A teacher. A coach. An act of love.

Someone in your life, past or present, recognizes your potential, inspires you to be your best self, and helps you find purpose. For many, that someone is a member of the WT community—a teacher, coach, specialist, or administrator.

We all deserve that someone. Be that someone for another.

Celebrate a teacher, classmate, or special occasion by giving the gift that actively engages and develops young minds. Your tribute gift will help provide competitive salaries, healthcare, and professional learning opportunities to the faculty and staff of WT.

Spread joy. Be that someone today.

Visit https://give.winchesterthurston.org/tribute to make your gift and send a special ecard or call 412-578-3748 to request a tribute booklet.

1939

Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Jack Wells writes, “Thank you for the invitation [to Super Reunion 2022]. I am now 100 years old, so I don't make any trips from my home here in Dallas, Texas. I do have many happy memories though and often look at my old class pictures and think about my friends. I will be with you in spirit.”

1954

Beatrice Venable Polak shares, “I worked most of my life as a social worker, working at the Department of Welfare, and at Presbyterian Hospital in New York and then at a hospital in Chicago. After that we moved to Asheville, NC and I worked with the Alzheimer's Association and ran an adult day care for people with dementia. My daughter came when we were in Chicago. She is now all grown up and has three daughters of her own. Now we all live in the Pittsburgh area in Wexford, PA. I am living in a very nice retirement community.”

1970

As part of a collaboration among WT’s City as Our CampusSM partners; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) collaborators; and our College Counseling team, students have the opportunity for career counseling from four primary disciplines: medicine, business, the arts, and humanities. Another objective is to uplift marginalized voices and highlight underrepresented individuals at WT and/or in Pittsburgh. Jane Cauley joined WT parents for a Medical Professionals Panel in December.

1972

Members of the Class of 1972 gathered at last year’s Super Reunion 2022 to celebrate their 50th Reunion. Following reunion weekend, the camaraderie continued via a Zoom gathering. In an email to classmates, Pamela Schaper Cabalka writes, “I took notes during our conversation and proceeded to go share where everyone is and what everyone has accomplished with my significant other. He was so impressed and I was so proud to speak about the personal and professional accomplishments of all of you amazing women. I was filled with a burst of pride to have known you and to have been a WT grad with all of you. How lucky are all of us to have shared that experience and to have been so supported and pushed to excel by WT!!!”

1979

Catherine Allegra was awarded the Franny Reich Lifetime Achievement Award at the Boulder Chamber Celebration of Leadership. Catherine has been leading Markit Digital since founding it as Wall Street on Demand in 1991. Markit Digital is the industry leader, providing design, development, and managed data services to the financial markets. The company moved from New York to Boulder, Colorado in 1996 and was owned by Reuters, Charles Schwab, and Goldman Sachs before being sold to Markit in 2010. Over the years, Catherine has assumed many leadership positions within Markit Digital including Chief Operating Officer, and, most recently, living there for a long, long time and am traveling full time, which has been so fun and rewarding. I love connecting with people from WT- email me at dina@ thepath.com. Sending love to everyone!” activities, and outcomes of ArtsEmerson’s signature work in artistic and civic engagement. She also leads the artistic engagement and guest experience teams. Her current anti-racism practice builds upon a decolonization framework and embraces systems change as a key component of that work. Ronee graduated with honors from Princeton University with a degree in music, with certificates in vocal performance and theatre & dance. She has been invited to guest lecture on producing at Princeton University, CalArts, Howard University, and for American University’s graduate Arts Administration program.

Global Head. She is passionate about creating and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation where employees are empowered to create new technologies to exceed clients’ expectations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

1983

1996

Hannah Grannemann shares, “Brea M. Heidelberg '02 and I are in the book Business Issues in the Arts! It's a textbook for arts administration (but short and easy-to-read as far as textbooks go). Brea's chapter is on HR law in the arts, and my chapter is on starting a new nonprofit in the arts.”

2005

Tony Awards and adapted into a major motion picture for Netflix.

