OUT & ABOUT alumnae

Olson ‘96 Releases Debut Album

Erika Olson ’96 has released her debut album, This Is How I Pray.

It may seem an unlikely path for a woman who majored in economics and theology at Boston College followed by earning a J.D. from Wake Forest Law School, but there is a commonality in each step of her career trajectory: using her voice.

“I was always alive to the injustices in the world,” Olson recounted. “In college I volunteered at Rosie’s Place, a women’s shelter in Boston, and at a Jesuit migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. After college I spent a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico as an AmeriCorps Vista with ACCION New Mexico, an organization that provides microloans to small businesses without access to traditional lending institutions. Back home in New York I worked in resource development for a domestic violence shelter. After obtaining my J.D., I made pro bono work a priority, working with Legal Aid of North Carolina very early in my career, chairing the Pro Bono committee of the Mecklenburg County Bar and being named Young Lawyer of the Year because of my volunteer and pro bono work in the community.”

For Olson, who now resides in the United Kingdom, songwriting is a natural extension of the experiences she has had in her life.

“I write songs about the beauty and injustice of everyday life. I’ve found music as a means to make sense of life changes I never saw coming. I write songs of advocacy and connection,” she explained. “I came out of the gate hot but motherhood, life, and moving to a new country forced me to slow down. And I am so grateful, because in slowing down I’ve just begun to truly live.”

It may seem that with interests in economics, theology, and the law, Olson consequently lacked interest in the arts but this could not be further from the truth. In reality, her interests began to emerge during her time at Chatham Hall.

“I did not identify myself as particularly creative until recently, but when I look back the markers were all there. I played the flute, performed in every school play I could, sang in Sextet, learned photography, and worked on the yearbook. But at the time I had a narrow definition of what qualified as art and because I wasn’t doing that, I just didn’t see myself as creative. Thankfully, I was able to explore so many different activities, disciplines, and facets of myself at Chatham Hall, and it has given me a variety of ways to show up in the world and my life.”

Olson enjoys writing about topics she doesn’t see fully explored in mainstream music, topics like motherhood, mature love, social justice, mental health, and the small moments in life that are easily overlooked. She credits curiosity as a factor in her songwriting success.

“Be curious. Be curious about the world, your neighbors, your friends, the people you might not consider friends, but mostly be curious about yourself, your needs, desires, passions, interests, strengths, and limitations. Curiosity is a chance to go deeper, know better, see clearer. Curiosity is kindness, love, connection, humility, and respect. A curious heart is an open heart, one open to learning, to loving, to seeing and being seen, to connecting, and to growth.”

To learn more about Erika Olson, visit www.erikaolsonmusic.com.

Dr. Dababnah ‘97 & Howard ‘10 Named 2023 Alumnae Award Recipients

At Reunion, May 5-7, Dr. Sarah Dababnah ’97, M.P.H., M.S.W. was honored with the 2023 Distinguished Alumna Award and Jennifer Howard ’10 as the 2023 Leader on the Rise recipient.

The Chatham Hall Distinguished Alumna Award was established in 2010 to recognize standout graduates representing diverse professions and interests. The award recognizes Chatham Hall graduates who embody the characteristics and values of Chatham Hall, such as honor, respect, and integrity.

Dr. Dababnah attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins University where she earned several advanced degrees. Dr. Dababnah has made a global impact in the realm of health and well-being of families of individuals with intellectual and developmental differences through practice, policy, and research. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work; a faculty affiliate at Yonsei University School of Social Welfare, South Korea; and a former U.S. Fulbright Scholar at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Her research focuses on family-centered, community-engaged, and culturally-relevant strategies to address racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in autism service access.

Dr. Dababnah received specialized training in early childhood and disability practice, research, and policy at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, M.D.; Columbia University National Center for Children in Poverty in New York, N.Y.; and Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health in Washington, D.C. She is also a former Peace Corps volunteer and has received numerous honors and distinctions, including the New Investigator Award from the American Public Health Association in 2021. Dr. Dababnah’s research has been published in various respected journals across the span of her career.

The Chatham Hall Leader on the Rise Award was established in 2021 and recognizes graduates who have distinguished themselves through creativity, achievement, and/or innovation either in their profession or through commitment to an issue, project, or cause.

A survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Jennifer Howard graduated from Chatham Hall in 2010 after participating in riding, volleyball, Spiritual Life, Bit ‘n Spur, and the Gold Team. Following graduation, she taught riding in Bermuda, including helping students with disabilities, before starting an undergraduate degree at Brock University in Canada where she graduated with honors in Child and Youth Studies. After receiving both the Bermuda Hospitals Board Scholarship and St. John’s Trust Scholarship, she then traveled abroad to attend the University of Kent in the United Kingdom to study analysis and intervention in intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also earned a Master of Science at Birmingham City University.

After graduating and returning to Bermuda, Howard began her career at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, the only psychiatric hospital in Bermuda, where she spent five years as the assistant psychologist. There, she completed a research project about reducing the use of antipsychotic medications for behavior management, which is currently being submitted to the Journal of Positive Behavior Support. Most recently Howard became the administrator of the K. Margaret Carter Center, a day program facility to help adults with disabilities, mental health conditions, and traumatic brain injuries increase their independence and learn functional and life skills.

In fall 2022, she was named Big Sister of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bermuda. Howard has also formed a charity, Carter House, to fundraise for vulnerable adults to help cover the costs of medical equipment or services, and was named Bermuda’s equestrian coach for the 2023 Berlin Special Olympics in June 2023.