Kent Place Magazine - Winter/Spring 2020

Kent Place

WINTER/SPRING 2020

20

BEACONS: STORIES OF KENT PLACE ALUMNAE

34

INAUGURAL ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

Beacons Rini Fonseca-Sabune ’00 and Marjorie Leigh Hart ’46 in New York City

CONTENTS

Kent Place “lifers� (those who have attended KPS since Grade 1 or even before that) participate in a longstanding tradition: They hand out our school flower to each member of the Kent Place community during Opening Convocation.

2 3 4 20 34 42 47 68

From Mabie House In Her View Commons Room Beacons: Stories of Kent Place Alumnae Inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Keeping Pace Class Notes With Wisdom

“ Education equips us to face the world: not just to survive but also to thrive and change the world for the better.”

—DR. JENNIFER GALAMBOS, DURING HER OPENING CONVOCATION SPEECH TO STUDENTS

FROM MABIE HOUSE

Kent Place EDITOR Rachel Naggar P ’25 Director of Communications

Kent Place Is 125 Years Young!

Over its long tradition, our beloved school magazine has undergone many iterations, changes large and small, and downright revamping. After listening to feedback from alumnae, we’re unveiling a brand-new look: a refreshed, institution-wide publication titled Kent Place.

The goal of this redesign is to ensure that the magazine is of interest to everyone in our community, with compelling stories about KPS — both on campus and off. “Keeping Pace” will remain a section within the magazine, with class notes, of course, and more in-depth alumnae stories.

The theme of our 125th celebratory year is “Lighting the Way,” and we’ve been shining a light on our alumnae. We celebrate their triumphs, take pride in their accomplishments, and marvel at the beacons they’ve become in industry, their communities, and beyond. Our features in this issue pay tribute to those who over the last 125 years have called Kent Place their educational home.

With 22 planned alumnae events around the country, we’re grateful to all who have helped plan this milestone and are delighted to see people come together for our various celebrations. You are members of the Kent Place community for life!

Although this edition of the magazine focuses extensively on the 125th and exploring our storied past, on campus we’re also concentrating on Kent Place’s future, in particular an increased commitment to ethics and leadership, cuttingedge STEM education, making a Kent Place education attainable for a wider socioeconomic group, and building the foundation for a successful athletics, performing arts, and endowment campaign.

At 125 years, your school is thriving! Our students affirm our dedication to the mission of Kent Place every day. I hope to welcome you back to campus on Saturday, May 2, for our 125th Gala Celebration — it promises to be a night to remember!

Dr. Jennifer C. Galambos Head of School

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ADVANCEMENT EDITOR Coral Butler Brooks P ’25 Director of Advancement ALUMNAE EDITOR Aimee Bousquet Singer ’88 Special Projects Manager CONTRIBUTORS Advancement Team Lori L. Ferguson Julie Gentile Ingrid Healy Abrina Hyatt ’11 Alison Odze Julia Soffer Doris Troy, Copy Editor CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN 2COMMUNIQUÉ PHOTOGRAPHY Kathy Cacicedo Vinny Carchietta Peter Chollick Will Hauser Meredith Heuer Mark Wyville PRINTER J.S. McCarthy Printers Kent Place is the official magazine of Kent Place School and is published twice a year by the Communications Office, in partnership with the Advancement Office, for alumnae, parents, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the school.

Kent Place School 42 Norwood Avenue Summit, NJ 07901 (908) 273-0900 www.kentplace.org We welcome your input: communications@kentplace.org

IN HER VIEW

WHERE WAS YOUR HAPPIEST PLACE TO BE ON CAMPUS? “ The turf field. Being an athlete, I learned so much on this field.

It was my escape from a busy day of learning. Here was a different

“ My favorite place on campus was the music office in Mabie House, for music theory classes and also Chamber Singers. The sun would stream in the leaded-glass windows and keep us warm even on cold winter days as we sang beautiful harmonies or listened to classical music. It was just far enough away from the main building to feel like a true escape from the day-to-day busyness of high school life.”

—AMY ALLEN ’91

“ Painting in the art room.”

“ My happiest place on campus was the hockey field. I played left wing and competed for the state hockey team and made it my junior year.”

—ANNE (CAMPBELL) DOWELL ’47

—KARIN (BAIN) KUKRAL ’78

type of teaching, when I learned about aspects of life that could be explained not in a classroom, but instead by doing. Still today, it’s the first thing I see when I drive by, and when I do, I can’t help but be filled with happiness.”

“ My happiest places were always the class lounges. Each lounge had its own personality; they were very folksy, perhaps a leftover from the 1970s, but I loved the touchstone of being with my classmates at many points throughout the day.”

—MARY MADIGAN ’86

—MARSHEA ROBINSON ’15

“ My favorite place on campus was the library in Mabie House. I loved to go there after breakfast. I’d pick up the New York Times and read Russell Baker’s column, all the while keeping an eye out for Miss Moulding.

Exchanging ‘Good mornings’ when she passed by always got my day off to a happy start.”

—JANE (PENBERTHY) DELAND ’67

“ My happiest place on campus was the theater.”

—ALLIE (WARSHAW) SHEARMAN ’03

NEXT ISSUE: AS A KENT PLACE STUDENT, WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK?

Email communications@kentplace.org

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 3

COMMONS ROOM NEWS AND VIEWS FROM KENT PLACE

BUILDING BRILLIANCE

BLACKOUT. SPOTLIGHT. BEAT. PERFORM. Meet Jayla Creekmur, a member of the Class of 2019, who has started her freshman year at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Her writing skills and those of many of her KPS classmates were honed in Performance Company, our premier theater group. In their sessions, they carve monologues, whittle in interludes, shape characters, survey one another’s work, and, in essence, build shows from scratch. They mine the depths of their own souls to bring vibrant, honest, compelling, and relevant work to the stage for their teachers’ and peers’ enjoyment. PerfCo, as it’s affectionately called, has developed a reputation for being a space where girls can discuss the things most important to them without fear of criticism. With this freedom, they’re able to craft their thoughts, emotions, and ideas into something beautiful.

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KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 5

COMMONS ROOM

Maddie Estey ’21

BRAVE & BRILLIANT

Maddie Estey ’21 Maddie Estey exudes confidence, and when it comes to creativity, this Kent Place junior has the market cornered. An accomplished jazz and ballet dancer, she performs with the school’s renowned Chamber Dancers and frequently choreographs her own pieces.

But Maddie doesn’t stop with dance steps. The STEM enthusiast also enjoys the mathematical rhythms of computer

science coding. “I’m drawn to computer science because with a knowledge of coding language, I can create whatever I think up,” she says.

In fact, Maddie is so keen on computer science that she recently cofounded the Computer Club to learn more about the field and educate other students as well: “Last year, I took Computer Science A —

our highest-level course on the subject — and I loved it, but I didn’t see any opportunities to grow after it was done,” says, “so I decided to create my own through the Computer Club.”

Still in its first year, the club already boasts some 15 steady members, and Maddie is certain it will grow. “There’s lots to do in computer science beyond sitting down to code,” she says. “The field also encompasses topics such as cybersecurity, encryption, and chatbots. There are many interesting topics to explore.”

Maddie describes herself as an enthusiastic learner who loves a challenge. “I get bored when I’m not stimulating my brain,” she says. “For example, I’m currently taking calculus and AP Physics. They’re my toughest courses, but they bring me the most joy.”

She acknowledges that such STEM subjects are often dominated by boys, but after spending years at an all-girls school, she isn’t worried: “I’ve been to a number of summer programs in computer science and the girls are always outnumbered by the boys. But I’m so used to speaking out, raising my hand, and being assertive that it isn’t a problem — I don’t know any other way.”

Although Maddie is undecided about what major she’ll pursue in college, she’s sure it will be related to computer science: “There are so many fascinating topics in the field,” she says. “I know I’ll find something I love.”

“I’ve been at Kent Place for thirteen years . . . I’m a lifer,” Maddie says, laughing. “It’s such a good fit for me. This place has taught me that my voice is valuable and has given me a sense of confidence that I’ll carry with me long after I graduate.”

MORNING MEETING JUDGE AND JURY. Middle School

wide communities of practice for

of and expertise in a particular

and northern Europe. MAD ABOUT

Mock Trial is in full swing under

faculty. The communities focus

topic and to collaborate on trans-

MATH. This year, the Primary

the auspices of Sophie Schmitz ’20

on a particular strand of teaching

forming or creating lessons to

School is excited to offer yearlong

for the second year. The team will

and learning in order to optimize

enhance teaching and learning at

competitive math programming to

enter a Law Adventure competition

students’ classroom experience.

KPS. NEW VIEWS ON THE WORLD.

girls in grades 3–5. Math Madness

run by the New Jersey State Bar

Faculty work regularly in these

Close to 80 students in grades

and Perennial Math meet before

Foundation. COMMUNITIES OF

communities of practice to expand

7–12 are participating in global

school and provide participants with

PRACTICE. KPS established school-

their understanding and knowledge

trips, scheduled for Iceland, Japan,

online math [continued on page 8]

6 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

To make the art project, students painted a large piece of paper, cut out five balloon shapes, stapled them together, and folded them in the middle.

Pre-K teacher Ms. Gabel took a picture of the students pretending to be in their balloons, and they added themselves to the baskets.

Students were most excited about watching footage of balloons being set up, filled, taking off, and especially of being up in the basket.

A WORK OF ART

DREAM TRIP Leave it to our Pre-Kindergartners to take learning to the skies! After reading fiction and watching footage about hot-air balloons during their “Up in the Air” unit, the girls and boys were inspired to make their own balloons and envision themselves floating up to the clouds.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 7

COMMONS ROOM

Sisters Who Play Together Win Together After falling short at States last year, seniors Julia Anderson and Grace McGinley and junior Amna Jan found themselves with a shot at the tennis title with the help of their sisters — sophomore Emaan Jan and freshmen Alexandra Anderson and Caroline McGinley. Together, the trio of sisters worked with their other teammates, including Remy Charters ’21, at the State Finals to win back the Non-Public School title. Alexandra won the deciding match, a victory that was made even sweeter knowing she’d helped her sister clinch the win her final year at Kent Place. Said Caroline in a profile in the Star-Ledger, “I think it’s really special that we all get to do this together.”

Back row (l–r): Emaan Jan ’22, Caroline McGinley ’23, Grace McGinley ’20, and Julia Anderson ’20; front row: Amna Jan ’21 and Alexandra Anderson ’23

“ For the senior class, it’s the 134 weekdays that we will be together until graduation. We begin our lasts — our last Thanksgiving program, our last STAR, and our last day before winter break — these days are valuable to me because I know that the traditions will stand when we’re gone and they’ll be passed on to our younger classmates.”

—KEILI MURPHY ’20, SENIOR CLASS PRESIDENT, DURING HER THANKSGIVING ASSEMBLY SPEECH

competitions that promote strategic

Bioethics class present and discuss

Sexuality Alliance. LEARNING &

engineering in interesting contexts,

competence, adaptive reasoning,

their research. CONNECTING

DOING. The Upper School launched

each course provides opportunities

and productive disposition.

COMMUNITY. Among recent Upper

three engineering electives this

to design and prototype through

A CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE. This

School assemblies: Civil Discourse,

year: (1) Engineering & the Arts; (2)

problem-solving or analyzing case

year’s Bioethics Symposium topic

put on by the Ethics Institute and

Engineering, Ethics & Entertainment;

studies. The engineering problems

is “Being Human in a Brave New

the Diversity and Inclusion Office,

and (3) Engineering & the Lived

and case studies emphasize how

World.” During the daylong event,

and the History of LGBTQ,

Experience. To actively engage

engineering ideas become useful

students from the Ethics Institute’s

presented by the Gender and

students in learning and doing

innovations [continued on page 10]

8 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

FIVE THINGS ABOUT . . .

THE ETHICS INSTITUTE As a first-of-its-kind institute at the primary and secondary school levels, the Ethics Institute at Kent Place (EIKPS) prepares students to be compassionate citizens and effective ethical leaders. Founded in 2007 under the direction of Dr. Karen Rezach, EIKPS is home to the 2018 National High School Ethics Bowl champions, the founders of the New Jersey Middle School Ethics Bowl, and the prestigious Bioethics course in partnership with Georgetown University.

To learn more, visit www.kentplace.org/ethics.

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ETHICS-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING FOR STUDENTS. Within a wide range of programming, from classes to clubs to competitive teams, all students at Kent Place School are supported as ethical thinkers and leaders. Students discuss what to do when values conflict: “What should I do when I want privacy but my parents worry about my safety?”

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FACULTY AND STAFF TRAINING. Workshops, coaching, and curriculum development are a central part of the Ethics Institute inside and outside of Kent Place.

Teachers learn how to effectively facilitate difficult conversations: “What do I do when a controversial or polarizing topic comes up in class?”

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PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS. The Ethics Institute puts ethics into action by partnering with industry leaders, educational institutions, and nonprofits to provide cutting-edge and context-based ethical programming.

For example, students learn about ethical issues within the medical field by listening to lawyers, doctors, and administrators from Overlook Medical Center and Atlantic Health Systems.

PARENT AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. Parents and community members explore current ethical issues through presentations from experts in the field and participate in ethical discussions on topics of current interest. Parents explore strategies for promoting empathy in their children in a workshop titled Do You Know How I Feel?

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SUMMER PROGRAMMING FOR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS. High school–age students experience a deep dive into applied ethics through cross-disciplinary camps such as Ethics in Action, Ethical Entrepreneurship, and Ethics in the Arts. Opportunities for professional development are also offered to educators who want to integrate ethics into their courses and contexts.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 9

COMMONS ROOM

SIGNATURE SPACES

STEM: Creativity Without Constraint STEM education at KPS is defined as opportunities that enhance understanding of, confidence in, and positive attitude toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by cultivating connections across our courses of study. Curricular and cocurricular pathways diversify participation, unleash creativity, encourage learning through play, support risk taking, and promote collaboration among the sciences, engineering, mathematics, the arts, and the humanities.

Our unique, state-of-the-art STEM spaces inspire creativity, innovation, and collaboration. In these spaces, students have the resources to enhance their STEM knowledge and skills, design and build without too many constraints, and explore connections across seemingly different academic disciplines. Among the spaces are the Fabrication Lab, the Innovation Lab, the Math Studio, the Media Lab, the STEM Lab, technology labs and hubs in each division, the Wonder Lab, and flexible math and science classrooms.

1. INNOVATION LAB

The Innovation Lab is a welcoming place that brings together students, faculty, and staff who are interested in exploring interdisciplinary STEM and the intersection of STEM with the arts, humanities, or health and wellness education. Students and faculty engage in meaningful STEM learning and playing through courses, labs, workshops, genius projects, informal interactions, and open hours. In addition to building, crafting, and designing supplies, the Innovation

Lab houses a laser cutter, 3D printers, sewing machines, a circuit station, workbenches, and flexible furniture.

2. STEM LAB AND COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING HUBS

The STEM Lab and each of our Computer Science & Engineering Hubs in the Primary, Middle, and Upper Schools provide flexible learning spaces to support innovative classes, workshops, and student-run initiatives that explore connections among the natural sciences, computer science, engineering, and mathematics. From computer programming to hardware design, students gain the knowledge and skills to be critical consumers and the ethical innovators of next-generation technology. Designing and making tools equips students with the resources they need to think, design, build, and experiment with few limitations.

3. WONDER LAB

The Wonder Lab is an interdisciplinary resource for classroom teachers and specialists working together in order to integrate the arts and academic areas to enrich student understanding. Primary School students also have an opportunity during recess to participate in Time-2-Tinker sessions, in which they can explore concepts such as light, color, movement, architecture, and engineering and play with various materials, like cardboard, wood, Styrofoam, tubes, wires, and paint. The Wonder Lab provides students with a space in which to develop skills in problem-solving, creativity, independence, and confidence.

4. FABRICATION LAB

The Fabrication Lab, or Fab Lab for short, houses the tools and machines needed for cutting, sawing, drilling, and manipulating various materials. After completing a safety training, students and faculty can use the table saw, miter saw, scroll saw, drill press, and hand tools in the Fab Lab to build and tinker. Often, students will imagine and design a project in the Innovation Lab and work seamlessly moving back and forth between it and the Fab Lab to bring their designs to life.

5. MATH STUDIO

The Math Studio is a destination for students to seek guidance for their mathematical work in any subject. It’s also a space of inspiration for creative work, study, instruction, experimentation, and discussion. Students can meet with teachers and/or peer tutors every lab block and by appointment, and may use the studio during any period of the day, on their own or with a study group, to use learning materials, books, puzzles, games, and other mathematical inspirations.

6. MEDIA LAB

With state-of-the-art production equipment, the Media Lab is where students learn the content and skills needed to critically analyze and produce digital media. Whether it’s digitizing dioramas in the Primary School or enrolling in the Media Literacy course in the Upper School, students use the resources in the Media Lab to explore and produce in the physical and digital world.

by responding to the social, political,

from St. Peters Girls’ School in

around the world, such as “The His-

our diverse community: Latinx

and cultural context in which they

Adelaide, Australia, visited KPS

tory of Latina/Chicana Feminism”

Night Expo, A Taste of India, Lunar

arise. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

during the month of January. GIRLS

and “Women and Environmental

New Year, and Black History Month.

Primary School fifth-graders coordi-

ON A MISSION. At this year’s Girls

Justice: How Does Climate Change

MORE THAN A COAT OF PAINT.

nated community-service projects

Day 5K, in honor of International

Impact Women Around the World?”

The Primary School’s Tech Lab,

with El Centro Hispanoamericano

Day of the Girl, students researched

SHARING CULTURES. Our Diversity

Art Studio, and Science Lab got

and Children’s Specialized Hospital.

and ran their own booths about a

and Parent Equity Group held four

a refresh this fall to augment

SISTER SCHOOL. Four students

variety of topics relating to girls

campus-wide events celebrating

our STEAM connections.

10 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 11

COMMONS ROOM

TRANSITIONS

Seen on Campus Get to know some new faces and learn more about faculty and staff who have taken on new roles.

KOOHELI CHATTERJI Director of the Middle School What led you to KPS? I knew I wanted to be in a middle school where I could get to know the students and teachers in meaningful ways and where we could work side by side to create the sort of community where we’d all feel valued and heard. I’d also believed that coeducational schools couldn’t begin to compare with the kind of work KPS is doing with identity and wellness in girls.

What’s special about the middle school years?

I love the girls’ growing awareness of the world around them and their desire to find a place in it. The world is limitless to them, and our program enables them to explore talents and capacities they may never have realized they possessed.

What’s your favorite place outside of Kent Place?

Wherever my family is!

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DR. LYDIA BAROVERO US Academic Dean US Diversity and Inclusion Liaison Dr. Barovero teaches all levels of Upper School Spanish, from Spanish I through AP Spanish Literature and Culture, and Women’s Studies, which is an AP English trimester elective for seniors.

What is the role of the Upper School Academic Dean?

Among other things, I address student academic concerns, work on developing and clarifying academic policies and procedures, and provide support for inter- and cross-disciplinary work.

Please describe your favorite time at KPS. There are so many! My favorite times involve laugh-until-you-cry moments with colleagues and students.

What do you do when you’re not teaching?

When I’m not on campus, I enjoy family time, running, swimming, and carving out time to see friends.

CHRIS BONNER Director of Operations Why Kent Place?

I was attracted to the mission of KPS and I love its commitment to diversity and inclusion. Having been in the military for 26 years and worked in KIPP Newark for five years, I needed a place with similar values and a commitment to a higher purpose. This role is also an opportunity to grow my skill set in capital planning and a role in which I can lead an entire campus operations portfolio.

What’s your favorite part of working on an operations team?

I love leading people and helping them grow into leaders themselves. I also love operations for the same reasons I love flying: The opportunity to turn knowledge into a physical application has always been attractive to me. Whether it was navigating poor weather conditions to conduct a rescue or partnering with experts to solve an engineering problem, the physical application of knowledge is very fulfilling.

Dr. Ralph Pantozzi P ’20 ’24

DR. EVELYN HANNA P ’30 STEM Innovation Chair Dr. Hanna teaches Engineering, Ethics & Entertainment; Engineering & the Arts; Engineering & the Lived Experience; and Precalculus.

What makes the KPS STEM program unique?

The STEM program at KPS is unique because we make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics accessible, meaningful, challenging, and rewarding for every student. Our faculty are committed to providing an equitable education that enhances students’ STEM content knowledge, skills, habits of mind, and identity. We offer a curricular and cocurricular program that’s forward-thinking and aligns with best practices in girls and STEM education.

What’s your favorite place on campus?

My favorite is the Great Room in the Upper School. It’s a comfortable space for meeting, teaching, or just relaxing.

MATH ILLUSTRATED A fixture on campus and in the halls of the Center for Innovation, Dr. Ralph Pantozzi P ’20 ’24, chair of the Mathematics Department, is known for his hands-on, practical approach to math. One conversation with him will make it clear that he loves math and sees it all around and within us. He likes to break down ideas and see how the conceptual principles apply to lived realities.

“Listening attentively to students’ ideas is central to good teaching,” he says, and for the last nine years, his students and colleagues have been the beneficiaries of that philosophy. Dr. Pantozzi has developed quite the reputation nationally.

