SUSTAINABILITY

Ivy Thompson ’95, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George’s County, Md.

Ivy Thompson ’95 and her younger sister both have master’s degrees in community planning ― and that’s no accident.

“We feel like that’s something that our grandmothers would want us to do,” Thompson explains. “My paternal grandmother was the administrator of a community health center, and my maternal grandmother was very involved in the neighborhood I grew up in. They always encouraged us to participate in the community meetings and ask questions not just for that moment, but they wanted us to be able to advocate for the community long after they were gone.”

For 17 years, Thompson has served as senior planner for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Prince George’s County, Md., which borders Washington, D.C. She reviews public and private development projects to comply with local development standards, specifically around water and sewer service as well as accessibility and emergency response services.

Thompson embraces a definition of sustainability that invites her to consider how a project meets the needs of today’s residents without harming future residents.

“How are the people who are going to be living here after I’m gone going to benefit? That takes me back to my grandmothers,” she says. ― Jackie Avial

― Jackie Avial

By Dana McCullough

“My parents were the reason I went to Alverno,” Stephanie Arend ’85 says of mother Evelyn, who worked in the assessment office, and father Clem, who was a volunteer assessor. “They completely believed in the Alverno education. Alverno is not just about grades; it’s bigger than that.”

Arend enrolled in Alverno’s Weekend College. After graduating, she attended law school, became a partner in a law firm and ultimately served as a superior court judge in Pierce County, Wash., for 22 years. She retired last September.

“My experience at Alverno was transformative,” Arend says. “The small group work and the processes Alverno uses for assessments really help a person understand how interdependent we all are, and also that sometimes the people that are going to have the biggest impact on you aren’t necessarily the people you think.”

Tim Riordan, professor emeritus of philosophy, was one of the people who had an unexpected impact on Arend by suggesting that she attend law school.