Winsor Spring 2024 Bulletin

IN THIS ISSUE

10 How Two Teens Help Others Put Their Best Foot Forward

12 Pulling Together for Winsor 14 Leading Women IN EVERY ISSUE

Read more about cross country's decisive win and other stories about Winsor athletics using this QR code.

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From the Head of School

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From Pilgrim Road

28 Alumnae News 48 First Person

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

The Winsor School HEAD OF SCHOOL Sarah Pelmas

Making the Invisible Visible

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n one of the first STEM classes I ever saw at Winsor, Class IV students were assigned a project to “make the invisible visible.”

At the time, I couldn’t imagine how they would manage, though the students themselves never even paused as they raced around getting materials. They were off and running—creating sensors for campers to detect bears and potential flooding, making devices to measure wind, and creating a pattern of colors for musical notes.

Reading the stories of three Winsor alumnae, Kristin Bennett ’85, Tiffany R. Warren ’92, and Leslie Dewan ’02, I was reminded of the STEM class, as all three have worked to make the invisible visible. For Leslie and Kristin, their work has been in the realm of science—around nuclear and nanoscience, clean energy and sustainability—whereas for Tiffany it has been about representation in business and music and advertising. All three have helped bring forward things that society hasn’t historically seen, or hasn’t seen as it should.

All groundbreaking work has at its core the impulse to bring something into the world that has never been seen before, something new and exciting, something that will change lives. These trailblazers developed their love of learning at Winsor—and in fact, it’s this thrill of discovery that Winsor most seeks to nurture in every student, from our youngest learners to our soon-to-be graduates. Every alum can tell a story of the Winsor teacher who most believed in them, and who helped them find their passion or a dream of who they might become. Whether they are protecting campers from bears, developing safe nuclear energy, helping groups find funding to develop clean energy, or bringing powerful new voices into the music industry, Winsor graduates are leading us all into a new world, full of excitement and possibility.

Here in Boston, Winsor continues to undertake the life-changing work of educating our students—ensuring that every incredible student finds brilliant, inspiring teachers, and that cost is never a barrier for the most academic and talented applicants. On May 2, 2024, we will celebrate the public launch of Winsor Leads, the most ambitious comprehensive campaign in Winsor’s history. We hope you will join us in this celebration, and help us pave the way to a future where women and girls lead with confidence, strength, and purpose throughout the world.

— SARAH PELMAS

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DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Janelle Browning DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT Erika McMahon DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT AND EVENTS Becky Withiam CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND DESIGN Nicole Barbuto PHOTOGRAPHY Laura Barisonzi Photography Elisabeth Caren Kelly Davidson Studio Kristie Dean Photography BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2023–2024 PRESIDENT Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’89, P’21, ’22 VICE PRESIDENT Larry Cheng P’23, ’25, ’28 TREASURER Lori Whelan P’23, ’25 ASSISTANT TREASURER David E. Goel P’23 CLERK Elizabeth Bennett Carroll ’89 Chris Andrews P’26, ex officio Eman Ansari P’20, ’24, ’28 Wendy Cromwell P’21 Polly Crozier ’92, P’30 Jennifer Dolins P’23, ’26 Linda Dorcena Forry P’28 Claire Pasternack Goldsmith ’01 Mary Beth Gordon P’23, ’26 Ashley Marlenga Herbst ’01, ex officio Risteard Hogan P’23 David Humphrey P’28, ’31 Sam Kennedy P’23 Jessica Lutzker P’25 Mallika Marshall P’27 Elise McDonald P’26, ’28 Suzanne Ranere Norris ’94 Joseph J. O’Donnell P’05, ’07 Paresh Patel P’27, ’29, ’30 Sarah Pelmas Marion Russell ’91, P’22, ’25 Kerry Swords P’23, ’27 Perry M. Traquina P’09, ’13 Emily Lubin Woods ’91, P’26

The Winsor School does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, scholars programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Marian Smashes the Patriarchy

Read the full story and access more arts news articles using this QR code.

Leave it to Winsor’s Performing Arts Department to stage a subversive take on a classic tale. Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood, posits that Robin was actually his supposed love interest Maid Marian, and that the play’s cast of “merry men” were mostly women. The poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer are the themes that remain the same from the original play, but gender roles and same-sex relationships elevate the original story to reflect a more current cultural discussion. With bows, swords, spears, cast-iron skillets, and a cowardly prince, it was a fall play to remember.

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Rock Star Seniors Headline the 2023–24 Convocation With the sound system blasting “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars, the Class of 2024 danced into the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater.

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elcoming the gathered community to the 138th Winsor School year, Head of School Sarah Pelmas introduced new faculty and staff and President of the Winsor Board of Trustees Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’89, P’21, ’22 praised the “extraordinary educators” behind each student’s multi-platinum year.

President of the Senior Class Natalie Cooper ’24 announced the senior theme of rock ‘n’ roll and made a promise to the gathered school community: “I and so many others are here to create spaces where we can all thrive.”

Leaning into the music metaphors, Natalie compared the Class of 2024 to a band, affectionately referring to their senior year as “24 on tour”—the farewell tour. “Our band’s unique components are what make us great…the music is beautiful because of its diversity, because of its complexity,” she said.

Inspired by her own seven years at Winsor, President of COLLECT Beatrix Picotte ’24 offered advice to each grade: Class I: Take a few deep calming breaths.

Class II: Try to have a conversation with every single person in your class.

Class III: Please do not sob to your mom because you

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got a “some of it” on your report card.

Class IV: Make an effort to reach out to your Class I buddy and younger students in general.

Class V: Don’t feel obligated to look or act the same way you did last year.

Class VI: It’s not too late to join a new club or sports team or try a new kind of art class.

Class VII: Don’t take things too seriously.

Class VIII: We’ll figure it out together and I’m so excited to do that with all of you.

In her remarks, Ms. Pelmas played off the senior year theme urging, “Embrace your inner rock star, and the rockstar-ness of your friends and classmates, too. Be your best self and encourage the best selves of everyone around you.”

Heads of Lower School Council SiSi Ansari ’28 and Eliot McCarthy ’28 encouraged everyone to extend the boundaries of their comfort zone this school year and shared personal stories—from trying out for the field hockey team to discovering pierogies in the dining room— to illustrate there are ample opportunities to try new things at Winsor.

In closing, they rang Miss Winsor’s bell. The soft chime has officially opened the school year since 1910.

Under the Lights Ignites School Spirit Red tinsel doorway curtains and superhero capes can only mean one thing: Under the Lights. Leading up to it, faculty, staff, and students participated in Spirit Week, the weeklong costume contest organized

by Students Advocating School Spirit (SASS).

Most memorably, SASS capitalized on the box office success of “Barbenheimer”—the phenomenon surrounding the simultaneous releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer—and the entire community understood the assignment as Barbies roamed the

halls and the Science Department portrayed the fission reaction that powered Oppenheimer’s bomb.

The excitement of Spirit Week culminated on Friday in the BrockWilson Gymnasium for the annual Red Day pep rally.

Class I wrote their own cheer and Class II broke into two teams for a dance off. The Class of 2029, inspired

by Taylor Swift-mania, rewrote lyrics such as, “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 29!” Class V sampled songs from Beyoncé while dancing in the shape of a W.

Three grades leaned into the Barbie hype. “When I wake up, in my Winsor World,” sang Class IV, changing the lyrics to Lizzo’s song “Pink,” while Class V used the tune of Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” and sang, “We’re Class VI.” Class VII charged the crowd and performed to Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.”

However, it was the seniors, who stole the show with their “24 on tour” stomp routine, which capped off a Red Day full of Winsor spirit and set the mood for Under the Lights.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Building Confidence and Training Leaders One Assembly at a Time

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n Thursdays, Lower School and Upper School students press through the hallways together, drop backpacks on sofas and tables, and funnel into the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater to find their seats. Class I gets to sit right in front of the stage, and each class fills their designated area until the theater is full of laughter and chatter. The energy on Thursday mornings is electric.

The assembly calendar is managed by longtime History Faculty Julian Braxton—the director of community and inclusion and holder of the Bezan Chair for Community and Inclusion. Mr. Braxton puts students at the forefront of every assembly. Rarely is a faculty member behind the microphone; instead, student emcees write and practice remarks, build slide decks, organize programs, and present them. That’s not to say that faculty and staff aren’t involved. Months of planning goes into each assembly, often in club and affinity group meetings, where students dedicate their lunch break to hanging out with friends while planning an engaging presentation for hundreds of people.

There is a rhythm to these assemblies that the Winsor community comes to rely on during the seasons of the year, both marking the passage of time and showing learning in progress. For example, the affinity group AsIAm (Asian

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in America) thoughtfully curates a community-wide celebration for the annual Lunar New Year assembly, while the affinity group SISTERS plans a program for Black History Month. For the Performing Arts Department, assemblies are a platform to showcase the Class I play, Class IV Rock On, the annual Fall Concert (followed by the Winter and Spring Concerts), and more.

Students are given a supportive environment where they can get in front of a cheering crowd to lift a violin, wail on a guitar, leap across stage, or spar in a fight scene.

Assemblies give students the time and space to develop the confidence to get behind the mic where they introduce the pieces performed, the people on stage, the issues of the day. Thanks to courses like Stagecraft, students are running the entire assembly—managing props, moving risers and music stands, handing out mics, and operating the light and sound boards in the booth.

Global and local leaders visit Winsor, but student clubs and affinity groups take center stage to offer a student perspective about why their work or the topic matters.

In September, SAFA (the Student Association for Fine Arts) brought socially engaged multimedia artist Elisa H. Hamilton, to assembly and introduced a Winsor community art project. In October, student leaders of COW (Conserve Our World) along with Boston Latin

School’s YouthCan (Youth Climate Action Network) introduced 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Vanessa Nakate. She spoke about the duality of young people pushing for climate action while still needing older people to implement change— something Winsor’s student climate activists know all too well after campaigning to secure support from the board of trustees for a rooftop solar panel project that went live during the 2022–23 school year.

Artists, activists, and scientists—like computational biologist and CEO-startup trailblazer Dr. Mariana Matus, who joined Latinx affinity group SOMOS to honor Hispanic Heritage Month—help students draw connections between curriculum and the world beyond Winsor. For Dr. Matus, a childhood love of science blossomed into a successful career in wastewater epidemiology, and education became her avenue for social mobility. Still other campus visitors—like Lawrence local and spoken-word poet, educator, and book author Dariana D. Guerrero—help students think about effecting change right now. Ms. Guerrero challenged students to counteract the negative narratives they encounter by “remixing” the experience into passion, dedication, activism, and love.

Weekly assembly could be described as an opportunity to hear from powerhouse guests and demonstrate classroom learning, but it’s so much more. Assembly is where students become teachers and support their peers.

Assembly is where students lead from the front and the back(stage). At assembly, it’s clear the leaders of tomorrow are right here at Winsor, actively building a microcosm of the world they’d like to see.

GROWING COMMUNITY AND BELONGING THROUGH ART In September, Winsor welcomed Elisa H. Hamilton to assembly. Recently named the recipient of the Brother Thomas Fellowship from The Boston Foundation, Ms. Hamilton places an emphasis on shared spaces and promotes how public art can grow a sense of belonging.

Ms. Hamilton shared with the audience a childhood photo of herself bundled in a snowsuit alongside her laughing family consisting of a white mother and a Black father. She explained that it was a process to grow into and claim her Black and biracial identity.

This process inspired her to cultivate what brings us together and share her findings through art. She is drawn to “designing projects that are incomplete without community participation.” Ms. Hamilton went on to describe her current project, Jukebox, a permanent, public piece that explores the power of storytelling. She created prompts as starting points for sharing personal narratives, recorded the resulting stories from people with ties to the local area, and transformed a vintage jukebox to play these stories at the Foundry in Cambridge.

