt. “My classmates seemed very tall.”

Through persistence, she overcame these insecurities by dedicating herself to her studies and her passions: piano, singing, dance, French, and literature. At graduation, Emiliana was awarded top prizes and admitted into the Cum Laude Society for “academic achievement and promotion of excellence and honor.”

Walker’s affected Emiliana’s career in many ways, particularly in the area of writing. Vegas wrote several impactful articles for the SunDial newspaper, which set her on a journalism course — she earned a B.A. in communications from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas. In hindsight, Walker’s opened the door to her future as an economist through literature.

“English and literature courses were some of the best in the way that teachers encouraged you to go beyond what you’re reading to think about the author’s unspoken intent and what the characters were trying to do. It taught me to think more critically, which is important when you look at data. There’s always a story behind the numbers, behind the subtext,” said Emiliana, who is now a full professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was previously a senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution.

Emiliana, considered a leading expert on education in developing countries, collects and interprets huge quantities of

data to inform policy changes such as raising teacher effectiveness, school finances, and early childhood development in Latin America and the Caribbean. She’s also written three books.

How did Emiliana get from journalism to helping entire countries acquire funding for underserved schools? This journey began after returning to Venezuela for college.

“I didn’t work half as hard as I did at Walker’s to get top grades. ‘Wow,’ I thought, there’s something really wrong with the best schools in my own country,” she said.

Motivated to find a way to improve these conditions, Emiliana pursued a Master of Public Policy at Duke University followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in Education from Harvard University.

One summer she took an internship at Research Triangle Institute (RTI), a nonprofit “dedicated to improving the human condition” that brought her closer to finding solutions.

“Most of my colleagues at RTI were working on projects with the World Bank and USAID to help developing countries improve their educational systems,” Emiliana recalled.

Bingo. She found a way and a means. She persevered and was hired by the World Bank, where she worked in the Human Development Network as lead economist and human development sector leader for Central America and as lead economist in the Education Unit of the Human Development Department.

To prepare students for financially literate futures, Emiliana advises, “In today’s world, and the future that young women will face, it’s very important for them to understand and not be afraid of data, math, and statistics. In every field, whether it’s medicine, education, or law, having a good understanding [of] and being able to analyze hard data and numbers is so important to make good decisions, on a personal level but also to inform governments and companies. That’s why companies like Facebook and Google are so powerful. They are the masters of data.”

In today’s world, and the future that young women will face, it’s very important for them to understand and not be afraid of data, math, and statistics.

~ Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85

Veonous M. Jacques ’88 was born and raised in the Bronx. Surrounded by music, she came into the world singing and always wanted to be a professional singer.

“My father sang professionally for years, and for the past 20 years he’s been in a group called the Legendary Escort,” she said.

But he also had a day job. Trained as an engineer, he first worked for other people but then started his own business — Veonous’ introduction to entrepreneurialism.

During her teen years,Veonous’ father advised, “You already know how to sing. Now go get an education.”

Like Emiliana’s, Veonous’ parents valued education. For that reason, they exposed their daughter to everything: art, music, and interesting pastimes.

“My toys were things like a radio you had to put together,” she recalled.

In elementary school, she sang a solo at Lincoln Center and played Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. At Walker’s, she sang in an a capella group the Grapes, and studied piano.

But throughout her educational journey, Veonous struggled with two competing forces: wanting to follow her heart with music and wanting to do something more practical.

“At nine years old, I decided I was going to become an attorney,” said Veonous, who came to this conclusion after having a conversation with her mother that went like this:

“Are we poor?”

“We live from paycheck to paycheck.”

“Who makes more money, a teacher or a lawyer?”

“A lawyer.”

“I want to be a lawyer.”

Veonous was an exceptionally gifted student. While attending Our Savior Lutheran High School in the Bronx freshman year, she was accepted into ABC (A Better Chance), a program that “serves talented students of color by opening the doors through which they can best develop their innate potential.” This support enabled her to apply to any high school in the country.

While she and her parents were considering options, one of them being Walker’s, Veonous’ mother secretly applied to Walker’s. For the essay section, her mother cut-and-pasted an assignment Veonous had written the year before about wanting to be a judge. Furious at first but grateful afterward, Veonous was accepted and packed her bags for Walker’s that fall.

After three successful years at Walker’s, where she was known

as VeeVee Martin, dedicating her time equally to music and academics, Veonous decided to pursue law in college. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations followed by a Juris Doctor from Temple University Beasley School of Law. In between, she worked for law firms and also sang in a couple of gospel groups for nine years. In so doing, she learned something about herself.

“I loved music; however, I realized I could not live that lifestyle,” she said. She discovered the same problem with law. In the end, she chose neither for center stage. Instead, she cherry-picked the best parts of each.

Veonous still sings today but mostly for personal fulfillment. And she has applied what she loved most about law — patents and business development — to her current entrepreneurial endeavor as co-founder and chief operations officer for 3BP Inc. This company creates revolutionizing packaging technology designed to identify tampering, contamination, and counterfeiting. Veonous wrote the patent for their first product. She also helps attract investors to the table.

Besides finding the right career fit, Veonous had another motivation for building financial fluency: children. Upon

Walker’s gives women the courage to be themselves, whatever that is for them.

~ Veonous M. Jacques ’88

graduating from law school, she had her first child, who was born with a life-threatening kidney disease. Tending to his needs, and the needs of a difficult first marriage, her concentration splintered. Nonetheless, she persisted and worked for a couple of firms, only to find out she was pregnant again. Her marriage ended, and she became a single mom with two small children.

“I believe there is a purpose for every season of your life,” said Veonous, who has enjoyed many seasons as a musician, a parent, even a self-published author.

After her divorce, she entered the season of single parenting motivated to generate solid income and flexible work hours. To fit this bill, she developed a consulting business and helped a variety of different businesses and organizations with program design, management, and finances.

In 2013, she entered yet another season, entrepreneurialism, with her second husband, co-founder and future business partner, Auguste Jacques, a specialist in finance, sales, and management.

“We were on a long car ride listening to NPR when an advertisement came on for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” Veonous recounted.

The foundation was accepting applications for innovative condom designs. A lively conversation followed. By the end of the car ride, they had a business name, a plan, and a PowerPoint presentation by Veonous’ sister, who was in on the conversation. They applied for funding, not for condom designs but for a

tamper-proof packaging system for condoms. They didn’t get the award, but they did launch a new company and have since expanded their packaging applications to include other industries: pharmaceuticals, food, cannabis, and the U.S. military.

Veonous explains how the packaging works.

Basically it’s oxygen exposure. If you receive a package and the package is clear or white, it has not been opened. The air has not penetrated the package. But once air hits it, it will turn other colors: red, green, orange, or blue.”

What has she learned from her colorfully creative life?

“Walker’s gives women the courage to be themselves, whatever that is for them,” said Veonous, who found the courage to leave the Bronx and invent a life that combines both sides of her personality: the practical and the creative. “You have to stick with it. If it is your vision, you have to stick with it. There are times when it doesn’t look good, and it isn’t easy. The only way you can see the outcome is by sticking with it. You’re going to have people naysaying, the dream killers, in every faction of life. I learned how to be myself, no matter what.”

To get high school students interested in business and financial fluency, she suggests, “Have students make a business plan and a business card and create a website. Even if it’s just a landing page, those skills are the ones that can travel with them through college.”

While attending Walker’s, Veonous M. Jacques ’88 and several classmates formed a task force to write a new morning meditation that reflected the diverse religious backgrounds of the School’s student body. Our community still recites this meditation today.

THE ETHEL WALKER SCHOOL MEDITATION

May there be peace and unity in the lives we share here together, and strength to take us through our daily challenges. Let us never be afraid to follow where the truth my lead us.

