Winsor Bulletin Spring 2018

WINSOR BULLETIN | SPRING 2018

We Are City Centered Mitzi Peterson ’90, P’17, ’20: Treating Mental Illness Behind Bars Prized Memories of Julia Lyman Simonds, Class of 1917 Reunion Biographies Mark Milestone Years

CONTENTS

RUNNING WILD After racing to a perfect 9-0 record, Winsor Cross Country decisively defended its league title this fall. At the New Englands, the Wildcats finished a strong third in a field of 16.

Showing the team’s phenomenal depth, seven runners earned All-League honors and three made All-New England. See story, page 5.

IN THIS ISSUE

18

City Centered our alumnae share their F Boston stories.

28 Think Outside

he Muddy River holds T lessons for Class I naturalists.

30 The Inside Story

itzi Peterson ’90, P’17, M ’20, advocates for prisoners’ mental health.

33 Prized Memories

L earn the story behind the name of Winsor’s alumnae prize.

IN EVERY ISSUE

2 From the Head of School 3 From Pilgrim Road 36 Alumnae News 64 First Person

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

The Winsor School HEAD OF SCHOOL

Sarah Pelmas

CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER

Nancy Skinner EDITOR

Joe Broughton

Always a Boston School

A

fter each Winsor fire drill, as our entire school is lined up out on the fields, we turn and wave to our neighborhood. Do we know whether anyone is looking? Not really. But we trust that we’ll bring a smile to those looking down from their hospital rooms or offices. And we know that we are a city school, in the midst of a lively neighborhood, with lots of people coming and going. We love that about Winsor.

It wasn’t always so bustling. In the early 1900s, Boston was just spreading out to Longwood. When a group of parents and advocates of girls’ education decided on this site for a school, there was some consternation about moving so far from the city center. At the time, Miss Winsor had already moved her burgeoning girls’ school five times since 1886. Pilgrim Road promised a permanent home. It also would mean light and play space and proper classrooms, labs and studios. So, despite concerns about how far the girls would have to travel, the original 32 incorporators bought the land and built the building that is still the heart of Winsor today.

Of course, much has changed about our school. Playing fields were a 1924 addition. The 1983 closing of Pilgrim Road unified the campus.

Our educational space has more than doubled.

But Boston has changed even more. Our Longwood neighborhood now welcomes more than 110,000 people each day. Winsor students commute here on the crowded T, or in our buses from the suburbs, or in cars whose drivers pray for an easy trip on the Jamaicaway. On a given day, students may intern in nearby labs, head to the Muddy River for a science class, or walk down to the MFA for a field trip. Through community service, students prep food at Pine Street Inn, tutor at Greenwood School, and visit elders at the Mount Pleasant Home.

Recently, the faculty and staff spent a morning hearing from a panel of experts on race in Boston, including Karilyn Crockett ’91, whom you can read about inside. We learned more about the city’s complex history and how various agencies and groups are working toward equity in housing, education, and social structures. We know there is much to do, and we know that Winsor students and alumnae will be out there doing it, as you will read in “City Centered” on page 20.

Winsor has always been a Boston school and now, more than ever, we thrive because of our interactions and connections with this spectacular, complicated, busy city. — SARAH PELMAS

2 WINSOR SPRING 2018

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Naomi Walker

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Jennifer Bub P’23

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE RELATIONS

Beth Peterson ’80, P’11

CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN

2COMMUNIQUÉ PHOTOGRAPHY

Webb Chappell, Kathleen Dooher, Kristie Gillooly, Ellen Harasimowicz, Margaret Lampert, Jörg Meyer.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2017–2018 PRESIDENT

Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’89, P’21, ’22 VICE PRESIDENT

Davis Fulkerson P’17, ’18, ’21 TREASURER

Bart Epker P’13 ASSISTANT TREASURER

David E. Goel P’23 CLERK

John M. Westcott, Jr. P’90 ASSISTANT CLERK

Elizabeth Bennett Carroll ’89 John R. Barker P’21, ’23 David Belluck P’17, ’19 Rachel Casseus ’02 Raymond Chung P’18, ’21 Leslie Dewan ’02 Mary Gallagher ’94 Jonathan Goldstein P’22, ’24 William H. Heald P’18, ’21 Jean M. Hynes P’16, ’18, ’21 Liz Lempres P’17 Adrienne Penta Lissner ’96 Anne C. McNay P’16 Joseph J. O’Donnell P’05, ’07 Krishna G. Palepu P’21 Sarah Pelmas Jennifer Morgan Peterson ’89, P’20, ’22 Bruce A. Shaw Forbes Singer ’72 Kimberly Stanfield P’15, ’20 Perry M. Traquina P’09, ’13 Lori Whelan P’23, ’25 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 and and other school-administered programs.

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Upper School Presents “The Crucible” On November 17 and 18, Upper School students delivered a stirring performance of Arthur Miller’s classic 1953 play “The Crucible.”

The cast included Olivia Brasher ’18, Isabelle Isselbacher ’18, Megan Kaye ’18, Penelope Mack ’18, Lena Venkatraman ’18, Jane Wrenn ’18, Connie Zhou ’18, Abigail Golden ’19, Teresa Lawlor ’19, Ariela Rosenzweig ’19, Nazira Calhoun ’20, Lola Fearon ’20, Julia Beecher ’21, Maya Bodick ’21, Thomasina Hare ’21, and Marc deFontnouvelle from the Roxbury Latin School.

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Getting out into the field gives Gail Lima’s marine biology students “an essential and unforgettable experience.”

Class VII Marine Biologists Explore Coastal Waters

F

ar from the classroom, in the waters of Gloucester Harbor, Class VII Marine Biology elective students became marine biologists for the day during a fall field trip. "It's much like a boot camp," says Gail Lima, science teacher and recipient of the Essential Winsor Chair in Science, with a

4 WINSOR SPRING 2018

smile. "It's intensive and immersive, and yet a lot of fun!"

Rising with the sun, students traveled to Eismann's Beach in Swampscott, where the day began with "a study to understand adaptations of organisms and the factors that influence their distribution in the rocky intertidal." Next, they

boarded the schooner Ardelle where students gained exposure to sampling techniques. The girls collected and compared water samples at different depths, conducted plankton tows to assess the biological diversity, and also used an underwater camera to visualize the physical and biological properties of the ocean floor.

Skype with Author Inspires On Wednesday, October 25, members of the Lower School Fiction Writers Club and the Book Marketing Club got a real-life glimpse into the world of writing and publishing during a video call with Middle Grade and Young Adult Author MarcyKate Connolly. Underscoring patience and persistence as essential to success, the author recounted how she received more than 300 rejections and had six failed books before getting a yes from an agent.

A lively question and answer session followed in which Ms. Connelly shared tools she uses for plotting, tips for developing a writing process that works, and perspective on the necessity of good feedback and active revising. “If you want to be a writer, you’re in for a fun ride,” she concluded.

English teacher Lisa Stringfellow made the connection with the author through a fundraiser for Puerto Rico, and much to the students’ delight, they each received an autographed copy of one of her books.

SPEAKERS EARN INTERNATIONAL ACCOLADES Through the years, Winsor debaters and public speakers have garnered a well-deserved reputation of being top performers on the world stage.

This October, the trio of Ellen Burstein ’18, Katherine Lin ’18 and Anne Kaplan ’19 enhanced that reputation, placing second among U.S. teams at the 2017 International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition, held in Winnipeg, Canada.

Along with the team trophy, Ellen earned fourth place among individual U.S. speakers and was named to the American team for the 2018 Worlds. In doing so, she follows in a long line of Winsor students who have qualified for the World Public Speaking and Debating Competition.

The April 2018 competition will take place in Cape Town, South Africa.

In Winnepeg, this year’s Winsor teammates spent five days competing in debate and public speaking against teams from all over the world. The results showed their skill, experience, and extensive preparation, with guidance from Winsor coaches Ned Henningsen and Jean Berg P’77, ’81, ’85.

ILLLUSTRATION BY AARON MESHON

Cross Country Wins 14th EIL Championship On a warm and windy day, Winsor hosted the 2017 Eastern Independent League (EIL) Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park. The Wildcats raced to the program’s 14th title and third conference championship in a row!

When the gun went off there was an immediate rush to the front with no Winsor runners in the top 10 or even 20 at the half-mile mark. However, by the mile mark, Wildcats had cracked the top 20 and were slowly starting to move up.

Senior tri-captain Alex Bardon made a huge move coming off bear cage hill and moved up over the entire second half, eventually finishing in 5th place, the best EIL finish of her career.

All five Winsor scorers (Alex Bardon ’18, Zoe Lewis ’22, Winnie Wang ’20, tri-captain Nicole Chung ’18 and Annie Kaplan ’19) finished in the top 15 and received ribbons for their efforts. 6th and 7th varsity runners, Indi Aufranc ’20 and Chloe Duval ’19, were key displacers ahead of the fourth runner (or higher) from every team in the field.

Alex Bardon ’18 finishes strong, pacing the team’s title run.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 5

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Class I students pack up food they prepared at the Pine Street Inn.

Lower School Community Service Day 2018

O

n Monday, January 8, students devoted themselves to helping eight local nonprofits during Winsor’s annual Lower School Community Service Day. Students not only contributed their time but also gained a deeper appreciation of how many in their communities struggle to support their families or are overcome by adversity.

6  WINSOR SPRING 2018

Class I students prepared food at the Pine Street Inn, which offers comprehensive services for the homeless men and women in Boston.

Class II collected and sorted clothes, toys and books for Cradles to Crayons, an organization which provides children living in homeless and low-income situations with essential items that they need to thrive at home, at school and at play.

Class III sorted and packaged food and household goods at the Greater Boston Food Bank, the Newton Food Pantry and the Centre Street Food Pantry, all organizations dedicated to fighting hunger.

Class IV spent time with toddler and preschool children at Bridge Boston in Roxbury, Ellis Memorial in the South End, and Harrison Avenue Headstart in the South End.

WELCOME TO THE WINSOR SOLAR SYSTEM! On September 6, Winsor students began a new year filled with excitement, adventure, and discovery. As girls streamed through the familiar front doors on Pilgrim Road and ascended the stairs, a tunnel of lively seniors in space-themed costumes welcomed them.

Later that morning, when students and faculty gathered for the traditional opening assembly in the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater, Unique Hodge ’18, president of Collect, explained the senior class’ space-themed homeroom with an insightful and humorous comparison of the Winsor community to each planet in our solar system. “Each planet is different in its own way, but without one, the solar system would be incomplete,” she concluded.

Daphnee Piou ’18, president of the senior class, acknowledged the excitement of the new school year for all students from across the Lower and Upper Schools. “Considering that our senior class theme is ‘Space,’ I hope we all take this year to discover something about ourselves and explore beyond our comfort zones.”

Excitement builds at the UTL pep rally.

School Spirit Shines Bright at Under The Lights Winsor school spirit was on full display as students, faculty and staff embraced Spirit Week, donning themed costumes and dressing in head-to-toe red for Friday’s all-school pep rally and Under the Lights. The student-choreographed class cheers were the highlight of the week, with Class VIII edging out Class VII for first place. Spirit awards were also given to those who best embodied each theme.

After the pep rally, the games began. Cheered on by friends and family, Lower School teams took the fields first, and as the sun went down, the varsity teams wrapped up another momentous night under the lights.

“The weather was spectacular! And it was exciting to have the new Varsity Volleyball team join in the celebration. The Brock-Wilson Gymnasium was packed with fans lining the sidelines to cheer them on,” notes Sherren Granese, director of athletics. “What a great night for Winsor!”

WINSOR SPRING 2018 7

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Volleyball’s Inaugural Season Led by captains Liz HowellEgan ’18, Grace Hamblett ’18 and Kaylee Chang ’19, the team of 18 players and four managers made its varsity debut at Winsor, proving to be fierce competitors and exciting to watch in every match. As the season wrapped, it was clear that the new team will be a force to reckon with in the years to come. Congratulations on an incredible inaugural season!

8 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Justice Breyer’s Class I fans ask for autographs.

RAISING STRONG, HEALTHY DAUGHTERS This year’s parent-inspired programs have addressed timely topics ranging from anxiety to social media, and the Parent Network for Diversity held three engaging forums on parenting in the #MeToo movement. Visit the Wellness blog on winsor.edu for recaps and added resources provided by the school’s counselors, Amy Blackburn and Madeline Warlan.

ILLLUSTRATION BY AARON MESHON

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer Visits Winsor students had a rare opportunity on Wednesday, December 13 when U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer took to the stage during morning assembly. Kept largely a surprise until the final hours, the visit from Justice Breyer offered unique insight into the judicial system and the role of the Supreme Court.

Providing clarity and inspiration that will long outlive the hour spent, Justice Breyer covered everything from how a case—among millions—makes its way to the Supreme Court, to the responsibility of citizens in a democracy. While most people think of cases in terms of winners and losers, when it comes to federal law, it is about something greater and more fundamental.

He reflected in the kinds of questions in which the Supreme Court becomes engaged, including when judges across the nation interpret or apply the words of the law differently. “When our country needs us to,” he said, “we figure out the meaning of the words. That is what we do.”

Justice Breyer ended his visit on campus with a Q&A session with Class I. The eager students had more questions than time would allow, and crowded around him for an autograph on their own pocket-sized Constitutions before he left. It was a fitting end to a unique and memorable day.

CLASS I DEBUTS WHO CRIED WOLF On January 19 and 20, Class I delighted audiences with the world premier performance of “Who Cried Wolf,” written and directed

by Winsor performing arts teacher Jeremy Johnson.

A Winsor tradition, the Class I play is a source of pride for the students who spend months preparing, and the experience of working together unifies the class long after production wraps.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 9

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Dehlia Umunna P’20 welcomes guests and encourages everyone “to become a bridge builder.”

Annual MLK Celebration Unites Winsor Community

O

n Monday, January 15, a standing room only crowd filled the Dining Room in Peter Hall for Winsor’s 25th annual celebration of the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Equal parts celebration and reflection, the event was a powerful reminder that we can each play a role in ensuring equality, dignity and justice prevail in our own communities and beyond.

Organized by the Winsor Parents’ Association and the Parent Network for Diversity (PND), the program centered around the theme of building bridges and strengthening communities, and featured reflections and performances by Winsor students, parents, faculty, staff, alumnae and friends, and remarks from special guest speaker Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Harvard University Professor and OAH Distinguished Lecturer.

10 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Captivating the room, Ms. BrownNagin opened with a reminder that once upon a time, legal discrimination in this country was widespread and extended well beyond race. “Dr. King fought to ban discrimination in all areas...that’s why he’s so special,” she explained. He was a resilient and empathetic seeker of justice with a global perspective, and because of that, “we are all the beneficiaries of King’s redemptive work.”

Dehlia Umunna P’20 personified empowerment, calling on the audience to face discord and resentment with strength and positive action. Herself an immigrant, born in England to a Nigerian father and Somalian mother, she is the first woman of African descent to be appointed a professor of law at Harvard, and finds purpose in supporting and creating opportunities for others. “Dr. King would want us to

do something,” she said. “I urge you to become a bridge builder. Don’t stand by and don’t be silent.”

Alumna Rachel Casseus ’02, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, encourages others to stand up and fight for what they believe. She founded her own immigration law firm after witnessing the unjust treatment of immigrant scientists and researchers doing groundbreaking work. “You can change people’s lives in ways you never thought you could.” With genuine emotion, she also addressed history teacher Julian Braxton, who was standing at the back of the room.

“Thank you for awakening in us the concept that we need to learn from history so as not to repeat it.”

Other highlights of the evening included individual student reflections from Selina Li ’18 and Caroline Bonnevie ’19. There was a passionate delivery of Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again”

by Josie Mastandrea ’22, Karina Peak ’22, Ava Bub ’23, Ava Kee ’23, Olivia Sarkis ’23, Annika Singh ’23, Meredith Tagney ’23 and Charlotte Jones ’22, directed by Jolean Ashman ’20. Dancers from the Lower School affinity group, SISTERS, performed “Corazon sin Cara,” directed by Katherine Torres ’22 and Ava Hawkins ’22, and a step routine directed

by Miracle Hodge ’22 and Franchesca Vilmenay ’22.

The Winsor Inspirational Singing Ensemble (WISE), led by Geoff O’Hara P’19, lifted spirits with two emotional numbers, and closed the evening with a sing along to Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing (Johnson/ Johnson). Thatiana Gibson P’21 and Robin Tweedy P’21 offered closing remarks.

