Board of Directors

Ellen Hyde Pace ’81 oversees the Global Dental Professional Communications Practice and Research & Development/Innovation Projects at Red Fuse, WPP’s integrated consultancy servicing global client Colgate-Palmolive. Under her leadership, ongoing brand efforts and new product launches are orchestrated to reach the Dental Professional, and Horizon2/3 Innovation Pathways are pursued with Colgate Scientists. She began her career at WPP’s Y&R NY as a summer intern through Mount Holyoke’s internship program. She remained at Y&R for the first nine years of her career.

Prior to returning to Y&R to work on Colgate, Pace was for 10 years the global business director responsible for Pfizer Consumer Healthcare at WPP’s J. Walter Thompson. In her worldwide role, she managed two major categories, upper respiratory (Sudafed, Benilyn) and oral care (Listerine Mouthwash and Portables), including the successful global launch of Listerine PocketPaks. She worked overseas in Australia on the Mars Petfood business when at the agency DMB&B, where she also oversaw the Procter & Gamble oral care business.

At MHC, Pace majored in American Studies and Art History. She previously served on the College Board of Trustees as Alumnae Trustee 2009-2014, and Trustee 2014-2019. She was also on the Board of the Alumnae Association 2002-2005, was a member of the 2013 Major Gifts New York Committee, and is the former Cornerstone gift chair of her class. She received the Mary Lyon Award in 2006. She is also on the Board of Effie Worldwide, where she sits on the Executive Committee and serves as Board Secretary. Ellen and her husband, Tony, are the parents of twins, Liz and Leo, and reside in New York City.

Antoria Howard Marrow ’81, has had a long career in public service. Presently she serves as the Associate Attorney General for Administration and Management in the State of Connecticut Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Prior to assuming this role, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in both the Public Safety and Employment Rights Departments, before assuming the role of Department Head of the Employment Rights Department at the OAG. Over the years she has been an Adjudicator and a Hearings Attorney for the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health. She also spent several years in private practice specializing in housing and family law.

She holds a B.A from Mount Holyoke College and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. In 2011, she was recognized in the Connecticut Law Tribune in its special section on “Lawyers of Color: High Achievers.” She has been active in the Alumnae Association, her class and the Black Alumnae Conference Committee, receiving the Medal of Honor in 2011.

Susy Ham Heldman ’76, retired vice president and controller of Schwab Charitable Fund, had a 21-year career overseeing the financial, accounting and tax operations and the development of financial strategy for this national donor-advised fund. Prior to joining Schwab Charitable in 2000, Heldman worked in controller positions in the oil and gas industry in southern California and held leadership positions at major nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area. She holds a B.A. from Mount Holyoke and an MBA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Heldman has contributed her skills to several charitable organizations, including serving on the boards of the Mount Holyoke Club of Northern California and her MHC class of 1976 and the Daraja Education Fund. Heldman formerly served on the Finance and Nominating Committees of the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College and the board of the Calvary Presbyterian Foundation. Heldman enjoys using her travel in combination with time to volunteer abroad, including in Argentina, Thailand, Fiji and New Zealand. 

Carrie C. Ruzicka ’99, Winnetka, IL. Marketing Manager, AbbVie. JD, University of Minnesota;. Class: Treasurer, Secretary, Reunion Co-chair, Misc. Reunion Chair, Class Agent. Chicago Club: President, treasurer, former alumnae rep. South Hadley Club: former alumnae rep. Boston Club: former alumnae rep. Minneapolis Club: former alumnae rep. Young Alumna Volunteer Leadership 2014.

Sabrina L. Maurer, PharmD, is currently a senior portfolio director and team lead at Envision Pharma Group. a multinational medical communications company. Prior to joining Envision, Dr. Maurer worked for several other medical communications companies since joining the industry in 1997.

Dr. Maurer holds an BA in biological sciences from Mount Holyoke College and a PharmD from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, where she received a student leadership award. Dr. Maurer was the recipient of Mount Holyoke College’s Loyalty Award in 2015. Dr. Maurer serves on the Board of Directors of Temple Beth Tikvah.

Dr. Maurer enjoys cooking, entertaining, brewing beer, gardening, traveling and playing with her miniature poodle, Ollie. She was proud to provide four cases of home-brewed beer for her 20th reunion and hopes to be able to do it again for her 30th.

Naomi M. Barry-Pérez has served as the director of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) since 2012. In this position, she directs DOL’s civil rights enforcement and compliance programs pursuant to Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (formerly the Workforce Investment Act), among other statutes. Ms. Barry-Pérez serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Labor and Departmental leadership on civil rights and equal employment opportunity (EEO) with regard to entities receiving federal financial assistance from the Department of Labor as well as employment with the Department of Labor. 

Additionally, Ms. Barry-Pérez held the position of chief of internal enforcement, where she oversaw the investigation and adjudication of complaints of discrimination within the department. She also served as acting chief of the office of Compliance Assistance and Planning, the entity dedicated to providing Departmental stakeholders with information on how to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Ms. Barry-Pérez was responsible for coordinating efforts that pertain to persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) and migrant/seasonal farmworkers. 

Ms. Barry-Pérez served as a budget examiner in the Education Branch of the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President in 1999-2000. She also served as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Fellow in the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in 1996-1997.

