2022 Alumni Awards and Athletic Hall of Fame

2022 Alumni Award Winners

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD: Courtney Banks Spaeth ’92

Courtney B. Spaeth ’92 is one of the leading business development and corporate growth experts in the world, with widespread experience in both the public and private sectors. In 2007, Courtney founded growth[period], which has a proven track record of helping more than 400 companies, in both the commercial and federal sectors, achieve smart growth through business development and acquisitions. For the past seven years, growth[period] has been voted in the top 20 “Best Places to Work” by the Washington Business Journal.

Prior to founding growth[period], Courtney served as corporate vice president of homeland security for Raytheon Company. While at Raytheon, she was responsible for developing the company’s homeland security business and, in less than two years, her efforts resulted in new revenue of more than $1 billion USD. Before Raytheon, Courtney served as director of homeland systems solutions for Lockheed Martin, where she won more than $3 billion USD in new business. In 2000, President Clinton appointed Courtney to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict, where she was the assistant in charge of global terrorism issues.

Courtney has extensive experience as a corporate board member and has served on the board of directors for several private companies (MAG, Suitor Tutor, etc.), non-profits, and professional associations. She was the George Mason University (GMU) School of Business Women in Business Initiative (WIBI) awardee for WIBI Woman of the Year and the recipient of the 2019 Joseph Wharton Award for Entrepreneurship in the Washington, D.C. region from the University of Pennsylvania.

Courtney holds a master’s degree in national security studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. She will graduate in 2022 with her global executive Master of Business Administration degree at the TRIUM Program—a triple-degree program where she will receive her degrees simultaneously from the London School of Economics, NYU Stern School of Business, and HEC in Paris.

While at EA, Courtney was the Class of 1992 Salutatorian. She was also a member of the Scholium, the first female president of the Junto Club, a deputy editor of the yearbook, an honors student, and active in community service. She is still close to her EA advisor, Mr. Chuck Bryant, Hon.

Currently, Courtney resides in both Maryland and Colorado with her husband, three children, and four dogs. She and her family also co-own a local ice-cream store, Sprinkles Potomac, in Maryland.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: Fred Dittmann ’71

Fred Dittmann ’71 entered The Episcopal Academy in 1968 as a 10th grader. He made a positive impact during his years as a student and has continued to make a significant impact on EA throughout his life. As a student at EA, Fred excelled in academics, athletics, and music. In 2018, he was recognized for his athletic achievements and inducted into the EA Athletic Hall of Fame.

Fred has given back to Episcopal in many ways. He is an active member of the Class of 1971 and served on the Alumni Board of Managers from 2004 to 2010, during which the school moved from Merion to Newtown Square. Today, he serves on the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee and is an ardent volunteer and participant in campus activities, including speaking at Senior Career Day and attending athletic competitions and special events.

Fred expressed his appreciation for the school by establishing The Fred Dittmann ’71 Scholarship Fund in honor of his 50th reunion. “I have been so blessed in my life, and EA’s training and teaching gave me a strong foundation,” he said. “I feel incredibly fortunate that I have been able to direct a six-figure gift from my [future] estate to help children have the same opportunity I did.”

Fred has had a lengthy and successful career in investment management since graduating from Williams College in 1975. He is currently a managing director at Fiduciary Trust Company in Radnor and also serves on the Investment Committee for the Academy of Vocal Arts endowment fund. Fred’s a cappella group, The Tonics, performs periodically at Inglis House.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Todd Pride ’85

Todd Pride ’85 is the president of Legacy Land & Water Partners, a land conservation organization focused on the preservation of wildlife habitats and open space properties on the Underground Railroad trails and on expanding diversity in conservation and mission-driven organizations. He is also founder and lead coach of the Mid-Atlantic Youth Anglers & Outdoors Partners Organization, a nationally recognized fishing, hunting heritage, conservation, and diversity-training operation that has trained and introduced more than 15,000 diverse youth and adults to a five-state region’s (PA, NY, NJ, DE, MD) outdoor natural resources.

Todd, one of the only professionals of color managing a conservation organization, currently serves on the board of directors for the Friends of FDR Park, as chair of the finance committee/ESG lead of The Alliance for Health Equity, board trustee of the Chester County History Center, vice chair of the Chester County Water Resources Authority, member of The Episcopal Academy’s Alumni Society Board of Managers and DEI Trustee Committee, founding co-chair of EA’s Alumni of Color Advisory Council, and board member at Philadelphia Sports Congress.

