WESTMINSTER
| SPRING 2009
| BULLETIN
Elizabeth Wilde Aber ’88 Elizabeth Wilde Aber grew up in Simsbury in a family with close ties to Westminster. Her two older siblings, Lisa ’81 and Tom ’85, attended Westminster and her father, Peter Wilde, was the chairman of the Westminster Board of Trustees. “It was a natural move for me to look at Westminster when I was in eighth grade,” she explained. As a Westminster student, her first love was music. She was in the Camerata, was president of the Chorale, performed in many of the school musicals, played varsity soccer, danced and was captain of the girls track team. She credits faculty members Todd Eckerson and Erik Nielsen as having a profound effect on her future. “Taking Todd’s Ethical Philosophy class expanded my views, challenged me to think and to question, and stretched my idea of who I was,” she said. “He also served as a fantastic advisor and guided me through what was not always an easy road.” She credits Erik Nielsen, the director of the chorus, with pushing her to pursue her musical aspirations. Elizabeth’s return to Westminster was somewhat of a happenstance. In 1993, while she was studying part time for her master’s degree at the Hartt School of Music and doing some promotional work for the Centennial Theater Festival, Headmaster Don
Werner talked with her about joining the faculty. She served on the faculty for a year, teaching English, supervising a corridor, assisting with theater productions and helping coach track. She then decided to pursue her master’s degree and teaching certification full time. After spending years teaching music in public schools and taking a break to stay at home with her three children, Elizabeth returned to Westminster in 2002 to work part time in Admissions. She has been married to math teacher Dan Aber for 13 years. Last June, Elizabeth took on new responsibilities as director of
operations for the Alumni and Development Office. In that role, she is responsible for event planning, managing an office of 16 colleagues and assisting with the school’s stewardship program. “The most rewarding part of my work is the day-to-day contact with alumni, parents and friends of the school,” she said. “Making connections with others to whom Westminster has been so important is an easy and important part of my job. I have had the good fortune of seeing Westminster through the eyes of a student, faculty member and, hopefully, as a future parent.”
Newell Grant ’99 Newell serves as associate director of major gifts and coordinator of the Young Alumni Challenge program, which frequently take him on the road to visit alumni. “The thought of traveling the country to make Westminster a stronger version of itself was the best possible job I could think of at the time I became a faculty member in 2005,” he said. “I want to ensure that Westminster is around for my grandchildren by strengthening the school’s alumni network and helping secure gifts for various programs and initiatives.” 34