STUDENT ART FEATURED IN LITERARY JOURNAL Juniors Angela Su and Katie Tsai had their artwork featured in the fall issue of Voices & Visions, a digital literary journal with readership in more than 110 countries.

Angela’s piece, “Rainbow Trout,” also took first place in her age group in the 2017 State-Fish Art Awards.

Lisa Stringfellow Wins Pennypacker Prize for Teaching Lower School English faculty Lisa Stringfellow was named Winsor’s newest Pennypacker Prize recipient at the annual Faculty-Trustee Dinner, held Dec. 4, 2017.

Ms. Stringfellow’s classroom is just like her: bright, cheerful, literary, and energy-filled. Her students and colleagues alike can get lost browsing the extensive library that adorns the shelves of Room 4. Not only is she well versed in the wide range of

Young Adult literature, she also writes her own YA novels.

As a writer, she encourages our youngest students to become writers themselves. She also values giving her students authentic audiences. Her fifth graders have blogged about their reading and enjoyed responses from students in other schools. Stop in to a session of her Fiction Writers Club, and you might find them Skype-ing with an established author about writ-

ing and publishing. At the end of the year, you can enjoy a reading from the Class I students of their own works, with proud parents in attendance.

Created in 2002, the award is given annually to a teacher relatively new to Winsor who is in at least his or her third year of full-time teaching here.

Named after Henriette Pennypacker Binswanger ’52, it is intended to encourage the recipient’s continuing educational growth and development.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 11

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Guest speaker Sana Mustafa meets after Assembly with students to continue the dialogue.

A Conversation with Syrian Refugee and Activist Sana Mustafa

O

n Wednesday, November 8, the Amnesty International Club welcomed Syrian refugee and activist Sana Mustafa to the Winsor campus to share her story, reflections on the war and what it means to lose everything in pursuit of what you believe.

After learning of Ms. Mustafa’s willingness to speak at Winsor, Amnesty spent the fall understanding the conflict in Syria and the plight of refugees. Club leaders Emily Drucker ’18, Ellie Fulkerson ’18, and Andrea Zhu ’18 developed an introductory presentation for assembly, prepared panel questions, and organized a meeting with Ms. Mustafa following the assembly that

12 WINSOR SPRING 2018

drew more than 60 students awed by her candid, moving account.

“For all the power of Sana’s words—and they were powerful—it was her presence that most resonated with many of the students I spoke to after the meeting,” noted English faculty David Griffin, the club’s advisor.

“Sana humanized what can feel like an abstract issue framed by inconceivable statistics. The poise, humor, and directness with which she handled tough and important questions from students in the audience, in the Middle East Global Studies class, in Class IV Art, and in Amnesty Club also had a huge impact.”

“In club, we had been talking about human rights and how we subcon-

sciously empathize more with domestic issues because issues like the Syrian refugee crisis feel so far away,” noted Andrea. “I believe the authenticity of Sana’s presentation opened many students’ eyes,” continued Emily. “She offered a new understanding of the details of the Syrian crisis that created a spark within the student body to want to help in any way we can.”

“Sana reframed issues that many of us have taken for granted and made us rethink our vocabulary and paradigm for conceiving of global involvement in Syria and attitudes toward refugees,” Mr. Griffin said.

“Having just read Thoreau’s famous essay on civil disobedience, Resistance to Civil Government, students in my U.S. Lit class were struck by Sana’s description of her willingness to risk her life for the sake of protests against the government. We had just been considering the question of moral imperatives, and Sana spoke the language of moral imperatives.

I hope the conversations she initiated will continue.”

Beyond shedding light on a humanitarian crisis, Emily adds, “Sana is a clear example of a passionate, dedicated woman all Winsor girls can look up to. She fought for what she believed in, despite the fact that it meant being detained and forced to leave her home without her family.

Today, through the company she founded in the U.S., she continues to support refugees all over the world. She is undoubtedly a true change-maker.”

Collect, the Winsor student government, has already begun to discuss possible ways students, as individuals and as a community, can offer assistance.

Winter Concerts Delight

Small Chorus captivates concertgoers at Roxbury Latin’s Rousmaniere Hall.

Winsor audiences enjoyed two inspiring musical performances this winter. In December, the annual holiday concert in the Goel Theater displayed the breadth of the music program. All Upper and Lower School choral and instrumental groups took part along with an intergenerational chorus and orchestra. In March, the annual Winsor and Roxbury Latin concert showcased the powerful choral traditions of both schools. The joint event featured Winsor’s Chorale, Small Chorus and Senior Small.

C. Stanley Lewis GP’22 Leads Art Class On Tuesday, November 7, artist and professor of art C. Stanley Lewis GP’22 led an inspiring drawing workshop with Class IV Oil Painting elective students, and another with juniors and seniors in the AP and Portfolio Class. He took the time to offer advice on every student’s progress, including a memorable moment with granddaughter Zoe Lewis ’22.

The annual internship night puts the talents of summer science interns on full display.

SCIENCE INTERNS SHARE SUMMER RESEARCH In January, Winsor’s annual Summer Science Internship Night served as both a celebration and an enticing invitation for future interns and their families.

Every summer, the Winsor program provides an incredibly rare opportunity for high school-aged students. A passionate group of Winsor sophomores and juniors are connected with mentors doing cutting-edge research, many from the worldclass laboratories of the school’s neighbors in the Longwood Medical Area.

At the January event, student participants from 2017 shared their eye-opening experiences through both an informal poster session and panel discussion, organized by Winsor science faculty Kim Ramos and Rachel Bricklin.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 13

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

An iconic photograph of a Winsor icon: Miss Wing in 1963, her first year as director.

Celebrating the Life of Virginia Wing “

E

ven now, if you close your eyes and listen for a moment, you can hear her voice and even imagine her words.”

Listening to English teacher Jennifer Slingerland Skeele ’71, P’98, ’02, and other dear friends of Virginia Wing speak at the March 11, 2018,

14 WINSOR SPRING 2018

celebration, the 300 guests—and as many more watching from across the country on live-stream—cherished a lifetime of memories.

“If she were here today, she would know every one of you by name and by story, remembered in astonishing detail,” Jennie assured those gathered.

When Miss Wing died on February

5, 2018, at age 94, Winsor lost one of its most iconic leaders. The March event was one of many ways in which her life and legacy will continue to be celebrated.

The Rev. Kate Baker-Carr ’80 presided over the celebration and helped to shape a program that honored Miss Wing’s own wishes. The words

of Kate’s prayer of thanksgiving beautifully captured the occasion: “we give thanks for the fullness of her life, a life of determination and moral clarity, of wisdom and service, of generosity and joy in the world’s beauty.”

In a poignant homily, the Rev. Tony Jarvis, headmaster emeritus of Roxbury Latin, described a life characterized by three great virtues: conviction, courage, and caring.

“I don’t want to revisit the troubled and tumultuous late Sixties and early Seventies,” he said. “But I want to express the hope that this school will always remember that it was Virginia Wing who marshaled the forces that preserved Winsor as a girls’ school in the city. At the time, coeducation was all the rage, and Ginny was sailing very much against gale-force winds.”

Her actions took courage. “Courage is costly,” he noted, “but she paid the price.” Daring to be unpopular, she rallied defenders to preserve Winsor’s very essence.

“It was her finest hour,” he reflected.

What people will remember most, he suggested, may be how deeply she cared about them. In Jennie’s words, “she was a master of remembering and caring.”

Head of School Sarah Pelmas reflected on that “virtue,” recounting wonderful conversations with Ginny about the lives of Winsor women.

“She would recall names, thousands of names—your names!—and I could see her calling up your image in her memory, as fresh as if you were your 17-year-old self sitting with us at lunch. She would tell me a story about how smart, unique, and mischievous you were. And she loved you. So profoundly, and so whole-

heartedly, and with such a clear sense of the extraordinary contribution you would make to the world.”

Fittingly, each person who took the stage found wisdom in Miss Wing’s words. Jennie remembered, after her mother’s death, receiving Ginny’s lovely note, quoting Lucien Price on how those we lose “live eternally in those twin immensities of the human heart, Love and Memory.” Kate ended with a benediction from a 1988 commencement speech. Ms. Pelmas noted how “I could pick any one of her graduation speeches and give it myself this year, so perfect and true and eternal they are.”

She turned to Stuart Little, pure Miss Wing, circa 1977. “No matter what was raging in the world around her, she always brought it back to the individual students, to their experience, their potential, and their fundamental goodness. But what most grips me about her 1977 speech is the undeniable truth in it for Winsor and for those of us—Carolyn, Rachel and me—whose journey was started with Miss Wing’s battles and her victories. And she would say that her journey was described, faithfully and presciently, by Mary Pickard Winsor, and handed down to her through Katherine Lord, Frances Dugan, and Valeria Knapp.”

“It ends always in the same way that Stuart Little ends: a non-ending, a journey, someone pointing north and searching for beauty, for justice, for friendship.”

The celebration was filled with soaring music from pianist Lisa Taillacq, cellist Haley Kwoun ’20, and Small Chorus members past and present. Three readings of Miss Wing’s choice were shared by student Chloe

Duval ’19, alumna and past faculty member Pam Smith Henrikson ’58, and a dear friend, the Rev. John Finley, head of Epiphany School.

Tony Jarvis ended with a story of dining out with Ginny one night.

A parent with a child at both their schools came over to their table and joked, “Well I bet you two are plotting to change all of American education.” He remembered how they laughed, and smiled to think back on what the two friends really had talked about nearly all evening: poetry. “What halcyon times. How blest we were.”

He left the final word to Stephen Spender, whose poetry Miss Wing often quoted. “This is what Spender wrote about ‘the truly great’ whom nothing, not even death, can destroy:” Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields, See how their names are feted by the waving grass, And by the streamers of white cloud, And whispers of wind in the listening sky, The names of those who in their lives fought for life, Who wore at their hearts the fire’s centre.

Born of the sun, they traveled a short while toward the sun And left the vivid air signed with their honour.

“GODSPEED, MY FRIENDS”

A keepsake book of Miss Wing’s words is included with this issue.

Please visit www.winsor.edu/ virginiawing to view a video of the celebration, read the reflections, share your stories, or make a gift to the scholarship established in her memory.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 15

GENEROUS MINDED

Hannah Horobin ’13 screens a child at a rural health center in Rwanda.

Welcomed to Rwanda Hannah Horobin ’13 basks in the warmth and community she’s found as a maternal and child health volunteer with the Peace Corps.

L

ast year, on my 22nd birthday, I remember thinking about where I would be in a year. I wavered between deeply and truly happy and completely scared and unsure. I remember looking around at my friends gathered that night and feeling mostly sadness, acutely aware that in a year, none of them would be with me.

Everything about the first several months of 22 felt precarious. I lived in a house I would soon be leaving,

16 WINSOR SPRING 2018

with friends whom I knew would be thousands of miles away from me soon. And the scariest part was, I really had no clue what was in store.

Fast forward to today, my 23rd birthday. I was travelling to Kigali to spend the night at the Peace Corps office because of an early meeting the next morning. I called a moto and halfway through the journey to the main road, it started to pour. The driver pulled over and motioned for me to come sit under the awning of

a small bar. I sat down, shivering and drenched, with a near-dead phone, ready to spend the next couple hours waiting out the rain. This was exactly the kind of moment I’d feared last year. Alone, stuck and helpless. But sitting there, with the prospect of a few hours of waiting in front of me, I watched the rain wash away the dirt road and ordered myself a 12 p.m. birthday beer. I’ve learned that my life here always seems to work itself out and that most of the time, I have

no control in how it will do so. After a couple hours the rain slowed to a strong drizzle and we climbed back on the motorcycle.

When we finally reached the paved road, I ended up getting a ride with a kind elderly couple. A few minutes into the ride, they asked if I was working with the Peace Corps. I explained that I was indeed and asked how they knew about it. The man explained to me that before the genocide, he worked driving ambulances and had answered a call from a PCV in the 1990s! We continued chatting and when I mentioned I had to go to the bank, they insisted on waiting outside while I ran into an ATM before taking me to the bus station. We exchanged phone numbers at the end and they asked me to come to their daughter’s wedding, which would be the fourth wedding I have in the next couple of months.

I left their car feeling so welcomed into this country. That feeling happens time and time again, but I’m trying to actively acknowledge it and bask in the warmth that Rwanda so often shows me.

My cohort finished our “Inter-Service Training” (IST) last week, meaning we were away from our villages for 10 days. I was dreading the long travel back, so I was in a less than stellar mood that morning. Near the end of the journey, I got on a moto and felt a throbbing pain in my hip from a soccer injury. I was tired, dirty and wanted nothing more than to shower and fall into a deep sleep.

When we pulled up to my house in the village, the neighborhood kids were all sitting outside the gate and cheering as we arrived. They told me that they had sat outside my house

every day, waiting to see when I’d return. Then, when I opened my gate, I saw that my neighbors and friends had cleaned up my front yard, trimming the bushes, sweeping and cutting all my grass.

I only had a couple hours at home before leaving to go work at a girls’ camp, so I rushed to take a bucket bath. I then got dressed and raced around the village like a madwoman to

However, I can confidently say I’m the happiest I’ve been here (maybe ever?). Thanksgiving fell during IST, so I was with the other volunteers in my cohort. The day before, we’d talked about answering the infamous “So what made you want to do the Peace Corps?” question. That morning, walking up to breakfast, I felt so thankful to see 25 people that I didn’t need to explain that to.

“ The biggest difference between last year’s birthday and this one is that this year, I feel grounded and rooted. It’s strange how it took leaving everyone and everything to move 7,000 miles away to find this feeling.” say hello to everyone before leaving.

There were lots of hugs and hurried recaps of the days I’d missed. Before leaving for camp, I quickly harvested some vegetables (including the largest zucchini I’ve ever seen!) from my garden to give to some friends as a thank you for the yardwork.

The biggest difference between last year’s birthday and this one is that this year, I feel grounded and rooted. It’s strange how it took leaving everyone and everything to move 7,000 miles away to find this feeling.

Some volunteers talk about having the feeling that they’re just “in the right place” here. I don’t always have that feeling. But for me, while I’m only just beginning to get to know this new place and my role in it, I feel confident that I’ll be contentedly sticking around.

I was nervous that this time of year, with holidays and a birthday, would make me feel homesick.

We put together our own Thanksgiving, using the hotel’s kitchen, and many volunteers, myself included, said it was one of the best Thanksgivings on record. We went around saying what were thankful for, and one volunteer, Dan, put it perfectly: “We have a lot less here than we did at home, but for the first time, I feel like I have everything I need.” I think a lot of us shed a couple tears after that one. Finally, after IST, most of us had to travel through Kigali, so some friends and I decided to grab lunch in the city. We sat outside under an awning, and it started to rain, bringing the warm temperatures down to sweater weather. My friend Megan started playing Christmas music as we drank milkshakes and ate tomato soup. And it began to feel like Christmas.

Here’s to 22 years completed and 22 months left in this baffling, frustrating and wonderful country.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 17

PROFILES IN GIVING

The Global Forum, initiated in 2017, exemplifies the kind of programming that the Patni Family Global Fund will help to make possible.

To Transform the World Poonam Patni P’98 and Ambika Patni ’98 reflect on their family’s decision to make a groundbreaking memorial gift to fund Winsor’s global initiatives.

T

he late Naren Patni P’98 built a life and business between two continents.

Years in the making, the new Patni Family Global Fund at Winsor will endure as a testament to his vision.

Poonam Patni P’98 and daughter Ambika Patni ’98 graciously agreed to talk about their family’s philanthropic journey. Doing so took some time-zone juggling

18 WINSOR SPRING 2018

and transcontinental phone calls.

Together, they lovingly describe a “perfect opportunity” to remember a remarkably global life.

What inspired you to fund global programming?

Poonam: We wanted to choose a philanthropic endeavor that resonated with Naren’s life and values. That was important to all of us as a family, including my son

Anirudh, who gave his support and guidance, too. The fact that we’re all helping to spearhead global programs is very much a tribute to Naren’s entrepreneurial spirit.

How did Naren’s global perspective fuel his ideas?