“There is something incredibly powerful about unexpected joy,” she explained. Bringing some of that joy to Winsor, she distributed story cards throughout the audience, inviting students, faculty, and staff to use the prompts to share their own stories with those around them.

In assembly, the audience usually watches, but with Hamilton at the helm, the atmosphere became boisterous as students, faculty, and staff swapped stories. Pure, unexpected, community joy.

PHOTO BY LAUREN MILLER FOR ICA BOSTON

To read more about weekly assembly scan this QR code, then keep an eye on Winsor.edu/news for updates throughout the year. The assemblies mentioned in this article took place in 2023 (September, October, and December) and 2024 (January and February).

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Fab Four: Leaders Honored with Chair Positions

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insor announced four chair positions in as many months during the 2023–24 school year. As Head of School Sarah Pelmas told students at assembly, “that doesn’t happen very often—actually, it has never happened before!”

While the Lisa Stone Chair for Crew is new, for three additional chairs to be vacant at the same time is serendipitous. Three legendary teachers and chair holders retired at the end of the 2022–23 school year—World Languages Faculty Jim Jer-Don, History Faculty Libby Parsley, and English Faculty Jennie Skeele ’71, P’98, ’02— leaving behind a lasting legacy in their students and years of wisdom for their colleagues.

At a September 28 reception for crew families and all-school assemblies on November 9, December 7, and January 18, four chair recipients joined the cadre of colleagues who hold esteemed positions in Winsor’s history.

Winsor currently has 10 endowed chairs. Read on for more about the four chairs announced this school year:

#1 SEPTEMBER 2023 When longtime Winsor crew coach Lisa Stone P’03 retired in 2022, the Afeyan sisters—Armine Afeyan ’08, Taleen Afeyan ’10, and Lena Afeyan ’13, who all rowed with Coach Stone—established the Lisa Stone Chair for Crew in commemoration of her retirement and 24-year coaching legacy at Winsor. Established in 2023, the Lisa Stone Chair for Crew represents the first time in Winsor’s history that an endowed chair will support a head coaching role. Director of Rowing Maura Flanagan is the inaugural chair recipient. Read more about the Afeyan sisters and their transformational gift to Winsor on page 12.

#2 NOVEMBER 2023 The Rebecca Willard Chair in Languages was established in 2012 through a generous gift by Winsor father Ralph Willard in honor of his daughter, Becca Willard Sherman ’09, and the amazing education she received at Winsor. In establishing the chair, Mr. Willard wanted to acknowledge the faculty’s exceptional teaching and dedication to students. Since 2012, the languages chair has

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been held by three outstanding Winsor teachers: French Faculty Mimi Minkoff, Latin Faculty Helen Schultz, and Spanish Faculty Jim Jer-Don. In November, the chair passed to French Faculty Laura Houlette.

#3 DECEMBER 2023 Established in 1980, the Alice C. Jenckes Chair in History was the very first endowed chair at Winsor, which was named for one of Winsor’s most dedicated and extraordinary teachers. Alice C. Jenckes taught history for 37 years—from 1929 until her retirement in 1966.

Decades later, alumnae still sing her praises. Brilliant, funny, sympathetic, respectful, and dramatic, often she’d be so excited about a point that she’d jump up and down in class. Inspired by a great love of Ms. Jenckes, past students funded the chair to keep her memory alive. Since 1980, the chair has been held by four memorable Winsor faculty: Sloan Sable, Dorian Bowman, Brian Didier, and Libby Parsley. In December, the chair passed to History Department Head Ann-Marie Holland.

#4 JANUARY 2024 The Carolyn McClintock Peter Chair in English was named for Winsor’s sixth head of school, who served from 1988 to 2003. The chair was given by three families who wished to honor Ms. Peter as a head of school who made a profound difference at Winsor, and whose love of English is unparalleled. Established in 2004, the chair has been held by just one person, longtime English faculty Jennie Skeele ’71, P’98, ’02, who retired in 2023 after more than 45 years at Winsor. In January, with both Ms. Peter and Ms. Skeele in attendance, English Department Head Courtney Jackson was announced as the new Carolyn McClintock Peter Chair in English.

(Pictured R, top to bottom): Winsor Chairs 1. Maura Flanagan, Lisa Stone Chair for Crew; 2. Laura Houlette, Rebecca Willard Chair in Languages; 3. Anne-Marie Holland, Alice C. Jenckes Chair in History; 4. Courtney Jackson, Carolyn McClintock Peter Chair in English

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CONNECTING THE DOTS

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A deep love of Winsor and a desire to give back to students and the school has brought alums into classrooms and club meetings for decades. Now, with increased access to virtual tools, far-flung alums are able to forge connections with students and offer new perspectives.

Often, meaningful connections between students and alums are initiated through introductions by faculty.

Key among those faculty working to connect the dots is World Languages Faculty Sally Hatcher.

Ms. Hatcher serves as Winsor’s Independent Learning Experience (ILE) coordinator, a program that gives seniors an opportunity to pursue a specific interest independently, guided by a faculty leader and expert mentor. The monthlong projects are as diverse in focus as the students who undertake them, and alums have been invaluable in mentoring students through the process.

Recent student and alum connections include Alex Gorham ’21 and Dr. Veronica Rotemberg ’02, who developed an app that employed an AI algorithm for diagnosing skin cancer; Tristen Leone ’22 and Georgina Winthrop ’09, who researched art provenance and its effects on market prices; Holiday Host ’23 and Caroline Farkas ’10, who delved into the art and structure of private equity; Uche Ogbue ’22 and Juliet Tierney ’08, who designed strategies and programs to encourage students of color to pursue careers in creative fields; Austin Forrester ’23 and Adrienne Collatos ’05, who focused on drone photography and documentary filmmaking; and Cleo Jackson ’23 and Brett Jordan ’08, who planned programs to achieve access to quality green space in Boston through public policy.

These alum connections provide incomparable opportunities for students to learn and develop as they finish their time at Winsor and think about future endeavors. If you are interested in learning more about mentoring a future senior as they undertake their ILE, please contact Sally Hatcher at shatcher@winsor.edu.

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GENEROUS MINDED

How Two Teens Help Others Put Their Best Foot Forward

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hen you think of what makes up a basic, fundamental need, shoes aren’t always the first thing that comes to mind. But can you imagine not having shoes? Not even a pair of sneakers to go for a walk, or a weather-resistant pair of boots to get you through a sloppy New England day?

Such is the reality for many throughout the world. Zora Chirunga ’26 and her twin brother Denmark, a student at Roxbury Latin, were inspired to respond to this worldwide problem following a conversation they had with their parents after they attended a presentation on South African artwork. The artist had spent considerable time in Africa and described how underprivileged African children often have to attend school without proper footwear.

Tack on the several miles they often have to walk to get to and from school, and you have a considerable daily challenge for these students.

Giving Soles Africa (GSA) was born in 2019 from that brief conversation with their parents, coupled with a strong desire to give back in a compassionate and practical way to their roots and community in Africa. Since the onset of the charity, GSA has donated over 1,500 pairs of shoes to children in Africa. According to their website, their mission is to provide underprivileged children with reliable

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footwear that supports and protects their feet as they walk to school each day.

“The responses that we received when we delivered the shoes were so kind and heartwarming that it reaffirmed why we do these donations in the first place,” said Zora.

The donations that we do are so much more than just handing shoes out and then leaving, they are opportunities to get to know the kids, learn more about local culture, and form a bond with the people to whom we are donating.

Winsor participated in a shoe drive this past January and students were encouraged to bring in new or gently worn shoes. Denmark ran a similar drive at Roxbury Latin. They’ve been running shoe drives since 2019. Zora’s first GSA pitch was made to Lower School classmates, and she held her first shoe drive with Winsor in conjunction with the Fessenden School in 2019.

The sister and brother duo have visited Africa twice since beginning their registered charity, making trips to both South Africa and Ghana to hand deliver shoes to their partners,

soaking up the kind of direct experience that will continue to propel their mission.

“When we were in South Africa, as soon as we arrived at our donation spot, there were tons of kids expecting us, even more than we thought would be there. We were told that we were going to be donating to about 150 kids, but we were greeted with over 250 kids.

They were all so eager to talk to us and share their talents, and even had dance-offs with one another,” said Zora. “The vibe of the donation was less of a stuffy, carefully thought out event, and more of a day where anything could happen, and you had to think on your feet to accommodate whatever was thrown at you ...

The donations that we do are so much more than just handing shoes out and then leaving, they are opportunities to get to know the kids, learn more about local culture, and form a bond with the people to whom we are donating. In my opinion, that is the most important, heartwarming part of what we do.”

Zora and Denmark made their first trip to Africa during winter break in 2022 to Ghana, then traveled to South Africa the following year. They acknowledge some of the challenges they faced upon arrival to Ghana. “The infrastructure in Ghana is vastly different from the infrastructure in South Africa, as Ghana is still a very developing country compared to

Zora Chirunga ’26 and her twin brother Denmark, a student at Roxbury Latin, launched a nonprofit that works with community partners in Africa to get shoes into the hands of children who would otherwise go without.

South Africa. Therefore, it was a bit hard to navigate the country and we had to rely on the tour company to drive us around,” said Zora. “Even though the accommodations were vastly different from what we were used to in the U.S., we enjoyed our stay in Ghana more than we did in South Africa. The wealth gap between White South Africans and Native South Africans was impactful, and it was very obvious when we were touring the country, leading to us feeling ‘survivor’s guilt.’ How can we live our lives so luxuriously while the majority of our people in this country are struggling so obviously to support themselves?”

The response to GSA has been tremendous both here and in Africa.

Just this past November, they received their first big sponsorship with Marathon Sports, which donated 250 brand new shoes.

“Currently, our goal is to build Giving Soles Africa up and provide schoolchildren in Africa with as many shoes as we can while continuing to be efficient and intentional. This includes bolstering our current partnerships with our past partners while also looking into places like Kenya that have like-minded individuals who want to support underprivileged children as well,” said Denmark. “It is one of our biggest goals to expand to different African countries and support even more children, but first, we have to tighten up our current distributions as a grass-roots organization.”

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PROFILES IN GIVING

Pulling Together for Winsor

BY JOAN YENAWINE

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his fall, the Afeyan Foundation made Winsor history when it endowed the Lisa Stone Chair for Crew. This remarkable gift—the brainchild of sisters Armine Afeyan ’08, Taleen Afeyan ’10, and Lena Afeyan ’13—marks the first time that an endowed chair supports a head coaching role.

For the Afeyans, the idea for this groundbreaking gift was sparked when they learned that Coach Stone P’03, was retiring in 2022. All three sisters had rowed for her and eventually became crew captains, experiences that had lifelong impacts on them.

“Winsor rowing has meant so much to me and my family—from yelling at the sidelines as a lower schooler as my older sisters raced, to the memory of having them both home from college to cheer me off the dock for my last race,” says Lena. “Having a world-class coach like Lisa gave so many Winsor rowers these glorious memories of intense training and victory, but also allowed us to learn what kind of competitors, teammates, and leaders we wanted to be in the face of hardship or setbacks in any arena in life.”

While the Winsor crew program has a winning track record that includes taking home the NEIRA Team Trophy eight times, snagging gold medals at the Head of the Charles, as well as a prestigious Henley victory, Coach Stone is perhaps best known for promoting a “team first” mentality.

Armine remembers a team conversation in her senior year. “We all agreed that we wanted every athlete to leave with a medal; traditionally, the focus had been on the prestige of winning the first boat event, but we wanted to win the team event. Lisa led that shift and it’s had a lasting impact on Winsor crew.”

