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Chloé Zhao ’05 A director to watch for
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Susan Kare ’75 Iconic designer
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Solange Franklin Reed ’08 Fashioning a career
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Deborah Harkness ’86 Owning her own power
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Mahua Moitra ’98 Leading with confidence
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Natasha Martin Lamb ’04 Managing change
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W R ITI N G T H I S from the confinement
necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been thinking a great deal about the history of pandemics and about what it must have been like in the fall of 1918, when the influenza epidemic caused at least 219 Mount Holyoke students to fall ill and the College to set up emergency hospitals. Others were cared for in the dormitories, before the hospitals were ready. Four students contracted pneumonia, and, sadly, one died: a first-year student from Pennsylvania, Elizabeth M. Smith, class of 1922, who, according to President Mary Woolley, suffered “a very acute infection from the beginning.” Some of you may recall the article by Olivia Lammel ’14, “Campus Under Quarantine,” published in the winter 2015 edition of the Alumnae Quarterly, alongside an interview with Miriam Aschkenasy ’94, who at the time served as deputy director of global disaster response at Massachusetts General Hospital. Who could have foreseen that, within five years of this feature, we would be living
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through a pandemic of such consequence? And the more I read and think about COVID-19, the representations of the facts, the questions without answers, and the parallels of history and fiction, the more it reminds me that what this College and its community do matters, in these times and always. As the current epidemic grew, first in China, then across Asia and Europe, we were concerned about our alumnae, family and friends in affected countries, as well as our students returning from winter break and those on their junior year abroad. With this coronavirus outbreak came fear, and with that fear a resurgence of structural anti-Asian racism, xenophobic and discriminatory responses, both social and political, which disproportionately targeted Chinese and Asian individuals. Contemplating the scattering of our community again, this time for spring break, and what it might mean to have to quarantine or isolate students upon their return — not to mention the pressure on the hospitals in Western Massachusetts from the 38,000 students in the Five Colleges — it seemed unthinkable to continue as planned. And so, on March 10, we made the decision to get as many students home as we could (more than 1,800) and to complete the semester’s teaching and learning online. Behind that decision was a comprehensive emergency response strategy that placed equity and inclusion front and center. This includes hours of invisible labor by faculty and staff, the cooperation of students and their families and friends, and the generosity of alumnae and others who have supported the Emergency Student Relief Fund. Our response also
involved myriad decisions about details: from storage to plane tickets; from refunds to financial aid policies and work study; from access to technology and accessibility to connectivity and accreditation rules; from information security to equity in grading; telehealth and therapy practices and insurance to Department of Public Health dining guidelines; and from cleaning and reporting protocols to inventories of PPE to be donated, to name just a few areas requiring careful consideration. As we sought to “flatten the curve,” to keep our campus and other communities safe by anticipating the lockdown that was yet to come, I attended data analytics webinars, read everything available to me and looked at Mount Holyoke’s hand-drawn and yellowed graph of 1918, which plotted student infections and their peak on September 24 of that year. In 2020 the data are ubiquitous, in interactive charts — ballooning and overlapping red circles — that appear in cell phone alerts, as well as in media of every kind, depersonalizing the lives, loves and identities behind escalating numbers that still remain relatively (and mercifully) low here in Hampshire County. The numbers are finally disclosing, too, the race and ethnicity of those impacted, unequally, leading to yet further evidence that the historic and systemic trifecta of economic inequality, healthcare injustice and housing inequities mean that both race and place clearly constitute underlying conditions. It has become almost a commonplace (and one, as a French scholar, that I cannot resist) to evoke Camus’s “La Peste” [“The Plague”] (1947), reprinted twice this year already, with commentators from Camus’s own daughter, Catherine (Kim Willsher, Guardian, March 28), to Alain de Botton (New York Times, March 19, 2020) talking about the novel as a tale for our — and for all — times. Catherine Camus muses that ours is a different time from that of the novel’s composition. Now, she says, “Everyone thinks they are right and forgets what life is about, that there are doubts.” She hopes that this time of reflection will cause us to “become more human.” For de Botton, plagues “are merely concentrations of a universal precondition, dramatic instances of a perpetual rule: that all human beings are vulnerable to being randomly exterminated at any time, by a virus, an accident or the actions of
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Their work and yours is making a difference in communities worldwide, in the arts, fashion and technology, in business and finance, in medicine and in politics, in education, community building and race relations. This is the kind of community Mount Holyoke represents and the change that it brings. — S O N YA S T E P H E N S
Joanna Chattman
”
our fellow man.” Camus’s message is, he argues, “when it comes to dying, there is no progress in history” and that “being alive was and always will remain an emergency,” an “inescapable ‘underlying condition.’” While these are, indeed, core tenets of the novel, the claim to universalism should be questioned. The novel’s erasures, notably of the Arab population of Oran and of women, also speak to persistent challenges. While there are representations of the desperate living conditions of the former, and of the poor relationships between men and women, early in the novel, they are effectively dismissed in order to privilege a particularly gendered (exclusively male, and indeed white male, experience of brotherhood), which severely limits the universality of the human predicament it describes, and more so the novel’s much vaunted redemptive qualities. While women globally draw attention for their effective management of this crisis — notably the premiers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Taiwan — showing that truth and decisive leadership make a difference, frontline healthcare workers, mostly women, globally, and often immigrant populations, too, are not only caring for the sick, they are now often also caring for their families and educating their children in lockdown. As the domestic and economic impacts of this are now being felt, it is likely that there will be pernicious gender and racial disparities yet to emerge, entrenching existing inequality. I am always so encouraged and inspired by the work of Mount
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Holyoke alumnae in challenging these inequities and pleased that we are able to celebrate some of them in this edition of the Alumnae Quarterly. Their work and yours is making a difference in communities worldwide, in the arts, fashion and technology, in business and finance, in medicine and in politics, in education, community building and race relations. This is the kind of community Mount Holyoke represents and the change that it brings. The campus is quiet now, closed to all but the 280 remaining students and some essential workers, as the trees burst into flower and the flowers push upwards into the light, a testimony to life’s persistence, to hope and renewal, even in the face of such global sickness and loss. The bells ring out as usual, but no one is hurrying across the campus to class. The library is dark, the academic buildings shuttered, and the vast greens deserted. Camus
was right to say that separation is “the greatest agony of [this] long period of exile.” Instead, we are Zooming. We are a mosaic of squares — large, concentrating, diverse faces against a backdrop of cluttered or staged domesticity, or of intentional elsewheres, in our green screen topographies of vacations past, or reality shows of a quotidian interrupted by children, family members and other creatures with whom we share our homes. In October 1918, a junior wrote in the Mount Holyoke News of the empty classrooms: “It is almost a habit. Classes seem incidental. If we awake in the morning, feeling unusually sleepy, we decide to stay in bed — at least some people do. We excuse ourselves and the truth is not in us.” In 2020, we may worry about those not logging on for asynchronous learning, but while the motivation to work in this way and in these radically changed circumstances may be temporarily diminished or, at least, harder to activate, the quest for and commitment to truth and the call to leadership and for change prevails at Mount Holyoke College.
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Contents S PR I NG 2 0 2 0
VOLU M E 10 4
N U M BE R 2
FEATU RE
14
Alums to Know About
A brief look at 76 alums whose lives showcase the value of a Mount Holyoke College education
tk Solange Franklin Reed ’08
38
DE PART M E NTS
4 LYONS SHARE Elizabeth (Dee) Barrett ’53
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Praise for the winter issue, family connections, an important omission, inspirational messages, alums in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic
8 UNCOMMON GR OUND
Mount Holyoke community responds to COVID-19, Alumnae Association launches virtual programming, Nancy Bellows Perez ’76 to retire, College names chief investment officer, Alumnae Quarterly digitized, Lawlor wins Whiting Award
alumnae.mtholyoke.edu
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Alumnae Quarterly
M O U N T H O LYO KE ALUMNAE QUARTERLY Spring 2020 Volume 104 Number 2
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76
TO KNOW
TO KNOW
A BO U T
AB OUT
Chloé Zhao ’05 A director to watch for
Susan Kare ’75 Iconic designer
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EDITORIAL AND DESIGN TEAM
Jennifer Grow ’94 Editor and Senior Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
ALUMS
A LU M S
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Jess Ayer Class Notes Editor and Marketing & Communications Associate
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TO KNOW
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A BO U T
AB OUT
A LU M S
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QUARTERLY COMMITTEE
Solange Franklin Reed ’08 Fashioning a career
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Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly
2020
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Kelly Bahmer-Brouse ’86 Perrin McCormick Menashi ’90 Susana Morris ’02 Emily Krakow ’20, student rep
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TO KNOW
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AB OUT
A LU M S
President Maria Z. Mossaides ’73, P’04
ALUMS
Vice President Antoria Howard-Marrow ’81 Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee Alice C. Maroni ’75
Natasha Martin Lamb ’04 Managing change
Mahua Moitra ’98 Leading with confidence
Illustrations by Frances Murphy; page 18, Barbara Smith ’69: Joanna Chattman; page 23, Lady Borton ’64: Deirdre Malfatto; page 29, Chmba Ellen Chilemba ’17: Joanna Chattman; page 33, Joan Winkel Ripley ’55: Meredith Heuer
Mount Holyoke College, Inc. Spring 2020, volume 104, number 2, was printed in the USA by Fry Communications, Inc., Mechanicsburg, PA. Periodicals postage paid at South Hadley, MA, and additional
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For this special issue, we commissioned illustrations of six alumnae, each of whom is featured on one of six distinct covers.
Clerk Markeisha J. Miner ’99
Given the events that have unfolded these past few months during the spread of COVID-19, we wish to take the opportunity to remind readers that these class notes were submitted in January 2020. While there is typically a delay between the receipt and publication of class notes, this time the delay feels much more profound. In this issue, alumnae have shared their excitement over future gatherings, mini-reunion plans, and Reunion and Commencement festivities. Plans that, sadly, have now been either canceled or postponed. We offer our continued thanks to our class scribes, who write class notes, for the time and dedication they put into each and every column. We hope you continue to connect with them and with each other by sharing your news with your class scribes.
80 ALUMS TO KNOW INDE X
Quarterly do not necessarily reflect the views of Mount Holyoke College or the Alumnae Association of The Alumnae Quarterly welcomes letters. Letters should run not more than 200 words in length, refer to material published in the magazine and include the writer’s full name. Letters may be edited for clarity and space. To update your information, contact Alumnae and Development Data Services at ais@mtholyoke.edu or 413-538-2303.
Alumnae Trustee Erin Ennis ’92 Recent Alumnae Representative Tarana Bhatia ’15
40 CLASS NOTES
Ideas expressed in the Alumnae
Mount Holyoke College.
Alumnae Quarterly
ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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the spring, summer, fall and winter
mailing offices.