In 2019, he received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), an honor created by Congress in 1983 to recognize educators in STEM and computer science. And this fall, Middle School math teacher Cheryl Kaplun was a state finalist for this very same award. Under Dr. Pantozzi’s leadership, the talents of our math faculty and our students have been unveiled for all to see — and we eagerly anticipate what’s in store.

“ I knew I wanted to be in a middle school where I could get to know the students and teachers in meaningful ways and where we could work side by side to create the sort of community where we’d all feel valued and heard.”

—KOOHELI CHATTERJI, DIRECTOR OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 13

COMMONS ROOM SCORECARD

SALUTE TO

FLYING HIGH. Our Varsity Volleyball

COACH FLANAGAN KPS Head Cross-Country Coach Linda Flanagan put the final exclamation point on more than two decades of coaching this fall after our team won the NJISAA Class-A Prep Championship at Blair Academy for the first time ever.

Coach Flanagan takes her leave from coaching at KPS in order to finish a book she’s been writing on sports and student athletes.

Said Director of Athletics Bobbi Moran: “For many years, Coach Flanagan has been the epicenter of our crosscountry program. Her student athletes praise her wisdom and balanced approach; her colleagues laud her expertise and precision.

No matter how you measure it, Linda Flanagan is the consummate coach. She’s caring, committed, kind, and compassionate. But don’t be fooled; she’s also incredibly competitive.”

Coach Flanagan has been involved in the Ethics Institute and our Athletics Department, and is a proud parent of a 2013 KPS alumna. We’ll miss her intelligence, her grit, and her enthusiasm as a champion for young women and women’s sports. Thank you, Linda, for being an integral and inspirational member of our Dragon family!

Iman Handy ’22

team, led by senior captains Kelsey Burrows, Elizabeth Cotter, Madeleine Hagar, and Katherine Patterson, won the 2019 NJISAA Prep A State Championship. Maddie Hagar ’20, Iman Handy ’22, and Sabrina Skyers ’22 were each selected as NJISAA Prep All-Stars. Iman and Sabrina were named Union County All-Conference Mountain Division First Team Honorees and received Union County All-Conference Mountain Division Honorable Mention. The team finished its season with a .952 record, 20 wins, 36 sets won, 16 shutout victories, and an impressive 18-game win streak.

FALL SPORTS BY THE NUMBERS

105 156 62 Total wins

Total number of games played

Total number of shutout victories

MAKING THEIR MARK. The Middle School Soccer team (pictured here with Coach Phil Wolstenholme)

Coach Linda Flanagan P ’13

14 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

posted another banner season. In their 11–0 record, the girls compiled 10 shutout victories, scored 60 goals, and allowed just one. The Middle School Tennis team charged their way to an undefeated season as well. The team went 6–0, notched two shutouts, and defeated their opponents 21–4.

1.

Lillian Eccles ’23 and Xenia Schmitz ’20

3.

Grace Morris ’20

2.

Julia Anderson ’20

4.

Pilar Torres ’22

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

It’s a good time to be a Dragon!

1. For the first time in our school’s history, KPS’s Cross-Country team

won the NJISAA Championship, and the New Balance Shore Coaches Invitational and secured the UCIAC/UCC Mountain Division County Championship. Miranda Lorsbach ’22 (19:15) and Lindsay Hausman ’23 (20:43) qualified for the Meet of Champions and finished 27th and 103rd, respectively.

2. KPS Tennis capped another outstanding season. The team finished

as NJSIAA Non-Public North A, Sectional State Champions, NJSIAA Non-Public A State Champions, UCIAC Watchung Division Champions, Union County Champions, and Millburn Invitational Champions. Along the way, Dragons took home seven UCIAC All-Conference Watchung Division

Honors, three NJISAA Non-Public First Team Honors, three NJSIAA AllState First Team Honors, four NJSIAA All-State Second Team Honors, and one NJISAA Non-Public Second Team Honors.

3. Varsity Soccer boasted two NJISAA All-Prep Girls A Division

Honorees, three NJGSCA All-State Honorees, three UCC All-Conference Team-Mountain Division Honorees, and six UCGSA All-Stars-Mountain Division Honorees.

4. Varsity Field Hockey was recognized by the NFHCA with 12 Academic

All-Americans, five UCIAC All-Conference Division Honorees, and two NJ.com All-Non-Public Honorees.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 15

COMMONS ROOM

Vivienne Germain ’20

BRAVE & BRILLIANT

Vivienne Germain ’20 To say that Vivienne Germain’s interests are wide ranging is an understatement.

“In college, I think I might do a double major in English and chemistry,” she says.

“But I’m also really interested in political science, so I’m looking at schools with a lot of flexibility in choosing a degree.”

The 12th-grader has certainly shown great flexibility both in and out of the classroom since arriving at Kent Place

as a freshman. She has played an instrumental role in the creation and development of Starboard, a digital publication created by students for students that encompasses everything from journalism to music playlists. “It’s a place where the Kent Place community can come together and share interests, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to watch it grow,” she says proudly.

Vivienne has also extensively explored the issue of ethics in artificial intelligence, an interest that sprang from her 11th-grade bioethics course; served as the GenderSexuality Alliance president; pursued her love of the piano; and participated in a host of theater productions. “Theater has helped my confidence,” she says. “I’ve learned how to modify my behavior based on feedback and become more comfortable with taking risks.” And theater and piano have taught her the value of hard work: “I’ve learned that if you’re diligent and persist, you can create a beautiful piece of work that moves people.”

“I really love Kent Place . . . I’m basically obsessed with it,” Vivienne confesses with a laugh. “I knew the focus on academics and the arts would be strong — and I appreciate that — but what I really love is the sense of community and the strong sisterhood I’ve experienced here. We’re a diverse community, and that’s something we celebrate.”

But Vivienne isn’t finished. “I’m also incredibly grateful for the boundless opportunities I’ve been given,” she says. From her work on Starboard to her coursework and extracurricular activities, she says she’s been able to do things that she never would have dreamed possible. “All the different opportunities I’ve had have nurtured my confidence,” she says. “We’re always encouraged to pursue our passions, and that’s an incredible gift.”

“ Poetry is something that is a powerful tool that I can use to convey emotions and experiences. It’s so important because it encourages empathy in those who hear it, which is a quality that too many people take for granted . . . I cherish the moment when I finish a poem and can say to myself, ‘I just helped these people feel something.’”

—MAYA VUCHIC ’20 Maya was one of two finalists of the 2020 New Jersey Poetry Out Loud regional competition, part of the national poetry recitation program. She has received an honorable mention and a silver key from the national scholastic art and writing awards for her poetry.

16 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

“FEET, WHAT DO I NEED THEM FOR IF I HAVE WINGS TO FLY?” This fall, the

exhibit Wings to Fly: Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Other Mexican Voices was on display in the Kent Place Gallery.

The show — curated exclusively from the collections of Kent Place families — filled the gallery with vibrant and varied constellations of art from different regions of Mexico. Of particular note were a classic self-portrait by Frida Kahlo and a piece executed using carefully cut X-ray film by the Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo. The exhibit was open to the entire KPS community, and students from each division, such as the Kindergartners pictured here, were inspired by the works.

STUDENTS “LEAP” ACROSS THE POND Kent Place students and aspiring entrepreneurs Nyatché Martha ’21 and Anaika Tyagi ’22 took a trip to the United Kingdom last summer to participate in the Jersey College for Girls’ LEAP program. “Girls from all around the world have an opportunity to pursue their entrepreneurship dreams,” says Anaika. Not only did the girls live with host families and explore the Jersey culture, but they also met with global business experts who served as mentors and coaches throughout the program. After two weeks of learning and exploring, the girls shared their projects at a networking session to prepare for their big pitches. The girls then presented their ideas to investors and industry experts for a shot at a £2,000 prize. The biggest takeaway our future businesswomen learned? “Entrepreneurship is not a straight line,” says Anaika. “The way you pick yourself up from failures determines who you really are and your future success.”

Nyatché Martha ’21 and Anaika Tyagi ’22

Seniors Elizabeth Stahl, Sophie Schmitz, and Xenia Schmitz

Past to Present The past came alive for seniors Sophie Schmitz, Xenia Schmitz, and Elizabeth Stahl, who represented the State of New Jersey in the finals of the National History Day (NHD) competition last summer.

Presented with the theme “Triumph and Tragedy,” Xenia and Sophie’s entry, “The Triumph and Tragedy of Women at Bletchley Park,” competed in the Group Website category; Elizabeth’s entry, “The Kent State Shooting: The Tragedy of an Illegal War Comes Home,” competed in the Individual Website category. Out of 600,000 students from across the United States and its territories, Sophie, Xenia, and Elizabeth joined the select few who competed at the University of Maryland. The three are among the growing list of Kent Place students over the past five years to qualify for nationals, inspiring future Kent Place competitors.

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COMMONS ROOM MARQUEE

New Ensemble Arrives in the Music Wing

FORGING MUSICAL BONDS. This year, we are especially proud of 15 students who will

represent KPS at the Regional ACDA Honor Choirs, in Rochester, NY. Our students were accepted for the Elementary, Junior High, and Musical Theater Honor Choirs and demonstrate the scope and sequence of our outstanding choral program at KPS. They’ll perform with other choral musicians from the East Coast, and have the opportunity to work with renowned clinicians as they create wonderful musical memories.

Middle and Upper School instrumental music teacher Terrence Thornhill this year introduced to KPS an audition-only performance group: the Meraki Chamber Ensemble. Mr. Thornhill explains a little about the new addition to KPS, in which 45 girls are currently participating.

What does meraki mean?

Meraki is a word the Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul and creativity.

Why bring the Meraki Chamber Ensemble to Kent Place?

“An Evening of Dance”; Sonia Parmar ’20 (inset)

I thought it was the perfect way to describe how we try to make music here at Kent Place.

Playing all the correct notes and rhythms is important in any performance, but we also believe in leaving our own marks of creativity and spirit in all that we play.

What are you most looking forward to with regard to this ensemble?

We plan on playing at all standard school concerts this year, and next year we’ll take the ensemble to perform at different local community events.

What else do you teach?

MUSIC ON THE MOVE Need a live set for the annual “An Evening of Dance”? Check. Sonia Parmar made it her mission to provide such a service, composing and then performing her own original music for the Dance Ensemble. As a senior, Chamber Singer, and member of our 2018 Regional Champion Ethics Bowl Team, Sonia is your classic, multifaceted KPS girl. But as a composer, she shines differently. Her creativity thrust her into AP Music Theory as just a sophomore, and these days she works out pieces almost entirely in her mind before setting them to paper. Often inspired by melody and pianistic in orientation, Sonia’s compositions are “asymmetric,” says Edel Thomas, Chair of the Performing Arts Department. Sonia creates music that moves both bodies and souls, as evident in her stirring contribution to the Dance Department’s production.

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I also teach Music Theory 1 and 2, Upper School Symphony Orchestra, Middle School Symphony Orchestra, Primary Ensemble, and the Kent Place String Quartet, and I organize all Kent Place chamber music.

Mr. Thornhill with the Meraki Chamber Ensemble

RADIATING Radiation shrank tumors, but it also seemed to infect “luminous watch” factory workers. What could be done?

Factory worker Grace Fryer decided to fight. Set during the lively and prosperous 1920s New Jersey, E. W. Gregory’s Radium Girls found its home on the black box stage of the Hyde and Watson Theatre this fall. Girls from Grades 9 to 11 joined director and Upper School theater teacher Mary Catherine Walden to bring Fryer’s remarkable story to life. Her action against the U.S. Radiation Corporation soon included her former employer and her own family members. The Kent Place actors and crew told this story with depth and ethical precision, ultimately asking us this: What do we do when our desire for healing ends up hurting us?

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BEAC Lighting the Way: Stories of Kent Place Alumnae

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CONS Kent Place’s program of academic excellence has since 1894 provided both a foundation and a springboard for thousands of girls and young women. The rigor and practice of critical thinking, the intensive study of data and research, a vibrant humanities curriculum, and significant leadership development have provided KPS graduates with the ability — and the confidence — to forge their own paths.

In this quasquicentennial year, Kent Place celebrates in particular our alumnae, for they’re the best ambassadors for the work done on campus each day, and the impact of their lives is testimony to the power of a superlative education. A KPS alumna moves ahead, equipped with depth of intellect, unlimited curiosity, empathy for people and respect for their views, discipline, and leadership skills, as an ethical global citizen.

We have selected 15 such Kent Place alumnae who have blazed trails on their remarkable journeys. The stories of each of these women could fill many pages, but here you’ll find some of the highlights of their lives.

We tell the stories of these women, but they represent so many more KPS alumnae who have changed the world for the better.

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MARTHA CLAWSON REED SHOEMAKER CLASS OF 1906

Born in 1886, Martha Shoemaker attended Kent Place during its first decade, and experienced in real time the impact of the education for girls envisioned by our founding families. It’s no surprise, then, to have learned that 20 years after graduating, Martha was picketing at a watchfire demonstration in Washington, D.C., advocating for women’s suffrage. She was arrested and spent five days in jail. Soon after, the 19th Amendment was ratified, thus granting the right to vote to 26 million women. Martha’s bold belief that change is not only possible but also necessary was born in Summit, carried her to our nation’s capital, and affected the lives of American women forever.

AMABEL SCHARFF ROBERTS CLASS OF 1908

Amabel Roberts was the first American woman to give her life in service during World War I. Amabel graduated from Kent Place in 1908 and from Vassar in 1912, then completed the new two-year program at Columbia School of Nursing. In 1917, she went to France to join the war effort. Stationed at the American Base Hospital on the coast of Normandy, she was in charge of a ward for wounded soldiers. She died in January 1918, in Étretat, of an infection contracted while caring for the men. Her spirit of service and dedication to her patients, both soldiers and French citizens, made her a beloved member of the community. The unit for which Amabel served wrote a moving description of the funeral procession, which was later published in the 1918 Kent Place yearbook: “It was the silence that one noticed most . . . the narrow street was choked with troops, who formed in a long double rank on either side of the street leading to the gate. After the casket and pallbearers came the nurses, the UAD, and lady drivers and officers. Next in line were the American troops, and after them came the poilus from the French hospital nearby; behind these were the British troops, and after them the British patients from our own hospitals. The French townspeople, headed by the Mayor, came last. All the flowers that Havre could provide were there. The unit gave them, the patients insisted that they be permitted to give too. The French gave all they had. A plain, black wooden cross will mark the grave to denote the resting places of those who died that a better world might come into being . . . of one who died like a soldier.”

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PHOTO (LEFT) COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES CATALOG

PEGGY BACON CLASS OF 1913

Peggy Bacon — artist, draftsman, caricaturist, writer, and teacher — holds a significant place in 20thcentury American art history.

Margaret Frances Bacon was born in Connecticut and enjoyed a nomadic childhood. The Misses Stone, two sisters who were patrons of Peggy’s artistic parents, recognized her intelligence and talents and provided a full scholarship to Kent Place. In her oral history taken by the Smithsonian, Peggy recalled, “I loved Kent Place. Everybody thought I’d have an awful time because I led such an odd life. But I think I was very fortunate in my classmates. They were mostly girls of a rather liberal point of view toward this oddity in their midst.”

After graduation, Peggy studied art at a number of institutions in New York, such as the Art Students League, where she taught herself printmaking. She also published a student newspaper, in which her humorous illustrations and caricatures first began to appear.

She contributed to Vanity Fair, the New Masses, The New Yorker, and Fortune and illustrated more than 60 books, many of her own and many for children.

Off With Their Heads, containing satirical portraits of figures in the art world, was published in 1934, the year she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fine Arts. And in 1953, her novel The Inward Eye was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award.

Peggy taught at the Art Students League as well as Hunter College, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and the Corcoran Gallery, in Washington, D.C. Late in life, as her unique contribution to the graphic arts came to be appreciated, Peggy received numerous national awards. In 2012, she was honored with a yearlong retrospective at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art. Her career ended in the 1970s as her eyesight began to fail, but her work is in permanent collections throughout the country.

PHOTO OF HARRIET HARDY CREATOR: KEVIN GRADY. COPYRIGHT: © THE PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE

DR. HARRIET HARDY CLASS OF 1924

A Kent Place student for more than five years, “Harry” Hardy was active in many extracurricular activities, such as basketball, stage manager, and class treasurer. As a senior, her favorite quote was “A willing heart, a helping hand. Always ready on demand.” This sentiment of compassion and service went on inform the 18-year-old’s life more than she could have imagined.

She became a doctor, was a pioneer in occupational medicine, and was the first woman to become a full professor at Harvard Medical School.

Early in her career, she was the school physician at Northfield Seminary for Girls (now Northfield Mount Hermon), in Massachusetts, when a traumatic event occurred. In September 1938, a fierce hurricane caused a two-ton chimney to fall through the roof where 100 students were dining. The Connecticut River flooded, blocking access to the hospital, so Dr. Hardy and her nurse set bones and repaired grave injuries by lantern light, amid tragic loss of life. The disaster took its toll, and Dr. Hardy took a leave to recuperate from exhaustion and depression.

At age 40, she took a position at the Division of Occupational Hygiene, and that’s when her focus shifted from students’ health to that of workers. After her first assignment — studying lung disease in workers at a fluorescent-lightbulb factory — she spent two years documenting and arguing the harmfulness of exposure to beryllium. This lifelong interest in beryllium poisoning developed from her investigation of a mysterious respiratory illness that had plagued workers making fluorescent lamps at the General Electric and Sylvania plants on Boston’s North Shore. Many of those affected were women.

In 1948, she was invited to bring her research and worker-protection policies to the Health Division of the Atomic Energy Scientific (and later National) Laboratory, in Los Alamos. She spent the year documenting more cases of beryllium poisoning and lecturing on “man-made disease.” The following year, the fluorescent-lamp industry agreed to eliminate beryllium, and Dr. Hardy opened a clinic for workers with occupational illnesses, funded by the newly formed National Institutes of Health.

She worked with the Atomic Energy Commission, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, United Mine Workers, and the Coal Workers’ Safety Board, and investigated respiratory disease in factories and mines around the world. At the time of her death, in 1993, classmate Kit Lewis ’24 wrote, “She was a crusader against occupational disease and wrote a textbook on industrial toxicology and over a hundred scientific papers.”

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MAUREEN BLACK OGDEN CLASS OF 1946

Maureen Black Ogden, born in 1928, is a renowned conservationist, environmentalist, and politician, with 50 years of public service and environmental activism including having served as a state assemblywoman for 14 years, the first chair of the Garden State Preservation Trust, a trustee of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, commissioner of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, a member of Legacy Council of NJ Highlands Coalition, and chair of the Conservation Committee of New Jersey Garden Clubs.

Marjorie Leigh Hart ’46 proudly describes her classmate: “Maureen is a real thinker and a pioneer in state legislature in environmental matters.” Indeed, Maureen has much to her credit in legislation that has helped to shape the New Jersey landscape, such as protecting open space, endangered species, and water and air quality, and promoting historic preservation and the arts. She has received many national and state awards acknowledging the impact she has had on New Jersey. Perhaps one way to measure the esteem in which Maureen is held within New Jersey’s environmental community is not by the honors bestowed on her but rather on the honors named after her: The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) has a Maureen Ogden Award for “extraordinary public service for New Jersey’s people and environment,” and in 2014, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation renamed the Drakestown Preserve in Long Valley in her honor. Today, the Maureen Ogden Preserve is the New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s largest preserve in Morris County — an apt tribute for this former New Jersey legislator and passionate steward of the environment.

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MARJORIE LEIGH HART ⊲ CLASS OF 1946

Marjorie Leigh Hart earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cornell. When she first applied, Dr. Fred Rhodes, director of the School of Chemical Engineering, was not able to accept her due to the volume of veterans returning from World War II. He suggested she apply to the Arts College, then reapply if she still wanted to pursue engineering. During her first term in Arts, she went to see Dr. Rhodes. “He looked over his glasses at me,” she recalls, “and said, ‘So you want to be an engineer.’ I said yes and he asked, ‘Do you drink beer?’ I replied, ‘No sir, but I can learn,’ and that was that.” She was one of only three women enrolling in the engineering disciplines in that year, and discovered some 20 years later that only 10 women had graduated in chemical engineering.

After graduation, Marjorie went to work for the Esso Research and Engineering Company at the Bayway refinery in New Jersey, and later moved into the business side with the parent corporation (now ExxonMobil) in its New York headquarters. A few years later, she was sent to Tokyo (the first professional woman on foreign assignment), and then to London.

After an extended leave to get married (unprecedented at that time), in Los Angeles, she returned to New York and moved up the ranks to become senior advisor in several departments, and was the first woman in the executive dining room. Reflecting on her 30-year career as engineer and executive, she credits Exxon for a culture that recognized hard work and for, she says, “curbing whatever biases they had, so that being a woman was never a serious issue for me.”

Marjorie opted for early retirement in 1984 and took on private consulting assignments for small companies that dealt with natural gas, emission control, and environmental systems. She became deeply involved in the world of environmental conservation and has had a second 30-year-plus “career” in it.

She’s on the Board of Directors of Scenic Hudson, Inc., now one of the largest local land trusts and environmental-conservation groups in the country; she served as chair from 1999 to 2004. She’s on the National Council of the Land Trust Alliance and also serves on the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters, whose members honored her as an Environmental Champion at their gala last June.

In addition, she’s a board member and past officer of the Park Avenue Armory, a conservancy and performing arts institution in New York City. Marjorie is also an emerita trustee of Teachers College Columbia University and a Presidential Councillor at Cornell University, after having served on its board of trustees.