While many sports teach life lessons and the power of working together, there’s something unique about rowing.

Winsor’s current Director of Rowing Maura Flanagan, the inaugural recipient of the Lisa Stone Chair for Crew, explains it like this: “There’s a special moment in rowing when the pressure against the footplates is syncing up, the oars are dropping together and the boat starts to lift and move. Yes, it’s hard

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“Rowing is a space where you’re allowed to be your full self, to take up space—and you’re celebrated it. For me, rowing was a glimpse into what life could be like if I lived like that everywhere. I think it’s a crucial part of a Winsor education and a good deal of the draw for students and their families.

— ARMINE AFEYAN ’08

work, but you never forget how that feels. Not only do the athletes need to sync up with others in the same boat, they also have to commit to the team, where they are always pushing the other boats to be faster.”

Winsor’s crew team is a standout program for many reasons, including the iconic boathouse space they occupy. Every day, they “launch out of greatness,” says Coach Flanagan, dropping their boats into the Charles River, next to the Eliot Bridge, which is the last turn for the Head of the Charles Regatta.

But more importantly, Armine notes, is that Winsor’s rowing philosophy reinforces the value of a girls’ school education, where students are encouraged to find their voices and express themselves.

“Rowing is a space where you’re allowed to be your full self, to take up space—and you’re celebrated for it.

For me, rowing was a glimpse into what life could be like if I lived like that everywhere. I think it’s a crucial part of a Winsor education and a good deal of the draw for students and their families.”

In addition to endowing the Lisa Stone Chair for Crew at Winsor, the Afeyan sisters helped design and launch the Winsor Crew Equitable Experience Fund, which will support equipment and travel expenses so that studentathletes can participate regardless of their financial situation. The sisters made an initial gift to that fund and invited the Winsor community to participate in raising at

First boat with Lisa Stone P’03 (L to R): Lila Flavin ’08, Lindsey Morse ’08, Julia Streuli ’08, Armine Afeyan ’08, Gillian Chase ’08 at a regatta in 2007.

Taleen, Lena, and parents Anna and Noubar with Lisa Stone P’03 celebrating the donation of a new boat for Winsor Crew from the Afeyans in 2010.

least $250,000. Once that milestone is achieved, the fund will be invested with the Winsor endowment to support the program in perpetuity.

“We want to encourage the Winsor crew community to come together to make that happen,” explains Armine.

Gifts of all sizes can and should support this goal.”

Extending the Winsor crew experience to more potential rowers was essential in deciding how to craft the family gift.

“My parents are both immigrants, so we’re the first generation in the United States; it was not at all apparent that my sisters and I would go to Winsor or that we would row,” Armine explains.

Knowing that rowing is equipment-intensive and requires significant travel, Taleen says they “hope this gift will ensure future Winsor rowers get this opportunity,

and remove any existing barriers to creating a team that is as diverse as it is competitive.”

As the Afeyan family looks to the future, they hope their investment will inspire others and help make a Winsor education possible for an increasingly diverse student body. To continue to make strides in that direction, the entire Winsor community is invited to pull together to support the ambitious new Winsor Leads campaign, set to launch on May 2, 2024.

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FEATURE

For many of us Winsor alums, who we wanted to become and what we wanted to do was inspired by a teacher, class, project, sports team or club, encouraging note, or leadership opportunity at Winsor.

Creating Space for Others to Shine In the 138 years since Miss Mary Pickard Winsor founded The Winsor School, more than 6,000 students have graced its halls. These women have gone on to change the world in profound and meaningful ways, paving the way for those who follow, creating a lasting legacy and expanding the professional landscape for women far beyond the city of Boston.

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LEADING

WOMEN

BY VICTORIA TILNEY MCDONOUGH ’83

The three Winsor alumnae featured here—who work in vastly different professional arenas—are making a pronounced

impact on the world through their jobs and companies, not-for-profits, leadership roles on boards and in organizations, and,

maybe most importantly, by positioning others— particularly women, when possible—to build upon their work.

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COVER STORY

KRISTIN

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For Kristin Bennett ’85, who was a student when Virginia Wing was head of school, it’s hard to forget Miss Wing’s love of Stuart Little and the quote she often shared, “I wish you fair skies and a tight grip...”

“Win sor t aug ht u s t ha t we can d o an yt hing...”

Kristin—who trained in mechanical engineering and geophysics—says she knew nothing about geophysics when she started grad school at the University of California, Berkeley and knew nothing about mountaineering the first time she laced up her hiking boots. “Knowing nothing” didn’t get in her way. Kristin earned her PhD in geology and geophysics and, to date, has summited seven of the world’s 10 highest peaks including Everest, Kilimanjaro, K2, and Aconcagua. “Winsor taught us that we can do anything, we just have to try—like Stuart.”

Kristin entered Trinity College as a math major in large part due to Winsor math teacher David Meyers’s deep love of the subject and his contagious sense of humor, but it wasn’t until she took a graduate school course in materials science that she seemed to stumble upon her passion: nanoscience. “Think about one grain of sand. Cut that grain into 100,000 pieces and now you are looking at shapes, patterns, and relationships among this tiny handful of atoms,” she says. “And the possibilities ‘down there,’ of new science and technology, when you tap into atomic vibrations ... mind-boggling!”

PHOTOS BY KELLY DAVIDSON STUDIO

BENNETT ’85 Earning the nickname “Nano Girl” by one of her bosses, Kristin spent years working as a materials scientist for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national labs, overseeing the creation of five new nanoscience centers across the country, and helping the DOE and 17 other government bodies implement nanoscience in their work. Around 2000, nanoscience, a field that touches on physics, chemistry, geology, biology, materials science, and engineering, was exploding. Kristin was on the frontlines helping scientists from the public and private sectors work with the ultra-small to develop new technologies from green energy to treatments for certain diseases. While she was at the DOE and “shooting time-offlight neutrons all over the world at rocks, plutonium, uranium, starfish, stromatolites”—you name it—she discovered an intense passion for adventure travel and mountaineering.

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COVER STORY

When Kristin turned 40, she left the government and her top-level clearance to start her own company, KB Science—and updated the Nano Girl moniker to the social media handle “Nano Woman.” “KB Science helps small businesses, universities, non-profits, and national laboratories capture federal grants in clean energy for the government,” she says.

“It’s a long process that begins by helping our clients build the strategic concept of their basic science or technology story and then frame it so the government will not be able to say no to funding,” she explains.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to help people bring their brilliant and innovative ideas to fruition. I find it gratifying to work in this service-based way... and I never get bored. I mean, one day I might be working with material scientists and crystallographers who are developing super smart cement, then shift to helping fusion scientists spin hot plasma to produce carbonfree energy through nanomagnets.”

Now as her own boss, she has the opportunity to follow her love of mountaineering. Over the last two decades, she has trekked through India, Turkey, Russia, Nepal, Japan, Tibet, South America, and even Antarctica. During her travels and remembering her years at Winsor, Kristin cofounded Anything Is Possible (AIP) in 2021, a non-profit helping save the lives of Nepalese girls through education. “Nepal has become a special place to me. The people are incredibly kind and giving and by sponsoring girls through scholarships and donations, we have been able to help one girl at a time. This is so meaningful to me because in many rural communities like those in and around Nepal, most girls—and they are so smart—are not allowed any schooling after the age of 10, and sadly, these girls are often sold or trafficked. So, if we can get them into school, they have a chance at following their dreams. It’s still baby steps with AIP, but I hope that the more partnerships we forge and treks we organize to raise money, the more girls we can help and empower.”

“ I hop e t ha t t he more p art ner s hip s we f org e and t rek s we org anize t o rai se money, t he more g irl s we can help and emp ower.”

Kristin is also deeply invested in promoting science education and outreach for K–12 and public audiences. One of her favorite projects was participating in NOVA’s Making Stuff, the popular prime time science

18 WINSOR SPRING 2024

Kristin Bennett ’85 at MassRobotics in Boston, MA.

series on PBS that enables educators and encourages young students to look at the world and its future through the lens of materials science.

“Working on projects like that brings me back to my days at Winsor, which in some ways saved my life.” Because of a change in family status when she was a student, Kristin suddenly needed financial aid. “I felt incredibly supported by Miss Wing and Winsor and I never felt embarrassed that I needed this help. I think in many ways, the help I got from Winsor planted in me a deep understanding of the importance of serving others whether through scholarships or leadership. I have never forgotten what Winsor did for me,” she says. Fair skies, indeed.

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COVER STORY

TIFFANY R. 20 WINSOR SPRING 2024

“...I had some c hop s a s a woman of color and a s a leader, whic h wa s d ue in larg e p art t o Win sor and Ben t ley.”

The assignment was to “draw what you want to be in the future.”

So, in Upper School visual arts teacher Joanna Kao’s studio, while many of her classmates drew pictures of themselves as lawyers, doctors, and B-school prodigies, Tiffany R. Warren ’92 drew what basically looked like a recruitment advertisement for the Boston Ballet. “I drew a Black ballerina, voluptuous and beautiful, on her tippy toes with the words Join Today! Boston Ballet,” says Tiffany. “Unbeknownst to me, I had just drawn my first diversity recruitment ad.”

For more than 24 years, Tiffany worked as a talent strategist and one of the first chief diversity officers in advertising, the last 11 years at Omnicom Group, where she oversaw a team of diversity officers and directors that focused on the support, advancement, and retention of top performing talent inclusive of women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ professionals.

In 2020, through a chance reachout through LinkedIn, Tiffany was appointed executive vice president, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Sony Music Group, a newly created position established to expand equity and inclusion activities and policies across Sony Music Group’s global recorded music, publishing, and corporate divisions. “Here I was, 46, putting aside 24 years in one industry and culture to learn a new job, a new career culture. But how could I say no?” she says. “If a person of the future had come to 12-year-old Tyff and said ‘When you are in your 40s you are going to help nurture the culture of inclusion at Sony Music— the home of Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston’...some of the biggest artists in history—I probably would have passed out!”

PHOTOS BY LAURA BARISONZI

. WARREN ’92 But let’s backtrack for a moment. Tiffany doesn’t hesitate to say that she cut her teeth in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at Winsor and then at Bentley University. “When I arrived in corporate America, I had some chops as a woman of color and as a leader, which was due in large part to Winsor and Bentley.”

As one of five African American girls in her Winsor graduating class of 60, she remembers always being acutely aware of the idea of belonging.

With School Nurse Jacqueline Arrington as their mentor, Tiffany and her

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COVER STORY

classmates Tanisha Jorsling ’92, Alethea Davis Taylor ’92, Jeana Brown ’92 and Kamala Harrington ’92 founded ALAI (African American, Latina, Asian, Indian), a supportive group of girls from different types of marginalized communities. “Mrs. Arrington was the glue. She helped us create a safe space where we could exhale and be our full selves,” says Tiffany.

“Being a part of this group was intoxicating for me as a young girl wanting to belong, and I remember getting this curious feeling about how to expand that sense of safety not only for myself but for other minorities.”

She credits her time in ALAI and her experience drawing the ballerina portrait in Ms. Kao’s class as pivotal moments for her. She notes, “I know they were significant catalysts for where I am today.”

In college at Bentley, Tiffany poured herself into as many leadership positions as she could, in large part to help her face her social anxiety.

She served in every role for the university’s Black United Body, finally becoming president, and she founded and edited VOICES, a publication to give voice to and celebrate the community of color at Bentley. “I am definitely a learned extrovert,” she laughs.

“I remember g et t ing t hi s c uriou s f eeling abou t how t o ex p and t ha t sen se of saf et y not only f or m y self bu t f or ot her minorit ies.”