Poonam: He had a simple yet profound insight: that business processes and programming could be performed globally rather than

be locally bound. It’s an insight that fundamentally transformed the software industry and India. It would not have been possible without his international experience of living, studying, and working between the U.S. and India.

A scholarship to MIT opened the door for him, and he was passionate about giving others similar

of hours discussing complicated calculus problems with him when I was in Mr. Parrish’s class!

In what ways does the fund celebrate the way he looked at the world?

Poonam: Naren loved exploring the world around him, and his strong intellectual curiosity was one of the main drivers of his success as

“ Three verbs really capture Naren’s approach: he inspired, encouraged, and empowered.” opportunities. Our desire is that all young women at Winsor develop a global outlook so that they may give back to the world with their own bold new ideas.

Ambika: Having worked in marketing and strategy at the Estée Lauder Companies in both the U.S. and U.K. for the past 10 years, I’ve seen how important a global perspective is to business success.

Our best ideas and experiences often come from getting ourselves out of our comfort zones.

What would he have loved most about the programs supported by this fund?

Ambika: The hands-on aspect of the Global Forum would have definitely appealed to my father’s engineering mindset! He loved solving problems and, literally, rolling up his sleeves to fix something. He’d also have appreciated the innovative approach to teaching and real-life application of skills. My father always valued the Winsor faculty’s dedication and how they constantly challenged students intellectually. I have fond memories

an entrepreneur. He also believed in diving deep into a topic and encouraged others to do this, too, rather than taking a superficial approach. These two traits are clearly celebrated and encouraged via the Global Forum and the other projects of the Global Fund.

Ambika: Also, my father always believed in women pursuing their professional interests, at a time when and in a culture where this was not always the norm. From the inception of his company, he employed and encouraged women.

Poonam: It is remarkable to think of him as a young man growing up in Agra in the environs of the Taj Mahal but within just a few years camping out at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. Naren had an amazing ability to relate to people of all ages and backgrounds and treated everyone equally. He was so good at making the people around him feel at ease. His comfort interacting with many different cultures and people in multiple countries enabled him to contribute so much to the world.

What has kept you so connected to Winsor?

Poonam: The education that Ambika received at Winsor was extremely strong and was provided in such a nurturing environment. As a family, we always valued the small size of Winsor, the quality of its faculty, and its focus and commitment to imparting a superior education to girls, empowering them to be leaders in the world.

Ambika: I love reading class notes in the Bulletin, especially of the classes that graduated 20 or 30 years before me. The achievements of so many remarkable women are inspiring. As a young woman it is a tremendous heritage to have and to be a part of.

Poonam: And Winsor is a school that adapts and evolves.

When Ambika started in Class V back in 1994, Winsor was just beginning to add more international topics to the curriculum. They were incredibly encouraging when Ambika taught a Jan Term class on India.

Through the years, the school has clearly become more internationally minded and constantly seeks to improve itself.

What do you hope this fund will mean for students?

Poonam: Three verbs that really capture Naren’s approach: he inspired, encouraged, and empowered. These verbs describe Winsor perfectly, too. Nothing made him happier than seeing his employees or peers succeed, and he gave them the tools to do so. We hope this fund will inspire, encourage, and empower Winsor women to transform the world.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 19

COVER STORY

City Centered What’s your Boston story? We sit down with four Winsor women to hear theirs. Karilyn Crockett ’91, Kate Tooke ’98, Ngoc-Tran Vu ’06, and Chayla White ’03 reflect on their passion for creating community— and greater opportunity—in Boston and beyond.

As they recount their personal journeys, they ponder the role of the city in shaping their sense of place— and Winsor’s.

BY JOE BROUGHTON / PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATHLEEN DOOHER

Chayla White ’03 can’t imagine herself anywhere else but Boston.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 21

COVER STORY

In grad school, studying “textbook cases” of urban development in the 20th century, Karilyn Crockett ’91 encountered cautionary tales from her own city’s history. At times, “Boston City Hall had been a contentious actor.” Yet the lessons point to a more thoughtful, responsible path.

She sees today’s city as poised to write a new script, with local government in the role of change agent. “It’s a great sound bite,” she says, but “is it real? How do you live that out?”

As she looks out at downtown Boston from her corner office, she ponders that thought. “It’s both humbling and challenging,” says the urban studies scholar turned economic development official. “On my best days, that’s what I try to bring in here.”

A REFLECTIVE MOMENT

Karilyn describes the city as at “a reflective moment.” Her reflections on her own journey—like those of countless alumnae who have shaped this city through the years—touch on the way in which many Boston threads become part of the narrative.

Across the street, as Chayla White ’03 sits down to share her story at City Hall, she’s just come out of a hearing with Fenway Park’s neighbors about Red Sox concerts.

From her vantage point, she sees a city that’s changing rapidly. A self-described “Boston girl,” she can’t imagine herself anywhere else in the world.

Take the 18 bus south down Dorchester Avenue, and you can catch a glimpse of downtown Boston as it gets smaller mile by mile. Four miles from City Hall, Ngoc-Tran Vu ’06 reflects on the symbolism of a public art project that she spearheaded to celebrate the city’s Vietnamese community.

22 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Last October, hundreds gathered for the unveiling of the two-story mural in Fields Corner, viewable at www.ngoc tranvu.com/public-art/. Neighbors and young artists banded together with Tran to make her creative vision a reality.

Talking by the mural on a sunstreaked winter afternoon, “it felt like it was meant to be,” she says.

On the edge of the city, off Watertown Square, landscape architect Kate Tooke ’98 spends her workdays thinking creatively about how to shape urban spaces.

At Winsor, “I was in love with physics and engineering,” she says. While she began on that path at Dartmouth, she realized she didn’t want to be a tra-

JOURNEYS

Fifteen years ago, writing an essay for the Bulletin, Karilyn admitted that “growing up here, I never felt Boston was home to me.” At the time, after founding the nonprofit MYTOWN, she saw herself in the midst of a personal odyssey of “finding a place for myself.”

Her educational odyssey continued with graduate studies at London School of Economics and at Yale and then teaching and research at MIT. A phone call a few years ago changed her course. John Barros, the city’s chief of economic development, reached out to ask if she’d think about

“ At its heart, this work is about making sure more people are in the conversation. Too often, the tables are too small.”—KARILYN CROCKETT ’91 ditional engineer. Instead, she returned to Boston to teach physics at the Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester.

Teaching here “was a powerful and immersive experience,” she says. She loved the neighborhood, the kids, the conversations about social justice. She also realized how incredibly influenced her students were by their experiences outside of school.

She began to think more about the public spaces in which kids’ lives unfolded, the parks and schoolyards, and how they influenced children’s mindsets. She wondered about better ways to shape spaces for urban youth and bring them into the conversation.

“I went to graduate school hoping to work at the intersection of youth and design,” she reflects.

working as part of Mayor Walsh’s new team at City Hall. The more she read and heard about the new administration’s vision, she says, she felt a sense of shared priorities. “I knew it was an opportunity to shape the approach to the agenda.”

Did Chayla ever imagine herself as a city official? “Oh no,” she says with a laugh, musing about her childhood inklings of job options.

The summer before Chayla graduated from the University of Virginia, a politically active friend asked her on Facebook if she had a job yet. The question led her back to Boston for an interview with a state representative named Marty Walsh.

Their conversation opened a door to her six-year stint as legislative aide to the city’s future mayor. Working in his

Karilyn Crockett ’91 sees Boston as poised to write a new script.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 23

COVER STORY

district, “I fell in love with Dorchester,” she adds. Along the way, she earned her law degree at Suffolk.

When he ran for mayor, Chayla postponed taking the bar exam to devote herself to his campaign. In its later stages, she drove along with him to events throughout the city, gaining a deeper sense of “so many different versions of Boston.”

Back in Dorchester, as Tran explains the Vietnamese mural’s symbolism, she talks about the theme of journey

Scholar award for her work on urban schoolyards.

Every new project begins with understanding the place and its values and culture. For example, she’s working now on a park project for the port of Los Angeles, where the largely Hispanic neighborhood next door had been separated from the waterfront. There, as in every project, “it’s about starting with a listening mindset,” says Kate.

While cities are Kate’s passion, at the time she had her first child, she was

“ The Vietnamese mural project is more than a piece of art; it’s a piece of history that’s often left out.”

—TRAN VU ’06

and resilience. Her own journey took her from Winsor to Brown and then on to D.C., New York City, back to Boston, to Vietnam, to then again to Boston.

The mural is “more than a piece of art,” she says. “It’s a piece of history that’s often left out.” And it’s more than one culture’s story. “The narrative is very universal,” she notes. As she told a reporter at the unveiling, “it’s a narrative for any refugee or immigrant who has come to this land.”

“Our stories matter,” Tran adds. By day, she works around the corner from the mural, advocating for independent producers so that more people have opportunities to share their stories through public media.

Today, as part of the Urban Studio team at the architectural firm Sasaki, Kate’s work takes her “from Denver to Des Moines,” as she puts it. Since her days of crossing Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace on her way to school, she’s gone on to win the National Olmsted

24 WINSOR SPRING 2018

living in a rural community in Western Massachusetts. She knew she had to be back in a city, to get rid of a car and be able to walk places again. From a planner’s point of view, the urban Cambridge neighborhood that her family now calls home is “a success story,“ she says. “On weekends, everyone with a kid under 8 is at the playground.”

NEIGHBORHOODS

If you’d asked Karilyn as a young girl if she was “Bostonian,” you might as well have asked her if she was a Martian, she jokes. It simply wasn’t a concept that she could get her head around.

As connected as she felt to her immediate South End neighborhood, she didn’t feel a part of the city as a whole. She sees a “two-way-ness” of attachment to a place. It comes back to fundamental questions: Who is Boston for? Who is it embracing?

While Chayla grew up in Duxbury, she stayed at her grandparents’ house in the South End most weekdays—“12

minutes away”—to ease her Winsor commute. She’s still there. Seeing her Winsor friends at Thanksgiving, they good-naturedly kidded her about whether she’s ever going to leave.

She remembers how her childhood friends on the South Shore looked at Boston as “a big scary place, almost a foreign land.” At her grandparents’, though, she felt safe and at home.

Being in a neighborhood of academic and medical institutions, Winsor provided “common ground for everyone,” suggests Chayla. Then as now, the school draws students from a wide array of different communities.

As a Winsor student, taking the T to school, Kate already had a keen awareness of her city surroundings.

She even wrote her college application essay about her daily experience of the patterns of urban living and the people with whom she crossed paths every day.

Boston “is a really important part of the school’s identity,” she adds. Knowing Winsor has weighed the sustainability of its urban location at times, “I think staying in the city was a really wise choice.”

Growing up in a public housing project in South Boston, Tran felt little connection to her immediate neighborhood. “You live there as a necessity,” she reflects. “It wasn’t by choice.”

At age 4, she immigrated from Vietnam with her family, including her two Winsor sisters. “I’m a product of war,” she says. Her father had spent 10 years as a political prisoner; to escape persecution, “my parents left behind their entire life.”

Today, her Dorchester neighborhood has given her a sense of place and has grounded her as an artist. “A lot of my energy derives from the fact I’m so blessed,” she adds. She counts Winsor as “a blessing and a privilege.”

In a city of immigrants, “our stories matter,” says Tran Vu ’06.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 25

COVER STORY

CHANGE AGENTS

In the 1950s, Karilyn’s family had migrated north to Boston from the coal-mining towns of West Virginia, bringing with them the hope for better lives. In the face of segregation, her grandmother modeled for her what it meant to stand up for rights.

In a new book, Karilyn looks at activism and “the power of citizen-led city-making.” People Before Highways recounts the efforts of a multiracial coalition who fought to stop plans for Interstate 95 to cut through the heart of Boston.

“Some of what I learned from social movement history comes out of the seminal fights of the 1960s and 1970s,” she says. “Some of the best solutions came out of people who were in opposition coming together. At its heart, it’s about making sure more people are in the conversation.”

“Too often, the tables are too small,” she adds.

“Dorchester Not for Sale” is one group pushing to have a seat at the table. Tran is active in their grassroots effort to make the city planning process one that inclusively engages the community. Amid rapid development, she hopes to help her neighbors have a sense of agency. “We’re learning from activism across the city.”

For architects like Kate, the recent wave of protests also raises questions of design. How well did cities handle the volume of protesters? How can public spaces be more of a place for active, peaceful protest?

That’s a piece of a larger goal for any project in the public realm: striving to achieve equity. “Successful public spaces must be inclusive,” she says, “welcoming and accessible to all people and supporting a wide diversity of uses.” Again,

26 WINSOR SPRING 2018

it begins with careful listening.

Since 2014, Chayla has worked inside City Hall as part of Mayor Walsh’s team, first as a corporation counsel for the city in housing court and now as deputy director of licensing and consumer affairs. It’s a team that’s trying “to make a difference in people’s lives,” she reflects. “Sometimes situations reach you when people feel they’ve run out of options, and I need to do my best to help them get to a resolution.”

She’s resolved that the political sphere needs women’s voices and leadership. In October, she joined fellow alumnae as a panelist for a Winsor discussion considering paths for more women to run for office.

THE FUTURE

Within the national landscape today, “there’s so much division,” Tran reflects.

“More and more, people are pissed,” she says bluntly. “How do we collectively make a difference?” For one, you have to stay energized, she says. Looking ahead, across the city, “there’s a lot of good energy brewing right now.”

Personally, she feels drawn to cities by their diversity in all senses of the word. In their best moments, “it’s really beautiful how it comes together.

“Cities are culturally engaging mixing pots,” echoes Kate. She can see how so many bright, engaged alumnae of Winsor would be naturally drawn to them. Urban spaces by design can draw people together and be catalysts for development, she notes, as seen in the Lawn on D, an “early occupier” in the Seaport District and one of Sasaki’s Boston projects.

“As planners, we think of how society is rapidly urbanizing,” she says.

Cities, like people, need to be resilient.

In the wake of climate change, that’s an issue that runs through her firm’s work, whether faced with rebuilding projects in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy or in her urban efforts on the Gulf Coast of Alabama.

As a city, “I know Boston has a tough reputation,” Chayla acknowledges. But she’s optimistic. Why? As she tries to put it into words, she talks about the dialogue created by the 2017 “Race in Boston” series in the Boston Globe and the march in Boston in the wake of the tragedy in Charlottesville, her college home. When far-right activists wanted to rally in the city, “Bostonians let them know they weren’t welcome here,” as she puts it.

“I think that response shows the heart of Boston.”

Historically, the city has had its share of issues. “I think people will do everything in their power to right those wrongs,” she says, “and then some.”

In her own role within city government, Karilyn focuses on the future: creating jobs, developing small businesses, and being fair and transparent in land use. Asked what gives her hope, she goes back to the idea of who’s around the table. “When I feel there’s promise is at moments when we really get that we have to expand who’s in the room,” she adds. “That’s what history is teaching us.”

Thinking back to her first days at Winsor, entering in Class V, she remembers how teachers expected her to contribute. They had no doubt that every student had gifts to offer.

The question was, “What are going to do with them?” If you see something wrong, she learned, you fix it.

“At 14, that’s a powerful way to enter a classroom,” she says. “It builds its way out.”

Kate Tooke ’98 counts her urban neighborhood as a success story.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 27

PHOTO ESSAY

Think Outside Fifth-graders explore the natural world along the Muddy River, right in Winsor’s backyard. “

K

eeping a nature journal is an integral part of the Class I science curriculum,” explains science teacher Theresa Evenson.

As area trees began their final display of autumn color in late October, her aspiring naturalists headed across the street to the Muddy River with journals in hand.

With a focus on identifying common trees of New England, they consult

28 WINSOR SPRING 2018

their field guides, sketch leaves in their journals, and write field notes describing their observations.

“Each time we go outside, the girls are expanding their knowledge and becoming more aware of the local natural environment,” Ms. Evenson says.

“By the end of the year,” she adds, “it is a wonderful collection of their science work and a great record of how their observations skills improved.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARGARET LAMPERT

WINSOR SPRING 2018  29

FEATURE

Mitzi Peterson ’90, P’17, ’20, spends her days in a world beyond our ken.

30 WINSOR SPRING 2018

PHOTOGRAPH BY WEBB CHAPELL

The Inside Story Few people understand the toll of mental illness like Mitzi Peterson ’90, P’17, ’20.