May we have insight to understand each other, and wisdom to know why we are sometimes misunderstood. Help us look beyond ourselves and recognize the needs of others. Above all, teach us to love, for in love lies the key to life.

WALKER’S COUNTS AMONG ITS ALUMNAE MANY PUBLISHED AUTHORS AND EDITORS. BELOW ARE A FEW MORE TITLES TO ADD TO YOUR BOOKSHELF:

Dr. Emiliana Vegas ’85

The Promise of Early Childhood Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (2010, The World Bank Press, co-authored with Lucrecia Santibáñez)

Raising Student Learning in Latin America: The Challenge for the 21st Century (2007, The World Bank Press, co-authored with Jenny Petrow)

Incentives to Improve Teaching: Lessons from Latin America (2005, The World Bank Press, Editor)

Veonous M. Jacques ’88

He Loves You, Not: A Commonsense Guide to What NOT to Do in Relationships (written under the pseudonym JB Tremont)

A Silver Lining?

A STORY OF FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT AND PLANNING

BY MARY K. FLEESON WEDDLE ’68

I have always been careful with my money. It started early in my career, when I didn’t have much. In fact, I had debt — lots of debt. I also knew, though, that I would need more than careful money management if I were going to meet the financial goals I had set for myself. I needed a plan.

After spending days sitting on the floor in the stacks of my local bookstore and reading from four or five thick “Finance & Money” tomes that were too expensive for me to buy, I started a journey to rid myself of debt and build my net worth.

My research enabled me to create a rudimentary plan, and my determination helped me persevere in following it. (My Mother called it “stick-to-it-ivism”). Luck also helped, but it was the kind Thomas Jefferson referenced when he said, “The harder I work, the more luck I have!”

Eventually I was able to be careful with my money not in a way that meant shuffling debt on multiple credit cards from one low introductory rate to another but, rather, in a way that meant choosing which investment would provide the highest yield with a risk level that was comfortable for me. I opened an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP) and started with $50 per month. Gradually, as the credit card debt went down, I was able to increase that amount to $100 per month, working my way up to $400 per month. It was slow going, but, over time, my money grew and became assets. I continued to be careful with my financial decisions, making investments which I understood and which were comfortable for me and my then-current circumstances. I did not invest in anything I didn’t understand.

Along the way, the ups and downs of the market, new rules and legislation, and changes in life’s circumstances required adjustments to my plan. I would not let myself be deterred,

though, because I was committed for the long-term. I stayed the course, despite these periodic changes. In fact, I looked for the silver lining, the opportunity, when an unforeseen or adverse event happened.

Fast forward to 2019 when the SECURE Act was passed by Congress and signed into law. The Act is an example of an event that caused me to re-look at my plan. Specifically, it moved the mandatory withdrawal or Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from certain non-Roth IRA accounts from the age of 70½ to 72. The change prompted one headline to ask, “Annoyed by RMDs?” A different perspective suggests there may be a silver lining.

As each new year approaches, hopefully there will be more travel and foreign adventures. Good health and more exercise. More family gatherings with those squeals of delight that mark so many grandchildren’s birthdays! And, yes, birthdays for all of us, too! For many of us in my EWS Class of ’68, in 2022 there will be many celebrating 72 years (how is that possible?). And, like it or not, the government has a special present for us: Our first Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

I have fond memories of my time at Walker’s. To this day, I am grateful to my parents for sending me to EWS, and I am grateful to the School for providing a full, multifaceted experience. From academics to sports to friendship and leadership opportunities, my eyes were opened and my horizons, expanded — and I loved it! The independence, the ability to make decisions on my own — it was all new and exciting for me. I know the Walker’s experience helped shaped who I am today.

And what does this have to do with RMDs, you are asking?

As you undoubtedly know, the requirement to take money

I continued to be careful with my financial decisions, making investments which I understood and which were comfortable for me and my thencurrent circumstances. I did not invest in anything I didn’t understand.

~ Mary K. Fleeson Weddle ’68

out of non-Roth retirement accounts also means a requirement to pay taxes on those distributions. Taxes require more planning and, invariably, payments.

Charitable giving, though, may offer a solution to minimize those payments that could be characterized as a “win-win”. Consulting a financial advisor will provide additional details and potentially valuable ideas for not only fulfilling the RMD requirements, as prescribed by law, but also for giving back to an institution that hopefully was for you, as it was for me, a positive force in your life. I think of Walker’s as a steppingstone, one where I landed for a brief period of time while I surveyed the currents swirling all around me (remember this was the turbulent ’60s). As I moved forward through life, I know and appreciate the fact I was helped along the way. By Miss Mead, Miss Walker, Miss Ash, and so many others.

Now I feel it is my turn to give back and help a rare gem of a school which seems to be truly thriving under the leadership of Dr. Meera Viswanathan. Through her vision and introduction

Girls with Impact

Girls with Impact is an online entrepreneurship program connected to financial fluency; Head of School Meera Viswanathan sits on the board of the organization. This year, Walker’s is requiring all sophomores to participate in the program and because of the nature of remote learning will also open it up to juniors and seniors at no cost. The program is offered to girls, ages 14 to 17, who have the opportunity to present venture capitalists with project ideas that they create.

Kristen St. Louis ’21 completed the program last year, presenting her company, Mirror Me Diversity, a platform for teenagers and parents/caregivers of teenagers to easily find diverse books and storylines. “I had been looking into starting my own nonprofit in middle school but didn’t have the tools,” said Kristen. “This program gave me the tools I needed and had been looking for. Now I can start my project.” Throughout the 12-week academy, Kristen jumped online for 50 minutes every week to connect with her coach along with local and student peers from across the country. Topics ranged from identifying problems and targeting customers to marketing, finances, and building an advisory board.

“The coaches present the main points of business in an easy to understand way — they break it down into interesting points. In the course’s weekly session, you get to speak about your project and get really helpful

of the Capabilities Approach Program, the School is adding to its strong academic offerings and providing opportunities for the students to expand their personal horizons through explorations and challenges in what could be termed “life skills.” These include survival swimming; financial literacy (to include an understanding of income taxes, which is then combined into a community outreach effort); and coding, for a deeper understanding of the technological potential within computer programs. As a recipient of a prestigious Ford Foundation grant and as an innovative and collaborative participant in efforts with other independent schools and wider, private networks and community programs, The Ethel Walker School is reimaging girls’ education and, in the process, building on its already strong brand. I am convinced the students, as beneficiaries of all these efforts, are becoming confident, compassionate, and truly capable citizens of the world. With charitable giving as part of an RMD strategy, I see an opportunity to help them on their individual journeys.

feedback from your classmates, as well as personalized calls with your coach. The coaches really guide you and help point you in the right direction,” said Kristen.

Girls with Impact offers a live, online, real-time “mini-MBA” from the comfort of home. The program, designed with Harvard experts, moves girls from idea to a full business plan. The program is changing the future of these young women’s lives with exponential spikes in confidence, majors in business or entrepreneurship, and college scholarships.

Kristen St. Louis ’21

MirrorMeDiversity.com, the website created by Kristen St. Louis ’21, provides subscribers with access to sources for diverse young adult literature.

High Water Women

Financial fluency is an essential part of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program, which focuses on disrupting gendered mindsets and reimagining girls’ education. As we develop Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program, we are joining with women who are experts in their fields to brainstorm and identify areas of collaboration as Walker’s builds out a financial education program. Our first expert disruptors event was held in New York and hosted by Sarah Puckhaber ’07 at the Fiduciary Trust offices.

The October 2019 gathering included a dialogue on creating a culture of financial fluency for girls and expanding the pipeline for women in finance, social entrepreneurship, and leadership roles. More than 25 women in finance, from within the Walker’s community and outside, gathered for cocktails and conversation.

