5 minute read
Distinctions
The Katherine Delmar Burke School Distinguished Alumna Award is given each year to an alumna who embodies the value at the heart of the school’s mission to educate, encourage, and empower girls. The recipient exemplifies a life of learning, service to community, individuality, and the ability to make a difference in the world. The awardees are nominated by the alumnae community and voted on by the Alumnae Board.
Ebony Frelix Beckwith ’91 is the EVP and chief philanthropy officer at Salesforce.org, where she leads the company’s strategic philanthropic work and its global employee communityengagement activities. In her role, she is responsible for engaging more than 36,000 employees in volunteer opportunities, as well as administering millions of dollars in grants to improve communities around the world.
Ebony has been recognized as one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, as well as one of San Francisco Business Times’ Beyond the Check award recipients two years in a row. As a champion for women and girls, Ebony currently serves on the boards of Women’s Funding Network, Women Who Code Advisory Board, and Hamilton Families. She is an executive sponsor for the Salesforce Women’s Network, whose vision is to build a global women’s network to empower, support, and invest in a global community of women. Ebony holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Golden Gate University.
The following is excerpted from the speech Ebony Frelix Beckwith ’91 delivered at the Alumnae Reunion Luncheon on May 31, 2019:
Thank you so much! This is truly an honor I could have never imagined. I can’t tell you how much this means to me and my family. I’d like to take a moment to thank and acknowledge my mother who is here with me today. She has always dreamed big for me and believed I could do anything I put my mind to. So today and this moment would not be possible without her.
I thought I’d share a few stories about my time at Burke’s starting with the fact that I almost wasn’t a Burke’s girl. It began when my parents toured the school. My mother fell in love, but my father was horrified by his observation of the playground. Apparently, he’d seen the girls at recess playing on the jungle gym turned upside down, jumpers over their heads with their shorts exposed. He felt that this was very unladylike and had to be convinced that that’s what the shorts were for. Ultimately my mom won out and the rest is history. Thank you, mom! Although I did have to wear a half-slip under my jumper and over my shorts.
From the moment I set foot on campus, Burke’s was a series of firsts for me.
● It was the first time I traveled so far to get to school. I lived closer to the Cow Palace and Candlestick Park than I did to the Presidio and the Legion of Honor. And some days, depending on my mode of transportation, it could take over an hour and a half to get to school.
● Since I came from such a diverse neighborhood, Burke’s was the first time I was confronted with being one of a handful of minority students on campus. It was there where I learned about discrimination and being different than my peers. I was in a different world. But, it was also where Christine McGuire — my best friend for over three decades — and my other classmates from the Class of 1991 played with me, challenged me, loved me for me, and never made me feel like an outsider.
● Most importantly, Burke’s is where I discovered my love of learning. With its mission to educate, encourage and empower girls, the school definitely delivered on its promise. What I learned at Burke’s helped prepare me for the challenges and joys of my personal and professional lives. Going back as far as third grade, I remember Mrs. Gilson, who sparked my love of learning. I could probably spend the entire time talking about how much I loved her third-grade classroom, the around-theworld competitive math games, the suspenseful reading corner, or the time I had to move my desk next to hers because I was a bit too chatty with the other girls. I was quickly moved back after talking too much to her! But I loved coming to school and really thrived in the classroom. I truly believe that the greatest equalizer is education and I’ve made it a personal and professional mission to work towards ensuring everyone has the same access to a quality education. To that end, at Salesforce, we’ve invested more than $95M in our local school districts, and we empower our employees to volunteer in schools because we believe it’s critical that we are giving back to education, and future-proofing our students.
When I was at Burke’s, I don’t remember any philanthropic activities. I know now that philanthropy allows Burke’s to fund financial assistance for one in five girls. It lets them partner with SMART, an organization that brings students like me from under-served communities to schools like Burke’s and provides them with full scholarships.
I also know that endowments for girls schools are much lower than boys schools in the city, which means that on a daily basis, Burke’s girls have fewer resources than boys at similar schools. That is not okay.
It’s critical that we level the playing field, so that everyone, no matter their background, ethnicity or zip code, or gender will be able to achieve great things. By building a foundation of equity, we’ll ensure that all young people will have the opportunities and resources that we received.
It is time for us, as Burke’s alumnae, to change the way we think of our school. It is our time to build a culture of philanthropy so that more girls can access this incredible education and go out into the world, as you have, and become amazing changemakers, leaders, and innovators.
I’m so grateful to have been a recipient of such a quality education and am filled with hope for the generations of women that are walking the same halls as I did, who I know will change the world.
Thank you so much for having me today. It’s truly an honor!
— Ebony Frelix Beckwith ’91