PHOTO OF MARJORIE LEIGH HART BY BETH PERKINS

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DEBORAH FARRINGTON ⊲ CLASS OF 1968

EMILY MESCHTER CLASS OF 1960

In 1994, Emily Meschter made a promise to 71 fourth-graders in Pima County, Ariz., in the district with the highest regional percentage of students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunches: Make it through high school, and college tuition would be paid for.

Emily realized these students would need additional support to succeed and funded an infrastructure that incorporated field trips, summer school, extracurricular activities, tutoring, mentoring, and counseling. Emily also created the “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Tucson, licensed under the national “I Have a Dream” Foundation.

Eighty percent of the students Emily supported graduated from high school and 30 pursued higher education. Today, two are medical doctors and three are teachers.

The Emily Meschter Early Learning Center, a public school in Tucson’s Flowing Wells District, includes a classroom that serves as a dedicated fieldwork site for the University of Arizona College of Education’s Early Childhood Teacher Education Program.

Her help in developing the center was instrumental in securing for the UA College of Education a grant of almost $2 million from the Helios Education Foundation to develop an innovative teacher-education curriculum. She has been involved in the Rodel Foundation’s Exemplary Teacher Initiative, which supports the placement of candidates in the classrooms of highly effective teachers in low-income schools, as well as Project SOAR (Student Outreach for Access and Resiliency). The project provides undergraduate service-learning courses for university students, as they mentor middle school students enrolled in high-poverty schools.

When Emily graduated from Cornell, women were not yet accepted into business schools. The University of Arizona awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2012.

Emily is also a longtime supporter of Make Way for Books, an organization dedicated to early childhood learning and literacy in southern Arizona.

“I just really believe in education as the key, the answer to better health, better community, a better job, being happier with your life,” Emily says. “I’m a door opener.”

Indeed, she is.

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Deborah Farrington — mentor, mogul, venture capitalist, visionary, risk taker — yes, she ticks all those boxes.

Debby cofounded StarVest Partners more than 20 years ago and in so doing set a course that would make her mark not merely as one of only a handful of women venture capitalists but also as an investment pioneer in the tech industry.

She was an early investor in a software start-up that enabled companies to move their accounting and financial services online. Seven years later, when the company, NetSuite, went public, its stock price doubled all initial estimates and by the end of the first trading day the company was valued at $1.8 billion, scoring the second most successful public offering of a tech company since Google.

Debby — who as a child made regular trips to Wall Street with her father — was at the New York Stock Exchange that morning to ring the opening bell.

The NetSuite deal was a career-making moment.

Not only did it secure StarVest’s status as a player in the often unpredictable (and unforgiving) world of venture capital, but it also established Debby as a smart, bold, and forward-thinking risk taker. In 2008, Forbes magazine named her to its Midas list of top venture capitalists; she was one of two women to make the cut that year. In a profile, Forbes described Debby as the country’s “top female VC” whose interests in “entrepreneurship and women’s issues” were helping to reshape the industry. She made the list twice more, earning the magazine’s informal title of “Queen Midas.” In 2016, NetSuite was acquired

by Oracle for $9.4 billion.

In 2018, Debby received the Medal for Achievement in Financial Services from the Foreign Policy Association.

After a long and groundbreaking career in finance and investing, she is now in a position to open doors for other women trying to make it in an industry that has not always welcomed them.

Debby’s commitment to supporting women in business extends to her civic priorities. For a long time, she served on the board of Opportunity International, a multinational NGO that grants microloans to women in Africa.

In addition to heading up the Investment Committee of Smith College’s board of trustees, she’s currently advising a new all-women venture firm that invests only in products and services that advance women’s achievement. “Women investing in women — and also men investing in women: This is what it takes to effect change,” she says.

For Debby, the goal is securing women’s economic empowerment. “As women, it’s important that we guide our own destinies, gain financial independence, and have a real voice for change in society,” she says.

Portions of this profile were taken from the fall 2019 Smith Alumnae Quarterly.

PHOTO OF DEBORAH FARRINGTON BY BETH PERKINS

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LIZ CHENG CLASS OF 1974

“ Having women participate in more parts of the economy will create a better society by enabling all the best minds and talent to be involved.”

—DEBORAH FARRINGTON ’68

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Giving a microphone to people who believe they have no voice, Liz Cheng has dedicated her life to sharing stories about communities of difference. Her career in multiplatform programming has driven her to amplify stories illuminating ‘differences that make a difference’ in background, circumstances, and orientation.

Through her team’s invigorating work — which has earned a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, a National News & Documentary Emmy, and numerous awards honoring diverse content — Liz focuses on multiculturalism, inclusion, equity, and standing up for self.

Liz has carried with her the lessons, friendships, sense of community, and legacy that come with a Kent Place education, as she celebrates women, people of color, resiliency, and her own experiences of difference. Liz presently oversees several public media channels for WGBH Boston as well as the national nonfiction WORLD Channel. She is vice chair of the board of directors for The Partnership, a national nonprofit coaching program and network for executives of color and is president of the board for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. Her work informs and empowers as it shines a light on our shared human condition.

VANESSA KING CLASS OF 1989

Vanessa King is a leader in the biotech industry, which, as of 2018, listed just 15 female CEOs in the 180 top biotech firms. Vanessa is a venture partner at the global life sciences venture capital firm Abingworth, LLP, where she is currently launching a new cell-therapy company to address diseases of the eye. She is also a non-executive director of Azafaros Therapeutics, a company pursuing therapies for rare genetic metabolic disorders that are untreatable today.

Earlier, she was president and CEO of Cadent Therapeutics, and she led its transformation into a precision medicine neuroscience company with a clinical pipeline. Before that, Vanessa led business development for deCODE Genetics, which resulted in its acquisition by Amgen, in 2012, for $415 million. Vanessa has also served as executive chairman of Tiaki Therapeutics, been an Entrepreneur in Residence at Atlas Venture, and held senior business-development and operating positions at Amgen and Novartis.

Vanessa earned degrees in molecular biology and public policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She is also a British Marshall Scholar and completed a PhD in genetics at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Vanessa’s commitment to public health and medicine is evident in her dedication and leadership in developing new cures and treatments to help society’s most vulnerable.

DR. JENNIFER (GOLDBERG) GOLDMAN CLASS OF 1989

Dr. Jennifer (Goldberg) Goldman’s educational and career paths demonstrate the value KPS places on a holistic and well-rounded exploration of interests.

After Kent Place, Dr. Goldman went to Princeton University magna cum laude and obtained degrees in psychology and music performance, and then received her MD from Northwestern University Medical School. She completed her neurology residency at Washington University, in St. Louis, followed by her fellowship in movement disorders and earning a master of science degree in clinical research from Rush University, in Chicago. She is also board certified in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry. Dr. Goldman is a clinician-researcher who has been a pioneer in the field of neuropsychiatric issues of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders and internationally recognized in her work. Her research has been groundbreaking in understanding the nonmotor and motor features and using neuroimaging techniques, identifying the changes that occur in the brain in Parkinson’s and other disorders that impair movement.

With her colleagues, she is working to develop pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions to improve or prevent cognitive and motor symptoms. Dr. Goldman is a leader regarding interdisciplinary care for people with Parkinson’s and movement disorders. Not only has she developed different care models in practice, but also has taught nationally and internationally on how to deliver and study these care models. She is also recognized for her excellence in education. She has received faculty teaching awards, served as education chair for the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Pan-American Section, and been an invited speaker at numerous national and international meetings.

Dr. Goldman is currently the Section Chief for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, in Chicago, and Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Goldman previously was faculty and professor of Neurological Sciences at Rush University. While at Rush, Dr. Goldman served on the Provost’s Committee on Gender Issues, particularly to increase resources and professional development for women — and presently serves on the American Academy of Neurology Women in Leadership Committee and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Leadership Task Force — no doubt a nod to her years at Kent Place.

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SUZANNE (LOPEZ) PRISCO CLASS OF 1989

Kent Place nurtured Suzanne (Lopez) Prisco’s love for the arts. She was a founding member of Chamber Dancers, Kent Place’s premier dance-performance group under Dance Department Chair LeAnn Yannelli, and was encouraged to complete an independent study in choreography. She spent her free time studying at the New Jersey Ballet School. With all this experience under her belt, Suzanne did something not many before her had done: She decided not to go to college. Instead, she forged her own path, one that required courage, discipline, grit, and a little faith.

Within six months, Suzanne was offered a contract with the Joffrey Ballet in New York City, one of the nation’s top companies.

Exciting opportunities abounded early on.

She played a lead role in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs (The Skaters), which was performed at New York City’s Lincoln Center. In 1992, the Joffrey’s artistic director, Gerald Arpino, produced the phenomenon known as Billboards, with choreography by four artists and music by Prince. This fullevening ballet became a worldwide success, and Suzanne danced just about every lead role in the piece, in England, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Korea, and Australia.

In 1995, the company relocated to Chicago, where Suzanne danced principal roles and gained the reputation as a versatile dancer who could be cast in anything, from classical ballets to modern works. Her favorite roles have been the lead in Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations and L’Air d’Esprit, Caroline in Antony Tudor’s Lilac Garden, Desdemona in José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane, the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and the title roles in both Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet.

Suzanne was on the cover of both Pointe and Café magazines. She was selected by the legendary movie director Robert Altman to appear in The Company, based on the real lives of ballet dancers.

After two decades and two babies, though, it was time to retire. Joffrey then offered her a new position there: Rehearsal Director. Now she passes on her knowledge to the next generation of dancers, both at The Joffrey Ballet and at companies around the world.

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PHOTO OF SUZANNE (LOPEZ) PRISCO BY HERBERT MIGDOLL

SALEEMAH ABDUL-GHAFUR CLASS OF 1992

Writer, activist, and adviser Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur is a changemaker in the best sense of the word.

A believing woman, firmly rooted in the Black and Muslim experiences in America, Saleemah advocates for the right of self-determination and self-expression. She’s the founding director of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance and advises African heads of state on women’s and children’s health.

Her work also addresses issues of understanding, welcoming, and belonging, and she’s active in advocating for the voice of Muslim women and Muslim Americans.

As the editor of Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak, former chief executive of a magazine for Muslim women, and currently board chair of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project, a nonprofit group that works to boost voter engagement in the American Muslim community, Saleemah is a champion for approaching each day and obstacle with determination, attention, and mindfulness.

She has taken to heart the message her parents instilled in her early on: to shine her light on the world and to stay true to her birthright to be both seen and heard.

“ I think dancers have this list in their head of all of the roles they’d like to perform someday.

I’ve been so lucky to be able to do every role on my list.”

—SUZANNE (LOPEZ) PRISCO ’89

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JUDY JOO CLASS OF 1993

If Judy Joo had listened to what other people thought, she never would’ve found her passion and become the culinary force she is today.

After 13 years at Kent Place, Judy attended Columbia University, where her interests evolved from becoming the next Madame Curie to engineering. She spent a summer building Web pages at Goldman Sachs and the next year tried the financial side of the industry. She loved the fast-paced atmosphere and after graduation joined Morgan Stanley as a sales trader on the fixed-income floor.

After five years, she realized that although she enjoyed working in finance, she hadn’t achieved the job satisfaction she was seeking.

Judy decided to make a career change, this time heading to the kitchen to follow her interest in food and cooking, instilled in her at home while watching her mother cook authentic Korean dishes.

“I changed careers and entered the world of cooking ‘late,’ and everyone discouraged me from doing so,” says Judy. “But I believed that I could do anything that I set my mind to, even in a totally different industry.”

She graduated valedictorian from the French Culinary Institute and hit the ground running. She showed up early and stayed late; no job was too menial. She went on thousands of casting calls, meetings, and pitches and was turned down a hundred times — “I have more rejection stories than ones of success,” she says, “and so many people said I would never do it” — before the Food Network decided it wanted a Korean cooking show.

Today, Korean Food Made Simple is broadcast worldwide, from Australia and the UK to the Americas and across Asia. She’s a familiar face on the Cooking Channel and the Food Network and one of only four Iron Chefs — and the only woman — in the UK. In May 2018, Judy returned to her alma mater, Columbia University, to deliver the keynote Commencement address, encouraging the class to pursue their passions fearlessly no matter where they might lead. She also just published her second cookbook, Korean Soul Food, in October 2019, and her new restaurant, Seoul Bird, will be opening in April 2020.

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“ We found our voices early and used them often.

Equally important, we learned to uplift the voices of others, support one another, and work collaboratively to achieve our goals.”

—RINI FONSECA-SABUNE ’00

RINI FONSECA-SABUNE ⊲ CLASS OF 2000

As an attorney, educator, and advocate, Rini FonsecaSabune has worked her entire career with low-income communities of color toward racial and social justice. She earned degrees with honors from Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Fordham Graduate School of Education, and has sought to use her education to empower vulnerable people and communities. She has taught incarcerated women on Rikers Island; represented tenant associations fighting abusive landlords; investigated police misconduct; and worked in education and community health in Uganda and Rwanda. She has received numerous fellowships to fund her innovative work and study.

In 2018, Rini was appointed New York City’s first Chief Democracy Officer, and in that role she worked to amplify the voice of every New Yorker, including marginalized communities that have historically been disenfranchised. Her work has included developing robust voter-registration drives; expanding civics education across all ages for the 1.1 million children attending New York City schools; and partnering with communitybased organizations, elected officials, and agencies at all levels of government and the philanthropic community to get more New Yorkers civically engaged.

At KPS, Rini learned the value and power of one’s voice, both individually and collectively. “Not only were our voices respected by faculty and administrators, but we were also expected to participate in the decisions that governed our school and likewise to be accountable for the consequences,” Rini says. “We found our voices early and used them often. Equally important, we learned to uplift the voices of others, support one another, and work collaboratively to achieve our goals.”

PHOTO OF RINI FONSECA-SABUNE BY BETH PERKINS

Athletic

Hall 36 KENT PLACE FALL 2019

of Fame Inaugural Induction Ceremony

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019 Diana D’Alessio ’93

Basketball, Field Hockey, Golf, Softball

Leading the Field with Passion and Purpose As part of the 125th-anniversary celebration of the school’s founding, more than 125 alumnae, parents, trustees, and friends gathered on October 19 to honor the inaugural inductees to the Kent Place Athletic Hall of Fame, which recognizes the accomplishments of those whose outstanding performance in athletics distinguishes them as competitors, whose accomplishments bring distinction to Kent Place, and who demonstrate the highest character and values of the school’s community.

“The skills and collaboration learned on the court and on the field provide guidance throughout our lives and a sisterhood to treasure,” said Head of School Jennifer Galambos, as she welcomed attendees to the ceremony. She spoke about her own experience with competitive tennis and how it shaped her approach to the world: “I could see the correlation between the time and effort that I put in and the result, and I was the master of my own destiny,” she said.

“It was life changing.”

The inaugural inductees were Diana D’Alessio ’93, Porscha Dobson ’03, Barbara “Bobo” (Mangan) Delaney ’78, Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow ’90, Christine Ryan ’00, the 1977–1978 field hockey team, and Coach Elisabeth “Tizzie” Benthien P ’10. The evening was cochaired by Trustee Katie (Herbst) Machir ’95 P ’28 and Amy Ziebarth ’80 and featured moving videos highlighting the honorees and the history of the athletic program at Kent Place.

Tizzie Benthien P ’10, who has coached at Kent Place for 43 years, was honored in the video by her students and athletes, many of whom have looked to her for guidance well after they left the school.

“Tizzie had a great deal of impact on me and has helped to shape me into who I am today,” said Katie (Herbst) Machir ’95 P ’28, whose daughter attends Kent Place. “She taught me to be accountable. She taught me about work ethic. She also shapes me now as a parent. I’ve had the great fortune of both my children having been taught by Tizzie, and she has provided me with counsel and really honest constructive feedback. I feel incredibly grateful that all three of us have been taught by her.”

Since its beginning, Kent Place has had as its mission to provide exceptional education for girls with programs and curricula that challenge them academically, artistically, culturally, and physically in order to exercise the mind, the body, and the imagination.

38 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

Porscha Dobson ’03

Track and Field Barbara “Bobo” (Mangan) Delaney ’78

Basketball, Field Hockey, Tennis Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow ’90

Basketball, Field Hockey, Lacrosse Christine Ryan ’00

Basketball, Field Hockey, Lacrosse 1977–1978 Field Hockey Team Elisabeth “Tizzie” Benthien P ’10

Coach 1976–present, former Athletic Director

Save the date!

Our 2nd Annual Athletic Hall of Fame will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2020.

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Previous spread: Field Hockey, fall 1972.

1. Inductee Porscha Dobson ’03 (right) with faculty member Ashley Powell ’06 2. Inductees Diana D’Alessio ’93 and Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow ’90 3. Hall of Fame Cochair Amy Ziebarth ’80 with Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow ‘90 and daughter Parlan 4. I nductee Bobo (Mangan) Delaney ’78 and Hall of Fame Committee Member Caitlin (Wight) Fitzsimmons ’95 P ’29

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 39

Although they were largely intramural, the athletic programs at Kent Place began before they did at most colleges of the same era. In 1904, the first gymnasium was built to provide year-round programs for girls, reflecting the priority of the program to school leadership from the earliest days. In 1905, the school’s athletic offerings consisted of basketball, tennis, and track, and were a highlight of school life.

Then, by student demand and keeping pace with leading collegiate women’s programs of the day, in 1906 Kent Place created an official athletic association.

Today, in its second century, Kent Place has grown to field 15 sports and 41 athletic teams across its divisions. In addition, every year, Kent Place alumnae continue their athletic experiences at the nation’s most competitive academic and athletic institutions and beyond.

Inductee and former pro-golfer Diana D’Alessio ’93, who came all the way from her home in North Yorkshire, England, for the ceremony, told the audience how grateful she was to Kent Place for supporting her both academically and athletically by allowing her to undertake an independent study in her junior year so she could pursue her passion for golf in addition to her studies. She thanked the school for giving her the independence to follow her dreams.

“But that’s what Kent Place teaches us,” she said. “It gives us the necessary tools to go out in the world with the belief that we can do absolutely anything and not need to rely on anyone for it — full independence.”

In addition to the strength of character, work ethic, and selfconfidence that their Kent Place experience has built in them, many inductees talked about the sisterhood and sense of community that was fostered. Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow ’90 summed up her feelings this way: “There are going to be some failures along the way. It’s okay to fail. For me, whenever I had failures or weakness, I never felt isolated or alone. I always felt there was this group [of Kent Place women] behind me helping push me forward.”

As Kent Place now looks to the next 125 years, it’s apparent that athletics and wellness play a vital role in fulfilling the school’s promise to promote and build strong, confident, self-assured young women.

Kent Place remains steadfast in its belief that participation in athletics is an extension of the classroom, and in its commitment to inspiring in every student a lifetime dedication to health and well-being.

“It’s a journey, but if our girls and young women have a passion and a purpose and are open to outcomes, they’ll find that dream somewhere along their paths,’’ says Coach Benthien. “They have to give it their all, learn from life’s mistakes, and keep looking forward, but passion and purpose will take them there. Enjoy the journey, girls!”

40 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

“ Our team was very fortunate to have many gifted athletes and we learned to trust each other and play without ego or friction. That credit goes to our coaches because without their belief in us, we would not have achieved our potential.”

—BARBARA “BOBO” (MANGAN) DELANEY ’78

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6. I nductee Tizzie Benthien P ’10 and faculty member Sheila Dunne 7. Inductee Christine Ryan ’00 with Hall of Fame Committee Member Megan (McConnell) Brozowski ’95 8. The 1977–1978 Field Hockey Team before its induction.

9. Head of School Jennifer Galambos, Hall of Fame Cochair and Trustee Katie (Herbst) Machir ’95 P ’28, and Diana D’Alessio ’93 10. Trustee Doug Sieg P ’24 ’29 ’31 ’31 with daughter Taylor ’24

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 41

KEEPING PACE CONNECTING THE KENT PLACE FAMILY

Mabie House, 1962

KEEPING PACE SINCE LAST TIME

Virginia (Reiner) Vanderbilt ’41 with Coral Butler Brooks P ’25 in London

Dear Alumnae, Congratulations to all of you on the historic milestone of your alma mater! When discussing the plans and programs to celebrate this important year, it was clear from the start that the focus of our festivities would be the alumnae community. To date, we’ve had gatherings from coast to coast, inductions into the inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame, our Celebration of Philanthropy, and our first Alumnae Visiting Day. The best is yet to come this spring with Alumnae Weekend, which kicks off three days of fun on Thursday, April 30, with a salute to Alumnae in the Arts and culminates in the spectacular 125th Gala under the tent on May 2. The festivities wouldn’t be the same without you — we’d love to see you back on campus!

For two years, I’ve been reading and researching the stories of the founding of KPS and the vision required to launch and sustain this remarkable school. It has given voice to five generations of women — and counting — and I’ve traveled over 5,000 miles in more than 10 states and two countries to hear for myself the ways in which Kent Place has had an impact on your lives.