In the early 2000s, riding home from work on the subway, the words “rise up, reach back” popped into her brain. She says that because of her background in branding, phrases and slogans often come to her out of the blue. Those two imperatives birthed ADCOLOR, a not-for-profit she founded in 2005 with the dual mission to build community and support equity. According to the ADCOLOR website, the organization exists to “help individuals and organizations RISE UP, letting their accomplishments and ideas shine,” then to “teach these new leaders and would-be mentors how to REACH BACK and find others who deserve to be noticed and promoted.”

Tiffany loves acronyms. At Omnicom, she created OPEN (Omnicom People Engagement Network), and when she started at Sony Music Group, she launched MILES (Mobility, Impact, Leadership, Equity, Safety). “Launching MILES has been one of my top five proudest accomplishments. Throughout the company it has become a rallying cry of sorts, which is thrilling to

22 WINSOR SPRING 2024

(L to R): Alethea C. Davis Taylor ’92, Tiffany R. Warren ’92, Tanisha Jorsling Sullivan ’92 (seated), Kamala Harrington ’92 and Jeana Brown ’92.

see. Colleagues tell me that, in some cases, they are applying MILES to their own lives outside of work,” she says. “When you think of DEI work company-wide in education, training, development, data analysis, and external partnerships, the needs that MILES stands for are more crucial than ever for a strong culture of equity and inclusion, especially when you think of people of color, women, and those in the LGBTQIA+ populations.

People can sometimes have misunderstandings around exactly what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean, so I try to break down the meanings to meet people where they are and then take that journey with them.

In this way, we are traveling and growing together. MILES has been the perfect map for that!”

Tiffany, who feels honored to sit on many boards, including serving as the first African American woman and 2020–22 chair of the National Board of Directors for the American Advertising Foundation, reiterates how her time at Winsor helped her develop a deep understanding of the transformative power of female leadership. “I was lucky to have my own Mt. Rushmore at Winsor. It featured the five faces of Mrs. Arrington, Head of School Carolyn Peter, my basketball and softball coaches Laura Gregory and Debbi Hill, and Spanish teacher Stephanie Bennett-Voght, who taught an unforgettable course during one January term on the power of positive thinking, where I learned that I—no one else—gets to determine how I think and who I am.”

No doubt Tiffany will be one of the important faces on the personal Mt. Rushmore of countless people—now and for a long time to come.

WINSOR SPRING 2024 23

COVER STORY

“ Ms. Labieniec alwa y s made science so in t eres t ing, relevan t, and acces sible. I wan t ed t o be lik e her...”

Leslie Dewan ’02 remembers traipsing out to the Winsor courtyard with her classmates as they followed their Class III physics and astronomy teacher Denise Labieniec. There, Ms. Labieniec set up a huge telescope so they could all take turns looking at the moon. “We were studying the phases of the moon and learning in this multi-modal way really made the material stick,” says Leslie. “Ms. Labieniec always made science so interesting, relevant, and accessible. I wanted to be like her, and like my Upper School physics teacher Helen Young. They both went to MIT; they made it possible for me to see that I, too, could be a woman in science.”

Leslie went on to earn a BS in mechanical engineering and nuclear engineering and a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT. In graduate school, Leslie met fellow student Mark Massie and after many conversations and collaborations—and inspired by the 1950s molten salt reactor design—they decided that the world needed new energy technology to generate clean, safe, and affordable nuclear power. In 2011, they incorporated Transatomic Power. “There were other big nuclear companies out there, like Westinghouse, but we thought we could develop effective, affordable, and safe technology in a more nimble way as a startup,” she says.

Since then, Leslie has served as CEO of RadiantNano, a nuclear startup developing next-generation radiation detectors with applications in national security, clean energy production, and medical diagnostics, and is now working on building robust supply chains for advanced nuclear reactors. “It’s actually a very exciting time in the nuclear energy field.

China, for many years—primarily to reduce pollution—has been building up their nuclear technologies and facilities and there are also a good 100plus new and varied nuclear startups worldwide, which are developing advanced reactors using different types of fuels. These different types of fuels, in turn, create less waste, lower costs, and safer technologies,” she explains. “The whole sector has taken off. My new work is focusing on filling the supply chain gaps for these companies.

LESLIE DEWAN 24 WINSOR SPRING 2024

PHOTOS BY ELISABETH CAREN

N ’02

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COVER STORY

“A lot of people are still afraid of nuclear power. They think about the meltdowns at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima and about the industry that for so long was shrouded in secrecy and isolation,” says Leslie. “People are afraid of the unknown. I want to help make the invisible visible—to combat public fear by talking about how nuclear energy can generate carbon- and emissions-free power, and how, going hand-in-hand with intermittent energy sources like solar and wind, nuclear power can provide us with safer and more affordable energy than that from fossil fuels. And frankly, we need nuclear power if we want to meet our carbon emissions goals to combat climate change.”

Leslie takes her role as a leader in science seriously. She is among the youngest ever to serve on MIT’s board of trustees, and currently, she serves on the advisory board of the University of Michigan Engineering School’s Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences program and on the board of Winsor’s Corporation. “It’s an honor to be on academic advisory boards like these—boards with defined missions, boards that run on long-term scales for big-picture success. I feel like I am part of something much larger than myself,” she says.

“ ...[it] bring s me bac k t o t ha t t ime of k een ex cit emen t when I fir s t caug ht t he science bug a t Win sor.”

26 WINSOR SPRING 2024

Leslie says she is thrilled to see that more young people, in particular women, are entering the field of nuclear engineering. “Because of Three Mile Island and the other historic meltdowns, most nuclear engineers are in their 70s to 90s but also now in their 20s to 30s. Fear caused people to leave the field; hence, the gap in ages,” she says. “Now, there are some universities with inspired and forward-thinking department heads in nuclear physics and engineering who have been listening to the concerns and ideas of their students and further developing their programs with those concerns and big ideas in mind.”

She also notes that in 2018, the Department of Energy launched “Navigating Nuclear: Energizing Our World,” a free K–12 program to support educators who want to incorporate nuclear science into their lesson plans. “I think the younger students can learn about science, can see themselves in a science career, can effect positive change in the world, the better—especially girls, who traditionally have been discouraged from pursuing study in science,” she says. “I want to keep my eye on that program if only because it resonates for me and brings me back to that time of keen excitement when I first caught the science bug at Winsor.”

Among other awards and recognitions, Leslie was selected as one of Time magazine’s 2013 “30 People Under 30 Changing the World.” She says

she has been lucky enough to give talks at TEDx and other organizations, universities, and middle and high schools, including Winsor. “Some of the best questions I have gotten were from Winsor girls, even from the little ones in Class I. Talking to curious girls and young women about atoms and radiation, about nuclear energy and climate change, about how nuclear reactors are basically fancy ways to boil water is invariably rewarding.”

“ ...I f eel lik e I am p art of somet hing m uc h larg er t han m y self.”

In addition to getting hooked on science back when she was in Class III, Leslie also credits Winsor for her confidence as a writer, public speaker, and leader. She laughs when she recalls being the coxswain—and “easily the worst person”­—on Winsor’s crew team. “I think it was my first real leadership position and there I was as a freshman and sophomore with that headset on yelling at juniors and seniors about strokes and cadences as we churned our way down the Charles. It gave me a lot of confidence, as did our having to survive Expos papers and Hemenway speeches.”

And Leslie recognizes those same benefits among other Winsor alumnae.

In graduate school, as a teacher’s assistant for an MIT lab in materials science, Leslie kept noticing one of her sophomores who time after time submitted the most well written and well reasoned lab reports. “I was handing back some papers one day, and there on her finger was a Winsor signet ring.”

GENEROUS-MINDED Mary Winsor founded our school with a vision of educating young women to be independent, wise, generous-minded citizens of this country. She knew the power of women and their voices, and the indisputable value of providing a rich environment where girls would be encouraged to pursue a wide range of important subjects, including— perhaps especially—those that had historically been designated as more masculine areas of study. She knew that a Winsor education could prepare women to lead in important ways, ultimately changing the world for the better, and developing a foundation upon which others could further build. And while the roles described here by Kristin, Tiffany, and Leslie didn’t even exist during Mary Winsor’s time, her influence is clear. Whether building inclusive professional cultures of belonging, blasting neurons at rocks, developing much-needed clean energy options, or summiting mountains, Winsor alumnae are at the forefront of their varied professions, inspiring those who follow to do the same as they forge their own paths.

WINSOR SPRING 2024 27

ALUMNAE NEWS CLASS NOTES

Art Comes Full Circle Chloe Macaulay ’21 created a series of artistic works at a pivotal point in her medical journey. “I was one blood test away from moving from ‘rare disease’ to ‘medical mystery,’” she said. This was the catalyst that inspired her to create a series of paintings that were featured at an alumnae art show and reception at Winsor in January. Pictured here is the first painting in the series, “Metamorphosis: The Creation of Language,” which explores the deep feeling, isolation, and loneliness associated with chronic pain and illness.

Macaulay’s art creates a world of idealism, a safe place to live freely and be understood deeply, a world where one’s state of being can reach true peace. Visual Arts Department Head and Eleanor Thomas Nelson ’49 Chair in Fine Arts Sara Macaulay loves the full-circle moments that occur when alums return to campus and share their art with her and the rest of the school community, who were all invited to the art exhibit. The show also featured works of art by Brigid O’Connor ’22. Both alums have continued to pursue art in their post-Winsor careers.

Read the full story and access more alumnae news articles using this QR code.

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WINSOR SPRING 2024 29

ALUMNAE NEWS

Alumnae Board 2023–24 PRESIDENT

Ashley Marlenga Herbst ’01 VICE-PRESIDENT

Meghan Weeks ’04 SECRETARY

Armine Afeyan ’08 MEMBERS AT LARGE

Fatima Aziz ’06 Holly Breuer ’14, Co-Chair, Young Alumnae Committee Hillary S. Brown ’80, P’17 Susan Holzman ’67 Elizabeth Flint Hooker ’95 Jennifer Inker ’83, P’26 Danielle Johns ’05 Katherine McCord ’02, Co-Chair Alumnae Giving Jillian Campbell McGrath ’02 Johanna Mendillo ’96 Julia Broderick O’Brien ’56, P’87 Nell O’Donnell ’81 Jennifer O’Neil ’93 Ambika Patni ’98 Elizabeth-Anne Finn Payne ’94 Sarah Marlenga Powers ’05 Mary Noonan Quirk ’05 Lacey Janet Rose ’06 Nancy Adams Roth ’66 Elizabeth Tillman ’83 Miwa Watkins ’83 Alexis Hasiotis Wintersteen ’91 Claire Wiseman ’83 EX-OFFICIO PAST PRESIDENT

Erica Mayer ’91, P’25 CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

Caitlin Crowe ’89 CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

Julia Livingston ’66, P’85, ’07 CO-CHAIR, YOUNG ALUMNAE COMMITTEE

Anushree Gupta ’13 DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT AND EVENTS

Becky Withiam ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE ENGAGEMENT

Myriam Poznar

Conservationist of the Year

E

ven growing up in Back Bay, Lee Thorndike Sprague ’58 can recall having land to play on and trees to climb. And although she grew up in the city, there was always an appreciation and a dedication to open space and conservation that was deep-rooted inside her and would have a lasting impact on the direction of her life.

“Dad liked open space and we never lived in a place where we were jammed in together real close,” said Mrs. Sprague during a recent phone conversation from her Ft. Lauderdale condo as she recounted how her father’s upbringing on a farm in Millis, Massachusetts was an early influence on her love of open space.