She oversees the behavioral health of a population invisible to many: the nearly 10,000 inmates of Massachusetts’ 16 state prisons. A third have mental health issues. While always a therapist clinician at heart, she’s working to bring needed change on a system level.

O

n the table next to her bed, Mitzi Peterson ’90, P’17, ’20, keeps copies of the eighth and fourteenth amendments. Their age-old words have become part of our public consciousness: “cruel and unusual punishment,” “due process,” “equal protection under the laws.” In simple terms, punishments must be fair and the basic rights of citizens upheld. Her intention each morning, as she heads off to work at the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, is to honor those mandates.

Early on, Mitzi found herself drawn to helping those who faced some of the toughest issues. The college psychology major volunteered with Vietnam veterans at a local V.A. hospital and then worked with kids involved in the criminal justice system. While pursuing her master’s in social work at Boston College, she had thought about focusing on geriatric care. Instead, much to the horror of her parents, she landed a job in forensics within the court system in Dedham, Mass., working with incarcerated sex offenders.

Looking back, “doing in-depth clinical work with these very dangerous men turned out to be the best training ground for me,” she says. “It was then that I first started to understand that for many people who have committed terrible crimes, personal trauma often precedes those crimes.” As she heard their histories of sexual abuse, neglect, poverty, and mental illness, she understood, too, how sometimes “anger is far easier to feel than shame.”

In 2012, after staying home for several years with her three children, including two Winsor daughters, Mitzi returned to the field of mental health, this time in the prison system. In particular, she worked with men who had committed crimes while in prison, so dangerous they could not be in a room with other inmates. In individual therapy, she would work to build their trust, exploring the original issues that got them on such destructive paths in the first place.

After years in direct care, Mitzi realized that, in order to bring about long-term change, she needed to work

on more of a system level. She wanted to focus on policy change that mattered for individuals in prison—populations most people in society would rather not ponder. She sought broader ways to make a difference, whether that meant authoring the gender non-conforming policy for incarcerated people who identify as gender dysphoric or writing a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) provision making that choice legally possible for inmates.

Today, as director of behavioral health, she works to establish a level of care for incarcerated men and women across the mental health continuum from initial assessment to residential treatment to community reintegration. Safeguarding the wellbeing of the seriously mentally ill, Mitzi has coordinated the ongoing development of specialized units to redirect individuals from restricted housing to a therapeutic sphere.

“Working in a giant system that doesn’t necessarily understand mental health is an enormous challenge,” she admits. It’s a system of 16 prisons, 6,500 employees, and nearly 9,500

WINSOR SPRING 2018 31

FEATURE

inmates. Thirty-three percent of the population has been diagnosed with mental health issues.

“We want to make sure we are doing right for these people, providing them with the skills and services they need to succeed,” she says. “Recently,” she adds, “we were able to close two prisons, which is good progress.”

“We want our men and women to leave prison, if they can, better neighbors, better employees, and better members of their communities,” she reflects. “We want our facilities and our programs to reflect our best practices.

That runs the gamut from initiating more effective suicide prevention measures to working with communities to fill gaps so that when people do leave prison, there are organizations to help them with substance abuse, mental illness, job training, and peer support, among other issues.”

Beyond the challenges of the work itself, she has also faced a challenge familiar to many Winsor alumnae through the years: being a woman in a largely male-dominated field. As Mitzi explains, “everyone makes mistakes, but if a woman makes a mistake, it tends to fan out unnecessarily.” That said, she

feels lucky to work with a top-notch male commissioner and female deputy and assistant deputy commissioners.

“We know our situation is unusual and we’re protective of each other. We take great pride in the positive changes we make,” she says.

system that the mentally ill will successfully leave prison, reenter a community, and not reoffend.”

In addition to the two amendments she keeps by her bed, Mitzi also still owns a pocket version of the Bill of Rights from a class at Winsor. “It’s fun-

“ If a person with mental illness is competent to stand trial and found guilty, he’ll go to prison.

But that doesn’t mean he is no longer mentally ill.”

She works in a world beyond the grasp of most people. “The truth is that we’re all one bad decision away from prison,” Mitzi says. “If a person with mental illness is competent to stand trial and found guilty, he’ll go to prison.

But that doesn’t mean he is no longer mentally ill,” she says.

Nevertheless, she sees hope in the data. When prison officials move the severely mentally ill out of isolated cells and offer them behavioral health plans and programs, research shows, they see marked difference in symptoms and behavior. To Mitzi, “it’s only through an educated and empathetic correctional

ny when I think about my work. The Department of Corrections is probably the most opposite atmosphere from Winsor. I mean, could the two places be any more different?” she laughs. To stay grounded and to remember that the world is a healthy place, Mitzi relaxes with her network of close friends, cheers on her kids at their swim meets, and on summer weekends on the Cape, she races Flying Scots in various cup challenges, letting the wind whip freely around her.

Victoria Tilney McDonough ’83 is a writer based in Alexandria, Va.

THE IDEAL OF PUBLIC SERVICE Recent honors recognize what Mitzi’s colleagues in the public sector have long known about her. She personifies a selfless commitment to public service.

In 2017, she received a Governor’s Citation for Outstanding Performance, applauding her work on the Bridgewater State Hospital Transition Team. That honor led to her receiving the 2017 Manuel Carballo Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.

This January, Mitzi received the 2018 Distinguished

32 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Alumni Award from Boston College School of Social Work.

A fellow graduate and former colleague nominated her, singling her out not only for her devotion to client care but also as a mentor to young social workers and clinicians.

Interviewed about the honor, she spoke of how “the ideals of social work were the best fit” for the career she hoped to forge. “I’m translating the experiences I had over many years as a therapist clinician, which is what I truly am by heart, into the policy-based position I serve in now.”

Pictured here in 1917, Julia “was involved in everything.”

Prized Memories Meet Julia Lyman Simonds, Class of 1917, a woman who “found her happiness in the happiness of others.”

Family and friends recount the story behind the name that graces Winsor’s alumnae prize.

T

hink of the sun. The planets revolve around it, drawn by gravity to its brightness and warmth. Across her life, Julia Lyman Simonds, Class of 1917, was a sun to family, friends and so many more in the Winsor community and beyond.

Today, her name and memory lives on in the Julia Lyman Simonds Prize, spearheaded by her daughters and granddaughter. The list of four decades of winners is something of a “who’s who” of loyal Winsor alumnae.

It honors them for qualities that Julia exemplified: the “energetic pursuit of excellence” and “devoted service to humanity.”

“I think it’s very important for people to know who she was,” says one of her greatest admirers, Allie Flather Blodgett ’52, retired director of alumnae affairs and the 2002 prize winner.

Julia’s Winsor story starts in 1909, at its original Beacon Street address, when she entered Class I at Miss Winsor’s School. The next year, she and the school moved out to the “country” to the Pilgrim Road schoolhouse. After graduating from Winsor, she worked in the X-ray department at Mass General Hospital before marrying Henry G. Simonds in 1919. Together, they had six children and 20 grandchildren— four Winsor daughters and one Winsor granddaughter.

Mrs. Simonds is often described as someone who “found her happiness in the happiness of others.” In the words of the late Virginia Wing, Julia was “one of Winsor’s most loved and valued graduates.” She served on the Corporation for years and, in 1936, headed the school’s 50th anniversary celebration.

She never missed a single Alumnae Day! In presenting the inaugural prize, to Valeria Knapp ’16, Miss Wing spoke of

WINSOR SPRING 2018 33

FEATURE

Julia’s “serenity,” “fortitude,” and “extraordinary energy.” Hers was a “wonderfully complete life, a life which touched an incredible number of people.”

Those she touched remember fun details—her near-constant knitting and her entourage of terriers, following behind her like the Queen’s coterie of corgis. Most importantly, though, they remember her generosity, her moxie, and her welcoming love for everyone around her.

“I could talk all day about Mrs. Simonds,” says Allie. “In many ways, she was my surrogate mother while I was at Winsor.” Allie’s own mother had her heart set on her daughter attending the school, but they lived in Lowell, too far away to commute. To make it work, Allie lived with her grandmother, on Pill Hill, near Brookline Village. “Once

Amy (Simonds Naimi ’52) and I became best friends,” she says, “I was welcomed into the Simonds’ home as if I belonged there. They were wonderful to me.”

And the Simonds’ household always had so much going on. “Sometimes, Peter, one of Amy’s brothers, would come home on weekends from Harvard, bringing a bunch of his friends.

They’d rough around in the field behind the house, playing touch football, and we girls would join right in. Laughing and out of breath, we’d clamber in for Mrs. Simonds’ famous goulash stew,” says Allie.

Lee Bigelow Herter ’50 remembers Sunday lunches with the whole Simonds clan—and diving into “raucous games of floor hockey in their front playroom.” Lee’s brother had married Mrs. Simonds’ daughter Julia ’43, and

while their father was away serving in World War II, they became part of the Simonds’ circle. Mrs. Simonds relished having every seat filled around the long dining table, its extra leaves propped up by a forest of sawed-off hockey sticks.

At Winsor, Lee remembers, “she was involved in everything, always knitting, always with a twinkling smile for everyone.”

She knitted “no matter what was happening,” says daughter Susan Simonds Page ’40. “You could identify one of her creations because all the sweaters, socks, mittens, whatever she made, had white stripes at the cuffs, waist, neck, you name it!” Granddaughter Rose Bigelow Bensen ’68 says everyone prized their “Gram Simonds” sweaters, “Gramknits,” as her family came to call them.

THE WINSOR SCHOOL JULIA LYMAN SIMONDS AWARD RECIPIENTS The Julia Lyman Simonds Alumnae Prize is given each year to a loyal alumna who has combined an energetic pursuit of excellence with devoted service to humanity. The prize is given in loving memory of Julia Lyman Simonds, Class of 1917, by her Winsor daughters and granddaughter.

1979

Valeria Addams Knapp ’16*

1980

1984

Elizabeth Sherburne Houghton ’27*

Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni ’17*

1985

1981

1986

1982

1987

1983

1988

Helen Morton ’16* Elizabeth Saltonstall ’18* Cornelia Balch Wheeler ’27*

34 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Laura Wiggins Putnam ’32* Eleanor Thomas Nelson ’49 Marie Louise King Beale ’41* Susan Storey Lyman ’37*

1989

Eleanor Batchelder Crocker ’20* Martha Houser McCrea ’20*

1990

Priscilla Rhodes Coburn ’23*

1991

Jane Bancroft Cook ’31*

1992

Elizabeth Bradley Janeway ’27*

1993

Elizabeth Jackson ’28*

1994

Gertrude Hooper ’22*

1995

Elizabeth Heald Arthur ’57

1996

Eleanor Lewis Campbell ’46 Patricia Perrin Lawrence ’46

1997

Lee Bigelow Herter ’50

To Rose, the true prize was Julia herself. “Through thick and thin, Gram was a steady, wise, and loving presence in my life,” she says.

“Everyone loved my mother,” echoes Amy. “She was generous without exception. She was great fun, but she also rolled with the punches.” Whatever struggles she faced, even the loss of her oldest son to cancer, “she kept busy, always in motion, doing for all of us, for friends, and for many organizations as a volunteer and board member.”

Rose remembers Julia’s special commitment to what is now Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Every spring she gathered bouquets of lilies-of-the-valley from her field to take to patients,” she says. “These lilies live on in our yard in Maine, as does volunteering throughout her family.”

“She attended every sort of family sporting event and played a strong game of tennis all her life,” adds Rose.

“My husband recalls watching her, then at least 75 years old, jog across a field at a Winsor field hockey game to grab a cup of coffee. This certainly captures her athleticism, enthusiasm, and loyal support in a nutshell.”

Family lore also hints at her mischievous side. According to daughter Susan, “Once upon a time, my mother, during her Winsor days, put lipstick on some of the statues around the school. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s the legend.”

Patricia Perrin Lawrence ’46, who cherishes her own Julia Lyman Simonds Alumnae Prize, believes that Mrs. Simonds’ generous heart and love of Winsor are contagious. “For my 90th

birthday, my husband donated a Winsor scholarship in my name. I thought it was a beautiful idea and a way—like the Simonds Prize—to acknowledge and give to others,” she says.

Each spring, the name of the latest recipient is unveiled at a prize presentation on Friday night of Alumnae Weekend. Prize winners are selected by a small committee, on which Susan, Amy, Rose, and Allie feel privileged to serve.

“When bestowing the award, we all like to tell stories about Mrs. Simonds to keep her memory alive,” says Allie.

“She was the jolliest,” Allie beams.

“Whenever I think of her, I remember how when she’d see you, she’d just light up.”

Victoria Tilney McDonough ’83 is a writer based in Alexandria, Va.

1998

2004

2010

2016

1999

2005

2011

2017

2006

2012

2007

2013

Edith LaCroix Dabney ’48 Joyce Bisbee Andrews ’49* Hope Trumbull Moore ’49*

2000

Eleanor Trumbull Lowell ’40*

2001

Dorothy Addams Brown ’41*

2002

Allie Flather Blodgett ’52

2003

Lee Thorndike Sprague ’58

Pamela Smith Henrikson ’58 Martha Rappaport Meyers ’70 Marlyn E. McGrath ’66 Jane Hoeffel Otte ’57

2008

Ann Leonard Macomber ’47

2009

Marion Dusser de Barenne Kilson ’54

Stephanie Bigelow Neal ’54 Julia Livingston ’66 Patricia Ross Pratt ’47

Julia Broderick O’Brien ’56 Edith Arnold Sission ’47 *Deceased

Carolyn Kimball Tolles ’58 Judy Bishop Friend ’58

2014

Lavinia Chase ’64 Nancy Kurson Lubin ’64

2015

Persis Gleason Laverack ’45

WINSOR SPRING 2018 35

ALUMNAE NEWS CLASS NOTES

Ming Lewis ’14 (center) and the Tufts’ Jackson Jills take center stage at Winsor for a student-organized concert.

36 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Relief Concert Brings Small Chorus Alumna Back to Winsor In February, a Hurricane Maria Relief Concert at Winsor raised spirits, awareness and $1,750 in funds for the reconstruction efforts in Puerto Rico.

Sponsored by student leaders of Collect, the benefit brought Ming Lewis ’14 back to campus for the second time this year. In the fall, Ming and the Jackson Jills, a Tufts’ a cappella group, had led an inspiring workshop for Small Chorus at the invitation of choral director Lisa Taillacq.

Collect invited Ming and the Jills to join Small Chorus and Berklee’s Pitch Slapped in performing at the fund-raiser. “It was a fun, unique and engaging way for the community to raise money,” said Unique Hodge ’18, Collect president.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 37

CLASS NOTES

Alumnae Board 2017-2018 PRESIDENT

Jennifer Morgan Peterson ’89, P’20, ’22 VICE-PRESIDENT

Arielle Mitropoulos ’15 adds scoring punch for her college team.

Audrey McAdams Fenton ’93 SECRETARY, CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

Katherine McCord ’02 MEMBERS AT LARGE

Joan Feinberg Berns ’66 Christina Spagnuolo Condron ’92 Patience Crozier ’92 Joceline Fidalgo ’07 Mary Laura Tanner Greely ’79 Gwendolyn Kane-Wanger ’80, P’09 Sonya Khan ’00 Ruth Chute Knapp ’60, P’86, GP’21 Erica Mayer ’91 Suzanne Ranere Norris ’94 Jane Hoeffel Otte ’57, P’84, ’86, GP’25 Julie Rockett Paulick ’92 Marion Pantazelos Russell ’91, P’22, ’25 Catherine Frankl Sarkis ’82, P’23 Ann Bainbridge Simonds ’66 Elizabeth Skates ’88 Meghan Weeks ’04 Bryn Zeckhauser ’89, P’24 EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS LIFE MEMBER

Allie Flather Blodgett ’52

Breakout Season for Wildcat Alumna Wellesley College junior Arielle Mitropoulos ’15 was named to the 2017 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III All-Region Second Team following a breakout season that included a career-high 12 goals.

Arielle first garnered national attention when she was awarded Longstreth/NFHCA Division III National Offensive Player of the Week honors following a week in which she recorded her first career hat trick against UMass Dartmouth and scored an OT game-winner in a two-goal game against Wheaton.

Photo courtesy of Wellesley’s Sports Information department.