Deborah Harkness ’86 Owning her own power
spr ing
Sarah Chapin Alicia Doyon Althea Finch-Brand ’21 Emily Krakow ’20 Maryellen Ryan Keely Savoie Sexton Elizabeth Solet
ALUMS
Quarterly is published quarterly in by the Alumnae Association of
CON T RI BUTORS
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The Mount Holyoke Alumnae
Chair, Classes and Reunion Committee Cheryl Maloney ’73 Chair, Clubs Committee Hilary M. Salmon ’03 Chair, Communications Committee Marisa C. Peacock ’01
The Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, Inc. 50 College St. South Hadley, MA 01075-1486 413-538-2300 alumnae.mtholyoke.edu
Chair, Nominating Committee Danetta L. Beaushaw ’88
quarterly@mtholyoke.edu
Chair, Volunteer Stewardship Committee Arleen M. Heiss ’70
POSTMASTER
Directors-at-Large Hilary J. Bland ’92 Eleanor Chang ’78
Alumnae and Development Data
Executive Director Nancy Bellows Perez ’76 ex officio without vote
50 College St.
(ISSN 0027-2493; USPS 365-280) Please send form 3579 to Services Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA 01075-1486
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L ET T E R S
EM A IL
FAC E B O OK
TW ITTER
I NSTAGR A M
L I N K E DI N
Lyons Share
PRAISE FOR THE WINTER ISSUE What a beautiful cover for the winter 2020
issue. The lovely photo of Deborah Northcross ’73 and Rhynette Northcross Hurd ’71 put a smile on my face the minute I saw it. I had the honor of serving with both of them over the years in alumnae roles, and I am better for it. The article about them (“Strength, Courage and Vision,” winter 2020, p. 16), and the tributes to Mindy McWilliams Lewis ’75, P’05 with whom I also served, were so very well done. The whole issue was interesting and moving. Thank you for the much-needed light and warmth in the midst of, shall we say, a rather gray and cold winter. —Susan d’Olive Mozena ’67 via email Loved the story, especially since I know both Deborah and Rhynette. [I] served with Deborah on the board of trustees and met Mindy on a number of occasions. As someone who also came from the Jim Crow South to Mount Holyoke, I know that the story really captures what that transition was like, how the black MHC women had to create our own social structures in order to survive in this new environment, and how our relationships with, and support for, each other
led to service to the College. Kudos to Deborah and Rhynette and Mindy! —Sheryl McCarthy ’69 via Association website The single best article I have read in the Quarterly. Ever. —Danetta Beaushaw ’88 via Association website I knew all three at MHC, living in dorms with each of them during my years at college. Rhynette and Deborah were always willing to engage on every level. Mindy was a wonderful person. All those who knew her recognized her qualities. This is a great article and brings back many memories of MHC, of these three “Uncommon Women.” —Sandra Beers Tuttle ’74 via Association website REMEMBERING SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
Thanks for highlighting such an inspiring woman (“Catalyst for Change,” fall 2019, p. 17). I needed to read this now at this discouraging point in our history. I loved the description by Kayla Jackson ’86 of the shift in student @mhcalums In 2019, Tiffany Chou ’16 completed a 148-day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans 2,653 miles from the U.S. border with Canada to the Mexico-U.S. border. “I slept under the stars in my tent most nights,” Tiffany says, “and carried everything on my back.” #MHCAlums #PoweredByMountHolyoke #Hiking #ThruHiking #TheGreatOutdoors #PacificCrestTrail
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Another shining #PoweredByMountHolyoke example. #MountHolyokeAlums @aamhc.
PE RRIN ME NASHI MCCORMICK ’ 90 @ PE RRINMCC
choice of dress out of respect. Thank you to Shirley. I’m so proud of her connection to Mount Holyoke. —Amy Faivre ’92 via Association website BENNET COLLEGE MEMORIES I graduated from MHC in 1959 and look at my
experiences there with a sense of deep gratitude. However, I have not lived a life since then of notable patterns or of public recognition. Rather, MHC nurtured me toward resiliency and creative choices, which were mostly successful and a skill set that has repeatedly enriched my being. The article on the Bennet College exchange program (“Readily Welcomed,” spring 2019, p. 35), in which I was a fortunate participant, has led me to write this letter. Most of us who experienced the breadth of the MHC experience have not become well-known or achieved notable goals. As one of these I write simply in thanks for the inquisitive, cognitive and expressive skills I gleaned from my years at MHC and have found of great value. —Mary Baton Marx ’59 via letter
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A MISSED OPPORTUNITY Thank you for your article about the Dust Bowl
(“The Demands of the Soil,” winter 2020, p. 28). I enjoyed reading about Caroline Boa Henderson, class of 1901, and her experience as a farmer during the difficult years of drought and dust. The article opens with the claim that the Dust Bowl caused “the largest U.S. migration ever recorded when 2.5 million people were driven from their homes.” This claim overlooks that of the Great Migration. Isabel Wilkerson’s book, “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” shares that the exodus of almost six million [black citizens] changed the face of America. Wilkerson states in her book that the Great Migration of African Americans has been overlooked in scholarly research [though it was] a migration that saw more than double the number of people flee a region than did the Dust Bowl. —Beth Polzin ’00 via email FAMILY CONNECTIONS I was surprised and pleased to see in the winter
issue of the Alumnae Quarterly the photograph of the “Votes for Women” sash that belonged to my grandmother, Florence Tuttle Chandler, class of 1916, P’42 (“Dressed for Activism,” winter 2020, p. 35). The sash was inside a scrapbook that she kept while at college and that I donated to the archives some years ago. She often told the story about wearing the sash and leading a parade of students in the Equal Suffrage League in downtown Holyoke. A photograph of her wearing the sash appeared in the newspaper. Thinking he would be delighted, she mailed a copy to her father, James P. Tuttle (attorney general of New Hampshire at the time and the father of four daughters: two attended Mount Holyoke, one went to Wellesley, and the fourth went to Radcliffe). But he sent her back a letter saying, “Florence, I sent you to Mount Holyoke to get an education, not to march in any parade.” She always ended the story with, “Needless to say, I didn’t march in any more parades.” —Kimberly Fletcher ’73 via email PRAISE FOR DEBRA MARTIN CHASE ’77 So proud of your curiosity, courage, mentor-
ship, talent and achievements (“Trailblazer and Storyteller,” winter 2020, p. 12)! Thank you for opening doors and your commitment to telling our story! —Valerie Smith ’71 via Association website
WE SHARED
Next month, Mount Holyoke College Professor Emerita Indira Viswanathan Peterson will be speaking in India!
On February 2, Peterson will present at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai on a panel curated by Samhita Arni ’06. On February 7 and 14, Peterson will lecture at the Bangalore International Centre, with moderation by Arni and Shoba Narayan CG’88, both Bangalore-based writers. Hello, Prof. Peterson! So good to “see” you! I was a student (FP) in 1986. … Shoba and Viji were in the class. So happy to have Viji here at MHC this semester. —Ellen Jacobson FP'88 I loved taking a class with her (way back in 1993) — writing papers for her was always so rewarding. She was generous with her feedback, and she made me such a better writer because of it! —Marguerita Larned Croft ’96 Have a wonderful time, Indira. Please post details so I can share with friends in those cities. —Anupa Doraiswami MA’86 I learned so much in her course! —Julia Jackson McCready ’83
EDITOR’S NOTE: F. Chaney Li ’64 was incorrectly identified as Chaney Chang Li ’64 in “Learning Beyond the Classroom” (winter 2020, p. 22). We extend our sincerest apologies for the error.
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LYONS SHAR E
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Found this on my morning walk. I felt this in my spirit from the time I set foot on these grounds at 18 years old. It’s a message and gift I strive to give my students every day. #affirmationmatters #belongingmatters #educationmatters #accessmatters #mtholyoke @ MJML AWDETROIT MARKE ISHA J. MINE R ’ 99
”
In their own words In late March we asked alums to tell us how living during a pandemic was affecting day-to-day life. Here we share a selection of the earliest responses. We’d love to hear from more of you. Email us at quarterly@ mtholyoke.edu. “Camaraderie and a shared culture are really important at my job, so not being able to have a coffee, share lunch or brainstorm together on our writable walls is a big change. So far everyone has made a big effort to maintain our shared work experience, whether with little things like everyone saying hello on the internal chat when we log on, and goodbye in the evening, or bigger things like scheduling times to catch up and sharing tips on working from home with kids.” —Laura Campbell ’06
For #RandomActsOfKindnessDay today, find some “inspiration in The Kindness Rocks Project, which Molly Dietrich Morris ’99 brought to campus last year during Reunion. Rocks painted with notes of encouragement can still be spotted on campus! @TAS IAB HEGANI TAS IA PROVIDE NCE B HEGANI ’ 03
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“I am currently living in the Central Valley of northern California and sharing a house with two friends. One is an EMT. Her husband is a high-risk pancreatic cancer patient who also has diabetes. I am currently working in a call center for an upscale home furnishing retailer. Our stores are closing, but the call center is still open, and we still have to go to work. Unfortunately, I am without a car currently and have been relying mostly on Lyft to get to and from work. I have started to self-isolate in my room as much as possible when home, but I still have to go to work at a facility where the most they have done is to institute a nightly deep clean, provide more sanitizing wipes and tell us to wash our hands and cough into our elbow.” —Lisa Halliday ’79
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COV I D -1 9 COV E R AG E
“My daughter, Fiona Garner, is class of 2021. Hanna Schoenbaum, also class of 2021, evacuated from school to our home in southern California along with Fiona. Hanna lives in Sweden, and we were uncertain that she would be able to make it home safely or return once school reopened. For Hanna’s birthday, I posted a note on the MHC Over 40 Facebook page saying she’d be celebrating her birthday away from home in case anyone wanted to send a card. The photo [below] is of Hanna delighted and, as she says, a bit overwhelmed by the kindness of so many alums.” —Abi Leaf ’85, P’21
“We live in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire. My husband is a telecommuter who is used to being the only human home. My youngest is a high school senior, and I am a high school teacher. At this moment we are at the kitchen table with three laptops and a Chromebook open. Our table is covered in headphones, wireless mice, several books, a couple binders and a small pile of cat toys. There is also a new type of anxiety. My oldest is studying in New Zealand, which is a place my husband and I consider safe during a pandemic. New Zealand decided to send home all students studying abroad before borders close. We live close to Canada, and fly out of Montréal, and are awaiting a call back from the airline about her changed flight. I heard an hour ago the U.S.-Canada border is now closed. Now, how do I get my daughter home?” —Tammy Andrew ’93
Check out these blogs by alums Are you blogging through the pandemic? Let us know at quarterly@mtholyoke.edu
American Mom in Bordeaux americanmominbordeaux. blogspot.com by Jennifer Poe ’90
Life in Italy under lockdown medium.com/@cflisi by Claudia Engelman Flisi ’69
COVID-19, Portugal & Present Digital Nomad Life travellingfortea.com
by Elizabeth Birch Taeed ’09
Join the Conversation quarterly@mtholyoke.edu facebook.com/aamhc twitter.com/aamhc instagram.com/mhcalums alumn.ae/linkedin
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Uncommon Ground Mount Holyoke community responds to COVID-19
IN A MARCH 10 LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY , College President Sonya Stephens announced
that academic classes would transition to alternate modes of instruction starting March 30, revealed spring break was to be extended through Sunday, March 29, and asked that all students move out of their on-campus housing by March 20. On-campus housing and dining remained available to students who needed to stay on campus for the remainder of the semester, including those from countries with travel restrictions, those whose legal residence is Mount Holyoke College and those with other extenuating circumstances. This announcement came in light of the College’s continued contact with state and local health officials and colleagues within the Five College community and was preceded by various updated policy measures that included restricted travel for faculty and staff and travel abroad security measures. IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED , the College implemented a work-from-home policy for non-
essential staff, released credits and refunds on room and board for the spring 2020 semester to those who moved off campus and followed South Hadley’s decision to close its recreational areas by closing the campus to the public. The College also canceled or postponed all on-campus events through May 31. ON MARCH 23 , President Stephens
released a statement that among the many difficult decisions that had been made recently, the College would postpone Mount Holyoke’s 183rd Commencement and both Reunion weekends. Stephens noted, “We all look forward to a moment when we can celebrate in person the many achievements of the class of 2020, our Frances Perkins Scholars and our graduate students, as well as to the occasions when we can come together to renew friendships and to share memories and life experiences.”
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COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES The College has made all past statements and current information and FAQs on the College’s response to COVID-19 available at mtholyoke. edu/health/coronavirus, which is updated frequently.