Many women who attended were in New York for the High Water Women’s Eighth Annual Investing for Impact Symposium.

Meera Viswanathan, Head of School, Gretchen Orschiedt, Assistant Head of Advancement, and Kim Pereira, former interim Director of the Capabilities Approach Program/Grants and Foundations Officer also attended the symposium. This fall, Drianne Benner and Chandler Steinbrugge of Appomattox will facilitate and teach our seniors for the Investing Seminar as we continue to reimagine girls’ education.

Interested in joining the conversation around Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program and what Walker’s is doing to teach financial fluency? Be in touch with Gretchen at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org, Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org, or Dean of Faculty, Director of the Capabilities Approach Program, Dr. Ned Edwards at nedwards@ethelwalker.org.

Alumna and Paralympic Gold Medalist Shares Her Story with Student-Athletes

Sydney Satchell ’10, paralympic athlete for the U.S. women’s national sitting volleyball team, traveled back to Walker’s from Lima, Peru, with her gold medal in hand. Sydney met with Walker’s 2019 preseason athletes, where she passed around her gold medal to the girls while sharing her story. It was the perfect speech presented at the culmination of a busy three days of fall conditioning.

Nearly 100 students, faculty, and staff listened to Sydney share her experience as a tri-sport student-athlete at Walker’s before she headed off to Howard University to play Division I lacrosse.

In 2015, Sydney was in a car accident that changed the course of her life: her injuries resulted in a below-knee amputation necessitated by compartment syndrome. Sydney had always viewed herself as a lifelong athlete and though the accident may

have altered her path, she was determined not to let it deter her from attaining her goals. In June of 2017, she moved to Oklahoma to train full time for the U.S. women’s national sitting volleyball team.

Sydney spoke about being bold and brave and shared that one of her lifelong coaches considered grit to be one of her best qualities. “That’s honestly something that can’t be learned,” said Sydney.

Sydney incorporated a lot of humor into her story, and she shared some advice with the student-athletes: “I’m reminding you that if you’re not picked to be captain or if you don’t start, you still play a role,” she said, noting that even if they don’t play in a single game, the work they put in at practice makes the whole team stronger. This work ultimately led her team to win gold, and Sydney celebrated the victory with her teammates because she played a part in her team’s success.

Sydney Satchell ’10 talks with preseason athletes about the gold medal she won with her team at the Paralympics in Lima, Peru.

Sydney is currently part of Walker’s Athletics Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, as we work to launch a new Hall of Fame to recognize athletic achievements in our community.

As a young rider, Julie Welles ’06 couldn’t imagine a day without horses, but she never dreamed that one day she would compete professionally on the global stage. Today, she shuttles between England and Florida, working and riding for twotime Olympian Laura Kraut. She has successfully competed at national-level grand prix events in the U.S., Canada, and England and has shown multiple times at the world-renowned Sunshine Tour in Spain.

Despite all her success, Julie still remembers her pony named Turnip at Walker’s Community Riding Program. She had been riding since she could walk, having come from a family of horse enthusiasts, but had a particular affection for Turnip. “He was the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she recalls. “Every little kid has one pony or horse early on who just takes a love for the animals to another height.”

That was just the beginning. Julie eventually enrolled at Walker’s in the ninth grade and began competing more regularly — and winning. But, she says, being a member of the riding team was a reward in itself. “We did everything! All with a smile and a laugh. The girls in the barn were characters. We all came from different parts of the world!”

Outside the barn, Julie says, it was the support of the Walker’s community that helped her achieve at the level she did. The team was often on the road, sometimes for weeks, but everyone was

there to ensure she was successful both in the classroom and in the ring. “The teachers and the staff made it a team effort to get it all done. I found that everyone at Walker’s wanted to see success,” she says.

When Julie, who was inducted into the Walker’s Athletic Hall of Fame for Equestrian in 2011, was one of the most respected junior riders of her time, she didn’t know yet that this would become — or how it would become — her career. After Walker’s, she attended Lynn University in Florida, and, while there, met Laura Kraut. When the opportunity arose to travel with Laura, she jumped on it, enrolling online to finish her degree.

Today, working with Laura, she says, is “a dream.” Throughout the year, they travel around the UK and Europe, competing with horses from ages four to 16. “I’ve been very lucky to have gotten some amazing opportunities from Laura and her owners to compete and help produce some amazing horses at some incredible events,” says Julie.

Julie is grateful for all the opportunities that have come her way, but all of it has come with a lot of hard work and sacrifice. “This business isn’t easy; it’s a lot of hard work and being in the right place at the right time. You have to grasp every opportunity that jumps out to you and have a good work ethic.” Welles has done what most little girls with ponies named Turnip only dream of: turning that passion for riding into a full-time career.

From Passion to Profession: Julie Welles ’06

JENNY BELKNAP ’90: How Competitive Horseback Riding Helped Her Climb the Corporate Ladder

Jenny Belknap ’90 can’t remember a time when riding horses wasn’t a part of her life. Her mother, a riding enthusiast, used to take her along to the local stables when she was just four, and Jenny recalls hanging over the side of the fence, already eager to be on the other side. By the next year, she started lessons, and by six, she was in her first horse show. “I loved everything about it from the moment I started,” says Jenny, “the horses, the barn, the friends.”

Soon, she was riding every day, and began taking competition seriously. She says competing — and winning — at that level required discipline and, as she got older, the ability to balance the hard work she needed to put into riding practice with her studies. She even wrote a five-year plan to convince her father to buy her first equitation horse. “I definitely applied what I learned in riding to my school work, which helped me be organized and prioritize my work so that I had time to devote to my classes and my riding.”

Her hard work paid off. At Walker’s, Jenny qualified for the Medal, Maclay, and United States Equestrian Team (USET) Finals each year. She also won the Connecticut Hunter Jumper Association (CHJA) Medal finals and qualified two small junior hunters for Harrisburg, Washington, and the National Horse Show. She also won numerous awards at Walker’s for both academics and athletics, including the Brunhilde Grassi Cup, the Frank O.H. Williams Cup, the Voorhees Cup, and the prestigious Beatrice Hurlburt Memorial Prize, which is given to a student of outstanding character each year.

“I think my success at Walker’s was due to the fact that I was doing what I loved — learning and riding — and I was incredibly well supported by my parents, the School, and my friends,” she says. “I worked very hard — I had my own self-designated cubicle at the library — but I was very lucky to be part of a community that was also invested in me fulfilling my dreams.”

Today, Jenny is senior vice president/ general manager for Clinique North America. She has spent her entire career with the Estee Lauder Companies, having

joined after graduating from Tufts University and returning after attending Harvard Business School. In her current role, she is responsible for everything from marketing, creative, and account management to field sales and education.

Succeeding in the corporate world has required the same discipline and drive she fostered with her athletic and academic achievements. She also says that Walker’s prepared her to take on leadership positions. She was on Walker’s Judiciary Committee, led the riding team, and was elected president of the student body. This latter role, she says, was “critical” to her development as a leader. “Sometimes I think back to my days of running morning meeting or having one-on-ones with Dr. Bonz, our head of school during my time at Walker’s,” she recalls, “and feel they were not that different than meeting with my team or my boss at Clinique today.”

Although work and family keep Jenny busy enough that she no longer has time for riding, she is still active in the riding community. She stays connected through her husband, Timmy Kees, who is a trainer and judge, and as chairman of the board of the EQUUS Foundation, the only national animal welfare charity in the U.S. totally dedicated to protecting horses and strengthening the bond between horses and people. Since 2003, the foundation has awarded more than $4 million in grants to deserving equine charities.

The foundation and its success is the culmination of years of bringing her passion to life. “I am incredibly proud of the work we’re doing,” says Jenny, “and believe it’s the least I can do to both advocate for and celebrate the power of horses.”