PAST PRESIDENT

Nancy Mahoney-O’Leary ’86 CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

Caitlin Crowe ’89 CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

Alumnae Gather in NYC

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

Amy Gaylord ’08 CO-CHAIR, YOUNG ALUMNAE COMMITTEE

Elyse Newman ’04 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE RELATIONS

Elisabeth B. Peterson ’80, P’11

Surrounded by the rustic charm of City Winery in SoHo, Winsor alumnae caught up with old friends and made new connections during an alumnae event on December 3, 2017 in NYC. The relaxed environment set the stage for one-onone conversations with Head of School Sarah Pelmas, and a special flute and vocal performance by Emi Ferguson ’05 whose debut album, Amour Cruel, earned spots on three Billboard Charts since releasing in September.

OVERHEARD

“ We’re at an exciting time because we’re all comfortable identifying the fact that we need change and we need more women in politics.”

—Sonya Khan ’00, speaking at a November panel at Winsor, organized by the Alumnae Board’s Networking Committee

38 WINSOR SPRING 2018

CLASS NOTES

1940

Susan Simonds Page If there is anyone left in the class of ’40, I would love to hear from them—we are all 95 at least!!! If you can believe it...

1941

Margaret Waite Arnold Hi—I think I must be at least one of the few this old. I am now 95 or 96— can’t remember which but I have only wonderful memories of my 8 years at Winsor and how I loved it! Truly, from first to last!

1942

Susan Loring I am enjoying living at the Herrick House in Beverly, MA, and send greetings to my old friends from Winsor.

1943

Joan MacDuffie Lowell Ralph and I welcomed our first great grandchild, a boy, Abbott Lowell Barjum.

Fanny Little Pratt Em and I still telephone—Is it possible to get a list of survivors of 1943?

Thanks!

1945

Persis Gleason Laverack It is hard to believe, but—I have just celebrated my 90th Birthday in Iceland with my three children!! An amazing and wonderful time.

1946

Patricia Perrin Lawrence Our news of the past year is a com-

bination of joy and sadness. First and foremost we lost our beloved son, George, in December of 2016 of a sudden heart attack. He leaves a lovely wife of recent years as well as the wonderful mother of three fabulous sons and two granddaughters. Since I was a member of the class of l946, I celebrated a momentous birthday of 90 years. There is nothing an old lady needs at this stage of life and so my family announced that they had established a scholarship in my name at the Winsor School; I was truly overcome. It was my husband, Bob’s idea and I was deeply touched. The school has agreed to announce this gift, in hopes that other families will consider doing the same. For me, it is especially heart warming since I was a partial scholarship student at Winsor while my sister, Joan, was a student there. In those days the cost of a Winsor education was $600 per student and so my family was required to pay $300 for me. Needless to say, I will always be grateful for my Winsor education and the marvelous life I have enjoyed since then. I am relating this story only in the hope that other families will take the initiative to establish a similar opportunity for those in need of a superb education.

1947

Patricia Ross Pratt Despite the confusions and conflicts in the world, I continued my education in fascinating travels in a year and a half. I traveled to the Amazon River, Peru, Cortona, Italy, Paris, Tubac, Arizona, Cubs, Puebla Mexico, California, Trinidad, Quebec and grandmother’s dream—Copenhagen, Denmark with my whole family to visit our cousins. I feel more educated and happy.

1948

Patty Jewell Russell Winters in Green Valley, AZ, summers in Sullivan Harbor ME; the family grows with the births of two great grandsons, Henry David Russell living in Atlanta, GA and Grayson Andrew Russell in PA. I remain active as long as I can, playing tennis once a week and bocce plus several volunteer jobs.

Best regards to all my classmates.

1949

Eugenia Eacker Olson We were asked to outline our lives when we graduated in 1949. I am sure I gave the standard answer of the day; college, marriage and family with occupational therapy thrown in.

The first three have all been great.

The occupational therapy turned into working with physically handicapped children for Easter Seals for two years after we moved to Peoria, IL. I stayed home to raise our two daughters doing church and volunteer work as they were growing up. So much for standard. What has not been standard: 40 years of income tax preparation and still working, 25 under my own ownership; a 44’ boat cruising the “big wheel”; visiting all 50 state capitals and most Canadian provinces; and cruising to all 7 continents. We have been truly blessed. And one of those great blessings has been the wonderful education I received at Winsor.

Susan Conant Holden Life continues to be busy and time does fly. I am blessed to have 5 of my 6 grandchildren in school in Massachusetts. It is a privilege and pleasure to be included in their lives. I am still involved in patriotic and genealogical societies, and I am Recording

WINSOR SPRING 2018 39

CLASS NOTES

Secretary for 3 of them. I often thank Winsor for teaching me how to take inclusive notes and then record them accurately. Enjoy seeing my classmates Barbara Metcalf, Lila Mehlman, Connie Oliver and Kitty Lastavica. We miss Jody Blagden who moved to Nashua NH. Eleanor Toumey Whitman By the first of the year, I’ll have moved to Collington Retirement Center, 10450 Lottsford Road, Mitchellville, MD 20720. It’s just outside D.C. Fortunately, I have lots of friends from church there already!

1950

Alicia Gardner Sinclair I still paint watercolors and enjoy gardening.

Phyllis Henry Jordan Still working a little; Poet Laureate of the Berkeley Times, and doing a poetry column for the newspaper every 14 days; my sons and their families are all nearby, in Davis, Santa Cruz, and Berkeley, so we can see each other often, which is a blessing.

Mathilda Hills I have greatest respect for Margaret Warren, Archivist, for valuable assistance she gave while I researched extraordinary teacher-mentor Ellen Endicott Forbes ’27 in Winsor Archives.

1951

Ann Underhill Rosenbaum Hi Everyone! I celebrated my 84th birthday on a Viking cruise on the Elbe River in October. It was nice to get away, but Hal and I decided it isn›t as much fun to travel as it was when

40 WINSOR SPRING 2018

we were 50! Fortunately my health is good - walked 3 miles on Saturday after Thanksgiving at Cove Island, a lovely park on Long Island Sound; a gorgeous day. In January of 2014, I had a large sarcoma removed from my right thigh, and so far no recurrence.

Debby Link ’51 and I both have had sarcomas, not a great thing to share!

Hal’s well-being is somewhat compromised after 3 back surgeries, and 2 heart attacks, but we still get about pretty well considering. Hope all are doing well; don’t expect to get back to Winsor, but did enjoy visiting 2 years ago and seeing the “new campus.”

Maureen Duane Convery Retired to Maine after living in CA for 30 years. Love and still involved in the arts—our local art associations—docent in LA at Los Angeles Museum. Six grands all grown and two great grands. Grateful for health and friends and Winsor’s foundation.

1952

Marjorie Forbes I’m still enjoying having music in my life every day playing my oboe, and currently in a coached chamber group with another oboist and bassoon player. It is a lot of hard work but I do continue to improve which is so gratifying!

1953

Hannah Coolidge Clements I am still living happily at the RiverWoods retirement community in Exeter, NH with my 12-year-old yellow Labrador, Brookie. Many activities keep me busy, watercolors, gardening, photography, and volunteering, as well as the numerous optional activities here. Our five children and ten

grandchildren are, for the most part, within visiting range, and I am grateful to be still able to drive. I hope to be at our class 65th reunion in May. Cheers to all my classmates.

Helen Cutter MacLennan I am still married to Bob Maclennan, erstwhile M.P. now in the “other place,” still running a 400 acre sheep farm in Caithness, still grandmother of three rapidly growing boys, still enjoying the wonderful cultural life.

Louise Greep Hogan It would be a great pleasure to see classmates from ’53 at our 65th Reunion. The big change in my life since our 60th is the loss of my dear husband Bill. I have learned to be more self-reliant and to travel by public transportation instead of car to visit with family (I was always the passenger!). I panic only occasionally and have ambitious plans to travel in 2018. First, I’ll visit old friends in Capetown, S.A. Then I’m renting alone at Sea Oaks Beach and Tennis Club in Vero Beach, FL in February. Last September my sister Nancy Greep ’62 and I took the Rocky Mountaineer train trip from Seattle to Banff through the Canadian Rockies. Great experience. I enjoy getting together with my daughter Lisa McNamara ’83 and her wonderful daughters. We spent Thanksgiving together at my favorite place in Mexico on Riviera Maya. I am blessed.

1957

Joyce Carr Small Classmate Lynda Spence ’57 and I led with much success 17 clients/ friends in May 2016 from Barcelona through the Basque land down Portu-

Enjoying the occasion are Connie Gibbs Oliver ’49, P’75, ’76, ’78, GP’05, Marion Dusser de Barenne Kilson ’54, Angie Bainbridge Simonds ’66, Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’89, P’21, ’22, Nancy Gannett Hurlbut ’56, and Sue Conant Holden’49, P’79, ’82.

A Celebration of Legacy, Service and Community This October, a group of Winsor’s most devoted alumnae expanded on a fall tradition, returning to the Winsor campus on Pilgrim Road to celebrate legacy, service and community.

For many years, alumnae who’ve celebrated their 50th reunion have joined Lamp of Learning Society members for a fall luncheon. This year, for the first time, Julia Lyman Simonds award-winners joined the special homecoming.

Addressing the distinguished guests of honor, Head of School Sarah Pelmas reflected on the powerful tradition of service to school, community and humanity that has defined and united Winsor women since the school’s inception. To the crowd’s delight, Ms. Pelmas produced a Winsor Bulletin from the archives and read aloud an article written

by Allie Flather Blodgett ’52, retired director of alumnae relations, on the occasion of her 25th reunion. The insightful description of the Winsor experience resonated with the audience and was as relevant today as it would have been at the time of publication.

A moved Ms. Blodgett, a close friend of the Simonds family who was there for the day’s celebration, offered a warm and festive toast to Julia Lyman Simmonds 1917 and the members of her family in attendance, including daughters Susan Simonds Page ’40 and Amy Simonds Naimi ’52 and granddaughter Rosie Bigelow Bensen ’68. And in honor of a momentous occasion, the group shared birthday cake to celebrate Susan’s 95th birthday!

To close the day, Tiffany Rice, director of performing arts, gave an update on Winsor’s flourishing performing arts program, and alumnae toured the transformed academic spaces and the new Lubin-O’Donnell Center.

“It’s wonderful to be able to honor the legacy of these incredible alumnae, and to celebrate the new era of Winsor they have helped make possible,” notes Nancy Sullivan Skinner, chief advancement officer. “It is our hope to have more alumnae join us as we continue to gather on campus for time-honored traditions, and help pave the way for future generations.”

WINSOR SPRING 2018 41

CLASS NOTES

gal (via Oporto and the Douro Valle) ending with a stay in Lisbon. Lynda works as an independent contractor with the company I own, Adventures Unlimited in San Francisco. We have done a well-researched small group for many years now to places such as Myanmar, China, a yacht charter in the Greek Islands, 2 gullets down the Turquoise coast of Turkey, etc. So we are thriving. As a few of you know, Lynda’s husband, Bob Mittelstadt has had very serious health problems for the last year and she has been a super caregiver, as you can imagine. I think of Winsor a lot. I am still grateful for the good education it gave me.

Emily B. Preston After 48 years in full-time parish ministry (a most privileged, demanding, but deeply rewarding life), I’m now doing supply worship with churches who are seeking a new or interim pastor... about 13 pulpits in the past 10 months! Also heading up the Meals-on-Wheels program in Jaffrey, serving on several town committees and still looking after a beloved nephew who has been undergoing kidney dialysis and leukemia drip 3 times a week for the past 5 years. Wat’s spirit is sometimes down, but no complaining ever. He’s a remarkable man. I’m always grateful to get the class news even though it’s hard for me to make evening meals. My 3 sisters and I had extraordinary educations at Winsor which led us to college and beyond.

Heartfelt thanks to the school!

1958

Julie Roy Jeffrey Having missed our last few reunions I would like to catch up a bit with classmates. I have been busy and

42 WINSOR SPRING 2018

in good health. My docent job at the Walters Art Museum has been interesting and challenging. I love developing tours, particularly for adult groups. I continue to be involved in the life of our local grandson, having occasional visits from our grandchildren in Australia - usually one child or two plus my son once a year. I also continue to spend a lot of time riding my horse - this sport is ever changing, interesting and quite often frustrating. Our big adventure in 2018 is a trip to India. Look forward to seeing all at our upcoming reunion.

Daphne Harwood My 2017 year began with the loss of a dear friend in Vancouver. I’m beginning to absorb the idea that these losses are coming, sometimes thick and fast. Three Putney classmates died this year also. In February, George and I went back to New Mexico. We ‘did’ Georgia O’Keefe, went to Acoma (I was last there in 1954!) and went visit a large caldera from one million years back. My sewing/ textile work is slowing down, movies and books picking up. My kids are fine and four grandchildren spry and funny. Politics has been monumentally depressing. However, I am very happy that I am alive and well and 77, which is a great age to be.

Alison Hower Heins In November I made a two-week trip to Tokyo with my daughter Roo, who lived in Japan for 7 years and speaks Japanese fluently. We had a lovely visit with Amy Katoh ’58 one afternoon, had lunch in her neighborhood and enjoyed a look around her beautiful Blue and White store. A high point of our trip was the Van Gough and Japan

Exhibit at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Roo copyedited the Museum Catalog. The main motivation for our trip was Japanese Tea Ceremony, which Roo has studied for about 12 years. I have learned to be her guest, and my dream was to visit her tea teacher again (I met him on our first trip in 2008). The culmination of this visit was the annual tea ceremony at the Heirinji Zen monastery. It was a huge honor to be invited. We both received and served tea there!

Mary Eliot Jackson This is a time of change for all—I’ve sold my country house in Royalston and settled thoroughly in Cambridge in a mid-century building with huge windows facing high over the Charles and reminding me of the Eliot Noyse house I grew up in in Dover. I support much music and am appreciative of those who ‘speak truth to power’ – i.e., Dr. Dennis Burke who pulled the chain on double booking at MGH, the many #MeToo women who reveal rampant sexual predation, and Bryan Stevenson’s EJI which shines a light on slavery that we may honestly acknowledge our past. I find the actions of the current administration a troubling destruction of what America has presented to the world and recommend GRR!, Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights. Their potholder says “Too Hot to Handle”!!

1959

Judith Innes These have been good years for David and me. We love the peacefulness of retirement and doing only what we want when we want. Just put the finishing touches on the 2nd edition of our book Planning with Complex-

ity: Introduction to Collaborative Rationality for Public Policy. We have had great trips to the Dordogne, the Caribbean, Hawaii to see the telescopes and to Idaho for the eclipse.

This year we go back to Wellfleet in August. Here in beautiful California I still miss New England.

1960

Eleanor Canham Shanley Just spent a lovely morning at Winsor Open House for prospective students with granddaughter, Eleanor Johnson, and her mother, Alison. Hadn’t seen new buildings and loved how the old and new co-existed. Eleanor was enthralled with the elevator and its attendant squash courts. It was all very deja vu and yet new and exciting.

Returned two weeks ago from visit to Malta and Sicily with daughter Eliza.

Went to Malta four days early on my own and tracked down everything I remembered from my childhood, most of which was still there. Then Eliza arrived, the “real” trip began, and I discovered, in Sicily, how much I loved pistachio ice cream (and ruins set against blue sky and green grasses). Note the disgraceful order of my affections. A perfect trip. See you in May!

1961

Gillian Bunshaft Anderson I have some exciting news. I reconstructed and conducted the original score for the Mary Pickford vehicle, Rosita (Lubitsch, 1923) for the opening event of the Venice Film Festival.

Members of the FVG orchestra (Palmanova, Italy) were extraordinary and it was MoMA’s premiere of its new restoration of the film, which hitherto had existed in a very bad

NEWSMAKER

Jan Shifren ’80 Distinguishes Herself Jan Gochberg Shifren ’80 has been named the inaugural incumbent of Harvard Medical School’s newly established Vincent Trustees Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Family, friends and colleagues from HMS and Massachusetts General Hospital celebrated her honor at a November 2017 ceremony.

“Already a well-respected member of the professoriate, Dr. Shifren now holds the title of Vincent Trustees Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology—a title that further distinguishes her as a leader in the field of obstetrics and gynecology,” said HMS Dean George Q. Daley.

A 1988 graduate of HMS, Jan joined the faculty in 1996. Her research focuses on menopause, including the effects of estrogens, androgens and alternative therapies on menopausal symptoms, mood and sexual function.