42 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

No visit is without its moments of wonder and inspiration. Among them were picking oranges in the backyard of an alumna in San Diego while she talked about how Kent Place gave her a voice to advocate for her child’s special needs in the 1950s; sharing a meal while overwhelmed by the compassion of an alumna spurred to empower children with the gift of an education like hers (see page 26); marveling at the ingenuity of a patent-pending entrepreneur who will change the way computers speak to each other (while together we caught a plane, got a ride in an Uber, and boarded a ferry!); and, most recently, joining in a toast in gratitude for the gift of Kent Place with an alumna from the Class of 1941 in London (see photo at left) — Virginia had been “lost” since 1952! She recounted warm memories of a wonderful childhood at Kent Place in the late ’30s, particularly of the special treat to be asked to join Mrs. Hunt for dinner with faculty in her private dining room. No story is quite like another.

The alumnae community is a strong one, but please don’t misunderstand the word alumnae as indicating something only in the past, that Kent Place was in some way part of your life only before. It’s true that you’re part of our history — but you testify to our growth and our journey. You are also present always as your successes and experiences provide school leadership and faculty with fuel to continue their good work on campus today.

Most important, you are our future.

You’re the lifeblood from which our vitality and our future spring. Your counsel, your partnership, and your support are what have given us these 125 years to celebrate, and you’re the reason we can look with confidence to the future.

Come celebrate what has been and what is to come — because of you!

Warmest regards,

Coral Butler Brooks P ’25 Director of Advancement

“ This year’s celebrations have solidified connections to my fellow alumnae, and I’ve been inspired by the current generation of students.

I hope you’ll be able to attend an event on campus or in your area of the country to see how amazing our alma mater is today and how important you are to the KPS community.”

—BECKY (MAGRANE) REDPATH ’02, ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION BOARD PRESIDENT

Ashley Powell ’06 with some of her Kindergarten students

WELCOME HOME, ASHLEY POWELL ’06! Now she’s Ms. Powell, our new Kindergarten teacher and volleyball and indoor and outdoor track-and-field coach. Ashley attended Kent Place from first through ninth grade. While a student, Ashley was on the soccer, swim, and track teams, as well as the Varsity track-and-field teams as a freshman! She was also a member of the Black Cultural Association and the Pep Squad. She earned her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Maryland and her K–8 teaching certificate from Bloomfield College. Before returning to KPS, she taught at Roseville Community Charter School, in Newark. We’re delighted to have her back!

A Thriving Sisterhood

(back, l–r): Monica Carolan ’06, Laura Scarano ’06, Julie (Kessler) Gumpert ’96, Amanda Taylor ’02, and Emily Cregg ’05; (front, l–r): Caitlin (Clark) Donohue ’86, Tawney Bains ’96, and Meredith Bayse ’06

The Los Angeles Alumnae Regional Club (LARC) had its official launch in June 2019. LARC is a pilot group, the first of its kind for Kent Place School. The goal is to provide ways for our strong and thriving sisterhood to connect despite being a long distance from Summit. In true KPS fashion, several leaders expressed interest in working with the Advancement Office to form a group in Los Angeles. The LARC Committee aspires to increase community and connection through get-togethers and a network of support.

LARC held a successful event this fall at the home of Tawney Bains ’96, where alumnae discussed the writings of Toni Morrison, reminisced about former faculty member Dr. Jane Cole, shared other memories, and enjoyed spending time together. The committee is led by cochairs Tawney Bains ’96 and Meredith Bayse ’06 and has 10 members, working to connect with the 70+ alumnae in the LA area.

Tawney, Meredith, and the committee are currently helping the Advancement Team plan their next LA gathering this spring. The Advancement Office hopes to launch similar clubs in other regions of the country. If you’re interested in putting together a group in your area, please contact Lainey Segear, Director of Alumnae Engagement and Special Gifts, at segearl@kentplace.org.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 43

KEEPING PACE

Green and Gold on the Road In celebration of 125 years of Kent Place, we’re visiting more than 20 cities throughout the United States, to meet with our alumnae. We hope you’ll come to an event in your city and celebrate KPS! UPCOMING EVENTS APRIL 2: Boston APRIL 17–18: Charlotte and Chapel Hill, North Carolina APRIL 30: Alumnae Art Show on campus MAY 1–2: 125th Celebration and Alumnae Weekend, on campus MAY 14: Chicago JUNE: New York City JULY: Nantucket, Shelter Island, and Southampton AUGUST 28: Bay Head, New Jersey

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44 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

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1. KPS IN DALLAS (left, front–back) Justine Hoffman-Schmitt ’54, Director of Advancement Coral Butler Brooks P ’25, Suzy (Vignolo) Conley ’89, and Trustee Nancy Van Duyne ’76; right (front–back) Gail (Jowitt) Pace ’63, Susie Williams, Carter (Flegal) Townsend ’88, and Marla McDonald ’79 2. KPS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. Hosts Anne (Harding) Woodworth ’61 and Tansy (Howard) Blumer ’61 hosted Head of School Jennifer Galambos and local-area alumnae: (back, l–r) Director of Advancement

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Coral Butler Brooks P ’25, Suzanne (Schmidt) Schneck ’73, Ellen (Leander) Morison ’76, Head of School Jennifer Galambos, Paris (Martin) Quintana ’00, Liz (Parker) Browne ’79, and Nancy Talbot ’91; (front, l–r) Director of Alumnae Engagement Lainey Segear, Barbara (Metzger) Robinson ’62, Adele Irwin ’11, Patty (Friedman) Marcus ’78, Nia Tannis ’11, Tansy (Howard) Blumer ’61, Gay (Garth) Legg ’69, Barbara Wiss ’68, Anne (Harding) Woodworth ’61, Katie (Green) Snowdon ’70, Sarah Pavlak ’15, and Courtney (Alpaugh) Simmons ’09

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KPS IN NEW YORK CITY 3. Dawn Deans-Malone P ’30 and Susan Kratina P ’21 ’24 ’26 4. Victoria Bridges P ’13, Emily Bridges ’13, and Trustee Nancy Reynolds P ’16 ’16 5. Caroline Lewis ’14, Kim Lewis ’11, Lili Hutchinson ’11, Lizzy Miggins ’11, and Lauren (Davidson) Sachs ’98 6. Faculty members Edel Thomas, Chris Clemens, Head of School Jennifer Galambos, and Tizzie Benthien P ’10 7. 1966 classmates Christine (Gibbons) McKay and Fran (Griffith) Laserson

8. Taylor Sharperson ’22, Denise Sharperson P ’22, and Brianna Barrett ’14 9. Sarah Colasurdo ’00, Hilary Sayia ’04, and Alumnae Association President Becky (Magrane) Redpath ’02 10. 2006 classmates Michelle Manket and Danielle Auriemma 11. Classmates Allison (Fitzpatrick) Weir ’91, Aimee (Cullen) Reali ’91 P ’23, Judy (Shear) Tribucher ’91, Liz Hines ’91, and Katina Houvouras ’91

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 45

KEEPING PACE IN HER WORDS

Giovanna (MancusiUngaro) Breu ’47 at O’Hare Airport heading off to an assignment

Giovanna (MancusiUngaro) Breu ’47 In 1963, Giovanna covered President John F. Kennedy’s funeral and burial for Life magazine, at a time when most female journalists were assigned to the society pages.

The direction my life took changed at Kent Place. I was fascinated by archaeology and history, but after struggling with Latin, I decided not to deal with ancient civilizations. Miss Florence Wolfe, my English teacher, praised a story I wrote about a passenger steamship docked in the Hudson River. The smoke from its stacks crossed the sunset as the ship was leaving on a risky

46 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

wartime passage to Europe. Ms. Wolfe published my story in the school newspaper. I was excited; maybe I could become a writer.

At Smith College, I improved my writing skills working for the Press Board.

I sent stories to newspapers. If a story was used, we were paid 10 cents an inch by local papers and 25 cents for larger papers.

Eventually, I amassed enough change to head to New Haven for a football game.

I wrote social copy for the Oakhurst, N.J., Home News for two summers and received $10 a week the first and $20 the second. After I graduated from Smith, the

editor of the Newark Evening News hired me to work in the paper’s Elizabeth suburban office. I started writing obituaries and eventually covered town council meetings, murders, and even a major train accident.

Finally, I was the first woman reporter to cover the Union County courthouse.

After I received an MS from Columbia School of Journalism, I was hired by Life to work in the New York news bureau. In 1963, I became a correspondent in Life’s Washington bureau. I was assigned to the birth of Jackie Kennedy’s baby, Patrick. A TV reporter and I watched the lights go on in rooms at Otis Air Force Base, where Jackie was hospitalized. Baby Patrick had died.

A few months later, photographer Bob Gomel and I were assigned to cover President Kennedy’s funeral. We were on a roof as Jackie Kennedy walked below. Writer Dora Jane Hamblin used my reporting when she wrote that Jackie’s “steps were firm, her stride was long and her shoulders were back.” We had credentials to cover Kennedy’s funeral at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, where a crowd of photographers took that sad photo of little John saluting his father’s casket.

We didn’t have permission to cover the Arlington Cemetery burial. But when we arrived, I was amazed to see that my former journalism professor Wayne Phillips was checking credentials. He was so glad to see me that he just let us through. Over the crowd, I saw Jackie receive the flag that had been on the coffin.

I married Joseph Breu, a New York reporter, and transferred back to Life’s news bureau, where I mainly covered the political campaigns of Mayor John Lindsey and Governor Rockefeller. Eventually, we moved to Chicago and I worked for Life magazine there. When it folded, I became a freelance reporter for Time and then joined People magazine. For eight years, I was its Midwest bureau chief, managing reporters’ stories in 13 states. Later, I became a national medical and science correspondent for the magazine.

After I retired from People, I freelanced science and medical stories for 10 years.

It was a fascinating journey. I miss it.

And it all happened because I couldn’t handle Latin at Kent Place.

PHOTO: MICHAEL MAUNEY

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

1932

of Westmont, PA, passed away on November 18, 2019, at the age of almost 105.

Dorothy played field hockey for Duke University in the 1930s.

Among her achievements, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Girl Scouts of America, and she was instrumental in starting the Sunnehanna Junior Golf Program, which weekly reserved time for juniors to play and to learn the etiquette of the game of golf. The third hole at Sunnehanna Country Club is dedicated in her name. Our thoughts are with her family.

great-grandson. Betty lives in Newton, NJ, but she misses Summit and is sad to see many of Summit’s older houses being demolished to make way for new McMansions. Betty plays cards with friends, but not bridge, and has given up driving. “I still drive a little bit and am very careful.”

Muriel (Phipps) Smith’s daughter wrote me with the sad news that our darling classmate Moo’s life had come to an end on November 19 after she fell and broke her hip. I had a cheery conversation with Moo last summer. She still had her Kent Place yearbook, and we agreed that Miss Wolfe was our favorite teacher.

1939

1947

Dorothy (Gray) Kunkle,

Kent Place received the sad news that Marjorie (Ladd) Corby passed away on October 21, 2019, in Manchester, NH, where she lived. Our condolences to her daughter, Linda (Corby) Beal ’65, and family.

1940

Kent Place heard from Carol Rosseland that her mother, Laila (Raabe) Rosseland, passed away on March 30, 2019, after a stroke. She said her mother had lived a long and very full life.

1942

Emily (Churchill) Wood emily_wood46@hotmail.com

Buzz Friend writes, “I am saddened to report that my mother, Doris (Schwanhausser) Friend, passed away on August 29, 2019. Kent Place was certainly near and dear to Mom.” Jean (Poucher) Loizeaux passed away on April 27, 2019. Meg Loizeaux Keller, her daughter, says her mother taught at Gill St. Bernard’s School, in Gladstone, for 45 years, before retiring at the age of 88: “She was known for the high standards she set for her students’ academic achievement and personal character.

I’m certain these principles were nurtured during her years at Kent Place. She lived her life dedicated to the principles set forth in the mission of Kent Place School: to love learning, to gain confidence, to live responsibly, and to develop respect for herself and others in the global community.”

1945

Alan (Summersby) Emmet emmeta@comcast.net Betty (May) Sanfilippo has a new

Anne (Campbell) Dowell annedowell@triad.rr.com

Most of us are turning 90 this year — hard to believe. We have about 20 on our class list now, and it’s great to hear from most of you; would love to hear from all.

So nice to get news from Giovanna (Mancusi-Ungaro) Breu.

She stays busy in Chicago and recently went with the Smith College Alumnae Chorus to sing in Slovenia.

She and her husband love visiting their granddaughters (ages 5 and 6) in Houston.

Anne (Haon) Cook lives in Lancaster, PA, and recently went to Antiques Roadshow in Winterthur.

She took her father’s vintage poster

by Toulouse-Lautrec of the Irish singer May Belfast and they may put it on their show next year. She was looking forward to spending time at the beach with her son, George, and two grandsons.

Betty (Correll) Durling’s husband, Carlton, died November 17, 2018.

They had 68 happy years together.

Betty stays in Vero Beach, FL, January to May and lives in Whitehouse, NJ, the rest of the year. Her family keeps growing with many offspring.

Joan (Skelton) Holmes still lives in Heritage Village, Southbury, CT, and drives to stores and movies. She plays bridge, reads a lot, and does crossword puzzles. She has a son in Boston, a daughter near her, and a son in Chicago.

Evelyn (France) Kalagher is happy in her retirement home in Burlington, VT, and loves her house on the pond with ducks, blue herons, and red-winged blackbirds. She walks to the big house for Scrabble,

for current events, and as leader of the Resident Council. She plans to drive to Gettysburg soon for a family wedding.

Helen (Preus) Mairs lost her husband, Bob, on May 15, 2019, following a stroke. He almost made it to his 92nd birthday. Preusy left her lovely older home in St. Paul and moved to a nice four-room apartment nearby. It’s on the seventh floor, so she has great views of the city and pretty sunsets.

We heard from Becki Kay, the daughter of Jenny (Naess) Moe, that Jenny passed away on November 1.

Before her passing, Jenny had said that she was delighted with the birth of her first great-grandson, Noah Jonathan. Our thoughts are with Jenny’s family.

Nancy Purdy lives at Fellowship Village, in Basking Ridge, NJ. She exercises often and uses physical therapy. She travels some — to the Women’s Club in New York and on some Vassar trips. She loves her spaniel, Henrietta, and takes her for walks. She usually gets to Kent Place once a year to see faculty and new buildings.

her summer going back and forth to her cottage on Lake Webster, which is not far from her home in Dedham, MA. Her two grandsons and their families, who have been living in Montclair, NJ, all moved to California with excellent promotions, so she won’t see them as often. “I seem to keep well except for a spinal compression fracture (dating back years), so I don’t swim much — just go play in the water now.”

Nancy Young is still in her house in Deale, MD, which is on the west side of the Chesapeake Bay. Her house is on the water so she can watch the boats all day. She has help most of the time, so she can stay in the house she loves.

Kent Place heard from Eleanor Howard that her mother, Selena (Tatlock) Howard, had passed away in June 2018. We’re very sorry to hear this news.

I’m still in my nice cottage in the retirement home, where I moved four years ago. I go to exercise and warm-water classes, and love watching the birds on my back deck. I have good friends here and enjoy dinners most nights at our clubhouse.

retirement apartment in Atlanta. Thirteen of her family went to Hilton Head for Memorial Day. Her children and grandchildren planned a big celebration in October for her 90th birthday.

Sue (Savage) Speers attended two grandchildren’s graduations in the spring. Ellen McCormick graduated Lehigh with highest honors. Guthrie Speers graduated high school and started Hobart in the fall. “I’ll be moving into a continuing-care community, Kendal, in Hanover, NH. Fifteen family members joined me to camp in the Adirondacks to celebrate my 90th birthday a month early.

Other classmates may be joining me as nonagenarians ere long.”

Nancy (Koebel) Watters lives in Denver and is not traveling much now. She stays busy at her retirement home putting fresh flowers on all the dining room tables every week. She’s in a knitting group, goes to exercise classes, and often takes walks with friends. Her daughter Sally often visits, as do other children and grandchildren. She’ll miss her grandson, Sam, who is in college in California.

Kathanne (Harter) Webster spent

1948

Bobbie (MacWhinney) Schneidewind is in her nice

Bruce Gilmore gave us the sad news that his mother, Doris (May) Gilmore, passed away on August 18, 2019, in Gorham, ME. Donations in her memory may be made to the Gorham House Scholarship Fund, c/o Gorham House, 50 New Portland Road, Gorham, ME 04038.

1949

Joan (Lanston) McKeown jlmckeown@icould.com

1951

Joyce (Cudlipp) Wiggin joyce.c.wiggin@gmail.com Joyce (Cudlipp) Wiggin says

she hasn’t forgotten about notes but has been busy getting settled in a new apartment in Maryland. She will touch base about notes for the next issue.

1953

The family of Sally (Ritchie) Challgren notified the Advancement Office that Sally passed away on August 2, 2019. We send our condolences to her family.

Ileaine (DeWitt) Fisher passed away on June 18, 2019. Ileaine had a great love for the arts and was an

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 47

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

exceptionally talented piano player and piano teacher. She was passionate about ensuring that the love of the arts endured for future generations.

Our thoughts are with her family.

1954

Marianna (Ruprecht) Mitchell mariannarmitchell@gmail.com

1957

The Advancement Office heard from Ken Schade, husband of Cornelia “Pic” (Hamlin) Schade, that his wife passed away on July 4, in Palmyra, NY. Our thoughts are with her family.

1958

Terri (Smit) Kirchen kirchen@elon.edu

In Memoriam Dorothy (Gray) Kunkle ’32

November 18, 2019

Marjorie (Ladd) Corby ’39

October 21, 2019

Laila (Raabe) Rosseland ’40

March 30, 2019

Doris (Schwanhausser) Friend ’42

August 29, 2019

Jean (Poucher) Loizeaux ’42

April 27, 2019

Muriel (Phipps) Smith ’45

November 19, 2019

Selena (Tatlock) Howard ’47

June 29, 2018

Jennifer (Naess) Moe ’47

November 1, 2019

Doris (May) Gilmore ’48

August 18, 2019

Sally (Ritchie) Challgren ’53

August 2, 2019

Ileaine (DeWitt) Fisher ’53

June 18, 2019

Cornelia (Hamlin) Schade ’57

July 4, 2019

Carol Wheeler ’73

December 6, 2019

48 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

1959

Elizabeth (Budd) Bugliari GP ’22 ’26 bugliarie@gmail.com

1960

Anne (Sonnekalb) Iskrant anne@iskrant.com

FOCUS ON 2020 — pun intended!

Emily Meschter and I have been talking about our 60th reunion coming up on May 1–2, 2020. Emily

has generously offered to underwrite our housing costs at the Summit DeBary Inn! We’re working on Friday,

May 1, for our class dinner. Be sure to come and stay for the KPS events on Saturday. It’s also the school’s 125th-anniversary year, so many things are planned.

Meredith (Welsh) Parsons and Roger have enjoyed many cruises.

They seem to have gone around the world twice! Their oldest granddaughter got married in June, and her brother is teaching English in Germany. Meredith has some replacement parts but is still slowly mobile and can now read without glasses. They see Sue Hand and Jack occasionally. Sue reported, “What a wonderful institution and adventure grandmotherhood is!” Her grandson, Theo Kenneth Robinson, was born in July 2019, in Brooklyn.

Jeanie (Blackmar) McLerie and Ken went to France and England for six weeks last spring. Daughter Nellie joined her on a river cruise up the Seine to Rouen and back to Paris.

Band members from Albuquerque came also, and they did gigs in Bretagne and England. Jeanie is back to teaching kids fiddle and ukulele.

Sister Susie ’64 visited from Astoria, OR, and they sang on Jeanie’s radio show. Jeanie says she learned this at Kent Place: “If you know what you want to do and where you want to go — just do it with heart and soul.”

Susan (Wight) Poiner went to college with Jeanie and recalled that it was the era of coffee houses in Boston, where Jeanie spent a lot of time, and often Susan could be dragged along, especially for Joan Baez. She also remembered the Blackmar house on the hill at the Vineyard and doing “belly-button knitting.” Susan is cheerful about her life even though a tree fell on the roof of her condo. She heard from Nancy (Bigelow) Sinclair’s husband, John, with a book about his Vermont writings.

Sandy Lee Simmers wrote after coming in from mowing at 8:00 p.m.

That day she and Bob had replaced a rusted-out culvert, treated a heifer with an eye infection, moved a hay roll, and trimmed some tree branches off the perimeter fence. She’s also involved in pickleball, tennis, platform tennis, and line dancing. She and Bob travel, this year to Slovenia and Croatia and to see their sons and families, both now in the West. They planned a reunion in Ketchum, ID, over Thanksgiving.

Cindy (Williams) Hinchman

writes that she’s easily keeping pace with Kent Place this year with a pacemaker that has been keeping her heart going since last October. She works half time doing a newsletter and other communications at her church, and Jim continues to work full time at the National Academies of Science.

Emily Meschter fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting the Galápagos and Machu Picchu. She extolled the wildlife, the balmy weather, the dramatic change that occurs from sea level to 11,000 feet overnight, the tasty food, and the people.

“One other lady in the group, my age, and I did everything, including rigorous changes in elevation during walk/hike/stumble adventures,” she writes. “We both decided that we really should have taken the trip ten years ago, when we were more fit — but we managed to cheer each other on.”

Both Emily and Suzanne (Steinbuhler) Wickham remembered Joan MacNeish, who has passed away. Suzanne said she and Joan roomed together at KP for three years and kept in touch on and off. She attended Joan’s wedding in Raton, NM, in 2001, a special event and nice connection.