Protective equipment donated In direct response to the pandemic and concerns around the availability of medical supplies, the College community came together to help make a positive difference during the crisis. On March 25 the College presented representatives from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency with 248 boxes of protective gloves, 750 surgical masks, 750 N95 respirators, nearly 100 lab coats, as well as more than 50 pieces of eye protection that included goggles, safety glasses and face shields. The Fimbel Maker and Innovation Lab has also made connections with those who are making productive use of makerspaces and other similar innovation labs to start prototyping personal protective equipment, using 3D printers and laser cutters to potentially produce face shields.
In addition, messages to alumnae from Alumnae Association President Maria Z. Mossaides ’73, P’04 can be read at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/ coronavirus.
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C OV I D -1 9 C OV E R AG E
Alumnae Association launches virtual programming
Alums provide support through Emergency Student Relief Fund The alumnae community has stepped up in significant ways, providing financial and emotional support to students through the Emergency Student Relief (COVID-19) Fund. The fund, administered through the Office of Student Life, is directly and immediately allocated to students to address the urgent needs and financial uncertainties caused by the pandemic, including covering the unexpected expenses of emergency travel and temporary shelter, providing computers for students who do not have them and supporting technology needs for remote learning, and assisting with living expenses for the more than 200 students who remain on campus, including seasonal clothing, hygiene products, medications and food. At the time of publication, more than $312,000 had been donated by alumnae, faculty, staff and families. To learn more about how you can help, visit mtholyoke.edu/go/ studentrelief.
At this moment more than ever, the Alumnae Association is focused on filling the gaps left with so many no longer able to be together physically by providing more opportunities for engagement in a virtual landscape. Be Well Beyond the Gates We launched this new initiative with two webinars, and with more than 100 alums in attendance. The first, Setting Your Kids Up for Success, hosted by Gwen Bass ’04, director of the Master of Arts in TeachingTeacher Leadership Program at Mount Holyoke, focused on guiding the education experience for children at home. The second, Managing the Stress of COVID-19, was hosted by licensed psychologist Gretchen Schmelzer ’87, who in March appeared on CNN to share her expertise on the psychological impact of living during a pandemic. Mount Holyoke Alumnae Online Book Club Sign up for free at any time and join the discussion as each new book is launched. The next reading period is May 28–July 30, 2020, and the book is “Time’s Convert: A Novel” by Deborah Harkness ’86.
MHC (Mystery) Guest M&Cs Make time for an M&C break, featuring a special Mount Holyoke guest each week. This is a light moment to come together and reconnect with a different member of the Mount Holyoke community each week. Bring your own milk and cookies and wear your MHC gear! Zoom Virtual Backgrounds As many of us are now relying on Zoom meetings more than ever, we thought it would be fun for you to have Mount Holyoke with you at work! You can upload an MHC custom virtual background for Zoom. To learn more and to view the recorded webinars, visit alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/ strengthinconnections.
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Introducing the class of 2020 “Interns at Mastercard were entrusted with a lot of important duties,” Marwah said. “It was meaningful work that they needed to get done. I was able to foster some amazing relationships with my manager and with other interns and people in the department. They were very, very good about exposing us to different aspects of the company.”
“
Mount Holyoke has pushed me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable —MI EL MARWAH ’ 2 0
”
The experience was so positive, in fact, that she will be returning to Mastercard this summer to become an associate analyst as part of the company’s Launch program. She plans to earn an MBA in the next few years. “Mount Holyoke has pushed me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Marwah said. “I’ve been exposed to things that I hadn’t thought about before. It has helped me gain understanding and appreciation for people who see things differently.” Read more about this year’s graduates at mtholyoke.edu/ go/2020graduates. — BY S A S H A N YA RY
Marwah: Skylar Hou ’22
Coming to Mount Holyoke from halfway around the globe meant that everything was new for Miel Marwah ’20, and that was why she chose it. “I think just coming to a different continent for college helped me gain a larger perspective,” said Marwah, who grew up in Mumbai, India. “It allowed me to see multiple viewpoints.” She found community her first semester when she joined SHRI, or Students of Hinduism Reaching Inward. “It’s been a good way to stay rooted, connected, a way to meet people from similar backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve been a board member, the social chair and co-chair.” With that as her footing, she was able to find herself intellectually and create a path for a future life. Her field, she found, is psychology.
“I had no idea what I wanted to study or do with my life, what I was interested in,” she said. “I’ve been on my own personal journey of exploration here. I’m proud that now, at the end of my last semester, I really know, down to the specific area, what I’m interested in and what I want to pursue. I went from not knowing anything about what I wanted to pursue to having a really specific concrete area of focus in psychology.” That area is consumer psychology, which is the topic of her thesis. “I’m looking at how social identity among emerging adults influences buying behavior,” Marwah said. “That means, whether peer-group identity will influence an emerging adult to make purchasing decisions. I’ve been handing out surveys to everyone I know.” Marwah has also worked as a research assistant for Katherine (KC) Haydon ’00, associate professor in the psychology and education department, and as a web designer in the department. Marwah’s connections with Mount Holyoke alumnae helped her land internships, most notably working for Vogue magazine in Mumbai. Her internship at Mastercard in Purchase, New York, also turned out to be fruitful.
Our dear friend, Sophia The Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections is a treasure trove of forgotten pieces of Mount Holyoke history. Housed in the basement of Dwight Hall and under the care of Leslie Fields, the Archives are teeming with mysteries waiting to be uncovered. One such mystery involves Sophia Allen, class of 1853, and former gravesite companion of College founder Mary Lyon. Read more at mtholyoke.edu/go/sophia.
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Executive Director Nancy Bellows Perez ’76 to retire
Remote learning: Marrina Li
I N F E BR UA RY , Executive Director
Nancy Bellows Perez ’76 announced her retirement from the Alumnae Association, effective June 30, 2020. Perez first joined the Alumnae Association as interim executive director in January 2016. In November 2017, after an extensive national search, she was named executive director. During her tenure she led a period of significant transformation of the Alumnae Association with a focus on collaborating with the College around a shared mission. Of the impact of Perez’s work, Alumnae Association President Maria Z. Mossaides ’73, P’04, wrote, “The entire alumnae and College community thanks Nancy for stepping in to lead the Alumnae Association during this period of transformation. Nancy filled a leadership void during the critical period when the Alumnae Association was implementing a new framework for its partnership with the College. She brought years of managerial experience as well as an alumna’s unique loyalty to the job. Nancy has worked to build strong working relationships across campus and served as part of the College’s officers group. When I took on the role of Alumnae Association president in 2018, I don’t know what I would have done without Nancy’s support.” Prior to stepping into the executive director role, Perez was a member of the Alumnae Association’s board as director at large, working to facilitate the Plan for 2020 for the Alumnae Association. Perez spent her first career at the IBM Corporation, where she retired as an executive with a focus on driving global strategy and transformation. Of her work at the Alumnae Association, Perez said, “My time and experiences at Mount Holyoke have bookended my professional career, launching me on my way in 1976, and now, in 2020, helping me close out a long and wonderful career in the most fulfilling way possible. I couldn’t feel more blessed and will continue to volunteer and support the College and the Alumnae Association, hopefully for years and years to come.” A search for the next executive director will be conducted in the future and be led by Danetta Beaushaw ’88, chair of the Alumnae Association’s Nominating Committee. Anyone interested in understanding more about this role may email Beaushaw at danetta.beaushaw@sbcglobal.net. — B Y J E N N I F E R G R O W ’ 9 4
Discounted insurance for alumnae The Alumnae Association sponsors an alumnae insurance program. Learn more at alumnae. mtholyoke.edu/insurance.
“ I’m interested in having my students document their experiences. Will the work they make now represent something about what this moment felt like?” GINA SIEPEL, lecturer
in studio art foundations, on teaching art studio classes online. Read more about remote learning at Mount Holyoke at mtholyoke.edu/ go/remotelearning.
Support the Founder’s Fund Your gift to the Founder’s Fund at the Alumnae Association helps us support the activities of alumnae around the world. Visit alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/ff.
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Mount Holyoke names chief investment officer The College has named Ana Yankova ’97 its inaugural chief investment officer, responsible for the management and oversight of the College’s $800 million endowment. Yankova joins the College from global investment firm Cambridge Associates. At Mount Holyoke, she will report to President Sonya Stephens and work closely with the College’s alumnaeled investment committee of the Board of Trustees. “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve an institution that changed the trajectory of my life,” Yankova said. “Thirty years ago, Mount Holyoke took a chance on me — a young woman from Communist Bulgaria — by granting me a scholarship. The College gave me a first-rate education that propelled me into
Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly has been digitized In collaboration with Archives and Special Collections and Library, Information, and Technology Services, the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly collection is now available online, providing digital access to past issues. Issues from April 1917 through fall 1994 are currently available. View the collection at alumnae. mtholyoke.edu/quarterlyarchives.
a meaningful and rewarding career in endowment management. It is a privilege to be able to serve my alma mater, leveraging over 20 years of experience in the investment industry.” Yankova joined Cambridge Associates in 2005 as an investment director. Since 2017 she has been a partner in the firm and led the investment process and portfolio oversight for a range of clients, including U.S. and European endowments, foundations and families with assets ranging from $300 million to $20 billion. Before that, Yankova was a senior financial analyst at the
ALUM NAE U § AR TER L Y
Economic Research Associates division of Mercer Consulting Group. She graduated from Mount Holyoke with a bachelor’s degree in economics and earned an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. “I’m delighted by Ana’s selection as Mount Holyoke’s inaugural chief investment officer,” said Stephens. “The wise investment of gifts to the College
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Yankova: MHC Office of Communications
Yale University Investments Office and an associate analyst at the National
March4MHC During the two-day challenge, 3,481 donors gave $868,340 to the Mount Holyoke Fund. This demonstration of support from the Mount Holyoke community helped the College earn an additional $300,000 for MHC, thanks to the generous challenge from a group of anonymous donors. To learn more about the final results, visit mtholyoke.edu/go/march4mhc.
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Andrea Lawlor wins prestigious Whiting Award Andrea Lawlor, assistant professor of English, has received a 2020 Whiting Award, which is given by the Whiting Foundation in support of emerging authors whose work shows promise and excellence. This year is the 35th anniversary of the awards, which are nominationbased, and writers are unaware they are under consideration. “I had no idea it was coming,” said Lawlor. “It was such an unexpected honor, especially to be part of this cohort.” Past winners include playwright and alumna Suzan-Lori Parks ’85, as well as Tommy Pico, Brontez Purnell, Patty Yumik Cottrell, Rickey Laurentiis and Simone White. Lawlor’s 2017 novel, “Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl,” has been widely recognized as a brilliant, innovative novel. The award will enable Lawlor to devote more time to their writing. “It’s so much more than the money,” they said. “It is having this organization supporting me, and to be in this cohort of amazing writers. It is unbelievable.” — B Y K E E LY S A V O I E S E X T O N
A sampling of faculty and departmental grants received JESSICA MAIER Art History From the National Endowment for the Humanities for the one-year project titled “Contested Places: Cartography, Conflict, and the Visual Arts in Early Modern Europe.”
PROFESSIONAL AND GRADUATE EDUCATION (PaGE) From World Learning Inc. for an eight-month project titled “Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad: Best Practices in Study Abroad Program Assessment and Evaluation.”
Computer Science From the National Science Foundation for a five-year project titled “CAREER: Dialogue Engagement for Educational Robots.”