Watership Down and Jenny Belknap ’90

Jenny Belknap ’90 with her family

Jenny is currently part of Walker’s Athletics Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, as we work to launch a new Hall of Fame to recognize athletic achievements in our community.

Alumnae and Parents Make New Equestrian Outdoor Show Ring Possible

BY GRETCHEN ORSCHIEDT, ASSISTANT HEAD FOR ADVANCEMENT

Fueled by a love of sport and a drive for riders and horses to train and compete at their best levels, donors rallied to address a longstanding need to renovate the outdoor show ring, an essential venue for the Walker’s equestrian program. More than 30 donors raised over $440,000 to meet project costs to create a new ring; the funds allowed Walker’s to address engineering issues; solve chronic drainage problems; install a watering system, new posts, rails, and jumps; and, most importantly, install new, high quality footing to ensure a top-level practice and competition setting for Walker’s equestrians, trainers, and horses.

The effort to renovate the project was led by “the two Lindas,” Walker’s Head of Riding Linda Langmeier and Trustee Linda Strohmeyer P’21, who chairs the equestrian committee. An inspired third Linda came forward to

join the effort: Walker’s outdoor show ring will be named for Lorinda “Linda” Payson de Roulet ’47, P’71, an alumna and a former trustee who made a generous lead gift to the project. In Spanish, the name Linda means beautiful, and for Walker’s equestrian program, things have come together in beautiful ways.

Interest in the project was met with enthusiasm, and Walker’s families and alumnae gave generously to move the project forward. Among them was alumna Jeannette Pellizon ’07, who offered a $50,000 matching gift, which was bolstered by the collective philanthropy of alumnae and parents who raised the funds necessary for the project and a facility endowment. All look forward to a celebration once oncampus gatherings are again possible.

Complementing newer paddocks and turnout spaces completed several years ago, the setting is spectacular for instruction and competition, and the large ring accommodates several trainers and up to 40 riders. Lessons start at 6:30 a.m. and run well into the late afternoon hours, and it is fair to say that the year-round facility will be used as much as possible all four seasons, as students are allowed to utilize the ring even on days that they do not have lessons. Access to both

The new 42,500-square-foot show ring measures 270 feet by 170 feet

“This best-in-class outdoor ring now means that the resources are in place for all levels of riders: Walker’s has outstanding facilities for our program. The irrigation system and the footing are perfect; judges tell the girls how lucky they are to have the facility, and we agree.”

Linda Langmeier

the outdoor and the indoor riding rings is essential to maintaining a healthy environment for students, staff, and horses, especially given the growth in the number of students with horses as well as the number of students new to riding.

A proposed second fundraising project includes hillside seating overlooking the ring and Walker’s campus, which will provide horsefriendly pathways to and from the turnout paddocks to the show ring, and includes naturalized landscaping, new lighting, and a shade structure for trainers and judges. These enhancements will allow the show ring to be used as an outdoor performanceart space, as well.

The new ring will continue to attract attention and bring prospective riders and competitors to campus, further cementing the elite status of

the program, and ultimately offering an additional source of revenue. Walker’s hosted two IEA shows in the fall. The first competition held in the new show ring took place in November for Walker’s students only because of

COVID-19 restrictions. Going forward, Walker’s will be a frequent venue for weekend IEA shows, clinics, and eventing trials, and we look forward to showcasing equestrian sport in such a remarkable setting.

Highlights from Our 2020-2022 Seasons

• 40-50 roster of riders each year

• 23 school horses; 26 private horses

• 18 USEF level riders competing in shows • 23 IEA riders

Riders are competing at higher levels — top equitation classes and junior jumpers

Ambitious show schedules for both Winter Equestrian Festival (Wellington, FL) as well as spring/summer schedule (Tryon, Saratoga, Devon, Kentucky, Lake Placid, Princeton and local shows) with many riders qualifying for and attending all major national equitation finals

Hosted clinics with premier outside trainers for riders

Hosted 7 USEF shows and 2 IEA horse shows on campus

Hosted College Riding Seminar

Summer Riding Experience day camp continues to operate at capacity

Interested in supporting the Equestrian Program?

Please contact Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org or (860) 408-4260.

The Lorinda Payson de Roulet ’47, P’70 Show Ring Dedication, November 2021

Walker’s Women Among First Class of Female Students at Yale

It’s been more than 50 years since Yale admitted its first women students — and Walker’s had four students in that inaugural class: Cynthia Becton ’69, Marian “Mally” Cox-Chapman ’69, Frances Beinecke Elston ’67, and Nancy Byloff Matisoff ’67. The New York Times called them “superwomen” because the competition was intense, and only the most brilliant and talented girls got in.

“People often don’t realize how recently coeducation came to some of America’s most prestigious colleges,” said historian Anne Gardiner Perkins, author of Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules at an Ivy League Giant (September 2019). “But up until 50 years ago, many of our top-ranked schools turned female applicants away. Ethel Walker can be proud to know that four of its own were among the young women students who broke the gender barrier at Yale.”

Cynthia and Mally began at Yale in 1969 as two of the 230 freshmen women Yale enrolled that first year. Frances and Nancy transferred to Yale in 1969 as two of the first 194 women juniors. Frances spent her first two years of college at the University of Pennsylvania; Nancy attended Bradford Junior College before enrolling at Yale.

“These first women students, most of them just teenagers, did not have it easy,” said Perkins. “They were outnumbered seven-toone because of the gender quota Yale put in place and barred from many of the privileges their male classmates took for granted. At

the time, discrimination against women on college campuses was perfectly legal.”

Yale had been all male for 268 years when those first women undergraduates arrived, but it was not alone in turning away female applicants before then. The list of U.S. colleges that banned women undergraduates before 1969 includes Amherst, Boston College, Bowdoin, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Claremont McKenna, Colgate, Columbia, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Fordham, Hamilton, Harvard, Haverford, Holy Cross, Johns Hopkins, Kenyon, Lafayette, Lehigh, Notre Dame, Penn, Princeton, Rutgers, Sewanee, Trinity, Tufts, Tulane, Union, UVA, Washington and Lee, Wesleyan, West Point and the other military academies, Williams — and Yale. “A few of these, like Harvard and Brown, had created sister schools that kept the women nearby without putting them on equal terms with men,” Perkins explained, “but none admitted women to the same college as the men.”

Yale’s announcement that it was going coed, and Princeton’s two months later, finally broke the coeducation taboo in top U.S. colleges. By 1973, the vast majority of elite all-male campuses had admitted women students too. “Equality did not come with the flip of an admissions switch,” Perkins emphasizes. “Yet despite the hardships those first women undergraduates faced, they each helped push Yale closer to equality. I wrote Yale Needs Women because I was determined that their stories would not be lost to history.”

Marian “Mally” Cox-Chapman ’69

Nancy Byloff Matisoff ’67

Frances Beinecke Elston ’67

Cynthia Becton ’69

Alumnae Publications

Katia Charov ’10 (San Diego), received her Bachelor of Science in biophysics at Johns Hopkins University and is pursuing her doctorate in chemistry at UC San Diego. She recently published her first paper in the ACS Journal. Hooray Sunray, Katia!

Emilee O’Brien’s ’13 article “Addressing the State of Comprehensive Sex Education in the United States” was published at www.sharemylesson.com and on the website of the American Federation of Teachers. Emilee is currently pursuing a master’s in education transformation at Georgetown University.

Mary Melvin Fleming ’75 (Paris, France) has published her new novel, The Art of Regret, and met up with alumnae in several cities during her readings, including in Boston, where this Walker’s group gathered. Learn more at www.maryfleming.com.

Margaret Hegwood ’15 is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Studies and USDA Food Technology and Food Security Fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She received her B.S. and M.S. at Purdue University in Biological Engineering. She has two recently published articles and a book in pre-print titled: Why Win-wins are Rare in Complex Environmental Management.