I, Anne (Sonnekalb) Iskrant, joined a dragon boat team after breast cancer in 2004, and have been paddling ever since. One of the oldest on the team, I still compete in regattas and festivals, this past summer in nationals in Colorado Springs, and am hoping to go next year to Aix-les-Bains, France. My grandson is 2, a bit more verbal as he learns two languages, and a joy to watch as he discovers the world.

I saw Pat (Downs) Ramsay, who with husband Steve still lives in Yarmouth, ME. Pat has reconnected

with KP through the Ethics Institute.

I was reminded how widely Pat has traveled for her various jobs in the nonprofit sector: ACLU, Foreign Affairs Council, University of Missouri (four trips to Korea.)

Daughter Alison is a lawyer in Maine, and it’s no surprise that her eighth-grade son, when asked what his interests are, replied, “Public policy.”

1961

Marianne (Schwarz) Bentley m.s.bentley@comcast.net

1962

’60 reports that former colleagues of her sister, June (Sonnekalb) Dwyer, from Manhattan College are starting a June Dwyer Lecture Series: “We’re delighted at the idea of honoring June’s memory, and we’ve tried to design this lecture series in a manner consistent with her values. Our idea is to invite academics from other institutions either at the beginning or toward the end of their careers who we feel are doing exciting and innovative work. The reason for the former option is that June made it her mission to assist younger academics. The logic underlying the latter is that June continued to reinvent her scholarly approach even late in her career, and we’d like to reward professors who take a similarly dynamic approach to their work.”

Anne (Sonnekalb) Iskrant

1963

Louise (Hall) Grauer louise.a.grauer@gmail.com

1964

Gail (Giblin) Flynn gailgiblin29@gmail.com

1965

Janet B. W. Williams (Dr.) jbwwny@gmail.com

1966

Linda “Lindy” (Burns) Jones finallylbj@gmail.com Heidi (Highmark) MacLeod’s

family members are all thriving. Her Denver granddaughters are in seventh and 11th grades, and as for her Vermont granddaughters, one started college after a “gap” year of travel in New Zealand and the older is changing jobs in the healthcare

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KPS IN SUMMIT

STAR Reception 11.

1. 2019 classmates Nicole Pavese, Sarah Garde, and Keertana Talla 2. Margot (Saur) Meyer ’56 3. Alyce Ann Myers P ’83, Head of School Jennifer Galambos, Cate Conde, Lisa (Myers) Conde ’83, and Tom Conde 4. Sophia Fanelle ’19, Kate Robinson ’18, Anna Hogarth ’19, and Ruth Laurence ’18 5. 2016 classmates Claire Eckles, Maddie Reynolds, Lisa Sangree, Bridget Reynolds, and Amara Balan 6. Gillian Gogliormella ’19,

Olivia Rabin ’19, Katie Rebhun ’19, and Grace Zong ’19 7. Jessie Lubow P ’19 ’21, Meg Murray P ’21, and Jen Gonyea P ’18 ’21 8. Anna Gomez ’19, Gabby Alpert ’19, Piper Eccles ’18, and Jayla Creekmur ’19 9. Joan (Langston) McKeown ’49 and Andra Constantin ’19 10. Missy Burke Partridge ’63 P ’89 11. Alumnae join the students to sing “O Holy Night,” an annual tradition

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 49

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

field. Heidi says she swims daily and takes dance classes.

Barbara (Moore) Van Zandt had a great year despite the extra-cold winter near the Canadian border.

She does tai chi and water aerobics weekly, and almost daily rides her horse, even in winter. She and Tim enjoy their family’s visits for a week every July for the County Fair, and travel back and forth to Vermont and Wisconsin to visit them.

Pamela (Schick) Kelsey and John loved their river cruise up the Seine to Normandy to honor the 75th anniversary of D-Day . . . extremely moving, she said. An added treat for artist Pammy was a day at Giverny.

Judy Small and her husband, Bob Fitzgerald, married almost 40 years, now have four granddaughters living close by, in Berkeley. Twin granddaughters were born to their daughter, Maura, on August 11, 2019, joining sister Laila Mbengue (2). Their son Matt’s daughter, Sibley Fitzgerald, is 1 year old.

Jody Snyder and Noel were in New Zealand at the time of the Christchurch massacre and say they witnessed “true leadership and a nation mourning their loss of innocence.” They loved the magnificent landscapes and were impressed by the culture of care for the natural world.

On their return, they hosted their last group of Bioneers, and then left for England to attend a wedding and visit Noel’s sister and family. Then they were off to Paris before returning home “to reflect on our 16-year stint of hosting at Earth Matters,” she writes, “and to see where we go from here.”

Joan (Flemming) Kirkpatrick

visited Elsebe (Venter) Vetten late last year and enjoyed seeing some of the lesser-known game reserves.

Elsebe said it was lovely to see her “American Sister”!

Nia (Eldridge) Eaton was accepted into the docent program at the Brandywine River Museum (Andrew Wyeth and family) in Chadds Ford, PA, in August. She also volunteers as a guide for the Winterthur Museum (the Henry Francis Du Pont estate), the Philadelphia Flower Show Help Booth, and the Suburban Hospital Gift Shop. Nia says she appreciates having lots of ways to keep learning, laughing, and living a good life.

I send you all fond greetings from Martha’s Vineyard, where we’ve

50 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

enjoyed a great summer after a twoweek spring trip to Egypt and Jordan.

1967

Lisa Wilson-Hetman lisahetman.wilson@gmail.com

1968

Barbara Wiss barbarawiss@gmail.com The Advancement Office thanks Addie (Bernheim) Firtel for many years as Class Secretary and welcomes Barbara Wiss, who has volunteered to take over.

Addie (Bernheim) Firtel, our

dedicated and long-serving Class Secretary, requested a reprieve from her KPS responsibilities as scribe. I know you all share my admiration for Addie’s talent to connect, engage, and unite us as KPS graduates and friends. We are all so grateful to Addie and wish her the best.

Onward.

Jackie (Baird) Fiala, our class scholar-athlete, traveled to Kent Place for a Celebration of Athletics and Inaugural Hall of Fame Induction. Jackie coached the field hockey team to an undefeated season. Congratulations, Jackie.

The past year, however, has been a challenge for Jackie and husband Jim. Hurricane Florence “ousted” the Fialas from their North Carolina home. Eight months of recovery and renovations finds them now living in an essentially new home. During the "turmoil," Jackie served as the president of the River Landing ladies golf association.

Debby Farrington writes that she participated in a panel on entrepreneurship held in the Ethics Center, providing a venture-capital perspective. After 25 years, Debby is winding down StarVest Partners, of which she is a cofounder and general partner. While Debby is looking forward to her next chapter, she will also be busy as a board member of three public companies and as a trustee of Smith College, where she chairs the Investment Committee for the college’s $2 billion endowment.

Patti (Rossiter) Ravenscroft sold her “beloved” family home on Martha’s Vineyard, where over the years she welcomed Cathy (Stickney) Steck, Alison (Early) Boughrum, Carla Bauer, and Susan (Albaugh) Albach as guests. Unwilling to depart the island, Patti and husband Kent

have moved to a smaller house. In October 2020, Patti is inviting us to celebrate our 70th birthdays at a château in Normandy, France. While in New York City, Patti, Carla, and Debby enjoyed catching up. Patti reports that Susan (Albaugh) Albach moved to Nantucket last February and would love to see anyone visiting the island.

As part of an email chain, I saw that Mimi (Bates) Pantuhova is living in Newtonville, MA, and would love to see any KPS classmates visiting the Boston area.

Alison (Early) Boughrum had a wonderful summer touring with the Smith Alumnae Chorus in Slovenia, singing The Lord Nelson Mass and the Requiem. Then she and husband Richard were off to the Loire Valley.

To escape the 107-degree heat the Boughrums relaxed in the pool of the cottage they rented in Amboise.

Alison and Rich finished their summer sojourn in England visiting their daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. In North Carolina, Alison creates magnificent floral arrangements for her church.

Marie (Orr) Perlet and husband Jerry love to travel. This year, they took a three-week cruise on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, and then did a road trip into the Canadian Rockies, ending in Glacier National Park. Jerry uses the trips as settings for his novels. Should we expect another book soon? Marie has six beautiful grandchildren.

I gather that Cathy (Stickney) Steck was preparing for the electric outages in California and checking her supply of batteries, flashlights, candles, and canned food for herself and her beloved dog Rory and cat Kolohoe.

We hope that you all remained safe.

Also visiting grandchildren is the ever-busy Gail Shearer. In the last 12 months, the three ShearerPalmer daughters produced four baby boys. Gail and husband Chris Palmer have crisscrossed the country to visit Colorado, California, Idaho, and D.C. Add to the mix a family vacation in Colorado Springs and visits to her mother in New Jersey.

When at home, Gail plays tennis, serves on the board of the Bethesda Metro Area Village (BMAV), which she helped to start-up, and is pursuing consumer-protection activities relating to Medicare and the opioid crisis.

Martha (O’Neil) Lindeman is also on the move. Martha and her intrepid “Kili Girls” adventurers completed yet another trek hiking in the Pyrenees. Martha characterized the trip as a fabulous adventure with the physical challenges made easier by the laughter and camaraderie of her pals. Martha and husband Tom then toured Portugal. Back home in Florida, the Lindemans set off on a “mind-boggling” road trip, attending a wedding in California, hitching a trailer to their car, and driving dirt bikes from Utah to Michigan.

Also, back in Florida, after a summer in Vermont, are Laura (Griffith) McDermott, husband Rick, and Dolly, Laura’s goldendoodle puppy, named after Rick’s mother.

Life in the McDermott household is all about Dolly. I can attest that Dolly really is “a doll” and that she loves to hike the Green Mountains as much as Laura and I love to hike with her.

Kathy (Van Cleve) Kuhns visited her son, Ensign Dylan Kuhns, who is training to be a Navy flight officer and is stationed in Pensacola. Son Casey lives in Virginia and works for Oracle. Kathy has been improving her golf game. Kathy and husband John were looking forward to welcoming a third granddaughter in the spring. This summer and in the past, I have enjoyed walking Shadow, Kathy’s 13-year-old black Lab, in exchange for room and board. Kathy is a wonderful hostess and whipped up a summertime feast for Katina Mills and me. Katina, who is healthy, happy, and nice as ever, lives in Mystic, CT. Leah Goat (a.k.a. Leslie) sent me a note saying “what an oddly disconnected/connected world we live in.” I have to agree, especially with the advent of social media. I saw Anne (Hawley) Morgan wave from Minnesota, where she had just finished harvesting garden onions with her son and grandchildren, and Leah wave back from the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine, where she was on vacation.

Anne is busy responding to a mandatory USDA recall, readying her garden for winter, running her soup business, and writing the finishing chapters of a suspense novel. She is a mother of three and grandmother of four.

Deborah (Bartlett) Nelson joined

the law firm of Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC, in West Orange, NJ, where she’ll continue her practice in family law: adoptions, guardianships, divorces, premarital agreements, mediation, arbitration, collaborative law, and estate litigation. Admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court and the Superior and District Courts of New Jersey, Deb continues her commitment to divorce with mutual respect, serving on the Supreme Court Committee on Alternate Dispute Resolution and as a court-appointed mediator.

She lives in Chatham with her husband, Richard. Their son, James, is a trial attorney with Cooper Maren Nitsberg Voss & DeCoursey, in-house litigation counsel to Progressive Insurance.

As for me, I'm healthy, happy, and busy hiking, traveling, and trying to master the art of Ikebana

and am active on behalf of BMAV. This summer I hiked 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail. For our 2019 family vacation, we abandoned Sea Island and discovered Lake Tahoe, where the weather, scenery, and hikes are glorious. Traveling a bit further afield, I journeyed to Morocco, where I spent an afternoon hiking in the foothills of the Riff Mountains and visited Rabat, Oulidia, Fez, and Marrakech. Hope to see some of you in Normandy to celebrate turning 70.

1969

Gay (Garth) Legg gaylegg@gmail.com

Our 50th reunion was a wonderful weekend of remembering but also of reconnecting and finding that we have many shared interests and experiences. We had a great turnout of 16 and especially appreciated Libby (Tainsh) Ailoni traveling from

Bonds Grow Stronger with the Years In fall 1969, Liv Eltvik, from Bergen, Norway, joined Kent Place as a member of the Class of 1970 through the AFS studyabroad program. She became a member of the Perina family and an active classmate.

She and Emmy (Perina) Katz became lifelong friends, attending each other’s milestone events, from birthdays to weddings, and consider themselves sisters.

Liv returned to KPS numerous times for class reunions and in 2017 flew to Nantucket when Katie (Green) Snowdon hosted a number of us as we celebrated turning 65 — an experience that bonded us even more than when we were students.

KPS reunions every five years are great, but one weekend in Summit simply doesn’t give us enough time together. Liv has frequently invited us to visit her country, and finally a few of us — Emmy, Carolyn “Sticky” (Stickney) Gregson, Judy Chamberlain and her wife, Karen Marlin, Beth Sulle-

Australia to be with us. We loved exploring the halls of KP and finding old haunts, but there are wonderful new facilities for the students, including a film studio and great science labs. We also had a great presentation on the Ethics Institute, which, as Mary Robinson remarked, is a training ground for KPS’s tag line about “brave and brilliant” women.

Some of us drove around Summit, where we had lived, and also went for a garden walk at the Reeves Reed Arboretum. We had a chance to remember classmates who were no longer with us and thanked Laura (Staehle) Johnson in particular for her long-standing role as secretary. We missed those who were not there and hope you’ll contact us to update email addresses. Getting together was a wonderful, and we want to do it again, so some smaller gatherings in different parts of the

country would be fun.

Cushing (Pagon) Samp writes from Maine, “I was very pleased that I attended the reunion. I loved seeing everyone and I made some fabulous new connections. My older daughter, Abby, is planning a wedding, probably in London, where she has lived for 10 years, for fall 2020. My younger daughter, Caroline, practices law in Boston. Eric and I are enjoying his retirement and are glad he’s not running for political office in the fall. My volunteer work on Ranked Choice Voting continues, and I hope it will be used for the upcoming presidential primaries.”

Mary Robinson writes, “I’m retired from my role as director of (multifaith) chaplaincy at Boston Children’s Hospital. It was a wonderful stretch of almost 30 years, but I’m enjoying more peaceful days. I take courses at Harvard’s Institute for Learning

(l–r): 1970 Classmates Betzi (Ulrich) Powers, Carolyn “Sticky” (Stickney) Gregson, Judy Chamberlain, Beth Sullebarger, Emmy (Perina) Katz, and Liv Eltvik

barger and her husband, Dave Edmundson, and my husband, John, and I — went to Norway to spend time with Liv and her husband, Erik Boehlke.

For 10 days, Liv led us around Oslo, Flam, Nærøyfjord, Sogndal, Fjærland, and Bergen. We visited Liv’s and Erik’s family and went to see the home where she was raised.

We saw majestic glaciers, beautiful fjords, and amazing cities; hiked to the Fuglemyrhytta (“bird marsh hut”) for a night in the forest;

and exchanged nonstop stories with constant laughter. Although we were always friends, in a way we became new friends during this adventure. It enabled us to create more memories and deepen our relationships.

I doubt that years ago any of us imagined that our friendships would become even stronger, but our class will celebrate its 50th KPS reunion in 2020, and many of us plan to attend. The future will be amazing!

—Betzi (Ulrich) Powers ’70

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 51

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

and occasionally teach chaplains in training about the spiritual care of children. In the summers, my dogs and I live in Blue Hill, ME. Our kids live in New York City, where one is a financial analyst and the other a coordinator of medical research studies, hoping to enter medical school.”

Patricia Williams also loved Reunion and writes, “My wife and I are moving to the Amherst area, and we’ll have guest space if anyone is able to visit. D.C. has been great, but I can’t wait to be back in New England. I don’t plan to give up my coaching and consulting entirely, but I’m hoping to have a lot more time for music and dance — that is, singing and teaching international and Scottish dancing.”

Comfort (Halsey) Cope writes from Boston, “Our 50th reunion was memorable and it was heartening to pick up with old friends as though decades hadn’t passed since we were at KPS. I enjoyed every minute and look forward to our next get-together. Summer included good family moments in Boston and Maine, a trip to Edinburgh for our daughter’s graduation, and a trip to Montana to visit our son. Daughter Eliza moved to L.A. to begin her teaching career in elementary science. I continue to find my volunteer commitments rewarding, both in a Boston public school library and as a field guide in the Arnold Arboretum.”

Diana (Loumos) Gilroy had a great trip to Morocco with Christina (Willis) Hoag. She did so much hiking that her knee was injured and prevented her from attending our reunion.

1970

Harty (Platt) du Pont hartleydupont@aol.com Lisa Schmucki lisaschmucki@gmail.com

2020 is our 50th reunion! How is that possible? Read about our amazing class trip to Norway to visit our AFS classmate Liv Eltvik and get all the Class of 1970 news and photos on our blog, at https://kentplace1970.tumblr.com.

Liv Eltvik writes, “My year as an AFS student was a very special one in my life. I was extremely lucky to be matched with Emmy Perina and her large and wonderful family. I’ve been a part of her family for 50 years now. I also made other good friends and was fully accepted as their classmate. It

52 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

was wonderful to have some of them visit me in Norway, to reminisce and enjoy new jokes and laughter.”

Chrys (Mennen) Andrea writes, “We loved our trip to the Galápagos.

Adam is going into his second year teaching fourth grade and bought his first home this year in Fort Worth.

The grands are 5 and 3 and they own my heart! Chris lives in Denver and we see him when we come to our home in Breckenridge. I still golf and Rudy still bikes. We continue our family foundation and are active with our local boys and girls club, children’s hospital, Chamberlain School of Dance, and Plano symphony orchestra.”

Peggy (Albaugh) Croke writes, “Daughter Sarah, her husband, and two kids moved to Richmond. I’m thrilled to have family nearby and looking forward to fun times with my grandchildren, Owen (4) and Reid (4 months).”

Joy Weiner writes, “I attended my niece’s wedding outside of Bologna, Italy, where she lives and is completing her law degree. Four generations of family were in attendance. I traveled through Milan, Parma, and Ferrara. I’m continuing my French studies. In October, I traveled through Provence and enjoyed it all!

I divide my time between New York City and Spencertown, NY. I get to the theater frequently and the ballet as often as possible. I’m looking forward to the 50th reunion, but can’t quite grasp the truth about time.”

Patti Kummel writes, “Charlotte’s a senior in high school, looking at colleges. I just keep plugging away.

Fortunately, I really love my work and can’t imagine ever retiring completely.

Can’t believe it’s been 50 years!”

Katie (Green) Snowdon writes, “Peggy and I had breakfast on Nantucket with her sister Susan ’68, who now lives here. I wasn’t able to attend the KPS Nantucket party but had a chance to meet our wonderful new Head of School, Jennifer. I’m so optimistic about the future of KPS! We’re delighted that Sue Bosland is filling an interim head position at National Cathedral School for Girls.

My son, Alexander, graduated from UVA Law and is living/working in D.C. Dick and I continue to divide our time among D.C., Maryland, and Nantucket, where we’re restoring a ‘Summer of ’42’ beach cottage to downsize.”

Tricia Tunstall writes, “I’m still in Maplewood, where I continue to teach up a storm, and am active in local arts initiatives. I’m executive editor of a U.S. newsletter and a global newsletter about El Sistema, and still do a lot of speaking about it as well — Sweden, Los Angeles, England. Both sons are living in Brooklyn. Kim and I went to the Yale 45th in May; it was nice to see Kim but the reunion was a distinct letdown. KPS 50 will be way better.”

Mary (Prendergast) Kinney

writes, “While officially retired, I provide light advisory services for two women-owned tech companies, one in Chantilly, VA, and the other in Clearwater, FL. Nearer to home, I’m involved with the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health System. I sit on the Patient-Family Advisory Council and the board’s Strategic Planning Committee. I recently chatted with Pat Glibert at a reception hosted by Horn Point Laboratory, where Dr. Glibert is a rock star!”

Emmy Perina Katz reports, “I was so busy writing news from Norway that I never wrote about my travels with Bruce to Iceland and Newfoundland. Also, we retired in early April. We’ve seen the grandkids a lot. Jack and Emma survived year three at camp Katz, and we survived as well.”

Lis Bensley is now a grandma to sweet James, the baby of her son, Alex, and his wife, Liz. Lisa Schmucki writes, “My daughter, Eleanor Oakes, was married to Hal Stanton on June 29 in Detroit.

Lis was there! We danced up a storm to lots of Motown hits. I will provide photos on a future update. I appreciate more and more being a KPS grad and Jersey girl. My company, edWeb.net, continues to grow and provide professional learning for educators around the world. One day I want to travel the globe and visit them all in person.”

1971

Deborah Besch debvettx@gmail.com We visited Evie (Edwards) Fenn

and her husband, Peter, at their home in Maryland in June. It was so much fun reconnecting! Evie was still teaching math to middle schoolers but planned to retire at the end of 2019 when we talked. Evie sees

when she visits from Florida. We also met up with Jeanne (Pettit) Ferris and her daughter, Veronica, for dinner.

Deborah (Baldwin) Fall’s first grandchild, Henry Hayes Baldwin Fall, was born to their son and his wife in November 2018 in New York City. Debbie and husband Jerry took a wonderful golf trip to New Zealand in March 2019.