Currently director of the Midlife Women’s Health Center at Mass General and a clinician at the MGH Fertility Center, Jan also cares for women with infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, premature ovarian insufficiency and concerns about menopause.

The professorship, made possible by Mass General, will ultimately be named for Isaac Schiff, the Joe Vincent Meigs Distinguished Professor of Gynecology at HMS, a menopause specialist and longtime colleague and mentor of Jan’s.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 43

CLASS NOTES

copy with Russian inter titles. It is to be repeated at MoMA with an American orchestra on 25 May, 2018.

Dorothy Mixter Crabb We have moved to VA after 35 years in Chicago! David and I have both retired and decided to move here to be near our grandchildren, daughter and son-in-law. We are so pleased that we have made the move. Andrew (al-

most 3) and Sarah (18 months) are so special and we wanted to be a part of their lives. It was the right decision!

I hope to get to Winsor for our next big reunion. Love, Doffie.

Julia Tobey Lots of excitement about Captain McCrea’s War by John McCrea, my stepfather’s WWII memoir edited by yours truly! In September, I visited LA

to give a book talk on the battleship USS Iowa. John was her first commanding officer, and on a tour of the ship I was thrilled to have my picture taken on the spot where his favorite portrait had been shot 73 years earlier. In May, I gave another book talk at the Needham Public Library, and was touched and delighted to see many of my Winsor classmates there. Thank you, guys, for being so supportive!

ALUMNAE AUTHORS

Edith Clowes ’69, Gisela Erbslöh, Ani Kokobobo Russia’s Regional Identities: The Power of the Provinces Routledge, 2018 Contemporary Russia is often viewed as a centralised regime based in Moscow, with dependent provinces, made subservient by Putin’s policies limiting regional autonomy. This book, however, demonstrates that beyond this largely political view, by looking at Russia’s regions more in cultural and social terms, a quite different picture emerges, of a Russia rich in variety, with different regional identities, cultures, traditions and memories. The book explores how identities are formed and rethought in contemporary Russia, and outlines the nature of particular regional identities, from Siberia and the Urals to southern Russia, from the Russian heartland to the non-Russian republics.

Martha Rhodes ’71 The Thin Wall University of Pittsburgh Press In his review of The Thin Wall, Rick Barot says, “In books that are as demanding as they are beautiful, Martha Rhodes has been mapping the psychic terrain of family life and romantic life in contemporary America. The way we are betrayed by others, the way we betray ourselves, the way

44 WINSOR SPRING 2018

love is both harbor and harm, the way memory is both a form of elation and of wounding—Rhodes looks at our instances of extremity and somehow turns them into bittersweet lyric utterance. Spare and unsparing, The Thin Wall is Rhodes doing her most powerful work so far.”

Martha Rhodes is the author of four previous poetry collections: At the Gate, Perfect Disappearance, Mother Quiet, and The Beds. She teaches in the graduate program at Sarah Lawrence College and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, as well as the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She directs the summer Conference on Poetry at the Frost Place and is the director of Four Way Books in New York City.

Blair Hurley ’05 The Devoted W. W. Norton & Company (coming in August 2018) Nicole Hennessy’s life revolves around her Zen practice at the Boston Zendo, seeking spiritual solace in the tenets of Buddhism. After a decade of grueling spiritual practice under her master’s tutelage, living on a shoestring as a shop clerk, Nicole has become sexually and emotionally entangled with her mentor.

To break free, she must retrace her en-

1962

Ruth Blake Munson It has been a busy year here in Connecticut with volunteer work at Yale New Haven Hospital working with the Auxiliary on the Toy Closet committee and in the Surgical Family Lounge. The Toy Closet receives donations and toys from many outside groups and distributes them to various toy closets set up on pediatric floors.

At the end of their stay in the hospital, each child visits the toy closet and picks out a toy to take home. The Surgical Family Lounge is where families of patients having surgery may wait and the staff keeps them up to date on the procedures. The staff makes sure that each family meets with the doctors at the end of the surgery and visits the patient after the surgery.

The sad family news on November 7,

tire life’s journey–from her strict Irish Catholic upbringing to her drug-fueled year as a teenage runaway. Even as she reinvents herself in New York City, her master’s intoxicating voice pursues her, whispering dangerously in her ear.

Somehow, he knows everything.

A hypnotic and daring debut, The Devoted asks what it takes, and what you’ll sacrifice, to find enlightenment.

Hadley Morash Douglas ’92 and T.J. Douglas Drink Progressively: From White to Red, Light- to Full-Bodied, A Bold New Way to Pair Wine with Food Spring House Press The Urban Grape’s Drink Progressively offers its readers a bold new way to pair wine with food.

Drink Progressively explores the store’s wildly popular Progressive Shelving system, which organizes wines by their body, rather than varietal or region. This revolutionary way of thinking about wine encourages UG’s customers, and now readers of this book, to explore new regions, producers, varietals, and price points, all while staying in their wine comfort zone.

In addition to sharing their wine knowledge in an approachable and fun way, the book contains 20 recipes meticulously crafted by nationally acclaimed chef Gabriel Frasca of Nantucket’s Straight Wharf restaurant. Each rec-

2017 was that my mother, Caroline Amory Hunnewell Blake ’33, died at the age of 102. What a remarkable century she lived through!

Maija Lahteenmaki Since retiring from the Finnish Foreign Service in 2013, after a career of close to 40 years, I’m delighted to have time for my friends. Not only do I get together with friends in Finland,

ipe comes with easy-to-understand wine pairing notes that make pairing wine to food a cinch, even for novices!

Leila Sales ’02 If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say: A Timely, Important Novel About Public Shaming In The Internet Age, And The Power Of Words.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (coming in May 2018) We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. But what happens when we’re seen and heard saying or doing the wrong things? What then?

When Winter Halperin—former spelling bee champion, aspiring writer, and daughter of a parenting expert—gets caught saying the wrong thing online, her life explodes. All across the world, people know what she’s done, and none of them will forgive her.

With her friends gone, her future plans cut short, and her identity in shambles, Winter is just trying to pick up the pieces without hurting anyone else. She knows she messed up, but does that mean it’s okay for people to send her hate mail and death threats? Does she deserve to lose all that she’s lost? And is “I’m sorry” ever good enough?

A novel about public shaming in the Internet age, If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say is also an exploration of the power of words, the damage of microaggressions, and the healing power of empathy.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 45

CLASS NOTES

but also in other parts of the world.

April 2018 in Milan, Italy, I’ll join a reunion of friends whom I met in Boston in 1961, while a senior in Winsor. Thank you Winsor!

Nancy Greep Life continues as before: working part-time in a community clinic in Santa Monica for the indigent, spending long weekends in Santa Barbara where I continue to work on landscaping and enjoy the company of my older son (now 37) and his two daughters. I am happy that a hamstring injury has finally healed after 4 years and now I am back to playing tennis and going to the gym several times per week. Hoping to make it to our 60th reunion in 2022!

Hope Baker Enjoying life at 73 years: two wonderful trips in 2017: a circumnavigation of Iceland in July and a circumnavigation of Newfoundland in September... both with Lindblad Expeditions/ National Geographic. Hoping for Greenland in August 2018.

1964

Ann Emerson Much travel at this stage in my life, some of it for painting which has become a core focus for me, as has writing. I am working on a daunting historical novel which is a lot of fun and takes me to Denmark and the Virgin Islands. And, of course, grandchildren are a serious delight! All in all, it’s a wonderful stage of life. Website: www.anneemersonartwork.com

1966

Anne Channing Lamb No news, except our spaniel passed

46 WINSOR SPRING 2018

away. We tinker with boats and neglect everything else, except the garden, which is mostly trees and is haunted by pine martens, foxes, badgers and roe deer, recorded nightly by trail camera. I’m re-publishing my ‘Liz Laighton’ books in a new edition with snazzy Ruth Channing covers.

I’m writing something different.

Joan Feinberg Berns In November, my twin grandsons became B’nai Mitzvah in Jerusalem, where they are currently living.

Several family members joined in for this joyous occasion, including my daughter and her family who journeyed many thousands of miles from Washington state! We traveled across Israel, from the Dead Sea in the South (the lowest point on earth) to the Sea of Galilee in the North. Ours was a wonderful, multi-faceted celebration and most memorable experience!

Deborah Webster I was a member of the Class of 1966 from 1958-1962. My mother moved to California in 1962 and I went to boarding school. I met Sharon ’66 and Hope Weld’s ’62 cousin, Steve Blanchard, in the summer of 1965 and have been married to him for the past 20 years. Small world! If anyone remembers me and would like to get in touch, please email me at debby.webster@gmail.com.

1967

Nancy Gardner Powlison I was the 2nd of 4 girls in my family.

Tammy ’65, Nancy, Jody ’70, and Barbara ’71 Gardner. At one point in the 60’s all four of us were Winsor girls! Now I have four granddaughters in my daughter Gwen’s family.

Michaela, Sophie, Caroline and Charlotte—born Sept. 2017 just after hurricane Irma! They bravely rode out the storm in Florida where my son-in-law teaches film in West Palm Beach.

1969

Edith Clowes I am in my sixth year as BrownForman Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia (in one of the “other” commonwealth states!). My husband, Craig Huneke (a math prof at UVA), and I have two grown children, Samuel and Edward, who live respectively in San Francisco and Lawrence, Kansas. This fall Craig and I have been enjoying a sabbatical in the Bay Area where I have been researching “everyday voices,”—writing by ordinary Russians during the years of the Russian Civil War (1918-1922).

January 2018 will bring the appearance of my new book, Russia’s Regional Identities: The Power of the Provinces (Routledge, 2018). I am looking forward very much to 2019 and my 50th reunion at Winsor!

Averill Babson Last March, I had a quick trip to see Louise’s son’s art opening in Goteborg, Sweden. It has been a busy year—too busy for any other travel.

Our eldest daughter was married in Florida last May. This June, our second daughter will get married in PA. I still work (“grassroots”) for various issues. It would be great to celebrate—you might ask what, so let’s just say working for change and being a great class—at our fiftieth, if people can make it.

1971

Martha Rhodes I drove by Winsor the other evening, while visiting Boston. Hadn’t planned to, but there was Winsor. And there was my mother in her car, waiting to pick me up, and all the students pouring out onto the street to get into cars, or walk to the MTA, or run to the corner to buy a popsicle from the popsicle man. We were in gym suits, A-line skirts, wearing loafers, Capezios and Papagallo flats—tot-

1972

ing green book bags stuffed with Winsor pads and Latin, history, and math books. And then suddenly, we weren’t—there. And I was turning right to go back to the inn in Brookline—in town for one night to give a reading from my latest collection of poems, The Thin Wall. We are still living in NYC, both of us busy, worried about you know who and you know why and how we will get through this mess we’re in. But we will. Take good care, all.

Sarah Mead Grateful that despite the frightening turn our country has taken, my own small world continues to be a source of joy and connection. 16th-century polyphony seems more and more like a model of communication for a civil society: it requires listening, sharing, responding, adjusting, and balancing, and the result is something much greater than the individual voices can contribute alone. I’m fortunate to get

1

2

3

4

1: A birthday gathering for some members of the Class of 1970. We had a wonderful weekend sharing stories, memories--lots of laughs and tears.

Thank you Allie for opening up your beautiful home. You were all here in spirit. (L-R): Leena-Maija Purhonen Lauren, Marianna Cooper Howland, Linda Coolidge, Leslie Blake Jordan, Claire Stuart Roth, Nancy Grossman (partially hidden), Sarah Putnam, Susanna Kenney Russo, Martha Rappaport Meyers, Linda Nardi Gilman, Elisabeth Merrill Pratt, Priscilla Dunne, Alison Richardson, Caroline Hollingsworth. 2: Robert and Patsy Perrin Lawrence ’46, P’72, (seated), surrounded by family at her 90th birthday party. 3: Nancy Powlison’s ’67 granddaughters: Sophie (8), Caroline (2) holding Charlotte (2mos), and Michaela (10), who live in Wellington, FL. 4:The children and grandchildren of Joan Feinberg Berns ’66 in Jerusalem.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 47

CLASS NOTES

1

to make this music with some of the best performers around, as well as to teach it to a wide variety of people from around the country and the world. My teachers at Winsor first opened my ears to this music, and for that I will always be grateful.

1973

JoAnne E. Reavis-Hurlston In August, I returned to the world of academia as an Academic Supervisor at an all-girls Catholic High School in San Jose, CA. Didn’t realize how much estrogen/hormones teenage girls emit (850 of them)! So happy that Winsor prepared me for this. Nonetheless, the experience thus far has been a very pleasant one and I am looking forward to more years to come.

1977

2 3

4

1: (l-r) Julia Kelly ’05, Sarah Pollack ’05, Olivia Tandon ’05, Blair Hurley ’05, Miri Madsen Goldberg ’05, Katie Creel ’05, Melissa Kaufman ’05, Elissa Berwick ’05, Ash Wagner ’05, Emma Johnson ’06. 2: (l-r) Lacey Rose ’06, Anuja Khettry ’04, Mary-Caitlin Ray ’05, Stephanie Brenman ’05, Kate O’Donnell ‘05, Dana Miller ’05. 3: Blair Katherine Buckley, daughter of Mike and Casey O’Donnell Buckley ’07. 4: Nora Lewin ’03 and her fiancé Georges Rouan.

48 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Beth Weiner Ben-Avraham About two and a half years ago, my husband and I fulfilled a long-term dream by moving to Israel. We are living very happily in Be’er Sheva (aka Beersheba). I have been able to continue telecommuting to my job as a medical writer for a pharmaceutical company. Our children are all in the US, with the exception of one who is in graduate school in London, UK. I recently married off one of my daughters, Chana Yemima, whose birth was announced in the Winsor bulletin in 1987!

Victoria Bondoc Since receiving the Small Business Person of the Year Award and Congressional Recognition last May, I have supported women, entrepreneurs, and future leaders in achieving their goals at the Leadership Series and Million Dollar Symposium. In November, I

was honored to receive the 2017 Maverick of the Year Silver Stevie® Award for my “Battlefield to Boardroom” approach that doubled productivity, increased revenue, and contributed to increasing Defense contracts awarded to woman-owned businesses to $9 Billion. I am happy that so many women, educational institutions, and associations are interested in “Battlefield to Boardroom.” The fast-moving world today is like a battlefield. And it’s not always a fair fight. I have enjoyed showing women how to apply “battlefield” strategies and tactics to personal and professional goals to achieve their own “Mission Success.”

Coastal Research, and giving Dad a few adventures. I relish the natural beauty of our rocky shore, sunrises and saltmarshes, the kids I work with and a great zany guy who also rows with me. Otherwise it would be deadening that I’m back in my same old bedroom and living my ’83 yearbook prophecy as a crew coach.

I even coached Winsor Sailing team for two seasons, (Winsor crew already superbly-staffed), and can report that the Winsor girls still rock and have great leadership and ethics—heartening examples for today’s weird times.

Lisa McNamara Hughes I am very happy these days and counting my blessings: one interesting job, one loving and happy relationship, two thriving young adult daughters, several lifelong friendships and a growing number of opportunities to travel and see the world. I will always be thankful to be part of the Winsor community.

1984

Cathy Guttentag What a fall it has been! Our house and car flooded in Hurricane Harvey on August 27th, and as I write this

1980

Louise Tilney Moore On September 16th, 2017, my second daughter, Olivia, married Adam Nicoletti in Ithaca, NY, surrounded by 250 friends and family! My son, Parker ran his first marathon, completing it in 3 1/2 hours! My youngest daughter, Leah, graduated from Niagara University and now my husband Chris and I are DONE with tuition payments!!

Hoping everyone is happy and healthy.

Elisabeth Peterson I was assigned a mountain to show others that it can be moved.

1983

Susan Bryant I feel blessed to amplify interesting stories as a sound recordist for documentaries and pieces on democracy and education. Gerrymandering continues to be relevant, as do others under Susan Bryant (IV) on IMDB. com. I’m back at the old house, also coaching youth ecology research teams, at the Center for Student

NEWSMAKER

Kate Glynn ’00 Leads the Way In October 2017, Kate Glynn ’00 was named the United Way of Hampshire County’s Board of Directors chair. A resident of Northampton, owner of A Child’s Garden, and member of the board since 2011, Kate is leading the way for a new generation of non-profit leaders.

As a child and family studies major at Bates and Smith College, Kate learned, “adults and children don’t exist in a vacuum.