Lassa Skinner ’82 (New Haven, CT) has published Cheese Boards to Share: How to Create a Stunning Cheese Board for Any Occasion. A group of alumnae gathered in Fairfield, CT, to see (and taste!) her work in action. Lassa has also recently led several of our WIne and Dine Series classes: for both cheese and wine!

ASSIST SCHOLARS®

ASSIST is a nonprofit organization that matches academically talented, multilingual students with American independent secondary schools. Walker’s has been involved with the program intermittently since 1981, and current Head of School Meera Viswanathan sits on the ASSIST board. To learn more about ASSIST, visit the website at www.assistscholars.org.

For the 2022-2023 school year we are welcoming ASSIST scholar Ralitsa (Rali) Y. ’24 from Sofia, Bulgaria. We hope that she finds her experience with Walker’s joyful and with memories that last a lifetime!

Alumna Tu Ly ’18 Earns Full Scholarship to Fulbright University Vietnam

Tu Ly ’18 came to Walker’s as a one year ASSIST student during the 2016–2017 school year. She was an English major at the Lao Cai High School for the Gifted in Vietnam prior to her arrival, and she returned there to graduate with her class in the spring of 2018. Upon graduation, Tu was offered a full scholarship to Wellesley College and also to Fulbright University Vietnam. She chose Fulbright University and became a member of its inaugural class of 2019–2023.

Tu was profiled on the Fulbright website, where she commented on her decision to choose the Fulbright offer. “I remember reading the first lines in that [offer], saying, ‘How can

we build the best university for the students, for this century, for Vietnam?’ With just one question, Fulbright made me completely reevaluate my decision-making process.

“Beginning at Fulbright is such a familiar, yet different experience,” Tu continues. “The innovative learning model, focused on personal thinking and self-development, is something I have long acquainted myself with since my time in the U.S. But in a Vietnamese context, it all became so new.”

Read the full article at https://fulbright.edu.vn/fulbright-is-a-choice/

For the 2019-2020 school year, we welcomed three students through the ASSIST program: Elinor Tandberg ’21 from Stockholm, Sweden; Kathrin Ludz ’20 from Hamburg, Germany; and Elisa Dey ’21 from Singen, Germany, who all visited with Ann Stanley, director of school and family relations with ASSIST. To learn more about ASSIST, visit the website at www.assistscholars.org.

Cosima V. ’23 Plays at Carnegie Hall

Cosima V. ’23, a flutist with the Symphonic Youth Wind Orchestra, participated in The New York Wind Band Festival at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City in March 2022.

The Symphonic Youth Wind Orchestra, with 80 wind musicians and based in Cologne, Germany, took Gold — the competition’s highest honor!

The New York Wind Band Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is a festival that allows young musicians the opportunity to grow and create memorable experiences in music, and part of its success is credited to the fine musical ensembles

that look for the best performance experience possible. The renowned Carnegie Hall certainly provides that. Admission into the Festival is based on audition only and is limited to six high school groups and two showcase university wind ensembles. Cosima studies flute at The Ethel Walker School under the direction of award-winning flutist Allison Hughes. She has been playing for 9 years, previously in her hometown of Cologne, Germany. Cosima was at Walker’s for the 2021-2022 school year and served as our scholar-leader for ASSIST.

Coral Gables Wine and Cheese

January 2020

Myrthia Moore ’79 and her husband, J. Steven Manolis, hosted a Walker’s gathering for alumnae and friends in their Coral Gables home. Attending the gathering: Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt; Host Myrthia Moore ’79, Jason, Ava-Sky, and Karina Glassman; Eric Widmer; Head of School Meera Viswanathan; Mari Aixala ’85; Linda Truppman ’77; Ana Carolina Aixala; Vanessa Valle ’94; Alicia Sternberg-Llanos P’21 and Ricardo Llanos P’21. Not pictured: Steven Manolis, photographer and host.

Gurukirn Khalsa ’69

Art Reception

February 2020

Members of the class of 1969 gathered for their classmate’s exhibition and artist reception. Pictured are Mally Cox-Chapman, Lisa Pagliaro Selz, Ann Watson Bresnahan, Ruth Harrison Grobe, and artist Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa.

NYC Luncheon February 2020

Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70 and Gail Chandler Gaston ’70 hosted a reunion years luncheon at the Colony Club in New York in February 2020. Pictured here L to R: Board Chair Kit O’Brien Rohn ’82; Ellen Corroon Petersen ’60; Christy Hoffman Brown ’60; Gretchen Miller Elkus ’60; Joyce Lee ’00; Harriet Blees Dewey ’60, P’86, GP’21; Charlotte Weidlein Lenzner ’05; Alix de Casteja Mahony ’85; Heidi Schierloh Gaillard ’85; Head of School Meera Viswanathan; Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70; Lise Gerhard ’70; Gail Chandler Gaston ’70; Fendi Clagett ’70; Shelley Rea Gilbert ’65; Susan Ferriere ’69; and Lisa Pagliaro Selz ’69. Not pictured: Dianne Doppelt ’75.

Vero Beach Museum February 2020

Leonor Lobo de Gonzalez ’51, Gail Sheppard Moloney ’56, and Phyllis Richard Fritts ’60 hosted a private tour and reception at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. Pictured left to right: Gail Sheppard Moloney ’56; Head of School Meera Viswanathan; Barklie Eliot ’72; Cynthia Clasgens ’70; former faculty member Sally Kellogg Goodrich; Gaynor Davol Casner ’58; and Frances Stewart Ingraham ’58. Not pictured: Anne Austin Mazlish ’51, and Debbie Bell Spoehel ’75.

Hobe Sound, Florida March 2020

Sarah Gates Colley ’75 and Bryan Colley hosted a reception for Head of School Meera Viswanathan. Joining in this gathering of old friends were Patricia and Thomas Anathan P’92, Former Board Chair Stuart Bell and his wife Carolyn Bell, Ruth Mead ’47, Abra ’60 and Jim Wilkin, and Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt.

Wellington, Florida March 2020

Hosts Jenny Walters ’07 and Meredith Dreman ’07 drew more than 50 alumnae, parents, and students together at Kelianda South, the farm of Head of Riding Linda Langmeier and her husband, Kenny Langmeier, in conjunction with the Winter Equestrian Festival.

World-wide Connections

We have loved the connections made world-wide during these past two years. Numerous volunteers worked with the Advancement Office to host more than 50 Zoom gatherings.

If you are interested in collaborating on a Walker’s virtual event, pelase contact Marion Paterson, Director of Alumnae Relations P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org.

Libby Cerullo ’78

Artist in Residence April 2022

Alumna artist Libby Swearengen Cerullo ’78 was our mini artist-in-residency in the Walker’s Art Studio. She worked with students and on art collaboration during her stay!

Wilson, WY July 2021

Alice Kerr Moorhead ’61, Celia Wallace P’23, Betsy Schreier Davis ’81, Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19, and Camille Obering Musser ’96, who kindly hosted the event at her gallery.

Martha’s Vineyard, MA August 2021

A group of Walker’s alumnae, students, parents, trustees, and prospective families gathered on Martha’s Vineyard for a wonderful evening hosted by Alumnae Board member Beth McGuinness ’88 and her parents Luke and Gail McGuinness P’88.

Founder’s Day October 2021

Students gathered on campus with Alumnae Board Co-Chair Samara Khalique Grove ’00 and a local parent of an alumna, pictured above left. Launching a new tradition, groups of alumnae gathered around the world also seen here in Malibu, CA to celebrate October 3rd, the date our School opened in 1911. Pictured here in Malibu, CA are: L to R: Cynthia Anderson-Barker ’72, host Sarah Elting Doering ’65, Patricia Day Storm ’57, Howard Storm, Nicholas and Antionette de Wolff P’23.