Lawlor: MHC Office of Communications
Yankova: MHC Office of Communications
HEATHER PON-BARRY
Recommend an alum Each year the Alumnae Association recognizes the unique accomplishments of alumnae through several distinguished awards. By recommending an alum, you can help the awards committees identify those in our community who are making a difference. For more information and to recommend an alum for an award, visit alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/award.
Annual Meeting 2020 Held virtually on June 6 at noon. Learn more and register at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/reunion.
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRANCES MURPHY
Alums to Know About We first started working on this special issue almost a year and a half ago. Inspired by the many
alums we learn about daily, we wanted to create a place where we could highlight more of you than usual in a single issue of the Alumnae Quarterly. We culled our content database, reached out to colleagues and brainstormed with our Communicatons and Quarterly Committee. Our first attempt at a list totaled more than 200. Both excited and defeated, we narrowed our focus, deciding to first give space to those who have not recently been featured in the Alumnae Quarterly. In these pages we present — in no particular order — 76 alums whose journeys beyond the gates showcase the valuable and unique education all gained during their time at Mount Holyoke College. When we envisioned readers diving into these pages, we never could have imagined the world we all are living in now. We hope that the stories you read here offer inspiration and connection to Mount Holyoke and all that we have in common with each other. As you read and learn, we would love to hear from you about who you think we’ve missed in these pages. Please be in touch at quarterly@mtholyoke.edu. It is our privilege to learn about and share your stories. —Jennifer Grow ’94
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Chloé Zhao ’05 Bachelor of Arts, Politics, Mount Holyoke College Master of Fine Arts, Film Studies, New York University
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Chloé Zhao A director to watch for In September 2018, Chloé Zhao ’05 was named director of the Marvel film “The Eternals,” a project that is highly anticipated by Marvel fans and that follows the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” Chloé is the first Asian woman and only the third female to helm a film for the studio. Already an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer, Chloé was just coming off of the success of her 2017 film “The Rider,” which tells the fictionalized tale of a South Dakota rodeo rider who sustains a career-ending head injury. The film received international acclaim, including winning top prize at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. In an interview with Indiewire in 2018, Chloé, born in Beijing, recalled, “When I grew up in China, I didn’t really have a lot of access to film. The first creative storytelling I encountered was Japanese manga.” She left China for boarding school in London at age 15 and later matriculated at Mount Holyoke, majoring in political science and minoring in film studies. After Mount Holyoke, unsure what she wanted to do next, she moved to New York, working several jobs, including bartending. It was this experience — spending her shifts listening to customers’ stories — that led her to pursue a graduate degree in film. Her first feature-length film, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” was filmed on location on an Indian reservation in South Dakota and follows a Lakota brother and sister as they rediscover their roots against the backdrop of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and breaks through the stereotypes of how Native Americans are portrayed in the media. The film premiered at the 2015
“At Mount Holyoke I didn’t have to raise my voice to be heard.”
Sundance Film Festival and was later screened at the Cannes Film Festival, receiving a nomination for best film. Originally scheduled to be released in November, “The Eternals” is now scheduled to hit theaters in February 2021, a shift that is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. And her film “Nomadland,” which Chloé wrote, directed and produced, and which stars Frances McDormand, is in post-production. The film is based on the book of the same title and written by Amherst College graduate Jessica Bruder. —SARAH BUTTENWIESER
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63
FP’04
Margot Solleveld Moomaw ’63 Bachelor of Arts, History, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Teaching, Harvard University Master of Science, Public Health, Harvard University
Margot, a green design consultant, works with homeowners and builders to design eco-friendly homes and buildings. She and her husband live in a netzero-energy home they designed in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Margot Solleveld Moomaw
Tracy Gilchrist FP’04 Bachelor of Arts, English and Film Studies, Mount Holyoke College @TracyEGilchrist
Tracy Gilchrist Kathryn Kienholz Crockett
Katie, president of Lamoureux Pagano Associates, Architects, began her career as an architect in 1986 with LPA|A, an architecture firm whose work includes historic preservation, 21st-century learning facilities and sustainable design. She is a trustee of Mechanics Hall and the Worcester Community Action Council.
78 Kathryn Kienholz Crockett ’78 Bachelor of Arts, American Studies, Mount Holyoke College Bachelor of Architecture, Architectural Studies, Boston Architectural Center lpaa.com
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Tracy Gilchrist FP’04 has recently taken the helm of The Advocate, the world’s largest LGBTQ news outlet dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices. She was appointed co-editor-inchief after spending several years as the first feminism editor of the magazine, writing at the intersection of women and LGBTQ equality and pop culture. Since buying her first copy of The Advocate around 1990, Tracy says, “I’ve had firsthand knowledge of its power, importance and reach. I’ve since dedicated my career to writing for several different LGBTQ media brands and for amplifying queer stories and storytellers. … Although it is a virtual queer space, its existence as a destination for queer people is as important as our Pride festivals, community centers and remaining clubs and bars.” When Tracy’s appointment was made public, Sarah Kate Ellis, president of the media monitoring organization GLAAD, tweeted her congratulations, adding, “This is an extremely important time for LGBTQ reporting and storytelling.” —HEATHER BAUKNEY HANSEN ’94
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19 Deyscha Smith ’19 Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, Mount Holyoke College @deyschasmith
Deyscha, a sportswriter at Boston.com and The
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Boston Globe, specializes Mei Hong ’92 Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philsophy, Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley meihonglab.com
in feature and trending stories. “I have a knack for capturing the intricate details about an athlete that goes beyond what they do on the court or the field,” she says on deyschasmith.com.
Deyscha Smith
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Jade McCarthy ’02 Bachelor of Arts, Politics, Mount Holyoke College @JadeMcCarthy
Mei Hong MIT chemistry professor Mei Hong ’92 uses nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study biological macromolecules, work that has included developing tools to better understand HIV and the shelf life of drugs used to treat diabetes. Recently, Mei and her team discovered the structure of the influenza protein BM2, a finding that could play a role in the development of drugs to stop the spread of influenza B viruses.
Jade, an Emmy-award-winning reporter who is now host of “Opening Drive” for NBC Sports Boston, became the first female sports reporter in the history of Philadelphia’s major TV networks when she joined NBC-10 in 2005.
Jade McCarthy
—SARAH ZOBEL ’88
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Umama Zillur ’18 Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Mount Holyoke College @cholokothaboli
Umama Zillur Umama is the founder of KOTHA, a primary interven-
05 Kelley (Kat) Calvin ’05 Bachelor of Arts, Theater, Mount Holyoke College Juris Doctorate, Law, University of Michigan System
tion program that addresses the attitudes, behaviors and conditions that support, condone and lead to sexual
Kelley (Kat) Calvin
violence. She started the program as a student and
Kat is a lawyer, founder and executive director of Spread
received funding from the
the Vote, a national organization that helps Americans
McCulloch Center’s Social
obtain IDs for life and for voting. In 2018 she was included
Innovation Initiative.
in Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business.
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Barbara Smith ’69 Bachelor of Arts, Sociology and English, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, English, University of Pittsburgh Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Mount Holyoke College @thebarbarasmith
Barbara Smith Of the many hats she has worn — writer, editor, publisher, elected official and community organizer — Barbara Smith ’69 says, “I see a lot of consistency in the things I have turned my attention to — the through line being communication and organizing.” She may be underestimating herself. Barbara is widely attributed as having created the field of black feminist studies. Barbara came to Mount Holyoke in search of a rigorous education. “Which I got,” she says. “More upsetting was how painful it was to be a black student on an elite white campus that had no frame of reference for the cohort they’d invited. We were a large enough group not to be tokenized but arrived before the institution knew what to do with us. We did make our mark. But it was a different time. People who are younger think of the Seven Sisters in the context of existence of the women’s movement and feminist studies. I was there before that.” Barbara went on to found the Combahee River Collective. Her writing on black feminism and lesbian feminism was born prior to any popular understanding of intersectionality. She has been published widely and was celebrated on campus in 2019, when she received an honorary degree from Mount Holyoke. —SB
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Lourdes, Mexico’s
Sadiqa Basiri Saleem FP’09 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations and Politics, Mount Holyoke College orujlearningcenter.org
former deputy secretary of energy for hydrocarbons, is
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currently an energy scholar for MIT and a national researcher with the Mexican Council on Science and Technology.
“In Afghanistan, there are two issues that limit women’s access to education — the financial aspect and the coed issue. We have tried to overcome both,” says Sadiqa Basiri Saleem FP’09. As a senior, Sadiqa hatched a plan to open the first women’s college in Afghanistan. “I thought, ‘OK, if Mary Lyon did this in 1837, during a difficult time, is it too challenging for me to dream about this?’” The answer, of course: no. In 2009, Sadiqa received an honorary award from the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership for the primary schools she had already founded in Afghanistan. Vital Voices board member Diane von Fürstenberg took an interest and gave $50,000 via her foundation to Sadiqa’s new one-year diploma program. The school has transitioned over the years and is now a four-year, coed college. With half of the female students on scholarships, Sadiqa and the board needed to change the model to keep the school financially successful. Today, the Oruj Institute of Higher Education has more than 700 students, with morning classes for female students only.
Lourdes Melgar
85 Lourdes Melgar ’85 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations and Romance Languages, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philosophy, Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology @LourdesMelgar
Jenée Gaskin Johnson ’79 Bachelor of Arts, English, Mount Holyoke College Bachelor of Arts, Theology, Way College
Sadiqa Basiri Saleem
79 Jenée Gaskin Johnson Jenée, a program innovation leader in mindfulness, trauma and racial equity at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, works with the approach that trauma and stress are chronic public health issues.