Everyone is part of a community and a circle of care. To help someone, you need to do it in the context of their community.

That’s why I feel so deeply and passionately about the United Way.” An agent of change, Kate was part of a new wave of board members, particularly young women, bringing a fresh perspective to the organization, and most recently, helped drive the selection of a new executive director.

Intent on “moving the needle community-wide in the areas where our residents need help the most,” Kate continues to help define and articulate the organization’s values, and bring people of different generations and backgrounds to the table to do meaningful work.

“As a student at Winsor, I learned that you have to show up and participate,” she says about what motivates her. “You have to be present and use what you learn to advocate for yourself and for others.”

WINSOR SPRING 2018 49

CLASS NOTES

we are still in recovery mode. It has been a crazy and stressful experience, and yet we are getting through it one day at a time (my 14 year old daughter, our cat, and me). Everything takes way longer than you think it’s going to. In the midst of it, we have celebrated my daughter’s birthday and are looking at magnet high schools for her for next year. I am hopeful that by the time this goes to print, the reconstruction will be done and life will feel reasonably normal again!

1986

Lynn Harris Hi! All is well here in Brooklyn, other than the unsettling fact that my 11-year-old daughter is now taller than I am. (I still tower over my 9-year-old son.) Slowly but surely, I’m still starting up my startup, GOLD Comedy, which is all about getting more girls and women into comedy. Emily Abedon ’86 has been a big booster—her daughter took the very first workshop we ran (and went on to get a coveted spot on the Tufts improv team). In my spare time, I exchange angry political emails with Juliet Eastland ’86.

All my best to everyone—love seeing you guys on Facebook!

1988

Christina Weir 2017 was a big year for me and Nunzio. We moved in March - still in L.A., but to a new neighborhood that is closer to New York Film Academy where I teach and Nunzio is the Dean of Faculty and Chair of Screenwriting. This led to the second big event - in June we adopted a 3 year old Pomchi. The dog is now the center of our existence and she

50 WINSOR SPRING 2018

knows it! But the biggest news of 2017 is that NBC has purchased a pilot script based on the comic book we wrote, Bad Medicine! It’s still a long road ahead to determine if they’ll make it into a TV show, but it’s a great first step. Hope everyone else is doing well.

1990

Melita Mullen 2017 was a happy and eventful year, in which I left my litigation practice and took a position as Attorney Editor for the State Bar of Wisconsin. This leaves more time to dance tango, read books, make jewelry, and enjoy life. Happiest of all, I married Ramsey Finger on June 17 in a small backyard ceremony surrounded by family, including my daughters Maisie (15) and Elke (9), Ramsey’s son Elias (21) and daughter Rajani (21), and friends including Emily Wilson ’90. This summer, Ramsey, my kids, and I survived a western road trip, including a stop in Bozeman, MT, for a lovely, if brief, breakfast with Julia Hobson Haggerty’s ’90 family.

These days, more than ever, I am appreciating the wonderful community of strong, bright young women we had at Winsor. I wish my own daughters were so fortunate! I wish ALL girls were so fortunate. Best wishes to all.

1992

Sarah McColl Del Corral It was great fun to see everyone (and such a great turnout) at our 25th in May 2017. I am always so impressed with the initiative, intellect and passion that Winsor alumnae put into their lives across family, community and work. As time passes and

reunions shine the spotlight on the strength of Winsor, I am ever more grateful for the opportunity and privilege to have benefited from the school and the women of my experience there. I am now in my 13th year in London. Felipe and I have been married for ten years and have 2 kids, Martina (9) and Samuel (5). I have been working as CMO for Direct Ferries, an online travel agency, since early 2017 and loving the job - very dynamic, fast growing and fun. Would always love a catch up if any classmates in London...

1995

Jennifer Leisman Dessert I’m excited to share that Ryan and I welcomed Henry Bruce Dessert on September 24, 2017. We still live in the South End of Boston and can’t wait to show Henry some of our favorite neighborhood spots.

1996

Sarah Flier I have the pleasure of working across the street from Winsor at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I’m a gastroenterologist with a clinical focus on patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

In additional to patient care, I’m involved in research. I am associate program director for the gastroenterology fellowship training program at BIDMC, direct quality assurance for the division and co-direct the GI course for students in the program of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard Medical School. My other full time job is mom to Penelope (5.5) and Linus (2). In my rare spare time, I enjoy getting in over my head with projects around the house.

ALUMNAE PROFILE: JULIE ROCKETT ’92

Writing Her Own Script Scene I: Boston, 2015. Our heroine, Julie Rockett ’92, works as an office manager at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

She’s whip-smart (Tufts University, B.A., Ancient Greek, M.A., Education), and very funny (she’s performed with Skitches, an all-female sketch-comedy troupe). An aspiring screenwriter, she’s taking writing classes, and is writing a romantic comedy, Altarcations, about an event planner coordinating her ex’s wedding for a reality show.

Researching upcoming film festivals, she discovers that a renowned filmmaker will be holding a screenwriting seminar a few hours away. Later that day.

She explodes into action.

“Take the kids, Patrick!” she yells to her husband, tossing him children and grocery list, before zooming off toward the Provincetown Film Society (PFS). She makes the 115mile trip in record time and bursts into the seminar with minutes to spare.

Her death-defying drive pays off. The screenplay she completes, EsCape Cod, about mutant lobsters, wins Top Honors at two International Film Festivals, and she begins an internship at PFS that ultimately segues into her choice of paid employment.

She chooses Social Media Manager because, she confesses, “I’ll get to go to parties.”

Scene II: Three years later. Julie loves her job at PFS. She’s authored a television pilot, The Bird Herd, silver prizewinner at the Beverly Hills Screenplay Competition, and finished a script based on her parents’ meeting at Boston City Hospital.

“My mother was the first female surgical resident there,” she says. “It’s a pretty unique story, but I could say it’s like Call the Midwife meets Mad Men, with a little dash of Grey’s Anatomy.” Asked about parental approval, she laughs. “Everybody’s names are changed by at least one syllable,” she promises.

She’s also writing an action comedy set, yes, at an allgirls’ school’s 25th reunion.

“Write what you know,” she says, cheerily. In fact, Julie spoke at her own 25th Winsor reunion, where she deployed humor to address a serious topic: the niggling worry, common among women, that they won’t measure up, that they’ll be “found out” as imposters.

Julie credits Winsor with inoculating her and her peers against what she calls “this crippling fraud phenomenon.”

“Our ideas and thoughts were listened to and respected” at Winsor, she says. Teachers entertained all questions, and “didn’t roll their eyes,” even during the giggliest Sex Ed class. This atmosphere of respect, she says, was Winsor’s “greatest gift,” freeing her from “the useless notion that our words and insight don’t matter.”

As an artist writing and selling her own work, she summons this inner confidence often.

“For women particularly,” Julie says, “the best advice I ever got from a boss was, ‘You’ll never get paid what you’re worth. You’ll get paid what you negotiate.’ Don’t be afraid of being your best advocate. It’s the only way we’re going to close the gender pay gap.”

At the same time, she says, women must celebrate one another. She cites comedy as an example.

“Winsor was such a supportive environment,” she says.

“But the comedy world is different, and funny women need to do a better job of supporting each other… Joan Rivers said that Phyllis Diller, who was already a successful standup comedian, would sit in the audience and laugh louder than anyone at her jokes until Joan hit it big. We need more Phyllis Dillers out there.”

Will Julie be one of them? Stay tuned for her next act.

Juliet Eastland ’86 is a writer in Brookline, Mass.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 51

CLASS NOTES

Kimberly O’Keefe Markelewicz My husband Robert and I welcomed a baby girl, Julia Elise, on January 26, 2017. She joins big sister Alexandra Jean. We are living in Wellesley and are always happy to hear from Winsor friends. I can be reached at kmarkelewicz@gmail.com.

marked 15 years since graduating from Winsor! I can say that this year has been full of adventures, new learnings, and growth. While my tenure as the Annual Fund coordinator at Winsor has come to a close, I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to meet many of you and to deepen my perspective of Winsor beyond the scope of my experience as a student.

It’s impressive how the support of a great team and community, including our volunteers, works to further Winsor’s mission.

2002

2003

Currently, I’m working on reupholstering dining chairs. Together with my husband, we somehow balance this hectic but rewarding life!

1998

Morgan Sessoms It’s hard to believe that last spring

Norah Lewin On July 4th, Georges Rouan and I

were engaged. We were on an island paradise off the coast of Maine, taking a morning walk. Georges and I met in Antigua, through his cousin Sophie Plimpton ’03. We will be married on September 22, 2018 at the Wianno Club in Osterville, MA. Heather Luntz Crain I married Michael Crain this past Fall in San Francisco surrounded by many Winsor friends from the classes of 2003 and 2001. With 8 days to go, we moved the wedding from Napa to San Francisco due to the wine country fires, and it turned out to be the most magical weekend—it’s hard to believe it was in fact Plan B.

WINSOR IS EVERYWHERE. YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.

Discover the entire Winsor Alumnae directory in one place.

Integrated with Featuring maps, photos and more!

Powered by EverTrue. Get connected at www.winsor.edu/mobileapp

52 WINSOR SPRING 2018

2005

Stephanie Brenman As many of you know, I moved out to California for medical school at Stanford and then down to UCLA for my residency in emergency medicine.

I had a pretty exciting year: I finished residency at the end of June, got married in July, and then started two new jobs in Los Angeles! I am grateful I have been able to see many of my classmates this year, but I do miss everyone and hope to see you all at our 15th reunion in a couple of years (or hopefully sooner)!

Blair Hurley This year I got married to Kamil Khan, whom I met in college, and had four Winsor girls as my bridesmaids (Margot Hurley ’02, Olivia Tandon ’05, Sarah Pollack ’05, and Melissa Kaufman ’05). We were delighted to have several other Winsor women in attendance. And I sold my first novel, The Devoted, to W.W. Norton, appearing summer 2018. Look out for it!

2005

Stephanie Brenman and Elizabeth Reed July 8, 2017 Miri Madsen Goldberg and Ben Goldberg April 27, 2017

2003

Heather Luntz Crain and Michael Crain October 21, 2017

1941

Olivia Coolidge Hill-Dworkin April 28, 2017

1944

Mary-Margaret Lyman Goodale January 18, 2018

1990

1945

Caroline Abdulrazak Walsh and Stephen Walsh a daughter, Caroline Nuria Walsh February 27, 2017

1997

Ada Frances Risley Duffus July 27, 2017 Ellen Monks Higgins August 22, 2017

Nina Lanza and Richard Williams a son, Tycho Lanza October 22, 2017

1948

1998

Mary Byrd Platt May 14, 2017

Kimberly O’Keefe Markelewicz and Robert Markelewicz a daughter, Julia Elise Markelewicz January 26, 2017 Casey O’Donnell Buckley and Mike Buckley a daughter, Blair Katherine Buckley June 24, 2017

1990

Melita Mullen and Ramsey Finger June 17, 2017

Marjorie Prince Thomas August 5, 2017

ARRIVALS

2007

MARRIAGES

1937

IN MEMORIAM

1933

Caroline Hunnewell Blake November 7, 2017

1936

Eleanor Morss English August 3, 2017

Frances Pratt Gray April 3, 2017

1949

1950

Elizabeth Dow Lown January 29, 2017

1951

Carolyn Pratt Marshall July 4, 2017 Mary Simonds Parkman November 22, 2017

1953

Faith Baker Davis April 16, 2017

1969

Lucinda Young Larson January 12, 2018

WINSOR SPRING 2018 53

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

50TH REUNION

Class of 1968 First row (L-R): Frances Fitch, Elisabeth Werby, Laura Shapiro Dowling, Miss Wing, Anne Briggs Smith, Miss Dresser, Rose Bigelow Bensen, Nina Danforth, Amy Feinberg Galen. Second row: Ann Parson, Barbara Sossen, Elsebeth Sanden, Heidi Richardson, Catherine Collins, Anne Fuller Ahern, Mary Jane Seale Sofio, Gay Forbes, Christine Souvaine Soutter.

Third row: Patricia Cable, Louise Moorrees Berglund, Laurie Glimcher, Nancy Mabrey Pope, Nancy Hawkridge Jacques, Alexandra Gardner, Tamsin Venn, Elizabeth Stuart Hallowell. Fourth row: Sylvia Wyman McKean, Elizabeth Clark, Sally Garcelon,

54 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Emily Agoos Corpuz, Katharine Trumbull El Hayek, Anne Sunderland, Laura Levinson Smith, Catherine Olian.

Reunion committee: Rose Bigelow Bensen, Nina Danforth, Laura Shapiro Dowling, Elizabeth Stuart Hallowell, Anne Briggs Smith

Rose Bigelow Bensen My post Winsor and University of Pennsylvania story begins at Brookwood School in Manchester, MA, where I taught art and met my husband Gary at the first faculty meeting. I worked as a potter while we

raised Mike and Julia until we spent a year living in Switzerland, where I started writing stories for children.

Fast forward through hundreds of trade market rejections to writing fiction for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Heinemann. Early on, then ten-yearold Mike wrote me a note: “Houfflin [sic] Mifflin will be sorry they didn’t accept your books!” Well, now they do! Along the way I taught nature journaling and art as a springboard for writing at various grade levels.

Weddings and births have grown our family and hearts to include two in-

laws and five grandsons, one family in Portland, Maine, one in the Colorado Rockies. Living in a tight-knit, incredibly supportive community, writing, singing, and co-managing Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop (all volunteers, all donated inventory, all proceeds to our public library) round out life in Maine, where we have lived since 1979. I’m very much looking forward to gathering with my Winsor 1968 community in May. Louise Moorrees Berglund Well in a nutshell: I have been married twice, have one daughter, still live in the San Francisco Bay area but soon moving to Dallas where my daughter and family live. Have two grandchildren, a boy and a girl.

Worked at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, after Connecticut College, then onto Sotheby’s art auction house in NYC, then got a great job at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, was a private dealer for a short while, did several years in retail, and finally was in charge of customer service at Odwalla Juice and now am retired.

Both my parents have passed away, as did my brother at age 50, quite unexpectedly. So now am looking forward to my second life, which is still a mystery, but something I am excited about.

Nina Danforth Moving from theater at Sarah Lawrence to classroom teaching then Arboretum administration in Philadelphia, I can’t say as the career road has been very direct. But the loss of a 20-year marriage was impetus to pursue an MS in Environmental Studies in my 40’s, and that is where my heart still is! As educator in the

state’s first Watershed Initiative, under Governors Weld, Celucci, and Swift, my eyes were opened to our beautiful state, its waters and farms. I worked on teams organizing citizens to be better river stewards from the Neponset to the Hudson. Though retired from the state, I’m busy with tree planting and land preservation issues on the local level, also raising chickens and sheep for educational (and nutritional!) purposes, grazing them out with solar powered fences.

I’m learning the art of staying close to soil and family. My son, Dan Gomez-Ibanez, is a mechanical engineer in Woods Hole, and my daughter, Sara, is now a large animal veterinarian, each busy with families of their own. My husband Henry Stone is a builder and we are both delighted to be jumping into active grandparenting as well as travelling with my Danish “søster” Elsebeth. Come visit, and help out at lambing time!

Laura Shapiro Dowling I cannot believe 50 years have passed since we all graduated. It seems like yesterday that I was taking the T into Longwood Station, lugging my green book bag on my shoulder. After Winsor graduation I spent four enjoyable years at Mount Holyoke College.

I worked at MIT for several years where I met my husband Neal. We have been together 38 years. There have been some big highs (a happy marriage; two loving, smart daughters [one a special ed teacher, another a veterinarian anesthetist]; one brand new baby granddaughter; a lovely home in Sudbury for 31 years; continuing work at a radiopharmaceutical company for 35 years; great friends) and some sad lows (the deaths of

my brother, mother and father). At Winsor I felt part of a community, and ever since I have searched out other communities to be associated with (library volunteer, work, neighborhood groups, the girls’ schools). I really valued my education at Winsor and the broad range of knowledge we were exposed to, making me a voracious reader, an inquisitive person and a good contestant at Jeopardy.

Frances Fitch In 1968, I lived in Switzerland for a gap year. Tammy and I hopped the SS. United States bound for Paris, and I took off on my own to Lausanne.

We shared Danish Christmas at the Sanden farm. I became an organist and harpsichordist at Bard College.