8th Grade Zoom Interviews with Alumnae

February 2022

The 8th Grade American Identity history class conducted a series of interviews with alumnae over Zoom from the Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice, gaining understanding of the progression of the women’s rights movement over time. Alumnae interviewed: Abigail Trafford ’57, Docey Baldwin Lewis ’67, Mally Cox-Chapman ’69, Lucille de Zalduondo Briance ’71, Akiko Busch ’71, Cynthia Elliott ’71, Jean Hamilton ’71, Susan Kinnear Neul ’71, Susan Storer ’71, Cynthia Anderson-Barker ’72, Surina Khan ’85.

Wellington, FL March 2022

Students and alumnae together in Wellington, where this year Walker’s had 18 students competing at WEF. Alumnae and Trustees in attendance: Jennifer Alter Abt ’89, Jean Moore Edwards ’69, Janet Hedges ’21, Ashley Lickle O’Neil ’78, Pam Safford ’81, Jo Holdredge Seaver ’99, Ava Strohmeyer ’21, Jennifer Walters ’07. Not in photo but attended: Ann Madonia Hamm ’84, Cynthia Kirkland Kellogg ’60, Barbara Thomas Kennedy ’69, Shelley Marks ’81, Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23.

Hobe Sound, FL March 2022

Kathy McCarthy Parsons ’75, Debbie Bell Spoehel ’75, and Sarah Gates Colley ’75, Trustee Emerita (pictured here with Head of School Meera Viswanathan) hosted a gathering for members of our Walker’s community in Hobe Sound, including former board chair Stuart Bell with his wife Carolyn, Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70 with her husband Clark, Bea B. ’23, Ann Madonia Hamm ’84 with her husband Bill, Whitney Williams Jones ’82 with her husband Clarke, Trustee Cynthia Kirkland Kellogg ’60 with her husband Peter, Ruth Cummings Mead ’47, Wendy French Nolan ’67 with her husband William, Trustee Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23 and her daughter Jordan Hedges ’23, Alita Weaver Reed ’60, Abra Prentice Wilkin ’60, with her husband Jim, and Eric Widmer.

Naples, FL March 2022

Alumnae, parents and former trustees gathered in Naples, FL at a reception hosted by Alumnae Board member Jeanette Pelizzon ’07 and her parents Brenda and David Pelizzon P’07. Pictured L to R: Bernard and Deborah Rosselli P’98, Iain Howard-Sorrell P’09, Jeannette Pelizzon ’07, Brenda Pelizzon P’07, Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt, and Mary Stone P’07. Also present were Eric Widmer, Meera Viswanathan, Head of School, Barbee Thomas Kennedy ’69 with her husband Brian, and Lucia Bryant Blanchard ’65 with her husband Dana.

Katharine Swibold ’78 Art Reception March 2022

Members of the Walker’s community gathered in the Constance Lavino Bell ’48, P’72, ’75, GP’12, ’14 Library Gallery for an artist reception celebrating Alumnae Board member Katharine Swibold ’78 and her photography exhibit “Looking Up: My Hudson River Commute.”

Denver, CO April 2022

Alumnae in the Denver area gathered for a regional event hosted by Cappy Clark Shopneck ’72 and Beth McGuinness ’88. L to R: Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19, Jennifer Alter Abt ’89 with her daughter Jessie Abt, Fiona Cox de Kerckhove ’89 with her daughter Anoushka Millear, Beth McGuinness ’88, Caroline Francklyn ’81, Cappy Clark Shopneck ’72, Marilyn Hodges Wilmerding ’60, Blair Leisure ’80 and Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt.

Alumnae Board on Campus April 2022

After 18 months of not being able to visit campus, the Alumnae Board was thrilled to spend a weekend with students, Meera, and with each other learning about all that is going on and working on plans to engage with more alumnae in the year ahead. They are pictured here on a history walk with School Archivist Kim Thacker P’24, ’27.

Class of 2020 Celebration

June 2022

In June 2022, we were at last able to bring members of the Class of 2020 together on campus to celebrate them with dinner, gifts, and a special “Dear Class of 2020” tribute presented by a group of beloved faculty members.

WALKER’S WOMEN IN THE WORLD

These virtual conversations among alumnae around topics of interest will continue beyond COVID, virtually three times a year, in person at each Reunion, and we hope will ultimately include an option annually for alumnae travel to a location of cultural interest.

2021-22 Topics:

AFGHANISTAN, with Pamela Constable ’70, Washington Post Reporter, and Sahra Ibrahimi ’13, Ph.D. candidate and Instructor at University of Maryland, from Afghanistan.

JOURNEYS FROM WALKER’S, with Robin Raff Taylor ’85, Executive Director of Lawyers Without Borders and Emiliana Vegas ’85, former Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution.

SUSTAINABILITY, with Blair Leisure ’80, Principal and Senior Wetland/Wildlife Biologist at IRIS Mitigation and Design, Inc., Rosemary Logan, Ph.D. ’96, Transformative Sustainability Learning Educator, and Marielle Vigneau-Britt ’06, Content Creator at Totally Forkable.

Proposed 2022-23 Topics:

GLOBAL HEALTH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

HOW TO FAIL SPECTACULARLY WELL (in-person panel, Reunion 2023)

For more information about upcoming virtual events, visit www.ethelwalker.org and click “Alumnae” or contact Marion Paterson, Director of Alumnae Relations P’17, ’19.

ALUMNAE BOOK CLUB

Our virtual Alumnae Book Club series which began during COVID continues to grow and will carry on in the year to come.

Books to date:

Disappearing Earth, by Julia Phillips (author joined)

The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett (led by English Department Chair and Director of Social Justice and Inclusion)

What You Have Heard Is True, by Carolyn Forché (author joined) Under a White Sky, by Elizabeth Kolbert (led by English department class studying the book)

My Salinger Year, by Joanna Rakoff (author joined)

The Hundred Year House, by Rebecca Makkai (author joined)

Upcoming books:

October: Pachinko, Min Jin Lee; November: Vinyl Moon, Mahogany Browne; February: The Book of Goose, Yiyun Li; April: The Hurting Kind, Ada Limón

Virtual Event Series

WINE and DINE

We learned and tasted our way through COVID with fantastic alumnae-led events:

2021

CHEESE led by Lassa Skinner ’82

CHOCOLATE led by Esther Pryor ’85

WINE led by Lassa Skinner ’82 and Jean Moore Edwards ’69

2022

FLAVORS OF FRANCE and ITALY led by Lassa Skinner ’82

Student and Alumnae Women of Color Conversation April 2022

Our annual Women of Color Conversation took place in person and via Zoom this year — sponsored by the Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice — and facilitated by Director of Social Justice and Inclusion Elisa Del Valle.

Lassa Skinner ’82

Esther Pryor ’85

Jean Moore Edwards ’69

REUNIONS Through the Pandemic

2020

With a date and program scheduled and ready to go, the onset of COVID-19 required us to cancel all Reunion 2020 plans and reimagine how we could connect classes ending in 0 and 5 with each other and with the School. As we all learned how to Zoom, we were able to hold 14 class and 2 international Zoom events during the Spring. Over Reunion Weekend itself, 6 events offered opportunities for us to gather in meaningful ways: the State of the School Address, Alumnae Board Social Hour, Alumnae Book Club, Women in Science Panel, Women of Color Panel, and an LGBTQ Meet-up.