Over the years, he has also served on the boards and committees of several community, educational, and financial services organizations, including the MLK CommUNITY of the Greater Kennett Area, Chester County Commissioner’s Transition Team, Philadelphia Foundation Investment Committee, Community Capital Works, Friends of Independence National Historical Park, Center City Philadelphia Residents Association, East Falls Business & Community Development Corporation, Operation Understanding, and the Academy of Vocal Arts. He was also a co-founder of the National Minority Angel Investors Network and a former mentor-in-residence at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD: Meghan McCormick ’07

Meghan McCormick ’07 is a systems thinker and strategist, passionate about designing solutions that bring real value to customers, corporations, and communities. She has spent her career focused geographically on African markets and functionally on innovation strategy. She started her work as a community economic development volunteer in the Peace Corps in Guinea. During her service, she founded Guinea’s first business accelerator, Dare to Innovate, and scaled it to be French-speaking Africa’s most active small business accelerator. Currently, Meghan is the co-founder and CEO of OZÉ, a fintech company that equips African entrepreneurs to make data-driven decisions to both improve their business performance and access capital.

Outside of her entrepreneurial endeavors, Meghan worked as an innovation strategist at Doblin, the innovation unit of Monitor Deloitte. Meghan has a Master of Business Administration degree from MIT, where she was a Legatum Fellow for Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she was a Cheng Fellow in the Social Innovation and Change Initiative and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow focused on West Africa.

While at EA, Meghan won the Alumni French Prize and the William H. Ortlepp Memorial Prize, graduated cum laude, received The Mind, Body, and Spirit Prize from her role on the golf team, and received an Honorable Mention for the Benjamin H. Read ’43 Scholar Award. She was a staff writer for the Scholium, a member of the Junto Club Board, and vice president of Domino Club. Meghan is one of a few students to have won the Community Service Award twice, and she’s come back to campus to speak in Chapel about unlocking opportunities for West African entrepreneurs.

YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD: Loren Mead ’08

A four-year rower, Loren Mead ’08 graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before founding Kvasir Consulting, Inc. in 2014. Kvasir Consulting allowed Loren to pursue a passion for entrepreneurship and help high school athletes get recruited to universities. He then enrolled at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where he helped develop a clinical decision support tool and launch a mobile health application for Penn employees.

With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, Loren co-founded Abaton, a 501(c)(3) to protect frontline workers. Using open-source technologies, Loren and his colleagues began to work on 3D printing prototypes of disinfection devices. “We designed a device called the Arca, which uses new technology to clean masks and other protective equipment,” he said. The Arca uses aerosolized hydrogen peroxide to clean PPE at 1/60th the cost of commercially available products. This technology received emergency use authorization by the FDA and was deployed in urban academic medical centers for large-scale processing of PPE. Noticing a lack of these important supplies in rural and low-resource communities, community hospitals, nursing facilities, and among first responders, Loren and Abaton worked to help expand access to PPE disinfection technologies.

While at EA, Loren won the 2008 Junto Club’s MacBean Bowl, participated in Mock Trial, organized the EA/Haverford/AIS Day pep rally, and was the 2008 Scholastic Rowing Association Champion on the boys’ varsity 4+.

ACHIEVEMENT IN THE ARTS AWARD: George Emlen ’62

George W. Emlen IV ’62 has had a career as a conductor, composer, arranger, songleader, and music educator. For 34 years, he was the music director of Revels, a national performing arts organization best known for its legendary performances of The Christmas Revels, a rich and joyful celebration of the winter solstice, in Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. and in eight other cities. He has directed choral ensembles all his adult life in churches, schools, and theatrical productions throughout New England. In Maine, he conducted the Oratorio Chorale and the Mount Desert Summer Chorale and was the founding conductor of the Acadia Choral Society.

In his work with Revels, George has been able to pursue his lifelong passion for bringing people together in communities of song. This he manifested on two levels—with the auditioned, onstage Revels chorus and in the enthusiastic audience participation. His guiding philosophy is that singing, especially singing with others, is vital to the human experience and is powerfully transformative. He has led countless “sings” in diverse venues throughout New England.