Kathy Cook continues to work for ESPN. Now in her 42nd year of producing, she oversees a wide variety of sports, from the New York City Marathon, the Olympics, and the World Series of Poker to Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest!

Kathy spends time among her homes in Connecticut, upstate New York, and Cape Cod, and loves traveling.

Since signing a contract with International Arts & Artists, Stacey Miller has been busy curating an exhibition based on her collection of international/ethnic hats and headdresses. It was scheduled to open in November and so far has been booked at eight museums around the country. The focus of the exhibit is to illustrate how the headwear, in spite of their visual differences, represent experiences and values that are shared by people across many countries and cultures.

Jamie Gifford-Modick wrote that although she enjoys retirement by hiking in Bavaria and now riding ebikes for her yearly bike tour with girlfriends, her husband, Klaus, continues to write. This fall his publisher relaunched five of his books in paperback. In September, they planned to drive to Denmark to see John Prine and then go to the Côte d’Azur. Daughter Emily enjoys being an editor in a publishing company in Munich and Marlene just opened a café in Berlin.

Another classmate in Europe, Michèle Ory, says hi to everybody and wishes us all well. Michèle said that this summer they went through two spells of incredibly hot weather, leaving everyone without any energy, but it was better when she wrote in August. She was excited to be preparing for a trip to Cambodia in the fall.

Kathy (Rohn) LeDain was thrilled to report that their first grandchild, Milo Everett Beaudett, was born in May to her daughter and son-in-law, Kristina and Ethan. Kathy and her Deborah Perlet

husband have been spending a lot of time going back and forth to Rochester, NY, to help them move and get settled.

Jan (Yeaw) Carhart writes, “I’m a grandma!

Our son, Jason, and his wife just had a baby girl, Cricket Madeleine Carhart, born August 13. Tom and I are besotted with our first grandchild.”

Please keep in mind that our 50th reunion will be here before you know it, in spring 2021.

Hoping to see everyone there!

THEN & NOW: THE MEMORY GARDEN

Created in the early 1980s, the Memory Garden served as a place to remember and honor fellow alumnae and friends of Kent Place. Today, the Memory Garden has been moved to a central spot on campus near the Center for Innovation and continues to be a peaceful place to pause and reflect. The updated seating area was donated by Kathryn McKinley ʼ67.

1972

Lili (White) Durling lilidurling@gmail.com

1973

Mieke H. Bomann This will be Mieke Bomann’s last column as Class Secretary. Thank you, Mieke, for your efforts over the past five years! If anyone is interested in taking over, please contact Aimee Singer, at singera@kentplace.org.

Karen Bruno is writing a monograph on a New

York architect for Vendome Publishers, due out in fall 2020. She delightedly planned to spend her summer and fall “looking at fabulous projects and learning a ton.” Karen also vowed to play as much tennis as possible.

Down South, Dana (Marquardt) Van Hook retired after 34 years in education, 24 of them at Ashley Hall in Charleston. “It’s been a wonderful career, and I’ll remain involved at Ashley Hall as a member of the Board of Directors for Horizons, a program similar to the 3R’s program in which we were participants while at Kent Place,” Dana writes. Her travel bug still rules: Nantucket, Germany, and the Netherlands this past summer, and South Africa in November. “My luggage will not be collecting any dust,” she says.

Francine Lynch is embarking on a major renovation of her digs in New York City. “I recently bought the apartment next door and will be combining them,” Francine says. Meanwhile, she’s living in Bridgehampton and staying at various city and country clubs, including Canoe Brook in Summit. (We look forward to another reunion meal there, Francine!)

Suzanne Schmidt was married in August to Stephen Schneck, a retired professor of political philosophy at Catholic University. She left South Carolina and now lives in D.C., where her daughter Gabriella, who is 27 and works for the NEH, also lives. “I’m hoping to do some hospice work part time once things settle down,” Suzanne writes. “I was able to see Dana (Marquardt Van Hook) just before I left Charleston, and we had a great time.”

Betsy (Haas) Anderson is well, not ready for retirement, and seeking a new job in the nonprofit sector. She’d love to see classmates visiting the Washington, D.C., area. Email her at andersoneh@cox.net. She notes that she wrote her news on the birthday of Shirley Ann Grau (The Black Prince) and the same day Ernest Hemingway was injured as a Red Cross ambulance driver

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 53

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

in the Spanish Civil War, which became the basis of A Farewell to Arms. “We were so fortunate to have Mrs. Britten and other teachers at KP!” she says.

Sarah DeGiovanni enjoyed a lot of family time this year, ever since her daughter, Hannah, and son-in-law brought her sweet granddaughter, Willa, into the world in January. Both “kids” live in her state (Connecticut). Sarah and her husband, Jim, are still working at the Institute of Living, a psychiatric hospital in Hartford. “I’m approaching my 42-year milestone there!” says Sarah. “We’re starting to think about when we might retire, but there are no definitive plans yet.” She hopes folks will return for our 50th reunion — let’s do it!

Carol Wheeler passed away in Athens, GA, on December 6, 2019.

Her MA in library science from the University of Michigan led to her fulfilling career as a librarian at the University of Georgia, where she was a reference librarian and head of government documents processing.

Our thoughts are with her family.

I’m happy to regularly catch up with Carol Waag, in Northampton, MA. We enjoy long lunches and garden visits. Check out her landscape-design portfolio at carolwaag.com.

While she would be loath to utter the word, Peggy Harwood retired this past summer after more than

Lucy Keith-Diagne ’83 studying manatees in Africa

a decade in admissions at Greens Farms Academy, in Westport, CT. She plans to enroll in her local Master Gardener program.

Finally, through our Facebook friendship, I followed Lisa Krieger during her summer trip to Africa, including time in Rwanda and Zambia. Her bird photography is stunning.

Many thanks for your news and all best wishes for the year ahead.

Let’s stay in touch.

1974

Cathy Slichter cathy.slichter@gmail.com Thank you to Cathy Slichter for volunteering to serve as Class Secretary.

Please look for correspondence from Cathy in the future.

1975

Patti Neale-Schulz pattischulz1919@gmail.com

Greetings, Class of 1975! I heard from two of our classmates recently.

Hope you’re all doing well and enjoying life.

Cathy (Ambrose) Smith writes that her daughter, Maria, was married in Beaver Creek, CO, in July 2018.

Cathy’s husband, Don, is looking forward to retirement in just a couple of years.

Carolyn (Rumery) Betz says, “My big news is that I retired on February 14, 2019, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after working

there for 11 years on issues related to climate-change mitigation and adaptation. Before that, I worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for 24 years on water-quality issues. I hope to spend my time doing more hiking and biking, canoeing and camping, weaving and knitting, and volunteering.”

1978

Patricia (Friedman) Marcus balibliss@yahoo.com

Thanks to all of you who responded — it’s always great to hear from you!

We traveled with Edward (17) throughout most of Spain this summer, and it was amazing to learn the depths of the Jewish community there. We did our annual trip in August to the Newport Jazz Festival.

Sarah (22) is working in marketing in Seattle and Maya (19) is a sophomore at DePaul University, in Chicago.

I’ve been taking art and photography classes at the Smithsonian Institution. It’s amazing to walk out of my classes and be standing on the National Mall, facing the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol.

Heather Morrison is the interim senior pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township — practically across the street from Kirk Graham Delaney and Bobo Mangan Delaney, small world! When she interviewed, a parent of a KPS student was cochair of the committee.

She had her KPS water bottle, and

Heather had her mom’s 50th reunion gift, a bag she uses for her laptop and papers. I see that branding works!

Candy Wilson still lives in Montclair. She’s an independent consultant treating children with emotional difficulties, and also a member of Kent Place’s Alumnae Board.

Jane Simonds, still in Amherst, MA, writes that son Sam, a film and East Asian studies major, won Connecticut College’s top academic prize for most outstanding senior thesis, culminating in a film shot in Taiwan. Smoke of the Sea is a narrative representation of the A’tolan Amis resistance to colonized consciousness. He’s now living and working in New York City. Son Jonathan, a Yale environmental engineering major, is moving his start-up Symbrosia (to reduce methane emissions in cattle) to Hawaii. She’s looking forward to spending a lot of time in New York City and Hawaii.

Karin (Bain) Kukral has a son getting married next year.

Lori (Lucas) Daniels sends hellos from Atlanta. All is well with her three wonderful children, who are keeping her busy. A milestone in the Daniels household: Lucas (17) and Kaci and Kara (14) are finally at high school together and Lucas is driving to school! Lori is a vice president of the PTA and continues her philanthropy in Sandy Springs while Bo works among Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta. Kara

PRESERVING AQUATIC WILDLIFE Lucy Keith-Diagne ’83 writes, “Life is still good in Senegal. At the end of June, we moved to a new house on the beach at Ngazobil (two and a half hours south of Dakar) on a marineprotected area where we both work and near land Tomas recently bought for his permanent African Chelonian Institute turtle captive-breeding and education facility. Last fall, I became a National Geographic Explorer for my work studying African manatee genetics, ecology, and threats. I did a monthlong trip to very remote areas of Senegal, following the Senegal River upstream from the ocean, almost 600 miles to where it flows in from Mali, then followed the Falémé and Gambia Rivers throughout Senegal, all to learn about manatees and their threats in these Sahelian rivers. This spring I attended my first Explorer’s Festival, in Washington, D.C., where Tomas was also awarded the Buffet Award for Conservation Leadership in Africa.

In June, I was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida, where I did my PhD. Here’s a blog about my fieldwork: https://openexplorer.nationalgeographic.com/ expedition/africanmanatee.” Read the Q&A with Lucy on page 68.

54 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

is a runner, Lucas a solo pilot and trombone player, and Kaci, a dancer, color guard, and actress.

Hope to hear from more of you next time!

1981

Kathryn (McDaniel) Nenning kathryn@nenning.com

Once I announced that no secret double-life or dangerous adventures were expected, the responses came in. (But, in fact, the everyday details of one’s life are interesting — why do you think blogging has become a profession?) But I would make the argument that most of us are experiencing unexpected plot twists at this phase of our lives, even if not of the cloak-and-dagger variety.

For example, Ghislane (Tritz) Mahoney says, “Nothing about child-rearing is remotely boring or predictable.” Although she and her husband have lived in the same house in Lebanon, NJ, for 28 years, and have loved being surrounded by nature for the privacy and peace it has offered while raising three children, she’s finding that “it’s starting to be a drag to have to drive a distance to do anything.” She’s a Montessori teacher: “I really love the philosophy and job of helping guide children to be the best they can be.”

Jenny Watts works at the Huntington Library, in California, an amazing museum, botanical garden, and, yes, library. Jenny writes, “I’m now a senior curator at the Huntington — mostly because I’ve been there for 28 years.” Reading her bio and perusing her Instagram account, however, I find that she’s curated many exhibitions and has multiple publications, as well as a TEDx Talk. And she’s one of a surprising number of classmates who emigrated to California. She’s married with two children, a son (14) and a daughter who’s a college freshman.

Michelle (Thompson) Douendis

claims that her life is mundane, but wait for the twist: “I live in the same house I did while attending KP. My husband, Steve, and I bought it after my mom passed away. I have two kids, Hallie (17) and Daniel (15). I commute into New York City, where I run the day-to-day operations of a program that sends 18 young Americans to Asia each year. My work enables me to travel all over

Asia, and this coming summer I’ll meet the group in Mongolia.” (Wow. Didn’t see that coming!)

Then some twists are actual “twists.” When I complimented June Boyle on her fabulous new haircut (as seen on her Facebook profile), she reported that she had to cut it off because of her neck issues: “Still haven’t had neck surgery,” she says, “but when the next issue comes out, I hope I’ll be living a more pain-free life.”

And the cliff-hanger that Ellen McAfee left us on when she talked about her recent move (“Maybe I’ll stay in Ohio, maybe I won’t”) has resolved into a lovely one-story house in Oxford, OH, which she describes as knee-friendly — an important criterion, as she has had serious knee problems. When sending a picture of the house she added, “If I could find a way of getting all of my cats to sit with me (yes, I’m a cat lady), I’d send that as my family photo.

But that would be like trying to herd cats, so . . .”

Speaking of extended families, even though my children are only 14 and 18, I’ve been craving grandchildren, so was very excited when I saw pictures of Anne (Broughton) Duvall’s first, and told her I was going to headline her as the first proud grandmother of the Class of ’81.

She writes, “We have a large blended family — I have three boys and Bob has three girls. My oldest stepdaughter lives in San Francisco and has two boys, 2½ and 9 months. My oldest son lives in Atlanta and he and his wife have a 1-year-old son. The other kids are in Los Angeles, Seattle, and two in Philadelphia. Basically, this means a lot of travel visiting children!”

Barbara (White) Boone is a serious academic with a seriously academic family. She moved them to Ohio so she could attend a doctoral program. She’s now leading a team that’s researching and creating new training programs in education.

She modestly writes, “I love my work and feel like I’m finally getting pretty good at it.” She has three children, one who has completed grad school, one in medical school, and a high school senior. And to relax during her free time, she raises bees and runs races.

Ann (Martin) Gonya has been happily married for 33 year. She lives

in Baltimore and spends weekends on their farm in Charlottesville, VA. Their daughter graduated from law school and clerks for a federal judge in Los Angeles. Ann writes that her daughter is married, but hasn’t made her a grandmother . . . yet. Her son is a junior at Colorado College and loves it.

Jeannie (Duffy) McCabe, a trained pastry chef, is apparently a woman of many jobs and talents. She writes, “I just did a quick photo shoot for Dr. Dougherty, who needed head shots.

We won’t quit our day jobs but feel we have a solid back up just in case.”

On a sad note, Kris (O’Brien) Arnold writes, “My mother passed away in August after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She’ll be missed by all who knew her.” Our sympathies to Kris and her family.

Amy (Read) Eld wrote simply “tennis, tennis, tennis!” and left it at that.

And for the final twist: After 15 or so years of marriage, I finally got around to changing my name, only to get an email that Megan Rouse also changed her name — to McDaniel. Damn, we could’ve told everyone we were sisters!

1982

Tracey (San Filippo) Henick tahenick@aol.com

1983

Clara A. Porter claraportermaine@gmail.com

1984

Jennifer Thomas meezertee@gmail.com Diane (Little) Sassano

writes, “2019 was a busy year. Our son graduated from Cornell with a BS in chemical engineering and a minor in food science. He’s now an R&D food scientist at a frozen-food company in New Jersey. My husband and I relocated to the Orlando area for his job as assistant treasurer of Wyndham Destinations. We’re settling in and welcome visitors!

Our daughter is a sophomore at the University of Delaware and enjoys performing in the color guard with the marching band.”

Catherine (Johnston) Avery and husband Bob live in Fairfield, CT, where she’s a certified productive environment specialist and Bob is a landscape architect. Daughter

Caroline graduated from the Unquowa School and is in the honors program and on the dance team at Notre Dame High School.

Catherine and Bob built a beach home on Fenwick Island, DE, which, when not rented, they love to visit. Catherine was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 but is happy to report that she’s now a four-year survivor. “We wanted to take a European trip but waited until I got back my mojo. At long last, we traveled to Portugal, Spain, and France last spring,” she says.

Deborah Molho was one of three classmates to attend our 35th reunion last May (the others were Lisa (Settle) Callaway and myself ).

Deb works with her dad in their 85-year-old family business selling French books. She and her partner, Sal, moved to Tarrytown, NY, three years ago and they love the Hudson Valley. Deb pursues her passion for motorcycling and yoga and is currently working on her first book!

As for me, other than being the worst Class Secretary in the history of Kent Place, I’m doing well and have been living in the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area of North Carolina for almost 20 years.

I’m the proud mom of an amazing 22-year-old daughter, Mia, who is pursuing theater and playwriting at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. For the past 20 years, I’ve been a college professor teaching voice and choir and directing musical theater. After losing both my father and my sister last year, I decided to take time off to recharge, travel, and focus on other aspects of my musical life, such as performing and composition. My mother and I spent a life-altering two weeks last June driving through the breathtaking beauty of Scotland.

It was great spending time and catching up with both Deborah and Lisa at our reunion. Even though our class attendance was slim, we certainly make up for it on Facebook.

Visit our class page (KPS Class of ’84) and get back in touch!

1985

Karen Little rucr8tive@aol.com

As I write this column, I cull from Facebook postings and pass along the news of the passing of Ketsia (Alerte) Sadler’s mother on August 7, 2019.

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KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

Our condolences go out to Ketsia and her family. Cara Boyle’s father-in-law, Arnold Mende, passed away on August 10, 2019. Condolences to the Mende and Boyle families as well. On a happier note, Cathy McMenamin’s family vacationed in July at Sunset Beach State Recreation site, in Warrenton, OR, enjoying day trips to Big Sur and other sites near Monterey, CA. Please check out our Kent Place Class of 1985 Facebook page for photos and to see pictures of the mini-reunion. Send me an email if you’d like a link to the page.

Cara (McDonnell) Denby continues to enjoy motherhood as her three children’s hobbies keep her busy. Katalyn likes horseback riding; the other two each have after-school activities.

Andrea (Kingsbury) Strong

organized a fundraiser for a Sussex County, NJ, resident who was bankrupted “through no fault of his own” when an environmental accident on his property (oil tank leaking) meant he had to cover the costs of cleanup.

1986

Lauren J. Harrison omlauren@gmail.com

1987

Ginny (Boyer) Losito glosito@me.com

1988

Melissa (McCarthy) Madden melissamccarthy@me.com

1989

Vanessa E. King squamlake@gmail.com

Having just enjoyed our 30th reunion, the Class of 1989 is flourishing through the usual (and in-our-special-way) features of late40s-tude. Meaning that our families, professional lives, communities, and, I hope, ourselves are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of our energy, dedication, and inspiration.

Dequiandra (Howard) Fradkin

works for Newark Public Schools as the administrative assistant to a

Marriages

Births

Suzanne Schmidt ’73

Maribeth Carroll ’91

Amie Quivey ’90

Lindsay (Landmesser) Kissel ’00

Amy Allen ’91

Christine Ryan ’00

Katie Feder ’00

Liz (Aibel) Sherwood ’00

to Stephen Schneck August 9, 2019 to Jim Quickstad October 4, 2019 to Martin Wilson June 21, 2019 to Shaun Lennon June 28, 2019 Jill Sauchelli ’07

to Reid Fontenot October 5, 2019 Elizabeth Schoenbach ’09

to Brandon Baron March 9, 2019

Joanna Mleczko ’11

to Nick Celli July 20, 2019

Stefanie Zavodny ’11

to Joshua Jackson October 20, 2018

56 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

a daughter, Anna Kelly Carroll May 31, 2019 a son, Chapin Brennan Kissel May 3, 2019

a daughter, Maeve Ryan Hertzberg April 1, 2019 a son, Ford Aibel Sherwood, and a daughter, Willa Ruth Sherwood September 25, 2019 Morgan (Furst) Certner ’06

a son, Ethan Furst Certner June 7, 2019 Alex Krupp ’06

a daughter, Elliott James Morris March 31, 2019 Margaret (Black) Mauro ’09

a daughter, Emma Lake Mauro February 22, 2019

high school principal. Her hobbies of baking, sewing, and photography continue to develop, and planned her first destination-wedding shoot in January in Montego Bay. She writes, “Asha ’14 (Emory ’18) is in Brazil teaching as a Fulbright Scholar.

Nadia ’16 is a senior at Emory doing a semester in Australia at James Cook University. Ivan is a sophomore at Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, NC, as a music major, and Amanda is a senior at Morristown-Beard.”

Congrats to Dequiandra and Steve, her husband of 24 years (!), on becoming grandparents, with the birth of Amara Rose!

Betsy (Gomperz) Pacinda lives in Newton, MA, with her husband, Mike, and sons Thomas and Will, who are in the eighth and sixth grade, respectively. She’s still working at Ropes & Gray, and has taken on the new(ish) role of the chief of practice development: “I lead a team of 70 people globally who help the partners drive business,” she writes.

“It’s been a great job — challenging, wonderful colleagues, and a good degree of flexibility, so I can be available for my kids. It has also enabled me to travel around the country as well as to make trips to Hong Kong and Tokyo.”

The daughters of Stephanie Paduano and Nina (Pyle) Furlanetto became “camp sisters” last summer in Maine at Camp Wohelo, at which Jennie (Hagmann) Walsh is the director. And at Wohelo’s brother camp, Timanous, the sons of Jennie, Betsy (Gomperz) Pacinda, Nina, and Annabelle (Smith) Murray spent the summer together.

Melanie (Edwards) Furr still enjoys working full time as director of education at Atlanta Audubon. In addition to sharing the joy of birding with people of all ages, a highlight is caring for their education ambassador bird, Sibley, a non-releasable ruby-throated hummingbird, which was injured in a window crash.

“Sibley’s a good distraction from an impending empty nest; my daughter fledged this fall, joining the freshman class in the Honors College at the University of Vermont (where my husband and I met 28 years ago), and my son is a high school junior.”

I should mention that the class is super thankful to Julie (Roscoe) Ducey and Jenny (Shilling) Stein for organizing and hosting so much of

our 30th reunion.

Always an inspiring traveler, after reunion, Jenny (Shilling) Stein headed north with her mom, she writes, “for a girls’ weekend in Hudson Valley, visiting the homes of Frederic Church, Thomas Cole, Theodore Roosevelt, and Frederick Vanderbilt.”