2021

While we had hoped to bring classes ending in 0, 1, 5 and 6 together on campus for Reunion 2021, the ongoing nature of COVID-19 required us to plan a second virtual reunion, this time with many more events, including a few in-person and livestreamed elements. We held a total of 41 events over the course of 4 days, including class gatherings, Lunch and Learn sessions with faculty, virtual Cicerone tours, Trivia Night, a networking coffee, an equestrian event, open archives hours, a 50th Reunion Tea, an alumnae artist session, and a Wine and Dine evening led by food expert Lassa Skinner ’82. Two members of the 50th Reunion Class of 1971 were able to reunite in person: Akiko Busch, who delivered our live streamed Reunion Chapel address, and Donna Williams, who attended the opening of our Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice (see more on page 40). Alumnae Board members were present both in person and virtually to induct the Class of 2021 into the Alumnae Association. The Margot Treman Rose ’80 Distinguished Alumnae Award was presented live to Jamiah Tappin ’00 and virtually to Shelley Marks ’81.

State of the School Address, May 2020

Women of Color Panel, May 2020

Donna Williams ’71 and Akiko Busch ’71

Presentation of Margot Rose Award

Alumnae and Faculty present in spirit!

Class of 1972 50th Reunion Dinner at 2022 Reunion

2022

At last, in 2022, we were able to bring classes ending in 2 and 7 together on campus, although this required moving Reunion to June, after commencement, so as not to overcrowd the campus while students were present. Over 120 people attended and spirits were high as we celebrated the joy of being physically together again — even using residence halls as optional housing for alumnae! Some highlights were: Alumnae Panel featuring Diedra Roach-Quarles ’72, Jeanette Pelizzon ’07, Holly Guzman ’02, Liz Ortecho ’87 and moderated by Cynthia Vega ’82; History Walks with the Archivist; an Alumnae Art Reception featured the work of Nancy Smith Klos ’77 and Hooey Stewart Wilks ’82; a progressive dinner highlighting elements of the Campus Master Plan; faculty master classes; the celebration of Ethel Walker Smith’s 150th birthday, and the presentation of the Margot Treman Rose ’80 Distinguished Alumnae Award to Cynthia Anderson-Barker ’72.

Ruth Streeter ’72, Reunion Speaker 2022

One special highlight of Reunion 2022 was our Reunion Chapel, where Ruth Streeter ’72 shared her personal story in what was truly a “golden hour” for all. Asked to leave in 1971 after her junior year for being too outspoken, Ruth has risen above adversity to make a career out of using her voice to highlight people and issues of importance. As the longest serving producer in the history of 60 Minutes, she has received 13 Emmy nominations, three Emmy Awards, a Columbia Dupont Gold Baton, and a Peabody Award. Prior to this speech, the story of her departure from campus was unknown both to the School and to the majority of her classmates; the entire audience was profoundly moved by Ruth’s candor and courage as she shared her journey from student to 50th Reunion alumna, returning to campus for a full-circle moment. Learning that she had never received a diploma through no choice of her own, in the summer of 2022, Head of School Meera Viswanathan and Board of Trustees Chair Kit O’Brien Rohn ’82 (pictured above with Ruth) were pleased to present Ruth with an honorary diploma “in recognition of her ability to use her voice for equity and justice, inspiring generations of women to pursue truth.”

Margot Rose Award Winner Cynthia Anderson-Barker ’71

25th Reunion Dinner

Class of 1982, with second highest attendance, and winner of the highest giving to the Annual Fund for Walker’s

Ruth Cummings Mead ’47 with members of the Class of 2017

Celebrating

Ethel Walker Smith’s 150th birthday

In Memoriam

Alumnae of The Ethel Walker School

NOTE: Names included here are of those known to us as deceased before 1/8/21.

1937 Louise French Blodget

1937 Adele Harman Waggaman

1939 Emma Smith Johnston

Daughters: Alexandra Johnston Horne ’66 and Cynthia Johnston Alexander ’67

1940 Margery Holley Uihlein Niece: Margaret Holley ’62

1941 Lorna Harrah Bruen

Sister: Sheila Harrah Hearne ’36* Niece: Moira Hearne Hintsa ’70

1941 Eugenia Hendrix Clarke

Sister: Nancy Hendrix Mac Leod ’42*

Daughter: Nancy Clarke ’63

1941 Maria Josefa Claire Whitman Myer Step-sister: Nadia Fortington MoultonBarrett ’37*

1941 Anne Alger Rollins

1941 Marie Coudenhove Schmuck

Mother: Bay Hansen Coudenhove ’20* Aunt: Mathilde Hansen Smith ’21*

1943 Charlotte Perry Barringer

1945 Hannah Griffith Bradley

1945 Theodosia Smith Casey

1945 Jane Cole Graves

1945 Joyce Cummings Hobbs Sisters: Ruth Cummings Mead ’47 and Nancy Cummings Henry ’50*

1946 Elizabeth Leonard Breyman Niece: C. Elyse Leonard ’71

1946 Mary Hazard Conrad

1947 Margaret Plunkett Lord

Daughters: Cate Lord ’69 and Sarah Lord Field ’71

Granddaughter: Abigail Brown ’96

Cousin: Christina Dodge ’68

1948 Sally Ankeny Anson

Sister: Kendall Ankeny Mix ’44*

Cousin: Barbara Lang Cochran ’48*

1948 Cornelia Ahern Fry

Sister: Catherine Ahern Spencer ’38*

Nieces: Cornelia Spencer Ives ’63 and Olivia Spencer Tuttle ’66

1950 Joy Windle Hoffman

1950 Joan Dickey Shanahan

1952 Patricia Durey Haviland

Daughter: Anne Haviland Cullen ’79

Niece: Patricia L. Skidmore ’78

1952 Mary List Paull Riley

1952 Mary Sage Stewart

Cousin: Elizabeth Gilbert Fortune ’36*

1952 Naomi Powers Thornton

1953 Louise Miller McElhinny

Sister: Melinda Miller Greenough ’56

1954 Margaret Florence Burden Childs

1954 Patricia Blun Deetjen

1955 Marguerite Doubleday Buck

Aunt: Elizabeth Ballard Rand ’28*

Sisters: Patricia Doubleday Irons ’52* and Dorothy Doubleday Massey ’56

Daughter: Wendy Buck Brown ’79

1956 Nancy Lanphier Chapin

1957 Joan Garver Anderson

Sister: Maud Garver Greer ’59

1959 Nancy Gerdau Graves

Sister: Joan Gerdau Rogers ’55

1960 Anne Carpenter Bienstock

Sister: Elizabeth Carpenter du Pont ’57*

Cousins: Nancy Kitchell Lickle ’53*, Sarah Schutt Harrison ’55, Jane du Pont Kidd ’57*, Victoria Kitchell ’57, Jean du Pont Blair ’58, Phyllis Mills Wyeth ’58*, Carroll Morgan Carpenter ’59, Michelle du Pont Goss ’59, Katherine Schutt

Streitwieser ’59*, Margaretta Bredin Brokaw ’66, Mary Carpenter ’68, Sidney Lickle Jordan ’70, Ashley Lickle O’Neil ’78, Kemble Lickle O’Donnell ’79, and Virginia du Pont ’95

1961 Elizabeth Stanwood Davis

Sister: Caroline R. Stanwood ’56*

1963 Cornelia Spencer Ives

Mother: Catherine Ahern Spencer ’38*

Aunt: Cornelia Ahern Fry ’48*

Sister: Olivia Spencer Tuttle ’66

1965 Kathryn Goodhart Graham

Mother: Edith Altschul Graham ’36*

Aunt: Margaret Altschul Lang ’34*

Cousin: Diana Landreth ’64

1980 Heather Anne Copello

1992 Cheryl Lynn Goldstein

1998 Elon DeAngelis

*Deceased 1911

In 1911, Ethel Walker enlisted her closest friends to provide the financial capital needed to establish her school.

2022

Today, it is the generosity of the Walker’s community who give to the Annual Fund, which ensures Ethel Walker Smith’s school continues to prosper.

We are changing!