In 1964, she married George Sprague and they settled in Sherborn, Massachusetts, where they both grew to appreciate and dedicate time and energy toward preserving the rural nature and farmlands that make up that part of the state. In addition to their time in Sherborn where they raised their children, they also summered in Scarborough, Maine, where Mr. Sprague was from.

Following decades of conservation efforts, the Scarborough Land Trust honored Mrs. Sprague with its second-ever Conservationist of the Year Award at a ceremony held late last summer where over 200 guests dined on meat and vegetables that were raised and grown on a local farm.

“I was speechless. I had no idea that was coming,” said Mrs. Sprague, who was attending the dinner as a long-time supporter of the trust as well as a fivedecades long summer resident of the community. “I am very proud of the fact that they chose me and had lots of nice things to say about me.”

Mrs. Sprague and her late husband began supporting the land trust in the 1990s and their efforts have aided in key land trust acquisitions, according to The Southern Forecaster newspaper in Maine.

The Spragues were also instrumental in the trust acquiring the 125-acre Libby River Preserve, which was the trust’s first-ever purchase in 1996.

A trail in Libby River Preserve is named in honor of the couple’s daughter, Lucy.

“George and I liked our breathing room. Luckily we could put our money where our mouth was and got things going,” said Mrs. Sprague.

“What can I say, I like my space,” she added with slight tongue-in-cheek humor as she sought to describe what led her to dedicate so much time to conservation. “I will always look around, no matter where I am, and support conservation.”

OVERHEARD

“While visiting my daughter Sophia Russell ’22 at college, my Winsor classmate Hope Drury Foley ’91 entered the same elevator, by chance. Our daughters are now classmates at Washington University.

What a small world! ” —MARION RUSSELL ’91 30 WINSOR SPRING 2024

“Dad liked open space and we never lived in a place where we were jammed in together real close...I will always look around, no matter where I am, and support conservation.”

—LEE THORNDIKE SPRAGUE ’58

(L to R): Lee Sprague ’58 holds the Scarborough Land Trust Conservationist of the Year Award, presented by board President Betts Armstron. Contributed/Scarborough Land Trust

NEWSMAKER: LINNEA METCALF LEMMA ’10

Alum Receives Grant to Study How Cells Use Energy Linnea Metcalf Lemma ’10 was among a group of 25 early career scientists to be chosen for the Hanna H. Gray Fellows program, which provides financial support to promising young biomedical scientists to support their research. Ms. Lemma has dedicated her research studies to soft matter, or materials that are easily deformed by thermal fluctuations and external forces. At Princeton University, where she is a fellow, she studies living materials, particularly the membrane-less algal organelle, the pyrenoid. The pyrenoid is responsible for 30% of the world’s carbon fixation.

The Hanna Gray Fellows program, which is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), provides each fellow up to $1.5 million in the span of eight years to support postdoctoral training through transition to an early career faculty position.

“Combining concepts from active matter physics and tools from molecular biology, [Lemma] is uncovering physical principles for pyrenoid formation and function,” noted the announcement from HHMI. “These insights will advance our understanding of how cells use energy to

bring about organization and life.”

The program is designed to give fellows the freedom to explore new scientific territory and follow their curiosity, while seeking answers to challenging scientific questions.

“We are thrilled to welcome these exceptional scientists into the HHMI community,” said Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Leslie Vosshall. “Each of this year’s Hanna Gray Fellows has the expertise, talent, and ingenuity to make groundbreaking discoveries in the life sciences while developing and inspiring generations of scientists over their career.”

The new cohort will join a close-knit community of Hanna Gray Fellows who participate in professional development, mentorship, and networking with their peers and the broader HHMI community of scientists.

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ALUMNAE NEWS

OUR GENEROUS COMMUNITY OF DONORS THANK YOU to every person who has made a gift to the Winsor Fund. When you give to the Winsor Fund, your investment goes to the area of greatest need.

FY 2023 supporters by the numbers

Every year you transform Winsor with your commitment, trust, and generosity. Thank you for supporting the Winsor School community with a gift.

100% Winsor Board of Trustees participation

1,630 supporters

429 Winsor Fund supporters have renewed their gifts for 10+ years in a row

1,462 supporters made gifts of $250 or less, raising over $152K

322 current families made a gift to the Winsor Fund

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THE TRANSFORMATIVE INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR FY 2023

$15M RAISED IN TOTAL $3.4M RAISED BY THE WINSOR FUND (in restricted and unrestricted current use gifts)

COLLECTIVE PHILANTHROPY BRIDGES THE GAP Like many of our peer schools, Winsor relies on the generosity of our community to help bridge the gap between tuition and the true cost of educating each of our students. Much of this integral support is provided by the Winsor Fund, which goes directly to the areas of greatest need.

Our extraordinary students and exceptional faculty are the true heart of Winsor, and through your gift to the Winsor Fund, you support them every single day. You enable students to access every aspect of the full Winsor experience—from in-the-classroom activities to rich extracurricular programming and more. You bolster financial aid so we can recruit the most remarkable students, regardless of their ability to pay. And you help us secure and retain the most talented, dedicated teachers, ensuring the highest quality education for our students.

7:1 student-to-teacher ratio

You ensure that Winsor continues to be a place where girls thrive.

Every student benefits from a gift to the Winsor Fund, which secures a 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio, rigorous academics, professional development for our faculty, and so much more.

Winsor is a diverse, vibrant community that has challenged and shaped generations of students to go on to lead lives of purpose as responsible, generous-minded members of society.

Collective generosity is a vote of confidence in the mission and leadership of the school. We sincerely thank you for your vote of confidence, and for helping us lead the way toward a brighter future.

212 professional development opportunities for our faculty

25% of students receive tuition assistance covering from 5% to 100% of overall tuition

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CLASS NOTES

CLASS NOTES

1953

Helen Cutter Maclennan I am well and enjoying my life in London and in the far north of Scotland. My grown up (very) children either live in London or pass through frequently.

Natascha Simpkins Halpert It’s odd being 88 and wondering where all the time has gone! It’s been a quiet year for Stephen and me; we stayed close to home and enjoyed one another’s company and that of

friends. I have been working on a new chapbook I hope to publish this year, and I continue to write my column: Heartwings Love Notes, published weekly on WordPress.

Sign up to read it weekly at http:// tashasperspective.com. Or read it on Facebook. I have been dealing with Parkinson’s Disease for the last several years, and my neurologist recently told me it is moving very slowly, for which I am grateful.

I also enjoy a wonderful poetry group that meets twice a month on Zoom. Family news: Grandson Ryan married his Saudi love a year ago and

on January 17 they welcomed a son into this world. Daughter Laura’s wonderful company, Photovoice Worldwide is expanding all the time and helping many members of the brain injured population. Daughter Angela’s Emilia is pursuing an MA in film making at UCLA. Daughter Diana’s Pearl is studying for an MA in social work and engaged to her best friend Megin.

Louise Greep Hogan In 2022 I sold my house in Vermont and purchased two condos: one in Burlington, VT and one in Vero

NEWSMAKER: ANSHI MORENO JIMENEZ ’15

Winsor Alum Tapped for Forbes 30 Under 30 List Anshi Moreno Jimenez ’15 was named one of the accomplished Bostonians Forbes Magazine honored in its annual 30 under 30 in Boston for 2023. Moreno Jimenez was awarded the highly coveted honor in recognition of her work as a senior policy advisor for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and as a key member of Mayor Wu’s history-making election campaign team.

“During the 14-month campaign, Ms. Moreno Jimenez led the collection of $2.4 million in donations. Mayor Wu’s team had the highest number of individual donors (nearly four times more than her opponent),” touted Forbes in its profile of Ms. Moreno Jimenez. “As a DACA recipient, Moreno Jimenez is committed to working on the local level to make systematic change.”

Forbes 30 Under 30 is an annual recognition by Forbes Magazine that celebrates the achievements of notable individuals under the age of 30 across various industries.

These lists feature entrepreneurs, leaders, and stars

34 WINSOR SPRING 2024

who have made significant contributions in their respective fields.

Despite her hectic schedule in the mayor’s office, Ms. Moreno Jimenez recently returned to campus to take part in a panel composed of former members of SOMOS, an Upper School affinity group for Latinx students to connect and discuss complex and important issues like colorism, language, and the complexity of identity within the Latinx community. Ms. Moreno Jimenez is a co-founding member of SOMOS. During the panel, Ms. Moreno Jimenez provided some sage advice to students about making sure to prioritize mental health while undergoing the rigors of a Winsor education.

Ms. Moreno Jimenez has also lauded Winsor student organizers during Mayor Wu’s campaign.

“They ran meetings, they set agendas, they strategized how to reach new voters, they made phone calls… I didn’t know about local politics or campaigning in high school, and it fills me with so much joy and hope to see these young women be more than ready to take on the politics of our time,” she said in 2021.

Ms. Moreno Jimenez received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University.

Beach, FL. Now I am settled in and enjoying them. Last week I played tennis with Louise Macy Sylvester ’66. A three-generation trip to Ireland organized by my daughter Lisa McNamara ’83 in April was wonderful.

1958

Anne Luther von Rosenberg Well we all survived our 65th and had a lovely get together for dinner at the Country Club last June.

Now in our 80s I find years tend to be pluses and minuses. The von Rosenbergs lost far too many dear friends and relatives in ’23, and have to face that that sad reality will continue. On the plus side however, there were two weddings and another coming in June. Then one more great, great niece was born and another great, great nephew is expected in late Feb. So between global warming and world turmoil afar and at home, Chaz and I hope there will be a decent world for these new beginnings to inherit. As for us, we are doing well here at Fox Hill. Chaz is still hiking and skiing and sailing when he can. I am less mobile but still enjoy activities here, and outings here and there. Marion is still a big draw with daughter, two nieces, and various Howlands, and Smoyers relatives to enjoy. I see Ethel Hamann ’58 from time to time, and Cousin Susie White ’58 up in Yarmouth, ME who has now made friends with my niece Sarah Luther who has recently moved to Yarmouth as well.

We carry on, Anne.

1961

Priscilla Ellis Thanks to Jenny, Mary, Muggie and Ellen for keeping our class connected virtually and, for those able to make the trip, actually at gatherings in Cambridge. Thanks to Miss Todd who exhorted, as she held up my paper covered with red marks, ‘You have to prune, Prill, prune.’

(Yes, the former are incomplete sentences.) Contemplating aging, sickness and death, holding the joys along with the sorrows, and putting one foot in front of the other, occupy my attention - along with music, meditation, movement, family, friends, petitions, naps, and Netflix. Sorry, Miss T, still trying.

Well wishes to all.

1962

Sarah Cannon Holden Since the last Bulletin we have lost two of our classmates. Martine Cherau ’62 died in November 2023 and Olivia Holmes ’62 died in January 2024. On a recent Zoom chat we shared our memories, both long ago and recent, of our times with them. We hold them and their families in our thoughts. When we gather in our virtual monthly chats we always learn something new about each other. We also share our joys and concerns. We reflect on our Winsor days and look to the future.

It has brought many of us closer today than when we were students.

I would urge others to try it. On a different and personal note—I just hope that this Republic can survive the turmoil and legislative paralysis it is now experiencing. May there be peace around the globe.

Nina Green Stutz ’65, Hope Green ’62

Hope Green Arns My dear sister Nina Stutz ’65, died in June of a second stroke. She was living in Chapel Hill, NC, in a lovely house she had rescued and renovated. I am her executor, so my summer and fall have largely been spent on her estate. I miss her very much. But her cat Eddie has moved in with me (making a total of four cats, you can imagine), and he is a lovely reminder.

1967

Nancy Gardner Powlison This year marks 4 years as a widow.

But I connect with my David each day through his writings.