—HANNAH WALLACE ’95
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75 Susan Kare ’75 Bachelor of Arts, Art, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Fine Art, New York University Doctor of Philosophy, Fine Art, New York University Honorary Doctor of Science, Mount Holyoke College Kare.com
Susan Kare Iconic designer If you’ve ever seen the computer icon smiling out at you from the screen of your Apple Macintosh while it booted up, faced the dreaded bomb when you tried to complete a function or looked for the key so you could cut and paste, you can thank Susan Kare ’75. She’s the graphic designer behind those familiar tech visuals, along with a host of others: the Monaco, Geneva, and Chicago fonts; Facebook “gifts”; Weatherbug clouds and storms; and countless icons that are a part of our collective tech unconscious. Susan’s interest in graphic design blossomed during a high school internship with Harry Loucks, design director at The Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia. An art major at Mount Holyoke, Susan went on to earn a doctorate in fine art from New York University. With the support of a Rockefeller Fellowship, she headed west, landing a position at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and working as a sculptor until a high school friend, Andy Hertzfeld, reached out. A Macintosh team software engineer at the relatively young Apple, he said they were looking for someone to create graphics and typefaces. In an age where just about anything can be created by choosing the right online programs, it’s easy to forget that Susan functioned without such tools,
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instead relying on the needlepoint techniques she’d learned from her mother, coupled with old-school graph paper, with each square representing one pixel. The approach was successful. Susan has received patents for her work and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and in 2018 she received the AIGA Medal from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Today, Susan is creative director at Pinterest, a position that has allowed her to work on a range of projects, both digital and analog, including heading an all-women design team for
In an age where just about anything can be created by choosing the right online programs, it’s easy to forget that Susan functioned without such tools, instead relying on the needlepoint techniques she’d learned from her mother, coupled with old-school graph paper, with each square representing one pixel. The Point, a café located in the social media web company’s San Francisco headquarters. She also sells limited-edition prints of some of her better-known icons against brightly colored backgrounds. In her own kitchen, Susan keeps a framed print of one of her personal favorites, the wristwatch cursor that once told Mac users to be patient while the machine completed a function. —SARAH ZOBEL ’88
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06 Jody Cohen-Gavarian ’76 Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and Government, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Hebrew Letters, Hebrew Union College Doctor of Divinity, Hebrew Union College Master of Arts, Marriage & Family Therapy, St. Thomas University
ALUMS TO KNOW
Andrea Brown ’06 Bachelor of Arts, English and African American Studies, Mount Holyoke College
Andrea Brown Like many English majors, Andrea Brown ’06 contemplated a living as a writer. Instead, Andrea, also an African American studies major, used experience gleaned from summer internships in advertising to find post-graduation work with Viacom/Black Entertainment Television. From there she went to Martha Stewart Living and helped bring the well-established brand into the digital world. As she grew up personally (traveling! cooking!), Andrea found her job evolving into a focus on programmatic sales — using data to bid instantly on advertising. Soon recruited by a startup and then Triad Retail Media — positions that allowed her to continue helping retailers reach consumers in real time — Andrea was next hired by Google, where she now works as a head of industry. Of her somewhat unlikely career choice, Andrea says, “The ways in which I had to unpack [within my majors] at college and the ways in which I think critically in business are so seamlessly aligned that I am constantly grateful for the education I had at Mount Holyoke. It informed the breadth of knowledge I have and the interest I have in continuing to be a learner.” —SZ
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The Presidents Many alums have served as president of a college or university, including their alma mater. Past presidents of Mount Holyoke include: • Elizabeth Topham Kennan ’60, Mount Holyoke College, 1978–1995 • Lynn Pasquerella ’80, Mount Holyoke College, 2010–2016
Alums who are current presidents of colleges include: • Helen Gannon Drinan ’69, P’92, Simmons University, 2008–present • Patricia Holland Draves ’85, Graceland University, 2017–present • Leocadia (Lee) Zak ’79, Agnes Scott College, 2018–present
Jody Cohen-Gavarian In college Jody Cohen-Gavarian ’76 contemplated a career in diplomacy, but after graduation she took a different path and in 1984 became the first woman in Connecticut to serve as associate rabbi, later leading her own congregation, focusing on “first-stage feminism”: inclusive language, the creation of new rituals and ceremonies, addressing sexism and sexual harassment, and equal pay. She also established the first synagogue-run early childcare center in the country, Noah’s Ark — the professional accomplishment she’s most proud of. A 1994 inductee into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, Jody now spends her days with her granddaughters, reminding them that they “can do anything they choose.” —SZ
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Kimala Bennett ’04 Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Jack Welch Management Institute Thelabjamaica.com
Kimala Bennett Kimala Bennett ’04, founder and CEO of The Lab Limited, is the youngest female founder/CEO of a publicly listed company in Jamaica. She planned to pursue a career as a psychologist until professor Patricia
Laura Harris ’07 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, International Relations, George Washington University MoHos with Kiddos
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Romney encouraged her to take a film class. “I fell in love with it!” says Kimala. In 2007 she started her own production company in Kingston, producing TV commercials and music videos. It has since evolved
04 into a full-service ad agency that specializes in telecom, fast-moving consumer goods, and financial services. “LAB stands for Limners and Bards — so artists and storytellers,” she says. —HW
Jean Aschenbrenner ’70 Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts in Teaching, Wesleyan University Bachelor of Science, Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder
Jean Aschenbrenner
70 Laura Harris Laura Harris ’07 works by day as a specialist in the Department of Homeland Security. She is also a mom to three kids. In 2016, Laura founded the Facebook group MoHos with Kiddos, “a place for MoHo parents to share their joys, questions, concerns, needed vent moments.” The group quickly gained members, now totaling more than 3,000. It is one of the most active alum Facebook groups, with many conversation threads going at one time, and has inspired other spinoff groups, like Mohos with Special Kiddos and Mohos with Kiddos College Edition. —SB
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In 1993, Jean Aschenbrenner ’70 became the first woman — and fourth person — to climb all of Colorado’s peaks above 13,000 feet. All 637 of them. What drove a math major who grew up in Iowa to head for the mountains? Jean credits a high school trip to Colorado with her Girl Scout troop, during which she clambered up the top part of craggy Pikes Peak. The expansive view of the world below made a lasting impression. Mountains factored into her decision to study in Geneva over Paris her junior year. In Switzerland, she bought hiking boots and learned
how to rappel using the Dülfersitz, a technique rarely used due to the introduction of belay devices. After graduate school at Wesleyan, Jean was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, where she not only scaled Mount Kilimanjaro but led the first all-women’s ascent of its 19,341foot summit. But it wasn’t until she returned to Colorado in 1977 that she devotedly pursued climbing. Now 72, Jean still rock climbs at the gym, and she just returned from a Great Walk along New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula. “Climbing is in my blood,” she says. —HW
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64 Lady Borton ’64 Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, Mount Holyoke College Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Haverford College Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, College of Staten Island
Lady Borton
At the height of the Vietnam War, Lady Borton ’64 volunteered at a prosthesis hospital in Quang Ngãi, a province that saw some of the heaviest civilian and military casualties. She has published several books based on her decades in Vietnam, including “After Sorrow,” a memoir of her time among locals in three communities rebuilding their lives after the war. The book was hailed as a rare, straightforward look at the suffering and accomplishments of ordinary people. After nearly 50 years working with people on all sides of that conflict, Lady has donated her collection of books and other materials that document her life and work as a peace-promoter to the Mount Holyoke Archives and Special Collections. It is an “extraordinary gift,” says Leslie Fields, head of Archives and Special Collections. —HH
Shannon Service ’97 Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology and French, Mount Holyoke College vulcanproductions.com/ghostfleet
97 Shannon, a reporter and filmmaker, directed and produced “Ghost Fleet,” a documentary about the work of a group of labor activists to end slavery on Thai fishing boats. Her reporting has been published in The New York Times, Slate, The Guardian and more.
Shannon Service
FP’92 Catherine Allgor History is what was, what is and what will be, and reminds us that we are part of something, says Catherine Allgor FP’92, president of the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS). “The study of the past … helps you understand not only your present but the future choices you’re going to have to make,” she said in an MHS interview. The organization, founded in 1791 as the nation’s first historical society, houses the voluminous papers of John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as well as countless treasures, including the first printing of the Declaration of Independence. Catherine, a former professor of history, is also an award-winning author of several books focused on political women of early America. —HH
Catherine Allgor FP’92 Associate of Arts, Theater, Bucks County Community College Bachelor of Arts, History, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philosophy, History, Yale University
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Annemarie Farrell ’01 Bachelor of Arts, Politics, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Sports Management, Ohio State University Doctor of Philosophy, Sports Management, Ohio State University
Ahu Resimcioglu Terzi ’96 Bachelor of Arts, History, Mount Holyoke College @ahuterzi
Annemarie Farrell
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When Annemarie Farrell ’01 was recruited to help resuscitate the men’s rugby team at Ithaca College 10 years ago, she hesitated. The nascent team, however, insisted she was the best woman for the job. Annemarie, who also teaches sports management at Ithaca and now chairs the Department of Sports Management, says founding a men’s rugby program has been one of the great joys of her life. The team now has an endowment, competes in nationals and has been undefeated in conference play for three years. “Men want to be nurtured and respected in sports as much as anybody else does,” she says. —HW
Ahu Resimcioglu Terzi When Ahu Resimcioglu Terzi ’96 was the news editor at The Mount Holyoke News, she dreamed of landing an editorial job at New York Magazine. She applied to be the assistant to editor-in-chief Carolyn Miller and got the job, but when she discovered the salary was $17,000, she started to cry. “The HR woman felt sorry for me and said, ‘There’s also a sales assistant job which pays $25,000,’” Ahu says. She snapped it up and has never looked back, pouring her creativity into marketing the magazine. Today, in her role as vice president of corporate sales and marketing at the Meredith Corporation, Ahu oversees a team of eight women that manages the company’s relationships with L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and other beauty companies, negotiating $130 million of business annually. The written word will always be her passion: Terzi says the reason she’s so good at marketing is due to her love of content. “I read every editor’s letter every month,” Ahu says. “No other sales person ever does that!” —HW
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Sara Menker ’04 Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Economics, Columbia University gro-intelligence.com @SaraMenker
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Sara Menker Growing up in Ethiopia, hunger was very real for Sara Menker ’04. After graduate school, Sara became a vice president in Morgan Stanley’s commodities group and went on to found Gro Intelligence, a technology company that uses data analysis to help create a more productive global agriculture industry. During the 2019 government shutdown, Sara shared data in order to help farmers and others reliant upon the shuttered
USDA. She told Fast Company: “Our product and platform are there to solve unexpected problems at extreme speed and scale. That’s what our food system needs.” —SB
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Deborah Harkness ’86 Bachelor of Arts, Special Major, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, History, Northwestern University Doctor of Philosophy, History, University of California-Davis @debharkness
Deborah Harkness Owning her own power Cross paths with Deborah Harkness ’86 on any given day and you may find yourself strolling in an alley in Elizabethan London, see sparks fly between a witch and a vampire, or walk onto the set of a hit television series. That’s because Deborah has her quill dipped in three pots — she is a professor of history and historian of science at the University of Southern California, The New York Times bestselling author of the “All Souls” trilogy and an executive producer on the TV show based on her books.
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Deborah spends a lot of time thinking about the interplay of science, magic and religion, and she specializes in the period 1400 to 1700 when those disciplines existed on a continuum. “In the science I study there’s a seamless back and forth between magic and science. I don’t see them as being antithetical at all,” she says. “It was a time of forging connections, not separating things out the way we tend to do today.” In fact, Deborah believes they are linked, as we are to our predecessors, by the common questions, ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ “We still want answers to those deeper questions about what is our
place in the universe, what is our relationship to everything else in the universe. … Those sorts of questions operate across many different fields of human endeavor and inquiry,” she says. Whether in the classroom poring over archival texts with her students, or at home writing about mythical creatures in her pajamas, Deborah encourages risk-taking on the path to growth and transformation. Taking risks can be a scary, uncertain practice for everyone, real or imagined — including for the main characters in her fictional world, Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch and historian and her love interest Matthew Clairmont, a vampire and geneticist. Diana
“Something happened at Mount Holyoke where I could almost feel my horizons expand, my wings spread. … The most important arrow [in my quiver] that Mount Holyoke gave me was a sense of possibility that was wide and open, and that’s a huge gift because if you can’t think broadly and expansively, almost nothing else matters.” is intelligent, passionate and headstrong but reluctant to make waves, to embrace her gifts. “I really wanted to write a heroine who was in the process of owning her own power, not one who was fully articulated in it, one that was still trying to fly under the radar, because I think that is a real every-woman story. There are a lot of women who, for whatever reason, don’t feel they can fully express all the power they have inside.” Does Diana ultimately come to own her own power? You’ll have to join Deb’s legions of fans to find out. —HEATHER BAUKNEY HANSEN ’94 Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly
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Shelby Baier White ’59 Bachelor of Arts, History, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, History, Columbia University
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Ruth Katzka Zukerman ’80 Bachelor of Arts, Dance, Mount Holyoke College @ruthridinghigh
Shelby Baier White In bestowing its 2017 Medal of Philanthropy on Shelby Baier White ’59, the Carnegie Foundation wrote that her benefaction “can be read as a love letter to what shaped her, what she’s passionate about, and what she values.” That philanthropy — currently expressed through Shelby’s work as founding trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation,
05 Kesi Gibson ’05 Bachelor of Arts, Economics and International Relations, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Penn State University kyubykesi.com
Kesi Gibson
created from her late husband’s estate — supports the arts and humanities, gardens and bird conservation, neuroscience research, human rights, and its main focus, NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. A writer and NYU lecturer in philanthropy, Shelby is known for her annual archaeological dig in Israel. —SZ
ALUMS TO KNOW
Olympians Alums have competed — and medaled — in the Olympics, including: • Michele Drolet ’76, 1994 Winter Paralyampic Games bronze medalist, cross-country skiing • Holly Metcalf ’81, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medalist, rowing • Olga M. Sacasa-Cruz ’84, 1992 Summer Olympian, representing Nicaragua, cycling • Mary Mazzio ’83, 1992 Summer Olympian, rowing
Ruth Katzka Zukerman Ruth Katzka Zukerman ’80 chose Mount Holyoke because she wanted a school that was as strong in dance as it was in other departments. But when the postgraduate dance career she’d dreamed of didn’t materialize, Ruth turned to indoor cycling — as a spinning instructor and co-founder of fitness companies SoulCycle and FlyWheel Sports. She left Flywheel in December 2018, unsure what was next. “So many people suggested I write a book, because my career and life have had a lot of moments of setback and learning opportunities,” says Ruth, confessing she was reluctant to write until a friend took her by the hand to his agent. Following the success of “Riding High,” she signed on with a speakers’ bureau, and today she travels the country talking about “resilience and reinvention”: how failures and challenges can lead to resilience, which she, ever the dancer and spin instructor, equates to a muscle that grows stronger in response. Of the latest iteration of her career, Ruth says, “Nothing makes me happier than connecting with people in this world of disconnect.” —SZ
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• Imogene Opton Fish ’55, 1952 Winter Olympian, women’s slalom Kesi is a former investment banker and the founder of Kyu by Kesi, a sustainable luxury fashion brand based on the idea that fashion should support, not harm,
And, Barbara Cassani ’82 chaired the committee working to secure the 2012 Olympics bid for London
the people in the production chain.