With plenty of delicious meals and wonderful art, like that at Storm King, Jenny highly recommends the trip. She and her husband, Josh, moved back into their home in Palo Alto after a renovation, and this fall son Jackson started high school and daughter Charlotte started middle school.

Lauren (Miller) Montagnese

and her husband of 25 years, Rob, renewed their vows at Disney’s Grand Floridian. Their daughter, Ashley, is a junior at the University of Dayton, son Robby is a high school senior, and son Brady is in sixth grade.

Lauren writes that she’s “still active in fitness and other activities for the schools and community. Rob still works at Licking Memorial Hospital in administration and also volunteers as a coach for the schools.”

Sarah (Casey) Otte and Sarah Zimmerman got together with their families in Maine last summer and sent in a great photo (page 64).

And, finally, from your secretary, Matt and I organized and enjoyed (two separate things!) our US wedding, with 45 people on Cape Cod, complementing the 13-person Swiss festivities of the year before.

I lost my father to Parkinson’s in the spring — happily, he’d been able to join us for the wedding, just months before. Thank you all who sent words of condolence, salve, and memories! They’ve meant so much.

All of that while I’ve been commuting to London for my ongoing work with biotech and getting Matt’s and my four kids well situated in their studies. Matthew (23) is in his second year studying mechanical engineering at ETH, in Zurich; Greta (20) is in her first year studying in St. Gallen; our 16-year-old son is in his third year of the gymnasium just 10 minutes from our house in the canton of Nidwalden; and our 14-year-old daughter is being homeschooled in Pennsylvania.

Thanks, all, for your updates.

How exciting that we’re all headed toward 50. Everyone says it only gets better after that!

1990

Maren (Eisenstat) Vitali mevitali@comcast.net

I was thrilled to hear from so many KPS sisters and am excited to let you in on their updates. Sarah Bunting writes, “I took a break from working on the Beverly Hills, 90210 book to have lunch with Kathy (Hudacek) Harlow in Brooklyn — a very welcome distraction! I’m also looking forward to seeing Carol Bolan in a few weeks. Other than that, really nothing else going on except work, which people can Google if they’re so inclined.”

THEN & NOW: THE FIELD HOUSE

In 1904, the Pfraner Gymnasium was built in order to provide year-round programs for girls, and athletics consisted of primarily basketball, tennis, and track. By 2020, the Field House, as it's now called, had gone through numerous renovations, including a brand-new lobby (pictured) this fall, but Kent Place remains committed to developing physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. The Dragons are now home to 15 varsity sports.

Chantal (Kullman) Reinlieb

reports, “I love having the summers off between classes to regroup and get my energy back for my 3-yearolds at the JCC. Ayden spent three and a half weeks at sleepaway camp in Mississippi and had a great time.

He’s ready for third grade! Kerry Lee and Solin came to visit us during Mardi Gras and Eleanor Webb and her new family planned to come in November. I love hosting Kent Place sisters; come visit.”

Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow has exciting career news: “I’m a certified franchise consultant, so I help people realize their dreams of business ownership — and my services are free to the people I help. Sean and I partnered with our dear friends across the street to own healthy vending machines. And I rejoined my Canadian coworkers from our previous company, which got sold, to their new start-up. No complaints ­— healthy family and all very active in sports — love seeing my KP sisters.

May 2020, here we come!”

It was wonderful to hear from Danielle (Winkler) Shelly: “We’ve spent most of the last two years finishing the basement at Mom’s house for ourselves,” she writes. “She moved down here about 10 years ago and my aunt moved three years ago.

They built a house on Lake Hartwell.

It’s hard to find contractors in this economy, so we did a lot of the work ourselves. We’re just about done, if anyone wants to visit. We’re about 20 minutes outside of Clemson by boat.

I’m looking forward to getting back to waterskiing.”

Carolina (Benegas-Lynch) Canavosio says, “I can’t believe

Marcos, my second child, is off to college! Fortunately, I still have Olivia and Luca home with me. I

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 57

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

started my second-year internship at an inpatient psychiatric unit in September. I’ll also be taking four courses in order to complete my MSW program in May 2020.”

Kathryn (Hudacek) Harlow

writes, “After our 25th reunion, at Columbia, Kemba Dunham and I realized it had been a long time since we’d seen each other, so we met for lunch in Tribeca to catch up. We laughed a lot and talked endlessly about our favorite memories from Kent Place. Over the years, we’ve delved into what we’ve learned at KP and beyond and how it has served us. We were clearly on the same wavelength, as many people thought we had coordinated our outfits (page 64). Good style deserves repeating, no?”

Jennifer (Aherns) Butler writes, “Hi from Boston. Living in Arlington and working in healthcare technology. Marc and Cate are now teenagers, so our house is super mellow with no drama, evah. They certainly make weekends insane, juggling ice hockey, lacrosse, football, and field hockey teams. I picked up coaching youth girls ice hockey 10 years ago in addition to directing and coaching our girls youth lacrosse program. And on Sunday evenings, I take to the ice with my ol’ ladies hockey team.”

Kerry Lee says, “This year I was lucky to visit a few of our classmates: Chantal (Kullman) Reinlieb, in New Orleans; Katie (Barefoot) Herrick, in Lexington, MA; and Amie Quivey at the Jersey Shore. Visiting with Amie is a favorite annual tradition, and I loved seeing my daughter hit it off with Chantal’s son and Katie’s kids.

Who can I visit in 2020? I hope to continue my travels!”

Amie Quivey had some exciting news: “I was cast in Romance 101, at the Barn Theater’s Summer Solstice one-act festival. I played the role of Meredith, a recently engaged, budding romance novelist. It was super fun to play a ditzy blonde!”

As for me, Maren (Eisenstat) Vitali, I caught up with Cathy Gerhardt in Summit for lunch a few months back. We had a lot of fun and she told me that she recently retired from Jersey Medical Center as a certified recovery support specialist.

She’s been using her newly found free time to travel with her boyfriend of 20 years, as well as spend time with

58 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

her family and friends.

Arlene Gibson writes that she and husband Charlie visited Maria Laguillo-Candau, KPS exchange student in 1989–1990, and her family in Seville, Spain: “She is a pharmacist and she and her husband have five wonderful children. She remains as cheerful as ever and has very fond memories of KPS.” It is with a heavy heart that I also have to tell you the sad news that Stacey Werner passed away. As many of you may know, she had been sick for quite some time and unfortunately was not able to overcome her illness. Although Stacey didn’t graduate with us, she still considered KPS her home and all of us her sisters. She loved both the school and her classmates. Audrey (Pukash) Bilsborrow is collecting stories and pictures from anyone interested in contributing to a book she’s making for Stacey’s son.

I hope everyone is doing well and will make the trip to Summit in the spring for our 30th reunion.

1991

Andrea (Carson) Tanner acarsontanner@gmail.com

There are some new additions to our 1991 family. Maribeth Carroll welcomed daughter Anna Kelly Carroll on May 31. “She was named after both of my grandmothers. It was the easiest delivery — having a baby at 45 will have enough challenges, so it was nice for that part to go smoothly.

Declan is being a great big brother.

He finished nursery school and started school full time. We love being in Hoboken. And even though Declan can’t read yet, he’s memorized Bayne Gibby’s children’s book, You Mean the World to Me. We read it almost every night!”

Amy Allen married Martin Wilson on June 21 at the top of Killington Mountain “with our family, my two children and his three, in attendance.

An incredible mutual friend served as the officiant, and the day was perfect from start to finish,” she writes. Amy left her job as dean of academics at a local school to open her own editing, tutoring, and college essay prep business. Check out her website, at www.allthewritewords.com. She recently participated in Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf program for poetry writing in Erice, Sicily.

As some classmates welcome new

arrivals, another bids farewell. Carla (DiBenedetto) Merlucci’s oldest child, Matt, is enrolled at Loyola University Maryland: “It’s definitely bittersweet.

We’re so proud of him, but miss having him home. Luckily, I still have my two girls and a puppy to keep me busy. Emily turned 16 this year, and we celebrated with a trip to Disney and Aruba. She’s a junior and thinking about college options. Our youngest, Amanda, a seventh-grader, keeps us super busy with competitive dance, and both girls are also playing field hockey.”

Michelle Zeiler joined the Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign as lead data director. “I thought that after 12 years, I was happily retired from campaign work and even got a regular job at a small company in Scottsdale, AZ, helping with business intelligence tool migration. Then I saw Pete’s intro video and lobbied hard for this job. I happily moved to South Bend over the summer with my boyfriend, who is Pete for America’s analytics director. I’m excited to be part of this amazing campaign.”

Laurie Smith and husband Eric celebrated their first wedding anniversary in August. “I continue to work as a certified personal trainer in clients’ homes and teach Music Together classes. I’m grateful to be doing work I love. In both businesses, I help people find more freedom, break through limitations, and feel better in their daily lives.

Our kids are really busy with their sports and other activities. My daughter participates in cheerleading, tumbling, Girl Scouts, and modern dance. My son plays travel basketball, school basketball, travel baseball, and tennis. I get together with Brinda Kantha regularly, and I’ve also seen Tracy (Meerwarth) Pester ’92 and Brooke Worthington ’02 several times this year.”

Susan (Troiano) Ilias writes that Peter is a junior in high school, Kate is in eighth grade, and Jack is in third. “Our medical woes continue with Jack, but it is, for the most part, maintenance, and that’s such a relief given how we started 2019,” she says. “I got a dream job at Fusion Academy, in Morristown, and am director of the Homework Café.

I do programming and field trips, and am the liaison among parents, kids, teachers, and administration.

It’s a full-year school, so it’s been an adjustment for everybody.”

Liz Hines was recently in Los Angeles and, she says, “gingerly sidestepped a work dinner to spend the evening with the hardest-working woman in show business, Bayne Gibby. We caught up on life, love, Greta, and movie night at the Christian Scientists HQ.” On the opposite coast, Sally Herships reports from New York: “Running the audio program at Columbia Journalism School is going well. Everyone seems to want to learn how to make a podcast, so it’s a fun time to teach. Last summer, I went to Red Cloud, NE, for a story on Willa Cather’s My Antonia. Also, I’m hosting (as a fill-in) at NPR on a Planet Money podcast called the Indicator. Super fun and a lot of work, although back in art school I never imagined I’d end up reporting on economics.”

In international news, Aimee (Cullen) Reali P ’23 enjoyed a trip abroad in 2019. “I was so grateful to bring my oldest daughter, Cece, to Paris and Geneva for her spring break," she writes. “I’ve been back only briefly since my junior year abroad in Paris, and it felt so sentimental to return with her. Our trip was made even more special by Lauren O’Hara, who hosted us for breakfast the morning of our departure. Cece and I will never forget it!”

Like Michelle, I’m in election mode, as the campaign manager for a friend who’s running for reelection to our local school board. I’m also a grant writer with For Kids By Kids, whose mission is to work in collaboration with children and families of diverse populations to create picture books that reflect, support, and voice the ideals of nonprofit partnering organizations, while providing positive quality art programming.

My twin boys are 13 (teenagers, gulp!) and in seventh grade, and my daughter (8) is in third grade.

Thanks to everyone for staying in touch.

1992

Kathy O’Connell mko320@gmail.com

1993

Courtney (Mead) Nagle courtney.a.mead@gmail.com

It’s been great hearing from so many

of you. Keep the updates coming!

Congratulations to Amy (Rosoff) Sampson, who is the recipient of a Distinguished Awards in Teaching Fulbright grant. “I spent the spring semester in Finland with my husband and son,” she reports. “I was there studying its education system.”

Amy and Suzy Spressert had a nice summer visit.

Congrats to Cherie Alcoff’s son Gregory, who, she says, “graduated from Brick Church nursery school in June and is off to kindergarten at Saint David’s School in September.

I’m working away at Avenue Capital and still enjoying it.”

Susanne (Santola) Mulligan P ’27

’29 writes,

“It’s been over a year since I joined BMO Capital Markets and it’s been great. I’m traveling all over the world, which is fascinating but also exhausting. The summer slowed down a bit and I enjoyed a lot of time with Greg and the girls.

“I had a great day at the beach with Liz Lanning and her beautiful

twins. Tess and Bryce are adorable and my girls loved playing with them. My summer plans also included spending time with Elizabeth (Margolis) Ruddy, Liz Lanning, and Tory Prewitt Dalena at the beach with all our kids.”

Gabrielle (Costanzo) Long writes, “Whitney (Sayia) Reid and I had lunch at the Tiffany Blue Box Cafe, which was a treat. I always look forward to seeing Cortney (Casale) Wood and her family during their visit to East Hampton. I was so pleased to welcome Ken Cole P ’12 and Rosemarie Collingwood-Cole to Inn at Old Harbor on Block Island.

I remember Ken as a mythical figure in Dr. Jane Cole’s stories about their lives together, so it was a treat to see him in person many years later.

The inn is open May–October, so if you can visit, please email me, at stay@innatoldharbor.com.

Whitney (Bell) Corbett reports: “Life is getting busier as my kids are getting older. Always on the go with two active teenagers. Austin

is in 10th grade and Connor in seventh. Connor is in the same school and grade as Jet, the son of Audrey Pukash Bilsborrow ’90. We had a wonderful summer vacation in Italy and France with our extended family. I’m still working at UNC Kenan-Flagler after almost 18 years.

I enjoy working in higher education, especially with all the students and helping them accomplish their graduate education.”

1994

Christina (Dughi) Tonzola ctonzola@gmail.com Shannon (Barry) O’Grady writes,

“I teach ballet classes at the YMCA, am drama director at a local school, and am directing a musical at a community theater in Lehigh Valley, PA. My husband is still at Fidelity Investments, and our kids are excited to be back in the Gifted and Talented Program at their school. Our senior dog (Johnny Cash) is going strong, and puppy (David Byrne) is learning

CELE BRATE KENT PLACE Celebrating 125 years of Kent Place School

the ropes. I met up with Laura Greenberg Savarese and her kids at Crayola over the summer — it was wonderful to catch up.”

1996

Rachel Platt racheldplatt@gmail.com Amy (Zucker) Kohen amykohen@gmail.com

Kent Place learned the sad news that Benjamin Wolkowitz, the father of Rachel Wolkowitz and a former member of the Kent Place Board of Trustees, passed away on August 2, 2019. Mr. Wolkowitz served on the Board in the 1990s, and was Board President from 1996 to 1999. He was a committed member of the Kent Place community and worked tirelessly to support the mission of the school. We send our condolences to Rachel and her family.

1998

KC (Anthony) Artemenko kcartemenko@gmail.com

CELEBRATE 125 YEARS OF KENT PLACE SCHOOL! THURSDAY, APRIL 30 Celebration of the Arts: Alumnae Arts Show Works of art by KPS alumnae will be on display and celebrated during this special evening showcasing alumnae performances.

FRIDAY, MAY 1–SATURDAY, MAY 2 Alumnae Weekend: Celebrating Six Generations of Kent Place Women A fun-filled weekend on campus of activities and events for all alumnae and their families to celebrate the rich history and bright future of Kent Place. Will also include special reunion celebrations for classes ending in 0 and 5.

SATURDAY, MAY 2 The 125th Gala Celebration A spectacular evening for the entire community to toast the past, present, and future of Kent Place School!

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 59

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

1999

Iris Blasi iris.blasi@gmail.com Cynthia Keenan cindy.keenan@gmail.com

2000

Christine Ryan ceryan@gmail.com

My hope is that we’ll all catch up in person in May at our 20th (!) reunion.

Sarah Stern moved downtown in New York City and continues to enjoy working as in-house legal counsel for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (focusing mainly on employment law). She sees Sarah (Hammitt) Colasurdo for lunch from time to time, as Sarah also works at the Port Authority.

Katie Feder got married on June 28, 2019, in Hawaii, to Shaun Lennon. Paris (Martin) Quintana, Corinne (Desjardins) White, Sarah Stern, Lauren (Bouffard) Young, and Brooke Worthington all flew out for the beautiful wedding and festivities.

Liz (Aibel) Sherwood writes, “Life is busy for us in Chicago.

We welcomed two sweet babies to our family in late September. Ford and Willa joined big brother Mack and big sister Lou — and we now officially cause a scene wherever we go! The babies, though, are like therapy dogs for our family — everyone is happier and calmer holding one.”

Lindsay (Landmesser) Kissel welcomed a baby boy, Chapin Brennan, in May.

As for me, Christine Ryan, my family and I moved from Savannah to Atlanta last fall, and we welcomed our second daughter, Maeve Ryan Hertzberg, on April 1, 2019. Grace is a loving, gentle, and sweet big sister, and Maeve is the sweetest and most patient baby. I took a position as of counsel at Baker Donelson and focus on commercial real estate transactions. I plan to head back to New Jersey in May for our big 20th reunion and hope to see many of you there.

2004

2001

tions to their families! Alex and her husband, Cole, welcomed daughter Elliott James Morris on March 31, 2019. They are very much in love!

They also moved to Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Morgan and her husband welcomed son Ethan Furst Certner on June 7, 2019. He loves visiting with his aunts Katherine (O’Donnell) Lynch, Alex Krupp, Michelle Manket, Monica Giannone, and Maddie Wasser.

Kimberly (Frye) Alula kfrye05@gmail.com Sara Pickett-Tucker saralizpickett@gmail.com

2002

Erin Sauchelli e.sauchelli@gmail.com

2003

Gina Ferraioli ginaferraioli@gmail.com Avery Heimann writes, “Transitioned

to Avery, graduated Skidmore College with a BA in gender and sexuality, Rutgers University with an MA in gender and sexuality, and Widener University with an MEd in sexuality education; currently attending Rutgers University for an MSW; and have been teaching sex ed in Newark for 11 years for the Masakhane Center, currently working for PROUD Family Health assisting the LGBTQ community.”

CLASS NOTES DETAILS n Class Notes will be published twice a year, in winter and summer. n Notes will be collected via Google Form. You will receive a link to this form from your Class Secretary or, if your class doesn't have a secretary, directly from the school. n In order to include as many notes as possible, it is recommended that news be limited to 80 words per person. n Digital photos should be a high-resolution JPEG image and include a caption. We request that photos include alumnae (with the exception of newborn photos). n Editorial staff will edit, format, and select all content to be included based on space constraints and will work to include as many notes and photos as possible. n If you are interested in becoming a Class Secretary, please contact communications@kentplace.org.

60 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

Laura Kleinbaum lkkleinbaum@gmail.com

2005

Cara Manket cara.manket@gmail.com

2006

Danielle Auriemma dvauriemma@gmail.com Lydia Deutsch lydia.deutsch@gmail.com Congratulations to Alex Krupp and Morgan (Furst) Certner on the addi-

2007

Nida Abdulla nida.11.abdulla@gmail.com Caitlin Black cblack@fandm.edu Sara Santos sarajosantos@gmail.com Lauren Zajac completed her

PhD in neuroscience at the Boston University School of Medicine.

The majority of her work involved imaging the human brain and broadly spanned the areas of aging and brain connectivity. Her dissertation research centered on the role of visual motion perception and the dynamics of optic flow-sensitive brain regions in spatial navigation in aged adults. She’s now a postdoctoral fellow in Medical Affairs at Biogen, in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA. Congratulations to Jill Sauchelli, who married Reid Fontenot on October 5 in Stowe, VT. 2008

Allison Oberlander oberlander.allison@gmail.com

2009

Courtney (Alpaugh) Simmons courtney.simmons513@gmail.com Allison Goldberg afg813@gmail.com Elizabeth Schoenbach married

Brandon Baron in March at The Pierre in Manhattan, with several KPS alumnae in attendance.

Margaret (Black) Mauro and husband Andrew welcomed baby girl Emma Lake Mauro in February 2019.

Vanessa Rendon-Vasquez

dedicated the completion of her second marathon in San Francisco on July 28, 2019, to her mentors, loved ones, and all the kind souls who have supported and believed in her.

Sarah Gadsden started Georgetown’s evening MBA program (while keeping her day job in government consulting) and would love to connect with fellow KPS MBAs and business students.

2010

Sara Firkser (973) 379-5347 Rachel Landau rachelroselandau@gmail.com Rachel Uhlman and Megan Coy coin-

cidentally moved to London within two days of each other, in September 2018. Rachel works at American Express and Megan is pursuing a master’s in event design and management at the University of Westminster.

They’ve enjoyed exploring London and other European cities together over the last year. And in other news, Kristen Pacific got a dog!

2011

Lizzy Miggins lizzymiggins@gmail.com Malina Welman malinawelman@gmail.com

It’s been a whirlwind year for Nia Tannis, who recently moved, started a new job, and got engaged.

Stefanie Zavodny was married on October 20, 2018, in Philadelphia, to Joshua Jackson, with many of her KPS friends present. The couple spent two weeks in Hawaii and live in Philadelphia.

Stefanie earned her PhD in nursing sciences from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2019.

The title of her dissertation was Depression in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Mixed-Methods Study of Prevalence, Correlates, and the Lived Experience. She taught a course at UPenn and began working at Melmark, in Berwyn, PA, in August.

2012

Victoria Criscione victoriaacriscione@gmail.com Morgan Hoit joined the team

at Avid Reader Press, a new imprint of Simon & Schuster, as the associate marketing manager. She’s the voice of the imprint on social media and manages title marketing campaigns, working closely with authors on their digital presence and socialmedia strategy. Avid Reader’s first title, Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo, debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Rachel Miller graduated from Rutgers Law School on May 24.