His devotional “Take Heart” has encouraged my heart as now I am moving from our home in Philly of almost 50 years up to my old stomping grounds in the Boston area. I will be near my sister Tammy Gardner ’65 and my daughter Gwenyth and her 4 girls on the North Shore. 16 Blueberry Ln. S Hamilton, MA,01982. Would love to connect with any Winsor girls for a walk. So many trails and beaches there to explore!

WINSOR SPRING 2024 35

CLASS NOTES

Nancy Powlison ’67

1973

Patricia Livingston Aldrich Our 50th Reunion (May 2023) was great. We talked, we walked, we even played pickleball. My spouse catered our dinner and Sunday breakfast and waited on us hand and foot! Given the chaos and heartbreaks of recent years, it was remarkably healing and fun to be together. Together, our class made a 50th Reunion Class gift of $50,000 to Winsor’s Wellness Program, quite an achievement. On a personal front, I am slowly adjusting to retirement, pursuing a variety of interests that keep me fit and energized. I play pickleball and sing in two choruses.

I volunteer with two conservationoriented groups, remaining engaged in my lifelong interest in caring for the natural world. I hike in the White Mountains with family and friends and give thanks for the beauty around me.

36 WINSOR SPRING 2024

(L to R): Gayle Gryska Willauer ’73, Mimi Coolidge ’73, Tricia Livingston Aldrich ’73, and Martha Franklin Braunstein ’73

Prudence Law Heilner A photo from our daughter’s wedding in Blue Hill, Maine on August 12, 2023.

connect again at the 55th. I am in the process of completing a lifelong dream of obtaining a doctoral degree.... should be Dr. Hurlston by August 2024. I am enjoying the role of grandmother with my 4-yearold grandson and granddaughter to arrive in early February. Life is a journey and I am enjoying the ride.

1982

(L to R): my husband Fred (Nobles ’74), Prudy Heilner ’73, our daughter Madeline, our son-in-law Sam, our son’s fiancee Sydney, our son Alexander

Jo-Anne Reavis Hurlston What an absolute joy it was to attend and participate in our 50th high school reunion. We may be gray but the energy was at the high school level. Hopefully we will be able to

Alexandra Coburn Chris and I, along with our boys Jack (27) and Ben (22) (sans daughter Julia (25), had a really fun “reunion” this past summer, with Kristen Sanders Smyth ’82 and her terrific husband, Phil, on their turf—the beautiful Hamptons on Long Island­— over Aperol Spritzes by the ocean. Not a bad way to catch up! She was full of energy and a hoot, as always—no surprise! Also, just caught up with Liddy Manson ’83 at the holidays which was a treat. Hoping to see more folks this spring, if Sarah Pelmas and team make it down to DC—crossing fingers!

1983

Celia Francis I have just had a visit from my sister Victoria ’87 and her son, Padric, here in London. We have had such a nice time touring around and just hanging out this week after new years. My focus continues to be growing my business, Ponterra.

We are a commercial developer and operator of large scale biodiversity rich carbon projects. We are currently restoring 10k hectares of land in Panama with over 100 native plant species. Each of our projects includes locally extinct tree species to give them a home in our ecological arks. We are lucky to have some of the world’s most well regarded investors backing the

company and our projects. Each project also cools the local area by two degrees, sequesters four million tons of carbon, and brings tens of millions in income to the local area.

I have loved the transition from tech to sustainability which is the number one challenge of our planet today. I bring in the tech experience to make sure we are efficient and effective in tracking and optimising our operations but it is nice to be working in the physical world again. Was also a pleasure to see so many classmates at the reunion last summer. What a huge turnout. We really seem to have a class that sticks together with so many flying in from all over the world to be together.

Victoria Collins (neé Francis) ’87, Padric Collins, Celia Francis ’83

1985

Octavia Kincaid Still in Evanston, outside of Chicago.

Evanston is home of Northwestern U; if anyone is coming through

NEWSMAKER: EMELIE GEVALT ’98

Folk Art Exhibit Highlights Abolitionist History Definitions of folk art vary, but according to New York’s American Folk Art Museum, it is a medium that encompasses “self-taught art, past and present, [that] tells empowering stories of everyday life.” Emelie Gevalt ’98, has been the curator at the museum since 2019. She has a new show she co-curated called, Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North at the Folk Art Museum, which chief art critic for the Boston Globe Murray Whyte called “among the most powerful exhibitions I have ever seen.”

“The curators offer a corrective, specific to the region, and a broader exploration of the subjective vagaries of cultural memory,” wrote Mr. Whyte. “Many of the stories they assemble here remain partial and fragmented, an emptiness that only strengthens its thesis.”

The exhibit is made up of 125 works that include paintings, needlework, and photographs.

Ms. Gevalt told the Boston Globe that the exhibit is very personal given her early roots in Cambridge, where she was exposed at an early age to the history of Cambridge hero Darby Vassall, who was born enslaved to John Vassall Jr. and abandoned, along with his parents and two siblings, when the British loyalist fled Cambridge. Mr. Vassall and his brother Cyrus would become advocates and champions of abolition.

“I went to school on Vassall Lane, I grew up going to the church where Darby Vassall was buried, and visiting that house, where he was born,” Ms. Gevalt said to the Globe.

“There was never any mention of the enslaved people who lived in the house. So when people ask what brought me to the project, it might not seem obvious at first, but it feels very personal.”

WINSOR SPRING 2024 37

CLASS NOTES

2000

for college visits, drop a line and we can show you around. Still doing Neurology, with increasing emphasis on autonomic disorders and neuropathic pain, but moved to Rush University Medical Center in downtown Chicago.

1995

Beth Keaney Folsom After several years of working parttime at History Cambridge and parttime at Trinity Church, Boston, we received grant funding that enabled me to be the full-time Program Manager at History Cambridge, and to transition from being the youth minister at Trinity to being a parishioner once again. I am loving my work, especially the ability to help document and share stories of Cantabrigians who have previously been left out of the historical record. My daughter, Maggie, is a sophomore at George Washington University, where she is majoring in psychology, but her younger brother, Nate (11), and our two dogs, Cookie and Clover, keep me plenty busy. I would love to connect with other alums interested in local history!

Beth ’95, Maggie, and Nate Folsom

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François and Andrea Cherkerzian ’96

1996

Andrea Cherkerzian Launching my certified gluten-free cake company, p.s. i love you, has been so much fun! I love meeting my new customers—whether at a farmer’s market or local store! Using my Winsor toolkit, taught by the incredible teachers, every day.

1998

Emily Apsell Singer It was lovely to see so many classmates at our reunion in May. I continue my work as an anesthesiologist at MelroseWakefield Hospital and teaching first year medical students at Tufts.

Our family has had the joy of seeing grizzlies and bald eagles in Montana, sting rays in Costa Rica, and many many wonderful friends and family here in Boston and around the US.

Liane Young I’m looking forward to our 25th reunion right around the corner now! I am lucky to stay in close touch with local friends Emily Howe Bellemare ’00, Emily Flier Matteodo ’00, Marisa Murphy O’Boyle ’00, and Kim O’Keefe Markelewicz ’98, as well as Andreea Stefanescu Knudson ’00 in RI and Alexis Burakoff ’00 in CO via daily texting. Over winter break, we caught up with Melissa Bond ’00 visiting from CA. This fall, I enjoyed visiting Winsor’s STEM and Society class, and discussing with juniors and seniors my lab’s work on how people make moral decisions, interpret virtue signals, think about truth, and form impressions of others. I am 13 years into my time at Boston College and still very much appreciate the challenges and delights of research and teaching. I live in Wellesley with my wonderful husband, Xin Gao, an oncologist at MGH, and our lively daughters, Adelyn (4th grade) and Jaelyn (kindergarten). I hope to catch up with the rest of the Class of 2000 soon!

2005

Stephanie Brenman-Reed Hi Winsor friends, Liz and I had our second child, Parker, in July!

We moved down to Newport Beach from LA a couple of years ago when I got a position at Hoag Hospital, and we finally settled in what will hopefully be our “forever home” this spring. We’re adjusting to life with two kids, but still playing ice hockey, skiing and traveling when we find time! Please reach out if you find

Liane Young ’00, Emily Howe Bellemare ’00, Emily Flier Matteodo ’00, Marisa Murphy O’Boyle ’00

(L to R): Son Holden (age 2), Stephanie Brenman-Reed ’05, wife Liz, and daughter Parker

yourself in Southern California, and I hope to make it back for our 20(!!!!) year reunion next year.

I’ve learned from Winsor into this important work. Please follow and support the project at www.tranvuarts.com/1975viethealing.

MAY 10 AND 11 On Friday, May 10, reunioning classes will host dinners throughout the Boston area.

On Saturday, May 11, all alums are invited back to campus for an afternoon of activities and programs culminating in our annual dinner. For more information and to register go to www.winsor.edu/alumnae/ alumnae-weekend-2024

2012

Maia Raynor-French I’ve spent the last decade committing myself to the pursuit of equity in maternal and child health. I’m a trained doula who has supported several people throughout labor, including Winsor friends.

I work as a policy and program manager at the Dept of Public Health in Massachusetts.

I live in Boston with my dog Roxbury!

U

M

N

AE

&

10

2024

11

1 MAY 10 & 1

AL

Ngoc-Tran Vu I am thrilled to share some exciting news. As a visual artist and cultural organizer, I have recently embarked on a creative journey as a part of the 1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Healing Memorial in Dorchester.

This project, deeply rooted in history and cultural significance, aims to honor and remember the experiences of the Vietnamese community following the pivotal year of 1975. Working in close coalition with community members and various partners, this project is a culmination of dedication and collective effort. It represents not just a memorial but a testament to the resilience, strength, and healing of the Vietnamese Diaspora. I am incredibly proud to be contributing to this significant endeavor and am eager to bring the values and lessons

Join us

AY

2006

Robyn Gibson ’06 and Ngoc-Tran Vu ’06

AN

D R

EUNIO N W

E EEK

ND

|M

WINSOR SPRING 2024 39

CLASS NOTES

NEWSMAKER: LIA KORNMEHL ’91

Searching for Community-Led Solutions Lia Kornmehl ’91 was one of 78 recipients worldwide to be awarded a highly-competitive Gates Cambridge Scholarship, a prestigious award that gives students full financial support to pursue graduate study at The University of Cambridge.

“I’m very grateful to have had the space and encouragement to form my research interests at Winsor,” shared Ms. Kornmehl. “My masters in philosophy research traces all the way back to a junior year history class I took with [former History Department Head] Mr. Didier.”

Drawing on the “foundation” she developed at Winsor, Ms. Kornmehl went on to study at Bowdoin College where she graduated in 2023 with a degree in religion and government.

As a Gates Cambridge Scholar she will study philosophy and religion and its role in conflicts. She described the program as a “perfect match” for her academic interests.

“Religion, politics, and violence are entangled with each other a lot of the time,” Ms. Kornmehl explained in an interview with Bowdoin College. “Religion can be such a

(L to R): Andrew McGrath, Jillian Campbell McGrath ’02, and Liam McGrath

40 WINSOR SPRING 2024

divisive and charged topic, but I also haven’t encountered much in my life that is as comforting, healing, and community-building as religion is.”

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation founded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship in 2000 with a donation of $210 million to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. Ultimately the grant will equip Ms. Kornmehl with the skills necessary for an impactful path forward.

“I want, as much as possible, to be a constructive scholar,” she said. “I want to be someone who doesn’t just look at a phenomenon that is actively causing a community pain, but takes it one step further and thinks about community-led solutions or amelioration for that situation.”

At Cambridge, she will pursue her master’s in philosophy to explore whether the same theologies that instigated electoral violence and crumbled interreligious bridges in Northern India and Northern Ireland can generate and sustain reconciliation.