Ms. Barry-Pérez holds a B.A. in politics (cum laude) from Mount Holyoke College and master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. In addition, she held a Public Interest Law Fellowship at the Georgetown University Law Center, where she received a Juris Doctor degree.

Ms. Barry-Pérez is the recipient of numerous national awards, including a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Alumnae Achievement Award, Secretary of Labor Exceptional Service Awards, the inaugural Federal Employee Leadership Award given by the National Farmworker Conference, a National Hispanic Scholarship, a Harry S. Truman Scholarship for Public Service, and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Public Policy. 

Ms. Barry-Pérez served as Chairwoman of the Board for Good Shepherd Ministries, Inc., a nonprofit organization that operated four comprehensive programs for at-risk youth in Washington, D.C., and as a board member of Americans for the Arts. Ms. Barry-Pérez has also served on a number of committees for Mount Holyoke College, including the College’s Legacy of Diversity Committee. Ms. Barry-Pérez earned the rank of Shodan (1^st degree black belt) in traditional karate in 2019.  Finally, she is the doting mama to Emilio, age 12. 

Julie Anne Green ’95 is the executive director of New Futures. Green has more than 25 years of nonprofit and leadership experience, encompassing strategic planning, fundraising, communications, board engagement and partnership development. Under her leadership, New Futures has clarified and overhauled its program, doubled its revenues, tripled the size of the staff, substantially improved organizational outcomes and expanded its regional impact. 

Prior to joining New Futures in 2016, she was the chief marketing and development officer for E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. Over her 10 years in that role, annual fund revenues grew by more than 3,000 percent, and she led the school’s first-ever comprehensive campaign, raising more than $11 million for annual, capital and special projects between 2009 and 2012. Previously, Green was director of development for George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, where she raised private funds and built community fundraising organizations for the College’s Center for the Arts, Theater of the First Amendment and four academic arts departments. She has worked with Virginia Opera, The Washington Opera and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Green is a member of Leadership Greater Washington’s Class of 2021, a member of the board of directors of Chelsea School, a member of the board of directors of Education Board Partners, and the former chair of the board of directors for Jubilee JumpStart. Green holds a B.A. in music from Mount Holyoke. 

Hilary J. Bland ’92, a seasoned business consultant with expertise in organizational change and strategy consulting, has worked with leaders in Fortune 500 companies in the US and abroad to deliver large scale transformation programs. Bland is currently the head of organizational capability for The Boeing Company. Previously she was with IBM for 14 years, most recently as an associate partner in the Global Talent & Engagement Center of Competence, where she shared IBM thought leadership and experience, designed solutions and managed program execution for clients worldwide. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York. Prior to joining IBM, Bland was an assistant director with Ernst & Young’s Center for People Process Innovation and a human resources business partner with Simon & Schuster.

Avice A. Meehan ’77 has had a wide-ranging career as a journalist and communications executive in government, health care and philanthropy. Most recently she served as senior vice president and chief communications officer for New York-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She holds a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. In addition to serving as an alum trustee, she is a member of the Board of Managers of the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Cancer Research and volunteers with several organizations focused on ending homelessness. She received the Alumnae Medal of Honor in 2007. 

Sarita Gupta is vice president of U.S. Programs, overseeing the Ford Foundation’s domestic work including Civic Engagement and Government, Creativity and Free Expression, Future of Work(ers), Technology and Society, Disability Rights, and Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice.

Gupta joined the foundation in 2019 as director of the Future of Work(ers) program, bringing more than two decades of experience working to expand people’s ability to take collective action to improve their workplaces, communities, and lives by creating meaningful solutions. She is a nationally recognized expert on the economic, labor, and political issues affecting workers, and is widely acknowledged as a key leader and strategist for building coalitions and policies that protect and advance the rights of workers.

As director, Gupta spearheaded the launch of several far-reaching initiatives. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she brought together a number of major funders to launch the Families and Workers Fund, which now stands at $52 million, and the $50 million Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund, to address the immediate needs of low-wage workers and their families and drive long-term policy change. Most recently she made a $25 million grant to support informal workers across the globe for the next five years. She has a long history of working on the national level to break down barriers to economic opportunity for all people, which has been increasingly crucial as the U.S. struggles to rebuild equitably amidst an uneven economic recovery from COVID-19.

Gupta previously served as executive director of Jobs With Justice, a leader in the fight for workers’ rights that shapes the public discourse on every front to build power for working people and create an economy that benefits everyone. There, she led a network of 30+ labor and community coalitions that changed the conversation and moved multiple voices, from labor to faith, into action. She has been on the frontlines of organizing and policy campaigns to boost wages, worker

Rachel Happe  McEnroe ’93 works at the intersection of strategy, technology, governance, leadership and communications. She co-founded The Community Roundtable in 2009 to support organizational transformation efforts by investing in community, collaboration, and engagement strategies. McEnroe has published groundbreaking research demonstrating the generative business model of community approaches. Her clients have included AMEX, City Year, AAAS, EA, the Canadian Medical Association, and the World Bank Group. They benefit from McEnroe’s ability to make sense of abstract trends and her ability to see the implications of strategic, technical and operational decisions on people and processes.

McEnroe has more than 25 years of experience working with emerging technologies, including enterprise social networking, eCommerce, and enterprise software applications. She has served as a product executive at Mzinga, Bitpass, & IDe, and as IDC’s first industry analyst covering social technologies. She started her business career as a business analyst at PRTM, now part of PWC.