She’s working for the Honorable Richard Wischusen in the Union County Superior Court — the same court where she had her first Mock Trial competition at Kent Place!

2013

Janeen Browne jb4628@nyu.edu Jordan Cobb cobbj395@hotmail.com

2014

Caroline Lewis caroline.lewis915@gmail.com Isabella Smith Isabella.smith411@gmail.com

2015

Sarah Pavlak scp61@georgetown.edu

Lots of college graduations this past spring: Jessica Li worked on her senior honors thesis research with Nobel Laureate Oliver Hart on the impacts of the 2008 China Economic Stimulus Plan on foreign-invested firms. Following graduation, she’s returned to Morgan Stanley’s Global Technology Investment Banking Group.

Before that, she was an early-stage venture investor with Rough Draft Ventures of General Catalyst, Global Founders Capital, Romulus Capital, and Female Founders Fund.

Kathleen Brody was one of three students to receive Northeastern University’s highest academic honor, the Hodgkinson Award, at graduation. To earn the award, seniors must submit a comprehensive application, be nominated by their respective colleges, and be selected from a final university-wide committee.

Evan Corey (formerly Alexa Corey) has come out as a transgender

man and is living his best life. Evan graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in religion.

Madison Mastrangelo graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a BA in public policy and global health. She was awarded the Sanford School of Public Policy Award for Best Honors Thesis and the Michael Merson Undergraduate Student Leadership Award in Global Health, which recognizes a graduating global-health student who has excelled in the classroom and in fieldwork and has demonstrated a strong commitment to global health and health equity.

Marshea Robinson was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The NCAA program honors the academic achievements, athletic excellence, community service, and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions.

Reeve Lanigan was honored at Lafayette’s graduation and received the George Wharton Pepper Prize, which is awarded annually to the senior “who most nearly represents the Lafayette ideal.” Reeve formed Pards Against Sexual Assault (PASA), the college’s first student group dedicated to ending sexual violence through advocacy and peer-education programming; excelled in swimming; served as a writing associate for ESL students; and completed research as an Excel scholar.

Sarah Pavlak graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. She was the recipient of the 2019 Ilkka A. Ronkainen Award for International Business and Marketing in recognition of outstanding achievement at the intersection of the fields as well as the 2019 IMAX Marketing Scholar Award, which designates her as the graduating senior with the highest GPA (4.0) across marketing coursework.

Madison Mastrangelo, Sarah Pavlak, and Caroline Samuelson received full-time job offers from Accenture and are starting their careers together in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Catie Owen started a new job as a digital campaign coordinator at Unified in New York.

Claudia Torres graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a distinction in her major, the history of science and medicine. Because of

her high academic achievement, she was selected to be the banner bearer for Silliman College during the commencement ceremony. She began her first year of medical school at the Icahn School of Medicine this fall.

2016

Claire Eckles cmeckles7@gmail.com Bailey Mikytuck bmikytuc@skidmore.edu Bunmi Oyenusi is currently

conducting research regarding the connection between Alzheimer’s disease and diet.

She will graduate this spring with a degree in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins.

This past summer, Tyler Goodwin interned at Rutgers Medical School doing biomedical research related to gene regulation. In her free time, she tutors local elementary school students. In the spring, she will graduate from the University of Virginia with a degree in biology and hopes to pursue postgrad research in public health and disease control in the fall.

Halle O’Hern is back at the University of Pennsylvania after a semester studying art history in London. While Halle was abroad, she spent time with KPS classmates Dani, Virginia, and Lilly, who were also studying in London. Their travels together included celebrating Oktoberfest in Germany, camel riding in Morocco, sightseeing in Madrid, and skiing in the Italian Alps.

Claire Eckles is back at the University of Notre Dame after studying abroad in Chile. At Notre Dame, she serves as the lead senior ambassador of the Gender Relations Center and president of the Education Club. Next fall, she will be working as a teacher in Philadelphia while obtaining her master’s degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania.

Maggie Lohuis studied abroad in London last semester. At the University of Notre Dame, she is working for Notre Dame’s Development Office (Annual Giving team) and will be working in municipals sales at Barclays Capital in New York following graduation.

Priyanka Ray is interning at the Cambridge Women’s Center, working at Boston University’s Writing Center, and writing a senior thesis on disability theory. She’ll graduate from

Boston University in the spring with a major in English and a minor in political science.

Samantha Uy spent two months last summer as a translational research intern at Celgene Corporation. Throughout the year she enjoys singing with her a capella group, the Lehigh Echoes. Sam is excited to be graduating from Lehigh University this spring with a degree in integrated business and engineering.

Amara Balan is majoring in psychology and economics at the University of Chicago. She works as an editorial assistant at the University of Chicago Press and a research assistant in the university’s Behavioral Health and Family Planning Lab. She is also, she serves as chair of the Student Government Committee on Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention and the head coordinator of the Resources for Sexual Violence, and helped organize the inaugural Illinois Student Sexual Misconduct Conference. She was recently awarded the Campus Prevention Network Everfi Award for achievement in sexual-assault-prevention programming.

Marisa De Silva is a senior at Princeton and thinking about post graduation plans. She’ll be working in special education as a teacher at the secondary level. Last summer, she spent eight weeks teaching English to primary and secondary school students in Hanoi. It was a wonderful experience and it got her excited to start teaching here in the United States.

Sabrina Hunte studied in Germany in the fall of 2018. She’ll be graduating from Bowdoin in the spring with a BA in environmental studies and government with a minor in sociology. After graduation, Sabrina is looking forward to moving back to New Jersey, where she’ll be an investment analyst at Prudential.

2017

Julia McKay mckayjj11@gmail.com

2018

Deanna Hanchuk dchanchuk@gmail.com

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 61

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

MOMENTS

1.

1. Anne (Sonnekalb) Iskrant

14. Mary (Fish) Weiler ’71 on

’60 and John in the Garden of

vacation with her family in

the Gods, Colorado Springs

Little Compton, RI

2. 1960 classmates Anne

15. Sarah DeGiovanni ’73

(Sonnekalb) Iskrant and Emily

shared this photo of son Sam,

Meschter met at Hudson

granddaughter Willa, and

Yards to plan for their 60th

daughter Hannah.

2.

3.

reunion.

16. Ward (19) and C.J. (24), 3. Laila Mbengue and Sibley

sons of Betsy (Haas)

Fitzgerald, the two oldest

Anderson ’73

4.

5.

granddaughters of Judy Small ’66

17. The wedding of Bryan Watson and Maria Smith,

4. Kathy (Van Cleve) Kuhns

daughter of Cathy (Ambrose)

’68 and son Ensign Dylan

Smith ’75 and Don Smith

Kuhns 18. Carolyn (Rumery) Betz ’75 5. Jackie (Baird) Fiala ’68,

monitoring the water quality

husband Jim, and

on Lake Mendota, WI

grandchildren 19. Patty (Friedman) Marcus 6. 1968 classmates Barbie

’78 with husband Dan

Wiss, Kathy (Van Cleve)

and their son, Edward,

Kuhns and Katina Mills

in Grenada, Spain

7. Daughters of Mary

20. Ramelle Massey ’82, Missy

Robinson ’69 atop Bubbles

Burke Partridge ’63 P ’89, and

Mountain, in Acadia, Maine.

Nancy (Gorman) Dougherty

6.

’82 P ’12, members of Impact 8. Diana (Loumos) Gilroy ’69

100 Garden State, which gave

with daughter Isobel and

out $350,000 to five area

husband Roger

nonprofits at a recent event

9. Margaret (Roberts) Murphy

21. Catherine (Johnston)

’69 and her grandchildren

Avery ’84 with husband Bob and their daughter, Caroline,

10. 1969 classmates Margaret

in Spain

(Roberts) Murphy and Jean (Long) Ostrow

22. Deborah Molho ’84 enjoying the great outdoors

11. Cricket Madeleine Carhart, first grandchild of Jan (Yeaw)

23. Jennifer Thomas ’84

Carhart ’71

(wearing her KPS swag) and her mother, Marilyn, outside

12. 1971 classmates Deborah

Edinburgh Castle

Besch, Jeanne (Pettit) Ferris, and Evie (Edwards) Fenn

24. 1984 classmates Deborah

in Maryland

Molho, Jennifer Thomas, and Lisa (Settle) Callaway at their

13. Kathy Cook ’71

KPS reunion

62 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

20.

23.

14.

15.

17.

18.

12.

13.

16.

19.

21.

22.

24.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 63

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

25. Anna (8), daughter of

student Maria Laguillo-

Stephanie Paduano ’89,

Candau ’90 in Seville.

26.

25.

with Abby (13), daughter of Nina (Pyle) Furlanetto ’89, at

34. Amy Allen ’91 and her

summer camp together

husband, Martin Wilson, on their wedding day

26. Griffin (15), Tobin (13), and Peter (10), sons of Jennie

35. Maribeth Carroll ’91 with

(Hagman) Walsh ’89; Thomas

son Declan and daughter

(13) and Will (11), sons of

Anna

Betsy (Gomperz) Pacinda ’89; Will (10), son of Nina

36. Amy (Rosoff)

Pyle Furlanetto ’89; and Finn

Sampson ’93 visiting the

(11), son of Annabelle (Smith)

Arctic Circle during her

Murray ’89, at camp in Maine

semester in Finland

27.

28.

this summer 37. Elliott, daughter of Alex 27. Jenny (Shilling) Stein ’89

Krupp ’06, at 2 months old

with Jackson and Charlotte hiking in Park City, UT

38. Gabrielle (Costanzo) Long ’93 with husband Steve and

28. Lauren (Miller)

sons Bennett (5) and Grant (3)

Montagnese ’89 and her husband, Rob, renewed

39. Twins Harry and Sophie

their vows, along with

(left) and Brody (right), the

their three children.

children of Laura (Greenberg)

29.

Savarese ’94, and Teagan 29. Sarah (Casey) Otte ’89

and Riggins (center), the

and husband Jaap with

children of Shannon (Barry)

Sarah Zimmerman ’89 and

O’Grady ’94

their kids, Hannah Otte (15), Olivia Otte (11), and Felix

40. Whitney (Bell) Corbett ’93

Zimmerman (13), in Maine,

with husband Brad and sons

this summer

Austin and Connor in Rome

30. Vanessa King ’89 and

41. Liz (Aibel) Sherwood ’00

husband Matt at their US

with her crew: Lou, Ford,

wedding

Willa, and Mack

31. 1990 classmates Kemba

42. 2000 classmates

Dunham and Kathryn

celebrate the nuptials of

(Hudacek) Harlow enjoy

Katie Feder: Paris (Martin)

lunch.

Quintana, Corinne (Desjardins) White, Sarah

32. Amie Quivey ’90 in her

Stern, Katie, Lauren

role as Meredith, in Romance

(Bouffard) White, and

101, at the Barn Theater’s

Brooke Worthington.

Summer Solstice one-act festival

43. Christine Ryan ’00 with daughter Maeve Ryan

33. Former Head of School

Hertzberg

Arlene Gibson and husband Charlie visited KPS exchange

64 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

30.

31.

33.

32.

36.

35.

34.

37.

38.

39.

40.

42.

43.

41.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 65

KEEPING PACE CLASS NOTES

44. The wedding of Jill

Jayne Pasternak, Melissa

Sauchelli ’07: (back, l–r)

Buja, Molly Stubbs, and

Tara (Deieso) Merck ’07,

Emily Hilton

44.

45.

Erin Sauchelli ’02, Emily (Hislop) Gordon ’07, Jill,

51. The 2011 Dragons take

Steph Krivitzky ’07, Laura

on Hollywood: Lizzy Miggins

Lane ’07, Caryn Wasser

and Hannah Benn visited Erin

’07, and Samantha (Cohen)

McDonnell in L.A.

Kaczmarek ’07; (front, l–r) Rose Allen ’07, Victoria

52. Morgan Hoit ’12 with the

(Rolandelli) Eisen ’07, Emily

first title published under

Doto ’07, Erica Cullum ’07,

Avid Reader Press: Three

Caroline Hansen ’07, and

Women, by Lisa Taddeo

Taylor (Worthington) Williams ’07

53. Reeve Lanigan ’15 holds

46.

the sword of the Marquis de 45. Vanessa Rendon-Vasquez

Lafayette at Lafayette Col-

’09 at the San Francisco

lege’s commencement.

Marathon 2019 54. 2015 classmates Kristen 46. Wedding of Elizabeth

Plate and Sarah Pavlak grad-

Schoenbach ’09: (back, l–r)

uate from Georgetown Uni-

Allison (Erenstein) Jacobsen

versity’s McDonough School

’76 P ’05, Michelle Manket

of Business, where they were

’06, Maddie Wasser ’06,

roommates for three years.

Sarah Livingston ’09, Caryn Wasser ’08, Sophia Gouraige

55. 2015 classmates Madison

’09, and Pauline Eichler ’09;

Mastrangelo and Lizzie

(front, l–r) Cara Manket ’05,

Fountain both graduated

Elizabeth, and Brooke

summa cum laude from Duke

(Jacobsen) Lessinger ’05

University and were inducted

47.

into Phi Beta Kappa.

47. Margaret (Black) Mauro ’09 and husband

56. Sarah Pavlak ’15 (second

Andrew with their new

from left) receives the

baby, Emma Lake

Georgetown McDonough School of Business’s 2019

48. My Brainstorm, a memoir

IMAX Marketing Scholar

written and published by

Award in recognition of out-

Kristen Stewart ’09 about her

standing academic achieve-

experiences after being diag-

ment across marketing

nosed with a brain tumor

coursework.

49. 2010 classmates Rachel

57. 2015 classmates Lizzie

Uhlman, Megan Coy, and

Fountain, Astha Puri, and

Carly Uhlman in Iceland

Madison Mastrangelo at Duke University’s ball for

50. 2011 classmates at

graduating seniors

the wedding of Stefanie (Zavodny) Jackson: Marisa

58. 2016 classmates Halle

Slabbert, Emilia Pazniokas,

O’Hern, Lilly Higgins, and

Jaya Robillard, Stefanie,

Virginia McGraw in Morocco

66 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

49.

48.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

56.

57.

55.

58.

KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020 67

WITH WISDOM

15 MINUTES WITH

LUCY KEITH-DIAGNE ’83 Lucy is the cofounder and executive director of the African Aquatic Conservation Fund. She’s been conducting research on marine mammals for 31 years, more than 20 of them with manatees, and has trained some 90 African biologists in manatee field techniques and conservation planning. In 2018, she became a National Geographic Explorer. Lucy lives in Ngazobil, Senegal.

The most fulfilling aspect of my career has been . . . raising awareness of little-known endangered species to save them from extinction, through population genetics of African manatees, satellite-tracking juvenile Hawaiian monk seals, and helping my husband’s captive breeding center for the most endangered African turtles. Training students and collaborators gives me hope that the work will be carried on in more places and long after I’m gone.

I chose my career path . . . because I always knew I wanted to work with wildlife. After college, I volunteered at the Marine Mammal Center, near San Francisco, and fell madly in love with seals. Then I had several jobs at the New England Aquarium and did marine-animal fieldwork around the world, which solidified my love of marine mammalogy. Once I began working in the field, I realized that my passion is working with endangered species and trying to find solutions to the threats they face.

KPS helped prepare me for my career . . . because I learned how to write well, thanks to my freshman English teacher, Lucia Harvilchuck. It’s an invaluable skill for obtaining grants, publishing my work in scientific journals, and explaining the importance of my organization’s work on a daily basis.

My favorite KPS memory is . . . too hard to pick just one! I loved the friendships I made there, which are still strong today. I loved the many traditions, from the STAR at the holidays, to the Daisy Chain at graduation, to our class choosing Paddington Bear as our senior mascot.

My favorite book is . . . Endurance, by Sir Alfred Lansing, the story of Ernest Shackleton after his ship was crushed by ice in Antarctica and his grueling effort to save everyone by sailing a lifeboat to South Georgia and then scaling a mountain to get help. After reading that book, you feel nothing in life is impossible if you work hard enough.

68 KENT PLACE WINTER/SPRING 2020

PHOTO (BOTTOM): GETTY IMAGES

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY GALA CELEBRATING THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF KENT PLACE SCHOOL

SATURDAY, MAY 2, 2020

6:30 PM COCKTAILS • 8:00 PM DINNER & PROGRAM • 10:00 PM DESSERT & DANCING

KENT PLACE SCHOOL

42 NORWOOD AVENUE • SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY FOR TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ADVANCEMENT OFFICE.

42 NORWOOD AVENUE SUMMIT, NJ 07901 WWW.KENTPLACE.ORG Please forward any address changes to the Kent Place School Advancement Office updateinfo@kentplace.org

THERE IS NOT ONE KENT PLACE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS — EXCEPT FOR THIS: A WOMAN WHO IS CONFIDENTLY MOVING FORWARD IN HER LIFE, EQUIPPED WITH DEPTH OF INTELLECT, CURIOSITY, EMPATHY, AND DISCIPLINE AS AN ETHICAL GLOBAL CITIZEN. WE KNOW THAT WOMEN LIKE THIS

CHANGE THE WORLD.

—DR. JENNIFER C. GALAMBOS, IN HER WELCOME SPEECH AT THE

NEW YORK CITY 125TH-ANNIVERSARY EVENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.

Kent Place School

LIGHTING THE WAY FOR 125 YEARS

2009

Kent Place has enjoyed visionary leadership since its inception, when the six founding families believed their daughters were worthy of an education equal to that of their sons.

Now, 125 years later, their legacy still propels hundreds of girls and young women toward a bright future. Our faces, programs, and facilities have changed over the years, but Kent Place’s goals have remained much the same: to provide independent, ethically responsible, brave and brilliant leaders with exceptional educational opportunities. The following timeline is just a snapshot of some of the moments, large and small, that have been woven into our history.

1914

1894

Kent Place opens its doors to 60 girls

1906

The Athletic Association is formed

1904

The Alumnae Association is created

HEADS OF SCHOOL

Chumley becomes the official mascot

1985

After 74 years, boarding at KPS ends

1932

Mabie House opens

1924

The winter program STAR begins an annual tradition

1940

Kent Place takes in British girls to keep them safe during the WWII Blitz

1939

The school newspaper, Ballast, publishes its first issue

Amelia S. Watts, Principal (1894–1896) Sarah Woodman Paul, Principal (1896–1924)

1972

The Black Cultural Association (BCA) is formed

1973

Field House and Hyde & Watson Theater are completed; the first-annual “An Evening of Dance” concert is held

Kent Place Head of School and Board of Trustees decide to uphold the founding vision of Kent Place as a school for girls and end merger talks with Pingry

Anna Sophia Woodman, Assistant Principal (1896–1924) Harriet Larned Hunt, Headmistress (1924–1952)

The Treblemakers a cappella group forms; following the success of squash, fencing is a new sport on campus; Kaleidoscopes, a Primary School affinity group for students of color, holds its first meeting

Kent Place begins its partnership with New Jersey SEEDS (Scholars, Educators, Excellence, Dedication, and Success); the Primary School building is completed

1984

1968

Main School Building is completed

2006

1993

1991

Kent Place becomes a founding member of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools

1994

“With Wisdom, She Lights The Way” becomes the school’s maxim

1995

1999

Kent Place students participate in the first Prepare, a program that teaches violence prevention, personal safety, communication skills, and self-defense

The Girls’ Leadership Institute launches

Florence Wolfe, Headmistress (1952–1965) Macdonald Halsey, Headmaster (1965–1980)

The new 45,000-square-foot Upper School building opens its doors; it receives LEED Goldcertification; Mandarin is added to the offerings of world languages

2007

The Ethics Institute, the first of its kind at the primary and secondary school levels, enrolls its first students

2003

The first school-wide Global Perspectives Day, which provides students with various viewpoints on social issues, experiences, and cultures, is held

Archibald R. Montgomery III, Headmaster (1980–1986) Dorothy H. Dillon, Head of School (1986–1987)

2008

2015

Girls Ice Hockey becomes a winter sport; the team posts a winning season and earns the Summit Cup

2010

2019

The Primary School Wonder Lab, an innovation center that encourages students to think boldly and use creativity, opens; Kent Place inducts five alumnae, one team, and one coach into its first Athletics Hall of Fame

2016

The Middle School moves into its new home, the renovated Main Building; the Chamber Singers perform at Carnegie Hall

KPS breaks ground for the Center for Innovation, a 32,508-square-foot learning center focusing on the study of STEAM subjects

2012

2017

GEMS (Girls Eliminating Math Stereotypes) is established as a club, giving students a platform from which to speak at various conferences

The Wall Street Journal ranks KPS #15 in the nation on its list of top high schools that send their students to “highly selective colleges”; Kent Place appoints its first Director of Diversity; Walking the Walk, a school-wide committee is established to educate and inspire change through sustainable practices

2014

The sixth grade debuts TREP$, an initiative from the school’s Economic and Financial Literacy program

Upper School Theater presents the first all-female high school production of 1776

Arlene Joy Gibson, Head of School (1987–1996) Karan Ashford Merry, Head of School (1996–1999)

2018

KPS begins a global exchange with St. Peter’s Girls’ School, in South Adelaide, Australia; Kent Place’s team is the 2018 National High School Ethics Bowl Champion

2020

Our Mock Trial wins the Union County Championship for the first time in the school’s history

Susan Collins Bosland, Head of School (1999–2017) Jennifer C. Galambos, Head of School (2017–Present)