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Aida Mbowa ’07 Bachelor of Arts, Special Major, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philosophy, Drama and Humanities, Stanford University
07 Aida Mbowa Aida, a Ugandan cultural producer and multidisciplinary performance artist, represented Uganda at the first Sundance Theater East Africa Directors Workshop in 2012 and at the Sundance Theater Lab in 2013. She is the arts and culture director at None On Record, a digital media organization that works with African LGBT communities.
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Tiffany Ralescu Sudre ’09 Bachelor of Arts, Neuroscience and Behavior, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Dental Surgery, New York University Silverliningscrubs.com
Mallika Dutt ’83 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, International Relations, Columbia University Juris Doctorate, Law, New York University Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Mount Holyoke College
Tiffany Ralescu Sudre “I’m a dentist, and I’m always cold,” says Tiffany Ralescu Sudre ’09. The reason? Most scrubs on the market are thin and unlined, which is drafty and also, she says, often seethrough. “I needed another option,” she says. So, with help from several female entrepreneurs (and one MHC lawyer), she launched her own company, Silver Lining Scrubs. The scrubs feature the best medical fabric lined in soft, durable material, making a shrink-resistant product that’s warm, comfortable and stain resistant. The scrubs, which come in black and navy, are a hit, though since Tiffany is funding the project, she’s relying on social media to get the word out. —HW
Mallika Dutt Mallika is the founder, president and CEO of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization, and co-founder of Sakhi for South Asian Women, a group addressing gender-based violence within the South Asian diaspora.
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Jane Famiano Garvey MA’69 Bachelor of Arts, Mount Saint Mary College Master of Arts in Teaching, English, Mount Holyoke College Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Mount Holyoke College
Ann Merchant Boesgaard ’61 Bachelor of Arts, Astronomy, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philosophy, Astronomy, University of California-Berkeley Honorary Doctor of Science, Mount Holyoke College
61 69 Jane Famiano Garvey Jane served as the first female administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration from 1997 to 2002 and later was a transportation policy advisor to Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election and to Hillary Clinton for the 2016 election. She is currently the first chairwoman of United Continental Holdings.
Katherine Butler Jones ’57 Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Sociology, Mount Holyoke College Master of Science, Education, Simmons University Doctor of Education, Education, Harvard University
57 Katherine Butler Jones Katherine Butler Jones ’57 is a civil rights activist and historian and founding director, in 1964, of the Roxbury/Newton Freedom School, an after-school enrichment program. In 1966 she founded the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunities,
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dedicated to increasing diversity and reducing racial isolation through enrolling students of color from Boston in Newton schools. She served four terms on the Newton School Committee, the first African American to hold this role.
Ann Merchant Boesgaard When Ann Merchant Boesgaard ’61 stepped up to the podium in the Honolulu Convention Center’s 3,000-seat auditorium to deliver a prize lecture in January 2019, three other 1961 alums had a front row seat. Liz Hottel Barrett, Bobbi Childs Sampson and Frannie Trask Wozencraft watched Ann talk about the role certain lightweight elements (lithium, beryllium and boron) play in the evolution and structure of stars and in the unfolding of the universe. It is the subject that Ann has devoted her career to, and she was being honored with the American Astronomical Society’s highest award given annually for a “lifetime of eminence in astronomical research.” Ann, who is professor emerita at the University of Hawai’i, Institute for Astronomy, told the University of Hawai’i News, “My first paper was published in The Astrophysical Journal in 1965, 54 years ago. There were many long nights at telescopes, in the dark, freezing cold atop Mount Hamilton (California), Mount Wilson (California), and mostly Maunakea (Hawai’i). This recognition of my research career is thrilling.” Ann has received many accolades for her work and the rare honor of having a main belt asteroid (7804 Boesgaard) given her name. —HH
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Joan Meiners ’08 Bachelor of Arts, Neuroscience and Behavior, Mount Holyoke College Master of Science, Ecology, Conservation and Preservation, Utah State University Doctor of Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Florida @beecycles
Chmba Ellen Chilemba ’17 Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Mount Holyoke College @chmba_
Chmba Ellen Chilemba After eight years running the nonprofit they founded, Chmba Ellen Chilemba ’17 is most proud of the trust they have built in their community in Malawi. They started Tiwale, which means “let’s glow” in Chichewa, to end child marriage and provide microloans to women. Now that Malawi has banned child marriage and has increased access to secondary education for girls, Chmba and Tiwale have evolved. Tiwale is a now trusted space (revolving around a women’s center) that focuses on tutoring, skills training and sexual and reproductive health and hygiene education for girls aged 11 to 23. “There is a sense of ownership with Tiwale. People know that we’re there, people know that the space is theirs. … It has that sense of community where people feel at home,” says Chmba. “[At Tiwale,] we’re not just there to economically empower young girls and women. We’re there … for people to heal and explore various ideas of growth and learning.” In April, in response to COVID-19, the organization began making masks for critical workers. —HH
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Joan Meiners Her high school history teacher called Joan Meiners ’08, “the girl with her hand tied to the ceiling,” while her first boss dubbed her “Hermione Granger.” Joan, who has a doctorate in interdisciplinary ecology, puts that stubborn inquisitiveness to use in her dual career as bee researcher and investigative environmental journalist. She says she thrills in waking every day to ask and answer her own questions, especially when they help others, as when she advocated on behalf of lower-income communities impacted by refinery pollution. “Mount Holyoke taught me that I didn’t have to sit down and let the boys ask the hard questions.” —SZ
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Sandra Fulton Rosenthal ’79 Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Tulane University @leveesorg
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Sandra Fulton Rosenthal
Tania Dimitrova ’02 Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Mathematics, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Health Care Management, University of Pennsylvania
In the months after Hurricane Katrina, Sandy founded levees. org, an investigative public education nonprofit providing
Tania Dimitrova
education on why the levees broke during Hurricane Katrina and working to be sure “New
Tania is the chief business officer of Artios Pharma, where
Orleans and America get
she is responsible for leading Artios’ global partnering
the safe levees we deserve.”
and business development strategy and execution. Artios
Her book “Words Whispered in
is a leading DNA Damage Response company focused on
Water” is due out in August.
developing cancer treatments.
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Janet Litster Rideout ’61 Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philosophy, Chemistry, SUNY College-Buffalo
Janet Litster Rideout While growing up in Vermont, Janet Litster Rideout ’61 liked solving puzzles and learning crafts, and she loved science. After getting her Ph.D., Janet began as a research chemist at a pharmaceutical company and rose through the ranks while making profound contributions to organic chemistry, and to the lives of millions of people. Her groundbreaking work is perhaps best known in relation to HIV-AIDS. Little was known about the deadly illness when Janet was tasked with choosing compounds to be tested in treating it. One of those
was azidothymidine (AZT), which Janet knew well from her prior research on fighting bacteria. AZT, which stopped the march of the virus, went on to become the first FDA-approved HIV drug in 1987. Today there are additional classes of HIV antiretroviral drugs, some combined to block the virus at different stages of its advancement. “Our success encouraged others to search for and develop better therapeutics. It led to the use of drug combinations,” says Janet. Many of those so-called ‘cocktails’ still include AZT. —HH
“Our success encouraged others to search for and develop better therapeutics. It led to the use of drug combinations.”
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“There’s a saying in India that if you have a pack of wolves and you’re led by a lion, then the wolves fight like a lion. But if you have a pack of lions and they’re led by a wolf, then everyone dies a wolf’s death. It’s very important to be the lion that is leading the rest, and you can only do that if you feel it from within.”
98 Mahua Moitra ’98 Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Mount Holyoke College @MahuaMoitra
Mahua Moitra Leading with confidence Mahua Moitra ’98, a member of Parliament in West Bengal, India, made international headlines last June when she spoke out against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in an impassioned 10-minute speech. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had just won a landslide victory in the general elections, and Mahua — a member of the opposition Trinamool Congress Party — took the opportunity to call his party to account for exhibiting the “danger signs of early fascism.” Her powerful speech, delivered in English and laced with Hindu and Urdu poetry, was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers. She persisted, listing seven signs of fascism, including: disdain for human rights; subjugation and control of mass media; an obsession with national security; a disdain for intellectuals and the arts; and the repression of all dissent. The speech went viral on social media. Mahua abandoned a career as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan in London to become a politician. But she says she always planned to return to India and pursue public office. In high school, she was intrigued by the idea of a liberal arts education. “The concept — where you can go wide and study biology and mathematics along with art history — is something that wasn’t available in India,” says Mahua, who is from
Calcutta. She applied to multiple colleges in the United States but chose Mount Holyoke because of its excellent reputation in India “as an institute of higher learning and as having a nurturing, nourishing atmosphere.” If it hadn’t been for her advisor, economics professor Jens Christiansen, Mahua says she might’ve dropped out. She remembers going to his office her first month at school and saying, “I’m so homesick. It’s cold. It’s miserable. I hate it! I want to go home.” Christiansen, she says, leaned in, took her hands and said, “I promise you, if you come back to me in one month and still feel that way, I will buy you a one-way ticket home.” A month later, having made some dear friends — whose friendships sustain her to this day — she no longer wanted to leave campus. Mahua credits Mount Holyoke with teaching her the importance of rigor and tenacity. “I think Mount Holyoke really gave us that courage and that confidence that you can do anything you want to,” she says. “There really is nothing we can’t do.” —HANNAH WALLACE ’95 Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly
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Laverne Berry ’71 Bachelor of Arts, Theater and Dance, Mount Holyoke College Master of Science, Communications, Syracuse University Juris Doctorate, Cardozo Law School
Jennifer Opitz Flynn ’93 Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Studies, Mount Holyoke College
Jennifer Opitz Flynn Jennifer, currently associate
Laverne Berry
director for visitor and
Democracy rests upon the idea of “one person, one vote,” says Laverne Berry ’71. That’s why she’s been a volunteer poll observer for the past dozen years, helping people turned away from ballot boxes on Election Day. But Laverne, who is by day an entertainment and media business affairs attorney in New York, does more than watch when a problem arises. She steps in to solve it. Laverne has spent a lot of time in North Carolina, which she calls “ground zero” for voter suppression in the U.S., where officials have been shutting down or shifting polling places, removing people from voter rolls, and implementing a cumbersome voter ID law. All of these tactics seek to sow confusion and often disenfranchise African American or low-income voters. Her experiences form the basis of the documentary “Capturing the Flag,” which follows her and other poll monitors in North Carolina in 2016. Laverne, a former TV producer, was also a producer on the film. “People think they know what voter suppression is,” says Laverne, who can remember a time when police with dogs would try to intimidate voters of color. “Younger people might think it’s disinformation on social media, and both of those have validity, but the way it comes today is much more subtle, it is a much different tactic.” —HH
National Park Service, has
resource protection of the worked in six national parks during her 26-year career with the NPS. Most recently, she was superintendent of the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
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Erica Metzger Hare ’98 Bachelor of Arts, American Studies and Economics, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Economics, New York University
98 Erica Metzger Hare After earning her MBA Erica Metzger Hare ’98 discovered she wasn’t passionate about working at a for-profit company. In New York City, she held leadership positions at medical centers and academic nonprofits until, in 2009, she took on the role of chief financial officer at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Last year, she switched gears, taking a job as CFO at the Institute of Professional Practice, a nonprofit human services agency that serves children and adults with autism and other intellectual disabilities. It’s a large, multi-state organization with a $75 million budget. “It has an incredible mission,” Erica says. —HW
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Joan Winkel Ripley ’55 Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College
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Anne Gaffney ’76 Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics and Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College Doctor of Philosophy, Chemistry, University of Delaware
Anne Gaffney Anne, an award-winning industrial chemist, co-founded the Langmuir Research Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally appropriate, sustainable sources of energy. She was elected a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2010, and she holds more
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than 150 U.S. patents.