Episcopal had a profound impact on George’s musical development. He credits EA music teacher Curtis York for instilling in him the passion and basic skills for choral singing. George was also the daily Chapel service organist during his junior and senior years, through which he built his facility as a church musician and his mastery of classical musical language.

George is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the New England Conservatory, where he earned an advanced degree in choral conducting. His compositions and arrangements are published by Lawson-Gould, Thorpe, Lorenz/Sacred Music Press, and Redwing Press.

2022 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

Gina Buggy, Hon.

Initially joining EA as assistant athletic director in 1986, Gina Buggy, Hon. was promoted to athletic director in 1993. During her 34-year tenure, she led 30 varsity teams in winning 157 Inter-Ac League and Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association (PAISAA) championships. As head coach of EA’s field hockey team, she ended her career with an impressive 478-97-11 record, including 13 Inter-Ac titles and four PAISAA championships.

Gina was a standout field hockey and lacrosse player at Ursinus College and played on the 16-member U.S. Women’s National Field Hockey Team (1981-1984). The team won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics, the last U.S. women’s team to earn an Olympic medal. She has earned multiple Hall of Fame honors including the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School Hall of Fame, Ursinus College Hall of Fame, and the Montgomery County Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame. She also received the region’s Michael F. Mayock Distinguished Teacher-Coach Award.

Peter Gregory ’82

Pete Gregory ’82 earned varsity letters for football, baseball, and basketball and was a two-year starter in each sport. In 1981, Pete’s senior year, he helped lead the Hall of Fame-winning football team to an Inter-Ac League championship and was named First Team All Inter-Ac Offensive Tackle.

Pete’s basketball career was even more impressive, winning Inter-Ac League Championships in the 1980 and 1982 seasons. He was also named First Team All Inter-Ac Forward and League MVP, as well as Inter-Ac Markward Club Award winner in 1982. Pete’s final shot taken for the Churchmen was in the closing seconds to beat The Haverford School by one point and preserve EA’s undefeated Inter-Ac season, finishing 10-0.

JoAnne Fortin Hopkins ’93

A three-sport varsity athlete, JoAnne Fortin Hopkins ’93 excelled in field hockey, lacrosse, and winter track. She held EA’s field hockey season goal scoring record of 23 goals for 20 years and played a pivotal role in the 1992 team’s Inter-Ac championship title. JoAnne was selected to the All-Main Line team, invited to play in multiple national tournaments, and served as an alternate for the 1993 Olympic Field Hockey Festival. In lacrosse, she was named fastest player in the league, received All-Main Line honors, and earned the Girls’ Lacrosse Award. JoAnne and classmate Megan Haley Noller ’93 are credited with starting the girls’ winter track program after noticing a gap in available sports offerings for female students.

JoAnne went on to play field hockey for the University of New Hampshire. She was named NAC Player of the Week as a freshman and selected to the America East All-Tournament team as a junior. She was also selected for the United States Field Hockey Association’s (USFHA) A Camp, the highest level of USFHA’s Olympic Development Program.

Craig Renfrow ’73

Lucious “Craig” Renfrow ’73 earned four varsity letters for football, basketball, baseball, and track & field. In track, he competed in the 100-yard dash, shot put, and long jump, helping his team earn InterAc championship titles in 1971, 1972, and 1973. In basketball, he was a rebounding force, helping to win the 1971 Inter-Ac championship.

Craig’s athletic talent truly shined in football. As captain, he was one of the leading rushers of his era with an average of 100 yards per game. In his senior year, after an 11-year losing streak, Craig scored the winning touchdown to defeat The Haverford School, 7-6. His achievements resulted in multiple honors, including Philadelphia Second Team “All Area” on defense, All Inter-Ac team on offense, Philadelphia High School Football Daily News 1970’s All-Decade All Inter-Ac team (First Team), and the Daily News 1970’s All-Decade All-City team (third team). Craig went on to attend the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he played four seasons of football.

1977 Boys’ Soccer Team

The 1977 boys’ soccer team was an Inter-Ac championship team that compiled the best record (15-1-1) ever by an Episcopal eleven. The offense was spearheaded by forwards Roger “Kip” Penske ’78, Nino Muniz ’78, and Gil Peter ’79, who helped the team net 61 goals for the year. The halfbacks, led by Co-captain Buck Buckley ’78 as well as David Hartzell ’78, Charlie McNamara ’78, Jones Toland ’79, and Greg Penske ’80, were excellent.