Illana shares, “One of the best parts of my job is that I will be working right next door to Ronee Penoi ’03, who is SUPER-fancy in her new-ish role as Director of Artistic Programming at ArtsEmerson, the major arts producing organization based in Boston...I'm beaming with pride for her! She has been producing theatre successfully for years internationally and on Broadway, and now she gets to head her own major organization! She's doing LOTS of amazing things, including a residency with the Pittsburgh Public Theatre for the new musical she's also writing. WT Theatre Alums are taking over the Boston theatre scene, together!”

1989

Dina Kaplan writes, “Hi everyone! I would LOVE to connect with classmates. I am leading a company in meditation (helping to run a tech start-up led me to mindfulness, haha) and enjoy leading retreats and an online meditation teacher training program. And I gave up my apartment in New York after

2003

In July 2021, Ronee Penoi began serving as the Director of Artistic Programming at ArtsEmerson. ArtsEmerson is the major arts producing organization based in Boston. In this role, she oversees the strategies, programs,

Ilana Ransom Toeplitz has accepted a Tenure-Track Professorship at Emerson College in Boston, where she'll be teaching Musical Theatre, Directing and New Musical Development. In addition to teaching the upperclassmen, Ilana will direct the annual musical with Emerson Stage—the first will be Kander & Ebb's Cabaret in April 2023 at Boston's famous Cutler Majestic Theatre. Ilana plans to split her time between Boston and NYC, where she will continue to develop new musicals for Broadway stages and national tours. Most recently, Ilana worked on The Prom on Broadway, which was nominated for multiple

2013

Max Herz is the new pregame, postgame, and intermission host for all Nashville Predators games on 102.5/106.3 The Game this season. Max graduated from Vanderbilt, and he also does playby-play and sideline reporting for Vanderbilt baseball on SEC Network+ as well as play-by-play duties for MyTV30’s Friday Night Rivals during the high school football season.

also the oldest wholesale candy company in the nation. During my time at WT, I learned what it was like to love writing and now I get to combine two aspects of my life: my sweet tooth and my passion for writing. I even wrote an article about WT’s 2022 Prom and the candy bar that Candy Favorites sponsored.

Honorary Alumna and Trustee

Ms. Holmes. We wish to amplify her legacy and the power of the arts while reinforcing relationships and building bridges within the WT community. Barb created a safe space for us to learn, empathize, and grow. We seek to ensure this deep sense of belonging is available to current and future WT students.

2017

Kayla Small shares, “I am about to be halfway through law school at The University of Michigan!”

2022

Hannah Breslford shares,

“During my last few months at WT and currently, I write for a local wholesale candy company, Candy Favorites. Honestly, I could think of nothing sweeter than reviewing candies and writing about their history. Candy Favorites is run by third-generation owner Jon Prince, a WT parent, and it is

I began attending American University last fall as a Communication Studies major. Even though I love to write about sugar, I am looking forward to exploring Washington, D.C. and writing all about the adventures I find there. From our ever-changing political climate to being stationed in our nation’s capital to all the amazing restaurants there are to try I am sure I will never run out of content. If you want to check out any of my writing or just need a little sweet pick-me-up check out our website www.candyfavorites. com. I promise you will not be disappointed, we have any candy you could dream of.”

Gaylen Faller Westfall celebrated retirements and soon-to-be retirements with colleagues who worked at WT over the years. She shared, “Cheers to the retirees and soon to be retired!” (First Row L – R): Patricia ‘Pat’ Leddy, Anne Paylor, Honorary Alumna Annie Guentner, Honary Alumna Pamela ‘Pam’ Shaw, Patti Wood Phillipi, Barbara ‘Barb’ Holmes, Honorary Alumna Gaylen Faller Westfall, and Sarah ‘Sally’ Criss Allan

Speaking of soon to be retired…

After 46 years of transforming theater and lives at WT, Ms. Barbara Whitney Holmes is retiring at the end of this school year. While it will be challenging to say goodbye, we’re grateful for all she’s done for this community. She is the living embodiment of “gentle in manner, strong in deed.”

It is clear to us that Performing Arts at WT impacts lives dramatically. We invite you to join us in celebrating her final year at WT. Through connection and camaraderie, we will demonstrate our gratitude for WT's Performing Arts program and the service of