Joan Winkel Ripley Joan, known throughout the Mount Holyoke community as Wink, opened Second Story Book Shop in Chappaqua, New York, in 1972 and ran the shop for 37 years. From 1980 to 1982 she served as president of the American Booksellers Association, the first woman to hold that post.
83 Lee Carol Johnson Cook ’83 Bachelor of Arts, Politics, Mount Holyoke College Juris Doctorate, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MHC Over 40
Lee Carol Johnson Cook Nearly 3,000 alumnae are members of the MHC Over 40 Facebook group, which is open to alums and current FPs who have reached that landmark age. That includes Lee Carol Johnson Cook ’83, who has served as a steady, positive presence in the forum since 2017, encouraging members to have faith in themselves and to see their worth. The role is an evolution for Lee, who is a self-declared quiet, shy observer. “I strive to be a voice of kindness and inclusion because, at pivotal moments in my life, a kind word made all the difference to me,” she says. Group members share thoughts on politics, relationships, child-rearing, race, aging parents, work stress and more. There is celebration, commiseration and camaraderie, with support often transcending the virtual. “It’s like we’re all still back in South Hadley, looking out for one another, just without the M&Cs,” says Lee. “The alums [in the group] are so generous with their life narratives, and they have educated me about how to be a better friend, a better citizen and a better human.” —HH Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly
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Tahmima Anam ’97 Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Anthropology, Harvard University Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology, Harvard University Master of Arts, Creative Writing, Royal Holloway, University of London @tahmima
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Tahmima Anam After graduation from Mount Holyoke, clear she wanted to be a writer and unclear how to accomplish this, Tahmima Anam ’97 earned a doctorate in anthropology. Her thesis was an oral history on the Bangladesh Liberation War. “When people were telling me their memories of war,” she says, “they were also telling me about falling in love, their youth, their friendships that were possible because they were living through extraordinary times. And these stories did not fit into an academic text.” Tahmima took these experiences and wrote the first novel of what would become a trilogy on Bangladesh, where she was born and where she lived for two years while writing. “It was my way of trying to claim a piece of my past and my identity,” she says.
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Jen Jack Gieseking ’99 Bachelor of Arts, Geography and Urban Studies, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Psychiatry and Religion, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University Doctor of Philosophy, Environmental Psychology/Environmental Social Science, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York @jgieseking Jgieseking.org/AQNY
Jen Jack Gieseking Jen Jack Gieseking ’99 is assistant professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, where he teaches courses on digital, feminist and queer geographies and critical cartography and mapping. In 2008, Jack launched A Queer New York, a website that hosts “a series of data, maps and other data visualizations regarding the lesbian and queer history of New York City from 1983 to 2008.” His book of the same title is forthcoming from NYU Press.
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“A Golden Age” received the 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for best first book, an award previously won by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Zadie Smith. Tahmima also won a 2015 O. Henry Award and has served as a judge for The Man Booker International Prize 2016. In 2017 she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her next novel, “The Startup Wife,” is due out next year. —SB
Amanda Coulombe ’04 Bachelor of Arts, Politics, Mount Holyoke College @amandacoulombe
Amanda Coulombe Mount Holyoke opened Amanda Coulombe ’04 to the circuitous path she’s taken. Planning to work in the health field, Amanda says, “I took a couple of politics classes my first year and got involved in the college PIRG chapter. In my junior year, I started working for U.S. Sen. John Kerry. That led me to campaigns, which led me to NGP VAN,” the leading political technology provider to Democratic and progressive campaigns and organizations. She’s general manager of the web hosting service and database that supports Democratic candidates and says, “I don’t think this would’ve happened had I not been at Mount Holyoke!” A recent Ozy magazine profile highlighted Amanda’s impressive combination of strengths: politics and powerlifting. “Showing myself time after time that I’m able to do something I didn’t otherwise think I could do is a regular lesson I try to take into other parts of my life,” she says. “Mount Holyoke really opened my mind about just trying things … [and that it’s] OK to fail and learn from those failures.” —SB
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Natasha Martin Lamb ’04 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Sustainable Business, Presidio Graduate School @nllamb
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“Are we making people nervous? Yes, because we’re actually making change. If I’m not making people nervous, I don’t think I’m doing my job well.”
Natasha Martin Lamb Managing change When Natasha Martin Lamb ’04 was at Mount Holyoke, she noticed something odd when she’d go off campus to attend classes elsewhere. “Women weren’t raising their hands,” she says. “I found that dynamic very disturbing.” For her it was an early look at systemic discrimination in an academic setting that carried over into work life. Natasha, co-founder and managing partner at Arjuna Capital, started that company in 2013 when she was met with resistance from her employer following the birth of her second son. “Growing up in this industry as a woman in finance I hit up against those glass walls when I had children and I asked for greater flexibility. Even after proving myself incredibly valuable and productive, it was seen as a lack of commitment,” she says. That limitation motivated her, not only to start her own company focused on socially and environmentally conscious investments but also to become a leading advocate for gender and racial pay equity. For the past several years, Natasha has
been making waves and affecting change because she believes that homogeneity — and the bad decisions that result from it — are at the root of some of the biggest challenges society faces today, whether they be financial, environmental or social. “We started making the case that companies that had greater diversity actually performed better. That’s how the research we were doing played out,” she says. Through shareholder activism, Arjuna Capital so far has pressed 22 Fortune 500 companies to disclose — and close — their pay gaps and to consider the necessity of placing women and people of color in leadership positions. That includes publicly traded tech, finance, health care, and retail companies, including Google, Starbucks, Facebook, Citigroup, Apple, Amazon and others. When the structure of a company, or a society, is changed from the top down, that’s what shifts culture, she says. “We engage actively with our portfolio companies, asking them to improve their practices because it’s the right thing to do and because it makes them better, more resilient, more innovative companies,” she says. But if it sounds easy, it hasn’t been. “We’ve had a ton of resistance from corporations trying to block our shareholder proposals from going to a vote at annual meetings. Are we making people nervous? Yes, because we’re actually making change. If I’m not making people nervous, I don’t think I’m doing my job well,” she says. —HEATHER BAUKNEY HANSEN ’94 Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly
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Tara Roberts ’91 Bachelor of Arts, Special Major, Mount Holyoke College Master of Arts, Publishing, New York University
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Tara Roberts Since 2018, Tara, a journalist,
ALUMS TO KNOW
has been a National Geographic Storytelling Explorer and spent a year following, diving and telling stories about black scuba divers searching for slave trade shipwrecks around the world. She is currently a fellow at the MIT Open
Almost 100 alums currently work for the College. Across departments and programs all across campus, they include:
Documentary Lab.
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Paula Fackleman Pierce ’94 Bachelor of Arts, Psychobiology, Mount Holyoke College Master of Business Administration, Management, University of Massachusetts
Paula Fackelman Pierce In 2003, the day after Paula Fackleman Pierce ’94 gave notice to her boss at Liberty Mutual, she learned Mount Holyoke was looking for a new director of the Equestrian Center. Paula, who had just launched her own dressage teaching business, had been captain of the riding team her junior and senior years and was assistant coach from 1996–1998, while she was earning her MBA at UMass-Amherst. She applied and got the job. As director, Paula has added two new teams: a Western Riding team and a high-school riding team. (Before that, the College only had a Hunter Seat Equitation team and a Dressage Team.) She also does marketing and PR, oversees event management and manages 20 employees as well as the center’s budget. For the past several months, she has been at the helm of the program’s celebration of reaching its centennial. —HW
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Alums on Campus
• Katherine (KC) Haydon ’00, associate professor of psychology and education • Kavita Khory ’84, director, McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives • Ellen Alvord ’89, associate director for engagement and Weatherbie Curator of Academic Programs, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum • Shani Mensing ’15, Fimbel Maker and Innovation Lab coordinator and technical specialist • Roshonda DeGraffenreid FP’10, senior associate director, external relations, Career Development Center • Pearl Schleinig ’19, laboratory instructor, department of biological sciences
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Gabrielle Gregg ’08 Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, Mount Holyoke College @gabifresh
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Bridget Grier ’14 Bachelor of Arts, African American and African Studies, Mount Holyoke College
Bridget Grier ’14 co-founded Students Against Mass Incarceration. Seeking to place “the injustice in the criminal justice system” in the forefront of people’s minds, the group volunteered with the Prison Book Project. “That gave me exposure to the issues and experience working directly with incarcerated people and others directly affected by the system,” Bridget said, when profiled by Mount Holyoke about her work with the Clemency Project in 2014. Bridget credited her awareness around mass incarceration issues in part to an Ethnographies of Law course and a community-based-learning course. Currently, Bridget is a third-year law student at the University of Michigan.
Gabrielle Gregg In 2010, Gabi won a national contest to become MTV’s first Twitter jockey. She is a body positive activist, designer and digital star who was named a top fashion influencer by Forbes in 2017, the same year she launched the plus-size ap-
—SB
parel line Premme. She also has lingerie and swimwear
Bridget Grier
collections.
Elizabeth (Dee) Barrett ’53 Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College Master of Science, Meteorology, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
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Elizabeth (Dee) Barrett Commander Elizabeth (Dee) Barrett ’53 received her commission as ensign in the U.S. Navy from Capt. Louise Wilde ’31 six months after graduating from Mount Holyoke. Trained at the Women Officer School in Newport, Rhode Island, Dee was eventually sent to Vietnam. There, she was the first female naval officer to hold a command in a combat zone, a fact she says was largely a nonissue. In a 1973 article in the military newspaper Pacific Stars and Stripes, Dee opined: “Some critics of women’s
liberation say if women want equal rights, then they should be subject to a draft. I say yes, that’s fine. Others say women are too frail to do a man’s job. I agree that some women may be too frail, but are you going to deny the woman who isn’t too frail?” Dee later earned a master’s in meteorology and served a three-year tour in hurricane forecasting at the Naval Weather Facility in Jacksonville, Florida, before retiring to another first: serving as umpire (first female) for Jacksonville recreation’s Little League and softball games. —SZ
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08 Solange Franklin Reed ’08 Bachelor of Arts, African American and African Studies, Mount Holyoke College solangefranklin.com
“I want to offer different viewpoints for different women. Shooting shirts on four girls who look the same isn’t a story. I want to be able to give full identities to the girls I shoot.”