Following her master’s at Cambridge, Ms. Kornmehl has law school in her sights.

(L to R): Meghan C. Weeks ’04 and Callum Dickson

(L to R): Isabella Kulkarni ’08 bridesmaid, Casey Wortmann ’08, Lydia Gammill ’08

ARRIVALS AND ADOPTIONS

2002

Jillian Campbell McGrath son, Liam Campbell McGrath April 2023

2005

Stephanie Brenman-Reed daughter, Parker Brenman-Reed July 2023

2010

Blair Ballard Markell daughters, Sadie and Sloane August 30, 2023 MARRIAGES

2004

Meghan C. Weeks Callum Dickson June 11, 2022

2008

Casey Wortmann and Jefferson White October 8, 2023 IN MEMORIAM

1946

Lorraine Lyman

1947

Mary Winslow

1948

Mary Pyemont Stephenson Alicia Hills Moore

1949

Eugenia Eacker Olson Helen Angier Trumbull

A number of Winsor alumnae were among those joining Jenny Lister-Oldfield ’86 and brothers David and Jamie at a celebration of life for their sister, our friend, Amy Lister ’80, MD held on the weekend of February 17 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Weston. In person and virtually, we gathered to honor Amy, grieve her early loss, and share tales of her wit, sparkle, kindness, and good humor. Pictured are some of the Winsor group at the reception in the old Weston library Amy loved. Sent in by Rhys Gardiner ’80.

(L to R): Hillary Brown ’80, Meral (Pongi) Dabcovich ’80, Althea Silver ’80, Lilla Gardiner ’80, Mitzi Peterson ’90, Macie Finkelstein ’80, Trevor Crow ’80, Katie Sullivan ’86

1950

Mary Ann Dexter Streeter

1951

1961

Lucia McClintock Payne Catherine Hammond

Virginia Lapham Pescosolido Hesterly Fearing Buckley Deborah Shaw Link Vera Converse Gibbons

1962

1954

Patricia Porter

Elizabeth Bartow Campen Penelope Parkman Biggs

1957

Ann Shepler Albright

1959

Helen Wetherbee Alliston Baker

Olivia Holmes Martine Cherau

1963 1965

Cornelia Green Stutz

1980

Amy Lister

1985

Mary Hamlen

1987

Diane Pfaelzer Levinson

WINSOR SPRING 2024 41

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

75TH REUNION

Class of 1949

Susan Conant Holden I am still in Rockport enjoying the ocean views and dodging the storms.

I am no longer the Recording Secretary for my various patriotic societies, even though many of the meetings are virtual or on Zoom.

I am enjoying trying to keep up with the grandchildren ranging in age from 16 - 28 and am glad to be included in their various activities.

I also have fun writing to my penpal who is in a school that I attended before Winsor. This is a program that involves alumni/ae. I have a chance to, periodically, catch up with Barbara Smith Metcalf ’49.

70TH REUNION

Class of 1954

Janet Green Vaillant Henry and I have moved into Newbury Court, a retirement community in Concord, MA: a new chapter. It has proved an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. New friends, new challenges, and chances to play a civic role. I suffer with my former Russian colleagues over our shattered hopes for the evolution of their country and its cousin Ukraine.

The speed with which Russia has been transformed and their families scattered is astonishing. Our own country is transforming itself, too.

We have lived through a lot of history. My book about my mother is finally finished. It is an imagined memoir written in the first person about her life before she moved to Boston. I call it Growing up in the American dream: My Mother’s Story. My next project is to collect

42 WINSOR SPRING 2024

vignettes about my own experiences in Russia, Senegal and elsewhere for my children and grandchildren.

I have reached the age of gratitude, for being born where and when I was, and for my wonderful broad education. It was my Winsor teacher, Nancy L. Roelker, who inspired me to be a historian and supported me as a friend as I wobbled toward that goal.

Manor, a senior community in the Sun Valley district of San Rafael in Northern California. Music, art, gardens, walking. Children thriving.

Grands a joy. Feel myself to be a very fortunate woman!

65TH REUNION

Class of 1959

Olivia Hood Parker In November I had a spectacular trip to Iceland. Although we did not see the northern lights, we saw huge waterfalls, a basalt black sand beach, an ancient crater filled with turquoise water, and felt the ground shake because of an impending volcanic eruption.

(L to R): Emilia Morenzoni (daughter’s daughter), Caroline Mandelstein (son’s daughter), Cornelia “Leela” Pratt ’64, Liam Mandelstein (son’s son)

50TH REUNION

Class of 1974

Olivia Parker ’59: Iceland trip 60TH REUNION

Class of 1964

Cornelia Pratt Enjoying the ageing process by practicing radical acceptance. Because otherwise it’s so annoying, right?

Happily ensconced in a Rotary

Victoria Plimpton Babcock The 50 years since our graduation have just flown by! I have been blessed with a fabulous husband of 45 years, four wonderful children, and three precious grandchildren.

After Wellesley College, we married and moved to New York City where I worked at Rockefeller Institute and Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates. We then moved to Boston where my husband worked at HP and I became a Monumental Operations Manager (MOM) raising four kids through seven moves while he ran numerous companies.

I also served on boards of nonprofit organizations where I used

my organizational, planning and creative talents to raise money and create communities. We eventually settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts to take care of my parents, who have since passed away. I have started a social group for empty nesters in town and am active in an investment group. Bill and I greatly enjoy traveling the world having visited 70+ countries. I am most grateful to Winsor for all the superlative teachers who gave me such a zest for learning and taught me skills that I have used all throughout my life.

I am greatly looking forward to seeing all of you in May. Gail Awad Bogle My husband, Bill and I are retired and just moved to Florida for 6 months of the year. We spend the other 6 months in Nantucket. We enjoy golfing, tennis, pickleball and fishing. Our older son William lives in Colorado and younger son Jeremy lives in New York City. Our family meets in the Colorado mountains for a week of skiing and fun! Life is great after many hectic years working and raising two boys.

Julie Harding Brousseau Hi Guys, All’s well with this gal. I am still living in Fort Mill, SC. I am self employed working four and a half hours a week in retail. I am in touch with Rue by phone and text, who is doing great. And I express my appreciation on Facebook of Amey’s photography. I am always up for a chat or a giggle with any of you. I’m guessing I’m pretty much the same girl I was 50 years ago. My boys think I’m nuts. My grands have a ball with me because we play. I

differ from our Winsor days. I’ve been “Pastor Daphne” for 37 years.

Now I’m retired and attempting to learn who “Daphne” is. Perhaps you can help?! After we see each other in May, come visit me on the Cape, and we’ll talk! For now, I’m thrilled to be seeing you in Boston and hearing your stories.

Julie Brousseau ’74

love to be outdoors in nature. I had a tough 2020, as did we all. I broke my ankle in May, lost the love of my life in October, after 40 years, and then I broke my hip in November.

But, alas, I’m healed and back out and about. Please, come see me.

Daphne Burt I join you in not believing that it’s really our 50th. Even as a senior, the 50th reunion women were definitely not cool, interesting, or able to do anything worth doing, physically or otherwise. I can’t comment on whether I’m cool or interesting now, and I can’t do many things I could in 1974 (except sing and act), but I refuse to believe that I’m as old as those reunioning Winsor women were. Seeing classmates nearly every 5 years has taught me much. Most important is that we knew each other when – when we lived with our families, were discovering who we were, had our first crushes and heartbreaks – and before – before we went to college; made our (first) career choices; chose our last partners; did things we regret, had children, dogs, horses, and/or cats; and are known by others in ways that

(L to R): Debbie Swartz ’74 and Linda Cies ’74 enjoying a mini-reunion and some sunshine on the Washington Coast

Linda Cies I remember thinking when we graduated that our 50th reunion would be in 2024… Such a long, long time into the future that it was unimaginable! And now it’s here. I retired after a career in Information Technology (which definitely comes in handy when trying to figure out current technology).

These days I spend lots of time (but never enough) visiting friends, knitting, hiking, reading, meditating, and swimming. Over the years, my husband and I moved from one coast to the other and back—and we’re presently in the Midwest, a place I said I would never live. Life’s crazy that way! The older I get, the more grateful I am for having had an education that taught me to think critically and question authority. I’ve stayed in touch with a few Winsor

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REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

classmates and am looking forward to seeing more at the reunion.

Patricia Schneider Ekman Hi Classmates of ’74. I don’t think I’ve never made a submission to Class Notes, but with our 50th reunion upon us, now’s the time to do it. Given the space limitations, I’ll need to give a quick recap. I graduated from Harvard in 1978 and then went directly to Stanford Law School. Took a job in a New York City law firm where I met my husband Gary (now married 40 years).

After a stint at a second law firm, I went in house to Citibank (Gary moved to the rival, Chase). Stayed at Citi for 31 years, leading a team of lawyers working primarily on loans to multinational corporations. Gary and I have 3 daughters: Kate who lives in Oakland; Laura (a twin) in Denver; and Sally (the other twin) in northern San Diego County.

All are married and Sally has a baby boy. When Gary and I retired, we moved from NY to Santa Monica to be closer to our kids. Being beach bums, we love living just a few blocks from the ocean. It doesn’t look like any classmates live in Southern California, but if there are, it would be great to reconnect.

Dianne Georgian-Smith Winsor set me up for a fulfilling career in medicine, Diagnostic Radiology. During residency in 1986 (Cleveland Clinic), I chose specialization in Breast Imaging at a time when this field was in its infancy. As director at U of Cincinnati, I began my 30 yrs in academia, starting with the tissue phantom, “the turkey breast”, upon

44 WINSOR SPRING 2024

which radiologists hone their skills of freehand percutaneous needle biopsies under ultrasound guidance.

These needle biopsies are now performed daily world-wide. After UC, I was Director at U of Washington for 5 years, then returned in 2001, on staff at MGH/ BWH/ Dana Farber. I published a text-book in 2014, wrote over 50 peer reviewed manuscripts in a career that was primarily clinical, and was awarded fellowship status in American College of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging. In 2019, I moved to West Palm Beach, still happily working full-time in private practice.

50 years later, I remain grateful to 3 special teachers, who took personal time to teach me: Miss Holmes (English), Miss Field (History), and Miss Kneiper (Biology). Because of their extended efforts, I was prepared for a fulfilling medical career, helping thousands of women in Breast Cancer. Thank You! Marjorie H. Gordon Still chugging along, not much worse for wear and grateful for it. Living in the suburbs west of Philadelphia, PA. Lawyer since 1984, law firm and in-house practice, specializing in employment law and commercial transactions. Currently in-house, Director of Legal Services for the Project Management Institute, a global association for project management professionals.

Married to Pat, husband number two, for twenty-two years. Two wonderful daughters, Alex and Julia.

Both daughters in DINK relationships, so no grandkids. One outstanding grand dog, however: a beautiful Shiba Inu who Alex rescued

from the South Korean meat trade.

Most non-working time is spent on long walks in nature, copious reading, finding fun things to do with Pat, Alex, Julia and friends, and buying, renting and occasionally selling residential real estate. Cheers to all!

Emily Bulian Helmes ’74

Emily Bulian Helmes After graduating from Tufts with a BS in Chemistry, wanderlust took me to northern California where I completed an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School. Chemical market research, business development, regulatory affairs, and capital project management consulting represent the main areas of my career which continues to be very fulfilling based especially on being able to work with terrific people. Currently I’m based in the Washington, DC area and lead Regulatory for a startup R&D company focused on applying advanced microbiome technologies to address needs in animal health. Personally, I’ve been married/divorced, have two now-adult sons, a partner, and

a very determined scenthound (Basset Fauve De Bretagne) who I’m training in obedience. Bicycling is another major hobby and I’ve gone on many tours, both locally and around the US (Maine, Montana, Utah), Canada, and Europe (Italy, France).