In honor of this long tradition of philanthropy at Walker’s, we are reinvigorating our giving societies to recognize the deep commitment of our donors over the years. Watch for further updates!

Philanthropy has played a crucial role in the history of Walker’s since its founding.

Recognizing a Tradition of Giving at Walker’s

In Sympathy

Members of our wider Walker’s community

Frank Alcock, Father of Clarissa Alcock Bronfman ’82

Ellen Dann Alsdorf, Mother of Gretchen Orschiedt, EWS Staff

Edward O. Alvestad, Former EWS Staff

James Battle Jr., Father of Stephanie BattleHorsky ’78

Ennalls Berl II, husband of Suzanne Chapin Berl ’64

Frances D. Bortz, Mother of Dinah Bortz Moyer ’78

T. Bruce Bowers, Husband of Hope Baldwin McLeod ’70

F. Donald Brigham, Father of Jean Brigham Chant ’82 and Kathleen Brigham Uberuaga ’85

Naomi I. Bryant, Sister of DeBorah Bryant Sonnenschein ’73 and Mother of Nombulelo Hammond ’96

Thomas J. Carter, Grandfather of Ava Strohmeyer ’21

Jeffrey R. Colen, Father of Alle Shane ’06

Jose B. Cota, Grandfather of Jacinta Lomba ’13, Sara Lomba ’16, and Sofia Lomba ’18

Robert Talcott DePree, Husband of Susan Barker DePree ’63

Bruce Derbyshire, Father of Mary Derbyshire Petty ’79

Fred Doering, Husband of Sarah Elting Doering ’65

Raymond James Dolphin, Father-in-law of Leander Altifois Dolphin ’95, P’24; Grandfather of Maya Dolphin ’24

Robert M. Dufina, Husband of Lauren Rauh Dufina ’15

Ruth Vivian Elmore, Former EWS Faculty

William Henry Gates II, Husband of Mary Gardner Gates ’60

Margaret Greene, Grandmother of Mallory Pasquariello, EWS Staff

Walter Richard Hampton, Father of Maria Hampton Klimczak ’78

William Bradford Hubbell Jr., Father of Drika Hubbell Constantino ’80

Philip W. Hummer, Father of Helen Hummer Feid ’78 and Brooke Hummer Mower ’80

Douglas King Jones, husband of Melissa Haller Jones ’84

Francis W. Kahawaiolaa, Former EWS Staff and Honoree of the Frenchie Award

Gordon Fitzgerald Linke, Husband of Jocelyn Allan Linke ’48

S. Peter Lorillard, Brother of Lisa Lorillard Halsted ’77

Joseph P. Lotuff, Father of Mary Lotuff Feeny ’83

Eileen Mahoney, Grandmother of McKenzie Connors ’21

James A. Massaro, Father-in-law of Eliza David Massaro ’92

Ann E. Maurer, mother of Meredith Maurer Hutchinson ’77

Peter Van Ness Philip, Father-in-law of Lela Schaus Philip ’79

James Marshall Porter, Husband of Kathryn Auchincloss Porter ’54

Mr. Rangarajan, Uncle of Meera Viswanathan, Head of School

Patricia Reighley, Mother of Gillian Reighley Christensen ’69

Carl Martin Rohn, Brother-in-law of Katharine O’Brien Rohn ’82

Mr. M. Sankaran, Uncle of Meera Viwsanathan, Head of School

Alice Seiffer, Mother of Alison Seiffer Spacek ’80 and Dale Seiffer Oberlander ’80

Walter Smithwick III, Husband of Cornelia Covington Smithwick ’66; Brotherin-law of Victoria Lee Covington Graham ’70

Stephen V.R. Spaulding III, Husband of Elsa Yannopoulos Spaulding ’60

Neal William Strohmeyer, Father of Ava Strohmeyer ’21

Taylor Chase Thomas, Brother of Jamiah Tappin ’00

John R. Wagley, Father of Louisa Caroline Wagley ’01* and Cousin of Susan Allport Howell ’68 and Lisa Danforth Hurst ’79

Samuel Dexter Warriner II, Husband of Linda Trimingham Warriner ’61

Sarah Ruth Weinberg, Daughter of Barbara Lehrman Weinberg ’55

Sarah J. Winmill, Mother of Starr Winmill Shebesta ’74

Jane Peirce Wood, Mother of Gwendolyn Wood Wisely ’96

Thomas G. Wyman, Father of Karin Wyman Morgan ’72

*Deceased

Leave Your Legacy at Walker’s

You can make a lasting contribution to future generations of students by designating Walker’s as a beneficiary of your estate plan through a bequest, charitable trust, retirement plan rollover, or other deferred giving arrangement. By doing this, you can make a significant gift to Walker’s to ensure its future — while also providing tax benefits for yourself and your family.

Gift Designations

Planned gifts make an immeasurable difference to Walker’s. By supplementing the Annual Fund or boosting the School’s endowment, planned gifts provide the resources for financial aid, professional development opportunities for faculty, technology, programs, and facilities. Donors may also wish to direct their planned gift to establish a named fund, which will benefit Walker’s students long into the future.

Donor Recognition

The Ethel Walker Heritage Society was established to recognize individuals and families who, like Ethel Walker herself, choose to provide for the School’s future by including it in their estate plans. Society members play an essential role in ensuring Walker’s continued financial health and tradition of excellence as a progressive educator of girls.

Knowing how crucial it would be that her vision and passion for girls’ education be nurtured and flourish past her lifetime, Ethel Walker Smith created two trusts in her will, which instruct that any remaining assets of her estate be delivered to The Ethel Walker Charitable and Educational Foundation.

When Ethel died at 93, she had peace in the knowledge that her foresight and generous transfer of wealth would aid in the perpetual support and welfare of her beloved School.

In the fall of 2016, assets totaling approximately $7.4 million from the first trust were transferred to The Ethel Walker Charitable and Educational Foundation. As a result, the School now receives an annual payout from The Ethel Walker Smith Endowment toward operating expenses.

The Foundation will receive the assets of the second trust at a future date once Ethel’s will no longer has any living beneficiaries.

Thanks to our founder’s pioneering spirit, steadfast commitment to this institution, and the extraordinary foresight she exhibited in establishing this planned gift, Walker’s girls today continue to receive a top-notch education. As a result of Ethel’s sage financial planning and philanthropic convictions, the School will continue to benefit for years to come.

Planned gifts often offer substantial tax and other financial benefits. We encourage you to consult with your personal financial advisor, attorney, or accountant regarding your intentions.

To discuss including The Ethel Walker School in your philanthropic plans or to notify the School of an existing planned gift, please contact Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt at gorschiedt@ethelwalker.org or 860-408-4260. For more information on planned giving vehicles, visit www.ethelwalker.org/support-walkers/planned-giving.

Walker’s long history of legacy gifts began with its founder, Ethel Walker Smith.

For me, the opportunity to board at Walker’s was a transformational gift that unequivocally altered the course of my future pathway, raising my sights about what was possible. I now want to invest in the future of others, to enable them to imagine their future in new ways. My Annual Fund gift is the most direct way I can create lifechanging opportunities for the next generation at Walker’s.”

Pam Safford ’81 Assistant Head for Admission & Enrollment

Giving to the Annual Fund for Walker’s is an investment in the future. Join Pam and make your gift today to ensure that the School is able to support our girls as they navigate their own path and achieve all that they are able to imagine. Your gift matters.

Together, we can make dreams come true.

Ways to Give

Online: www.ethelwalker.org click “Support”

By mail: Annual Fund for Walker’s The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road Simsbury, CT 06070

By phone: Please call Leila Howland Wetmore ’82, P’18, Director of Development and the Annual Fund at +1 (860) 408-4250

Rock Concert in April 2022 featuring Walker’s Sundial Sound outside the Centennial Center!