The “Disco D” defense was a standout, setting a record for fewest goals allowed in a season (seven) and never allowing more than one goal per game. Jon Moore ’78, Chris Haab ’78, Jim Young ’79, and David Smith ’80 served as fullbacks with Co-captain Ben Erulkar ’78 in goal. Coach Curt Lauber ’63 led this special team to victory.

COACHING STAFF:

Curtis A. Lauber ’63

ROSTER:

Robert L. Ackley ’78, Don B. Blenko Jr. ’79, James B. Bradbeer Jr. ’80, Walter W. Buckley III ’78, Benjamin Erulkar ’78, F. Christian Haab Jr. ’78, David B. Hartzell ’78, Philip L. Kampf Jr. ’80, John M. Kerr ’79, Malcolm M. Kirk ’79, Peter E. Lenard ’79, John P. Manderson ’78, Peter H. Mattoon ’80, Norman M. McAvoy Jr. ’78, Charles A. McNamara ’78, James F. Mitchell IV ’80, Jonathan S. Moore ’78, Herminio R. Muniz Jr. ’78, Gregory W. Penske ’80, Roger S. Penske Jr. ’78, Gilbert J. Peter Jr. ’79, John F. Schneider ’80, David B. Smith ’80, Owen J. Toland III ’79, †Philip St. John Trimble ’80, Charles H. Vetterlein Jr. ’78, James H. Young III ’79

1981 Football Team

The 1981 football team ended its season 9-0 and won its first undefeated Inter-Academic championship title since 1921. The team was led by Main Line Coach of the Year Jim Auch, Hon. and several All Inter-Ac Football Team members, including Mike D’Alicandro ’82, Mark Farrell ’83, Jim Farrell ’82, Mike Malatesta ’83, the late Dave DeMoss ’82, Pete Gregory ’82, and Jamie Auch ’82, who also won Most Valuable Player of the league.

Core members of the offense included Jim Kerr ’82, the late Rich Crockett ’82, the late Ron Ianieri ’82, the late Gary Rosato ’82, Dolph Tokarczyk ’84, and Chris Flynn ’84. The top-rated defense of Brooke McMullin ’82, Bill Bagnell ’82, Dave Cornell ’82, and Jim Fogerty ’82 allowed only six points per game. The end zone was particularly impressive with Mike Trudel ’83 and David White ’83, who had seven interceptions. Coach Auch credited the season’s success to “luck” with a very healthy team and the commitment of the coaching staff.

COACHING STAFF:

James M. Auch Jr., Hon., Peter MacGregor, John S. Smith III, Hon., James Straub, John H. Wynne Jr., Hon.

ROSTER:

James M. Auch III ’82, William R. Bagnell ’82, John A. Carrafiell ’83, David M. Cornell II ’82, †Richard G. Crockett ’82, A. Bevan Cummin ’83, Michael A. D’Alicandro ’82, †David A. DeMoss ’82, Michael R. Dougherty ’83, James R. Dugan ’85, James E. Farrell III ’82, T. Mark Farrell ’83, Morton J. Fertel ’83, J. Christopher Flynn ’84, James M. Fogerty ’82, Robert P. Gibson ’84, Peter J. Gregory ’82, †Ronald J. Ianieri ’82, Gregory S. Jannetta ’84, James L. Kerr ’82, Michael T. Malatesta ’83, H. Brooke McMullin Jr. ’82, Andrew C. Meyers ’83, Travis C. Minott ’84, Joseph C. Moderski Jr. ’83, Britton W. Palmer II ’83, James M. Patterson ’84, Roger A. Reynolds Jr. ’84, Rafael F. Rosato ’84, William J. Rosato ’83, †Ernest L. Rosato ’82, Brian C. Smith ’84, Dolph M. Tokarczyk ’84, †Robert M. Trippe ’83, Michael A. Trudel ’83, David A. White ’83, †Wade A. Williams ’84

During this spring’s Alumni Awards Ceremony and Alumni of Color Brunch, The Episcopal Academy kicked off a celebration of the 50th anniversary of our school’s first Black graduates. In 1972, Robert Bell, Darrel Francis, and J. Robert Williams proudly accepted their diplomas. Fifty years later, we honor the legacy that these gentlemen—and their families—left and the path they paved for the students who followed in their footsteps for decades to come.