Nancy Cutler Ignacio The past 50 years have been full of adventures, and I’m much happier than I imagined I’d be when we graduated (no need to look at our yearbook for proof). David Ignacio and I have been married for 45 years, have had 5 corgis, numerous cats, chickens and even cows. We are proud parents of Natalie (Jeff Whitaker), Tom (Kara Shemeth) and Pete (Hannah Schmidt). As retirees, David and I are happy “washashores” on Martha’s Vineyard and proudest grandparents of 4: Sam (6) and Pete (4) Ignacio and Sabine (5) and Josephine (3) Whitaker. While David worked in many capacities as a business consultant, I found my bliss teaching English as a Second Language, to refugees and immigrants from all over the world.

Of course I learned as much or more from them than they did from me, and I hope to find a way to continue this work with the Brazilian population on the Vineyard. Staying in touch with classmates, especially Jacqueline, Gisele, and Daphne has been great.

While it can be difficult to get off this island, David and I welcome your visits if you can get here.

(There’s a bus from the airport!)

Antoinette Lafarge ’74

Antoinette Lafarge I have been teaching at the University of California, Irvine, as Professor of Digital Media for over two decades. This year, I left the university and southern California, transitioning to life as an independent artist and writer. I and my husband Robert Allen and our dog Reji have moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I would be happy to see fellow Winsorites who are passing through. My website is www. antoinettelafarge.com and I am also on FB and IG. Giselle Limentani When we sewed the banner for Class VIII, we chose a theme of a woman walking down a long winding road into the sunset. Now that image seems ever more relevant, as I reflect on my journey through the past 50 years. As a chemist in pharmaceutical R&D, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work on drugs for the treatment of life-threatening illnesses (AIDS, cancer, etc.). Helping others, throughout my career and on a personal level, has provided meaning to my life.

“Success”—attributed to Emerson “To laugh often and much, to win

the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a caring child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Now I am enjoying the sunsets of life, literally and figuratively.

Married, with close friends and a great cat, I enjoy life on Cape Cod, doing pottery, vegetable gardening, cooking, and working out. The end.

(L to R): Jacqueline Berthet ’74, Linda Cies ’74, Giselle Limentani ’74

Anne Sebestyen There is a saying, “man decides, and the gods laugh.” When I look at my life I wonder if that saying was intended for me. So much of how I expected my life to be has turned out so very differently than I imagined. Some aspects are gone.

The rest can still happen. I wonder if I have taken enough risks. Or is it possible that the risk was in not taking risks? From a brief career practicing law I went into teaching—education is the only way to truly effect* change. Whilst I abhor the politics of the profession, I love

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REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

working with students. Seeing a young person cogently develop their unique thoughts or come to understand a complex passage or idea can be breathtaking. What I have come to learn is the extreme importance of kindness. Had I known of J.M. Barrie’s quote when I was in Class VIII, my yearbook quote would have been, “Always to be a little kinder than is necessary.”

Medb Mahony Sichko Fifty years ago, I would’ve imagined myself more complacent and accomplished at this age. After Winsor, I graduated from college and law school. I spent a year working in a Boston law firm and then married my husband Sam who was a JAG officer in the Marines Corps. We have two children, now adults. Our son is in software and works for Amazon Web Services in DC. Our married daughter is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at UCLA. When my husband left the military and we moved back to Boston, I taught legal writing at Suffolk. In the winter of 2010, I had a short story published in Independent School. Lately, I’ve been working (interminably, it seems!) on a novel.

Christine Paterson Smith At our wedding in 1978, following my Dad’s long-winded toast comparing marriage with compound interest, my new father-in-law toasted, “To venture causes anxiety but not to venture is to lose yourself.” Our adventures and travels included: skiing, windsurfing, mountain biking, snorkeling, hiking, and sailing the Bahamas, Caribbean, Hawaii and the NE. We recently

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Christine Paterson Smith ’74 and Yacht Robin Leigh at Sjunkhatten Nasjonalpark, Arctic Norway

sold our 49' aluminum sailboat after sailing transatlantic to the UK and Northern Europe. The highlights of cruising were Arctic Norway for two summers and one winter living-aboard in Oslo cross-country skiing. We have two boys. Colby is an earthskills/wilderness educator.

Clark is a musician/computer coder.

My jobs were in aquatic toxicology, fishery biology, and teaching. When we returned to NE to help care for ill parents, I played ice hockey on a travel team with women just out of college hockey. My last and most fulfilling job was with the Maine Environmental Protection.

We now spend winters tending our fruit farm on Molokai, helping the island achieve food security. We live the rest of the year on the coast of Maine. Although we still are active, now venturing is more internal through meditation. My Dad was right, love does compound in marriage and in friendship.

Debbie Swartz Fifty years, really? How can that be?

I don’t feel old enough for a 50th Winsor Reunion but so it is. Hmm, what’s happened in that time. Well, stuff you would expect. I got married, have two kids, and have lived in Tucson, Arizona since college. I love hiking through the desert and the mountains with the wide open views we get in the west. However, I will always miss the ocean and try to take trips to enjoy it as I can. I spent my working years as a field archaeologist here and throughout Latin

America and now keep my hands in the dirt volunteering at a farm that grows food for the food insecure and in my own yard. Guess I never played in the dirt enough as a child.

Family and friends are important to me. I hope to see the ocean and many of my classmates in May. Erika Tarlin I left after Class IV, but despite not graduating with the Class of ’74, I have always felt a part of it. As much as I wanted to leave Winsor to attend Brookline High, my good thoughts about the school outweigh what confused me then. Singing hymns every Monday morning at Assembly? Bermuda Shorts Day? By living nearby and walking to school, I led two lives. In one I loved the building, the art room and sports, the library and the teachers and friends who were so kind after our mother died. In the other I couldn’t wait to get home and change into play clothes and play baseball down the park until dark. College in California was a whole new world and while I loved it there, homesickness brought me back to Boston.

After a master’s in Library Science from Simmons, almost twenty years a 7th and 8th grade librarian in Cambridge. Heaven! I seemed able to understand 12-year-olds very well.

Then for years involved with saving Fenway Park from destruction. And we did! Which lead to current work in historic preservation. We create housing from rehabbed buildings and make Boston feel like home.

Elisa Wolper I left Winsor in 1971-my sophomore year was at Needham HS and then

we moved to Delaware where I graduated. I returned to the Boston area for 5 years at Harvard but then decamped in 1979 for the first of a series of community organizing jobs in North Carolina, where I have been ever since (Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh and soon Wendell).

With three high schools under my belt, my years at Winsor stayed very clear and know much of my educational foundation came in those years. The classmates I have heard from over the years and some chance encounters have been important to me. I am now retired from working for the NC Judicial Branch, have three young adult children (all adopted from Korea) in various stages of independence, and a planned move to a cohousing community in the county later this year.

My working years were busy and I am enjoying time to do volunteer work and help build our community.

Of course good health is the thing I am most grateful for. I hope others have had a good 50 years.

35TH REUNION

Class of 1989

Elizabeth Tobey “Change” is the word that summarizes my decade. I earned a library degree, graduating from the University of Maryland in 2015. Since 2016 I have worked in federal government libraries in the Washington, DC area. Currently I work for the Animal Welfare Information Center at the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland. I live in Greenbelt, Maryland outside Washington, D.C. in a townhouse facing the woods.

Elizabeth Tobey ’89

My cats, Sage and Miss Kitty, came from the Greenbelt Animal Shelter where I volunteer. I made frequent trips to Massachusetts to visit my parents, Philip and Solace Tobey in Hingham and my younger brother, Rob, a web designer and musician, in Cohasset. We enjoyed dining at Star’s Restaurant and going to concerts. Mom passed away in 2018 from cancer, Dad in 2020 from kidney disease, and in 2022, Rob died suddenly at age 49 from a pulmonary embolism. My heart broke each time, but especially when I lost my brother. In June 2023, I flew to Washington State to see Joni Mitchell in concert. Like Joni, I’ve looked at life from Both Sides Now, but with the realization that, “...something’s lost and something’s gained in living every day.

20TH REUNION

Class of 2004

Meghan C. Weeks Twenty years feels like it has gone by all too quickly. The last year or so probably packed in the biggest transitions since our last reunion, including a pandemic-postponed wedding and a career shift in quick succession. I married my husband, Callum Dickson, on Nantucket with a number of Winsor friends and family present, including fellow ’04 alum Amy Parker in our wedding party. After a decade working at Boston Public Library, I left my role as a curator to leap into a career as an artist; I’m grateful for the opportunity to turn a part-time

professional passion into a full-time business. Looking forward to reconnecting with fellow alums this spring!

15TH REUNION

Class of 2009

Catherine Rea Its hard to believe its been 15 years since graduation, but I am looking forward to seeing the Class of ’09 at reunion! These days I am living in San Francisco, California with my husband, Ted, and our dog, Mustard the Corgi. I work in Venture Capital at Bessemer Venture Partners and am lucky to interact with a number of Winsor women in VC and entrepreneurship. This past year, Ted and I got married and we were thrilled that so many of my Winsor ’09 classmates joined us to celebrate including Leah, Mairead, Kelley, Meredith, Taylor, Maddie and Becca.

Kelley, Maddie, and Becca gave a joint toast at our rehearsal dinner which included many wonderful and hilarious Winsor memories. Looking forward to being back on campus and seeing everyone soon!

Leah Demetri ’09, Mairead Reilly Ray ’09, Kelley McNamara ’09, Ted Keith, Caty Rea ’09 Becca Willard Sherman ’09, Taylor Evans ’09, Meredith Traquina ’09 and Maddie Mitchell ’09

WINSOR SPRING 2024 47

FIRST PERSON

Un An en France Studying at the Rennes École Américaine, Anne Moghtader ’25 is spending her junior year of high school in Brittany, the northwest region of France. Between weekend trips to Paris and practice with her French rowing team, she shared some musings about life abroad and what she can’t wait to experience back home senior year.

What has been the most surprising?

Brittany is known for salted butter. It is always shocking to see how they use butter very liberally. Sometimes as an after dinner snack, my host dad will basically cut a slab of butter and put it on his toast, so that the ratio of butter to toast is almost equal!

What is a typical day like for you in France?

French schools account for the fact that we often don’t finish dinner until after 9:00 p.m. by having school start later. School is from 9:00 a.m. to 4:25 p.m. and includes an hour and a half lunch break. One of my favorite parts of living here is being able to walk 10 minutes from school to the city center. After school, I go workout at the local gym with friends or go to crew practice. I eat dinner with my host family every night. At home [in the U.S.], if I have a lot of homework, I will usually eat quickly and spend the rest of the night alone working. However, here I am expected to make time for the family, enjoy a meal together, and talk about my day.

Do you get to participate in sports?

I am on a rowing team here, which has been one of my favorite parts of this experience. I have had a lot of fun training and racing with them while also being able to improve my French. I have loved getting closer with my French teammates and I feel like I am really a part of the team now even though I am the only American.

I miss Winsor crew a lot. While leaving France and the people I have become close with while here will definitely be hard, I am excited to get back to training with my team. Being here, I realized how much I rely on my teammates during practice and how fun it is to be on a team with people that I am really close with.

What have you learned about yourself and the way you like to travel?

For me, I think the best way to get to know a new place is by wandering around without a plan. I feel that I have really gotten to know places and have created some of my favorite memories with friends by stumbling upon beautiful streets with breathtaking architecture and finding hole-inthe-wall places to enjoy a traditional lunch.

For the full Q&A: www.winsor.edu/alumnae/winsor-bulletin

48 WINSOR SPRING 2024