Solange Franklin Reed Fashioning a career Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, home to the Meredith Corporation, Solange Franklin Reed ’08, developed an appreciation for fashion magazines. As she headed to Mount Holyoke, her sights were set on other aspirations, though she never lost her interest in the fashion industry. “I was actually pre-med in college,” Solange explained in an interview for Glossier’s website. “I loved the idea of being a doctor. I went to Mount Holyoke and did a self-designed major in race relations, gender and health. But I was always interested in style. I would be doing my internships and research, and I would think about how I could redesign my lab coat. My friend and I would troll the Teen Vogue intern forum, which was eye-opening. We would be like, ‘How do you get in? How?’ Like, I had my own privileges and my own advances, but I was still just a girl from Iowa coming to New York saying that I wanted to work in fashion.” Slowly, Solange’s fashion hobby grew a little more serious. She began to consider how she might choose courses that would lead to an intern-
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ship in the fashion industry. She enrolled in a costume construction class and a few economics courses and joined the Mount Holyoke News. In 2014, Solange was featured in Teen Vogue, the same magazine that first inspired her and where she went on to score an internship, traveling back and forth from campus to New York City to complete her degree and continue to gain professional experience. Before long she landed a job as second assistant to fashion editor Giovanna Battaglia. Soon she was promoted to first assistant. Fashion was no longer a hobby. Today, Solange is a much-in-demand New York-based fashion editor and stylist, whose work includes editorials, advertising, runway shows and celebrity dressing. She has styled covers for The New York Times Magazine, Marie Claire, Vogue and Elle, among others. Subjects of her work include Whoopi Goldberg, Janelle Monáe, Kerry Washington, Venus Williams and Serena Williams. Last year, she was included in the British Fashion Council’s New Wave list of 100 creatives. —SARAH BUTTENWIESER
alumnae.mtholyoke.edu
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98 Jennifer van Dijk ’98 Bachelor of Arts, Politics, Mount Holyoke College @vanDijk
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Deborah Klein Walker ’65 Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Mount Holyoke College Master of Education, Human Development, Harvard University Doctor of Education, Human Development, Harvard University @DKWpublichealth
Deborah Klein Walker
Jennifer van Dijk In the spring semester of her senior year, Jennifer van Dijk ’98 learned there was a business behind sport, and she was, so to speak, off and running. An internship was the first step in what has grown into a 22-year career working at the intersection of sports and digital technology. “[It] is one of the most exciting places to be as someone who thrives on innovation,” says Jennifer. She moved into her current role as executive vice president of “digital and content partnerships” at Wasserman, a leading sports marketing firm, following positions at the Los Angeles Clippers and the NBA. As a licensed drone pilot and a trained helicopter pilot, Jennifer also stands out as a woman holding a senior position at the sports-tech nexus, but she thrives on the challenge. “This industry is highly competitive, and that’s good. There is nothing more rewarding than achieving something when you are working with the best,” she says. Jennifer has exceled in a dynamic environment where she’s continuously learning and introducing new concepts. “If you have an idea, pursue it, make it happen. Some of the best things in my career have been ideas I have had that I was able to bring to fruition,” she says. Jennifer, who played golf at Mount Holyoke, says sports helped her develop confidence and composure. She also credits the College with teaching her to break out of the mold and thirst for knowledge. “My time at Mount Holyoke gave me all the tools I needed and more. In terms of studies, my politics major helped me learn how to think critically, construct a solid argument and make a case — surprisingly adaptable skills to persuading clients and making deals in the sports business,” she says. “The education for me was so much more than just what the coursework included, and that is exactly what I needed.” —HH
Deborah Klein Walker ’65 is a public health researcher and consultant who spent her career in academia and at the Masssachusetts Department of Public Health, in addition to other appointments. Of choosing Mount Holyoke, she recalls: “It was one of the few colleges where I could play sports. The context has changed so dramatically, so I don’t know what I might have studied had I gone to Mount Holyoke now. I was trained to be a good researcher at Mount Holyoke. My passion is public health, because it allows me to practice social justice with the best science.” —SB
Who Should We Know? We want to hear from readers about all of the alums out there who you wish you had read about in this issue. Tell us about yourself and about your Mount Holyoke friends, colleagues and family members. Email us at quarterly@mtholyoke.edu.
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INDEX
Alums to Know About Index ALPHABETICAL ORDER Allgor, Catherine FP’92 Alvord, Ellen ’89 Anam, Tahmima ’97 Aschenbrenner, Jean ’70 Barrett, Elizabeth (Dee) ’53 Bennett, Kimala ’04 Berry, Laverne ’71 Boesgaard, Ann Merchant ’61 Borton, Lady ’64 Brown, Andrea ’06 Calvin, Kelley (Kat) ’05 Cassani, Barbara ’82 Chilemba, Chmba Ellen ’17 Cohen-Gavarian, Jody ’76 Cook, Lee Carol Johnson ’83 Coulombe, Amanda ’04 Crockett, Kathryn Kienholz ’78 DeGraffenreid, Roshonda FP’10 Dimitrova, Tania ’02 Draves, Patricia Holland ’85 Drinan, Helen Gannon ’69, P’92 Drolet, Michele ’76 Dutt, Mallika ’83 Farrell, Annemarie ’01 Fish, Imogene Opton ’55 Flynn, Jennifer Opitz ’93 Franklin Reed, Solange ’08 Gaffney, Anne ’76 Garvey, Jane Famiano MA’69 Gibson, Kesi ’05 Gieseking, Jen Jack ’99 Gilchrist, Tracy FP’04 Gregg, Gabrielle ’08 Grier, Bridget ’14 Hare, Erica Metzger ’98 Harkness, Deborah ’86 Harris, Laura ’07 Haydon, Katherine (KC) ’00 Hong, Mei ’92 Johnson, Jenée Gaskin ’79 Jones, Katherine Butler ’57 Kare, Susan ’75 Kennan, Elizabeth Topham ’60 Khory, Kavita ’84 Lamb, Natasha Martin ’04 Mazzio, Mary ’83 Mbowa, Aida ’07 McCarthy, Jade ’02 Meiners, Joan ’08 Melgar, Lourdes ’85 Menker, Sara ’04 Mensing, Shani ’15
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23 36 34 22 37 22 32 28 23 21 18 26 29 21 33 34 16 36 30 21 21 26 27 24 26 32 38 33 28 26 34 16 37 37 32 25 22 36 17 19 28 20 21 36 35 26 27 17 29 19 24 36
Metcalf, Holly ’81 Moitra, Mahua ’98 Moomaw, Margot Solleveld ’63 Pasquerella, Lynn ’80 Pierce, Paula Fackelman ’94 Rideout, Janet Litster ’61 Ripley, Joan Winkel ’55 Roberts, Tara ’91 Rosenthal, Sandra Fulton ’79 Sacasa-Cruz, Olga M. ’84 Saleem, Sadiqa Basiri FP’09 Schleinig, Pearl ’19 Service, Shannon ’97 Smith, Barbara ’69 Smith, Deyscha ’19 Sudre, Tiffany Ralescu ’09 Terzi, Ahu Resimcioglu ’96 van Dijk, Jennifer ’98 Walker, Deborah Klein ’65 White, Shelby Baier ’59 Zak, Leocadia (Lee) ’79 Zhao, Chloé ’05 Zillur, Umama ’18 Zukerman, Ruth Katzka ’80
26 31 16 21 36 30 33 36 30 26 19 36 23 18 17 27 24 39 39 26 21 15 18 26
BY CLASS YEAR Elizabeth (Dee) Barrett ’53 Imogene Opton Fish ’55 Joan Winkel Ripley ’55 Katherine Butler Jones ’57 Shelby Baier White ’59 Elizabeth Topham Kennan ’60 Ann Merchant Boesgaard ’61 Janet Litster Rideout ’61 Margot Solleveld Moomaw ’63 Lady Borton ’64 Deborah Klein Walker ’65 Helen Gannon Drinan ’69, P’92 Jane Famiano Garvey MA’69 Barbara Smith ’69 Jean Aschenbrenner ’70 Laverne Berry ’71 Susan Kare ’75 Michele Drolet ’76 Jody Cohen-Gavarian ’76 Anne Gaffney ’76 Kathryn Kienholz Crockett ’78 Jenée Gaskin Johnson ’79 Sandra Fulton Rosenthal ’79 Leocadia (Lee) Zak ’79
37 26 33 28 26 21 28 30 16 23 39 21 28 18 22 32 20 26 21 33 16 19 30 21
Ruth Katzka Zukerman ’80 Lynn Pasquerella ’80 Holly Metcalf ’81 Barbara Cassani ’82 Lee Carol Johnson Cook ’83 Mallika Dutt ’83 Mary Mazzio ’83 Kavita Khory ’84 Olga M. Sacasa-Cruz ’84 Patricia Holland Draves ’85 Lourdes Melgar ’85 Deborah Harkness ’86 Ellen Alvord ’89 Tara Roberts ’91 Catherine Allgor FP’92 Mei Hong ’92 Jennifer Opitz Flynn ’93 Paula Fackelman Pierce ’94 Ahu Resimcioglu Terzi ’96 Tahmima Anam ’97 Shannon Service ’97 Erica Metzger Hare ’98 Mahua Moitra ’98 Jennifer van Dijk ’98 Jen Jack Gieseking ’99 Katherine (KC) Haydon ’00 Annemarie Farrell ’01 Tania Dimitrova ’02 Jade McCarthy ’02 Kimala Bennett ’04 Amanda Coulombe ’04 Tracy Gilchrist FP’04 Natasha Martin Lamb ’04 Sara Menker ’04 Kelley (Kat) Calvin ’05 Kesi Gibson ’05 Chloé Zhao ’05 Andrea Brown ’06 Laura Harris ’07 Aida Mbowa ’07 Gabrielle Gregg ’08 Joan Meiners ’08 Solange Franklin Reed ’08 Sadiqa Basiri Saleem FP’09 Tiffany Ralescu Sudre ’09 Roshonda DeGraffenreid FP’10 Bridget Grier ’14 Shani Mensing ’15 Chmba Ellen Chilemba ’17 Umama Zillur ’18 Pearl Schleinig ’19 Deyscha Smith ’19
26 21 26 26 33 27 26 36 26 21 19 25 36 36 23 17 32 36 24 34 23 32 31 39 34 36 24 30 17 22 34 16 35 24 18 26 15 21 22 27 37 29 38 19 27 36 37 36 29 18 36 17
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“I have included a bequest to the College because it’s a really special place. It’s where I became more comfortable being and expressing myself. It’s where I came into my voice. I learned what I wanted to say and felt OK saying it. All of which informs my work today in developing a trauma-sensitive approach to strength training.” LAURA KHOUDARI ’00 Read Laura Khoudari’s story and explore legacy giving at mtholyoke.edu/go/khoudari
Pay it forward. Make a legacy gift. In your will, or by beneficiary designation of your retirement accounts, you can include a legacy gift to the College. Contact Anne Vittoria FP’05, director of gift planning, at 800-642-4483 or giftplanning@mtholyoke.edu.
The Trustees of Mount Holyoke College Tax ID: 04-2103578
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Gift Planning
4/29/20 3:17 PM
50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075
Read the Alumnae Quarterly online We’re excited to share a more robust digital edition with you. Read the magazine in its entirety, including class notes, at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/magazine.
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