Continued at New England Conservatory, now a professional musician, meeting the man I later married, and teaching music at the Winsor School.

Studied harpsichord in Holland.

When money ran dry, I joined Greg in Paris. We married and I went to work in Basel, Switzerland. I started a professional ensemble and, once back in Boston, a church job and teaching jobs. Our son, Nick was born. We bought a house in Magnolia, where I still live. I regretfully retired from

Frances Fitch ’68 at Strawberry Cove in Gloucester, MA.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 55

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

teaching at Longy School of Music in 2010, and our 38-year marriage ended in 2013. Losses or not, music goes on.

I love teaching, performing, traveling, learning, and gardening. I am grateful to have shared music over four continents with so many people. Now a Minister of Music, I teach some students at NEC, Tufts and Brandeis and still perform and record. I’m glad of my Winsor education and friends.

Laurie Glimcher I returned to Boston in September 2016 from a 5 year stint as Dean of Weill Cornell Medical School in NYC to become CEO/President of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School, my old stamping grounds. It’s an amazing institution that is renowned both for delivering the very best cancer care in the world and also for making groundbreaking scientific discoveries that improve the treatment of cancer.

It’s especially wonderful to be back home because both of my sons, Hugh and Jake Auchincloss, are in Boston.

My older son is a cardiothoracic surgeon at Mass General Hospital and Jake, recently married to my wonderful daughter-in-law Michelle Gattineri, works at a cybersecurity firm and is a Newton City Councilor.

My daughter Kalah Auchincloss is a lawyer in a health care law firm in Washington, D.C. with my 6-year-old grandson, Ryan Barnes. My husband, Greg Petsko, will thankfully be returning from NYC in a few months to join me at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s as a Professor of Neurology. We have another grandson on the way in February- and I hope there will be more to come!

Looking forward to our 50th reunion.

56 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Elizabeth Stuart Hallowell In the fall of 1971, I married Sam Hallowell, and our children, Sarah and Sam were born in 1975 and 1978. Having started my family at a young age, they happily formed my priorities which continue to this day. Our family has grown to include Sarah’s husband Chris, from South Africa and their daughter Tanya, age 4; and Sam’s husband Sebastian, from Colombia. We are very fortunate to have two sons-in-law who are devoted family members and who have enhanced our global perspective.

After finishing up my post-graduate education when the children were small, I went to work full time in 1986 at Wheaton College in the Career Office, where we developed a new approach to career and life planning, focusing on the connection between learning in and outside of the classroom. After 25 years, I started my own part-time career advising business, continuing the work I love of helping people to figure out their professional direction at all stages of the career continuum. I now have more time for travel, reading, courses, and most importantly, friends. I have many happy memories of my years at Winsor, and I look forward to reconnecting with everyone in May. Ann Parson Amazingly, this bad speller became a writer, a career Winsor’s teachers definitely shaped along with an interest in science. Miss Hamilton knew I was a fraud when I became Science Club president. I didn’t adore lab work (omg, those dead cats) but did adore communicating science. Still do. The day I graduated from Boston University, I went to work on General

Motors’ assembly line, Framingham, night shift; earned enough to trip to Morocco; then sat in Spain glowering at my typewriter. It’s not easy to write so close to birth. The Boston Phoenix hired me as its photography reviewer, which led to writing about the environment, which led to teaching in BU’s graduate program in science journalism, a wonderful experience, which led to writing a book with a terrific MGH doctor, which turned on a book spigot that still spews. Though more slowly. My favorite slogan: Plastic straws suck!

Ditto all marine debris, fossil fuels and general overconsumption. Love living near New Bedford, with warm months in Brooklin, Maine, a family haven since the 1880s. I often think of Gay Forbes ’68, Nina Cies ’68, and godchild Justine Jacoby Cook ’78 who left us too soon.

Heidi Richardson After Winsor, I attended Wellesley and then MIT studying architecture.

In 1971, I went to Southern California, following a Marine. I ended up at UC Berkeley for my M.Arch when Liz was at Boalt Hall! My taproot went down: I have lived on the West Coast ever since and bought into the housing market before the Silicon Valley bubble. I worked for William Turnbull Associates and opened my own office in 1983 just when my sister Juliet had won a national competition for Clos Pegase, a winery in Napa, upon which we collaborated.

I married Michael Dyett in 1980, an Easterner and city planner, and wonderful James came 3 years later. We settled in Mill Valley in Marin County north of San Francisco. I enjoy hiking, bicycling and kayaking. I also nurture

my passion for travel and photography, visiting many remote spots all around the world and also served on the Planning Commission! My office is growing; we specialize primarily in residential work in Marin, and we are lucky to have young clients interested in green building and material experimentation. I can’t believe that we all have made it this far!

Elsebeth Sanden I am really enjoying life these days.

Our 3 grandchildren age 8, 4 and 2 live close to us and we enjoy so much to pick them up early from school and kindergarten and spend time with them. I retired from my teaching job in November, 2014 and have been travelling a lot since then.

The first long trip took us to New Zealand for 4 weeks in a camper. We have also been to Buenos Aires and Ushuaia on the very southern tip of South America and hiking in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. This September we travelled for 3 weeks with Nina Danforth ‘68 and her husband Henry Stone in five different National Parks from Yellowstone to Capitol Reefs in Utah. We had rented two campers and were staying in the middle of the most beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Nina’s and my families have also been travelling together in New England, Scotland and Norway, and our oldest grandson, Robert talks about “my Nina” as his special friend! We have enjoyed the visits of the daughters of Tammy Venn ‘68 and Betsy Clark ‘68 and hope to see Francie Fitch ‘68 and her son in Spring 2018.

Anne Briggs Smith I have been blessed all these years

with a wonderful family and fulfilling work. I attended the University of Pennsylvania because it was one of very few liberal arts colleges that offered an elementary education major; ever since Ms. Houghton asked us in fifth grade what we wanted to be when we grew up, I had my heart set on becoming a teacher. I met my husband, Curt, during my freshman year at Penn. I am the mother of four great kids... Ben, Ted, Peter, and Lizzie. Two of my children are married, and I finally have a couple of grandchildren. I did become a teacher, and spent over forty years teaching in urban public schools, mostly in the city of Cambridge. I retired three years ago and now keep my hand in education by supervising student teachers at Boston College.

I never set foot into a public school until I became a teacher, and while I am very grateful for the education I received at Winsor, I am now a strong advocate for the public schools to ensure that all children receive the high quality education they deserve.

Tamsin Venn Fifty years? No way. After Winsor, a year in Paris on the Nora Saltonstall Scholarship. Then Harvard where a degree in social anthropology led me to Santa Fe and an archeological dig on an ancient pueblo. Then a stint as a journalist for the Rio Grande Sun. East to NYC, as Travel Editor of Skiing Magazine, skiing and reporting around the world. Return to Boston.

Horticulture Magazine, North Shore Weeklies. Two guidebooks for the Appalachian Mountain Club, Sea Kayaking the New England and Mid Atlantic Coasts. And then, Atlantic Coastal Kayaker Magazine, which

I have published for 26 years. I am grateful that I can roam around in my kayak and call it work. In 1993, I married David Eden and gained stepson Chris (36). Soon came Lilly (23) and Anton (20) plus the distinction of “oldest mom.” Lilly is a lab technician at Tufts Medical Center; Anton skis and works in Utah. David worked in public safety IT, then taught with a non-profit in Boston area public schools. I keep in touch with Winsor as a member of the Nora Saltonstall Committee where we meet remarkable young women. Best? The lasting gift of shared memories with my Winsor classmates.

Elizabeth Werby I’ve been busy and, for the most part, it’s been fun. I’ve lived in five states plus the full time equivalent of at least a year on Amtrak, traveling between Boston and New York. I have three terrific kids, now all in their 30s; one grandson; two ex-husbands; and one current husband, who is definitely the best yet. Without a huge amount of foresight or planning, I’ve followed my interests and found my way into several satisfying careers. I’m currently a consultant to the American Museum of Natural History, focusing primarily on the renovation of the historic Northwest Coast Hall. It’s a project that draws on my interest in anthropology and my experience many years ago as a lawyer in Southeast Alaska, and I get to work in my pajamas on most days. I’ve happily stayed in touch with Heidi Richardson ’68 and Annie Parson ’68. And in other news, I miss my friend Gay Forbes ’68 more than I can express and deplore the state of our union.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 57

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

25TH REUNION

Class of 1993 First row (L-R): Kristen Crowley Paterson, Laura Finnerty Melsheimer, Sylena Goodman, Aliki Hasiotis Broderick, Norah McCormick White, Rachel Marker, Laura Stanton, Ada Hamilton, Nkwanzi Sabiti, Anne Briggs Branch, Aurora Swithenbank, Mara Laird, Elizabeth Young. Second row: Julia Loscalzo Giordano, Joan Young, Cara Grayer Johnson, Jennifer O’Neil, Katherine Braucher Adams, Tanya Klibanov, Elizabeth Flanagan, Carolyn McClintock Peter, Anne Allison, Florencia Russ de Bertol, Amy Kelly Olivier, Jane Stewart, Emily Siegel, Angela Shoemaker Ramirez. Third row: Page deGregorio, Carmen Tordiglione, Alisa Kahn Ridruejo, Laurie Hurwitz Gordon, Rachel Kell, Lisa Lieberman Orser, Katherine Rowland Pangborn, Ethel Bullit, Kimberly Selkoe, Stephanie Agular Tournet, Elizabeth Resnik Speyer, Dia Black, Caitlin Finnegan Priest, Bryn Woll Allpress.

Fourth row: Stephanie Kluter Rael, Annemieke

58 WINSOR SPRING 2018

Atema, Lorna Campbell, Helen Dalgleish Sheirbon, Lara Thrasher, Susannah Bothe, Audrey McAdams Fenton, Elizabeth Landy Horak, Heather Johnson Magnan, Danielle Dwyer Kaplan, Erica Toochin, David Myers.

Reunion committee: Dia Black, Anne Briggs Branch, Lorna Campbell, Audrey McAdams Fenton, Cara Grayer Johnson, Danielle Dwyer Kaplan, Jennifer O’Neil, Amy Kelly Olivier, Alisa Kahn Ridruejo

Katherine Braucher Adams My husband Steve and I have been living in Needham for 14 years with our children Stewart (14), Clara (11), and Eleanor (7). Steve and I are both lawyers. I’m at a firm in Newton, and over the past several years have developed a subspecialty in the field of cannabis law. It is very interesting

to be at the forefront of an emerging industry in the state. Working close to my home allows me to be very involved in our children’s schools, where I am chairing the Understanding Our Different Abilities Program.

Social media allows me to keep up with many Winsor classmates and I look forward to seeing many of them this spring.

Ethel Bullitt Hello to all my wonderful Winsor women! I live in Boston with my husband, Colin, and kids Virginia and Ezra. I’ve been working for almost 10 years now as a child and adolescent psychiatrist. I work with teens and young adults with disorders such as anxiety and OCD, and with adults with developmental and intellectual

disabilities. My daughter is now in Class III, so I’ve had the wonderful and strange experience of returning to Winsor as a parent. More and more as the years go by, I marvel at what a talented, intelligent, and kind group of girls we had in our class, and what a special place Winsor was and is. I look forward to seeing some of you at reunion!

Lorna Campbell After 15 years in NYC, my husband and I relocated back to the Boston area a few years ago for better schools and room to breathe. We are loving raising our daughter, Alex, around family and trees though we still miss the diversity and bustle of Brooklyn at times. I pass Winsor every day on my way to work as a Social Work Manager in Psychiatry at Brigham & Women’s. I specialize in women’s mental health and addiction. I get the chance to catch up with some Winsor ladies regularly, and can’t wait to see everyone at the reunion!

Cara Grayer Johnson Greetings from Washington, D.C.!

I live in Woodley Park with my husband, Jerry L. Johnson, and our children Cayden-Rose (10) and Grayer Holt (5). This will mark my eighteenth year of rewarding civil service work as an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the International Bureau. As I reflect on our time at Winsor, and as my children traverse through their own schools, I feel more fortunate than ever to have a Winsor foundation. I credit my classmates for teaching me and exposing me to the invaluable experience of being

surrounded by a diversity of strength and intellect. I continue to be grateful for so many wonderful friends.

Danielle Dwyer Kaplan It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years!

I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities that Winsor gave me, and for the friends from there that I remain connected to. Life these days is busy but fun. I work full time as a physician at Boston Children’s Hospital in the Medicine ICU, where I am the Assistant Medical Director of Operations. My clinical interests are in quality improvement, asthma, and sedation. My husband Jess (Milton ‘96) and I have three little boys at home - Nathaniel (5), Jacob (3) and Alexander (1). We are expecting our fourth baby this spring, shortly before the reunion. Looking forward to catching up with everyone in May! Mara Laird Hi Classmates! After finishing Hamilton College, I spent 10 years writing in both the healthcare and banking fields. I received my MBA locally at Babson and got married in the same year to my husband, David Larsen. For the past 7 years, I’ve stepped out of the work force to be a stay-home mom to my two kids, Avery and Eliza. I’m enjoying being in the moment with them, knowing these years go by quickly! Last fall, I published my first children’s book, “God Always Loves You.” My children are the lead characters in the book which made it a really fun project for all of us. My husband, kids and I live in Wellesley. I enjoy bumping into local classmates from time to time! Looking forward to seeing you at the 25th reunion!

Heather Magnan Hello! Twenty five years have really flown by! After many years in Manhattan, my husband J.P., daughter Campbell (7), son Reed (4) and I have settled in Mamaroneck, NY. Along with the move came a career change for me from Pediatric Oncologist to General Pediatrician. I’ve recently joined a practice in White Plains and am enjoying more time with my family and increased involvement in my children’s school experiences and after school activities. It’s been a huge quality of life improvement! I’m excited to see the Winsor campus and reconnect with classmates in May! Jennifer O’Neil After Winsor, I went to Georgetown University where I received a B.S. in Chemistry. I then went on to graduate school at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. UMass is also where I met my husband, Eric Merithew, whom I married in 2003.

After graduate school, we settled in Dedham and I did postdoctoral work at the Dana-Farber Cancer

Jenifer O’Neill ’93.

WINSOR SPRING 2018 59

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

Institute. During my postdoc we welcomed our first child, Ethan, who is now 12 years old. After a short stint at a small biotech company, I started working at Merck Research Laboratories in the Longwood area just a short distance from Winsor!

Soon after, our second child, Grace, now 7, was born. At Merck, I am a Principal Scientist in the Oncology Discovery group. I have the privilege to lead teams of scientists that are working to discover new drugs for cancer patients.

Alisa Kahn-Ridruejo While a student commuting from Weston, I never imagined I’d end up living in Brookline so close to campus and staying involved with the school all these years. I’ve been on various alumnae and reunion planning committees since moving back after Wesleyan. Now in my seventh and final year on the Alumnae Board, I’ve had an excuse to stay closely connected with Winsor.

On the homefront, despite learning French at school, I married a Spaniard, Carlos, who is an architect and graphic designer from Madrid. We met through the architecture industry 20 years ago when I first started working on the marketing side of the profession. Our 6-year old son, Mateo, is extroverted, inquisitive and curly-haired (but sadly not a redhead!) Currently doing business development in Stantec Architecture’s Boston office (formerly ADD inc), my focus is growing the firm’s academic practice in New England.

Looking forward to seeing classmates soon!

60 WINSOR SPRING 2018

10TH REUNION

Class of 2008 First row (L-R): Grace Ogilby, Julia Wucherpfennig, Jessica Carroll Lemos, Diana Bartenstein, Rebecca Hadad, Kinne Chapin, Isabella Kulkarni, Kristen Rosa, Reann Gibson, Madeleine Yardley, Kenidi Kern, Lila Flavin, Safa Osmani, Sarah Duncan, Grace Lin. Second row: Emily Ausubel, Shana Berwick, Arielle Klagsburn, Alexandra Mitropoulos, Pat Carver, Rachel Friis Stettler, Madeleine Fleming, Elizabeth Keunstner, Lillian Kivel, Kate Grant, Amy Gaylord, Juhi Kuchroo, Hannah Hoyt, Juliet Tierney. Third row: Melissa Tovin, Emily Clarkson, Natasha Gordon, Alison Newman, Liv Dedon, Victoria Bennet, Margaret Doherty, Alora Rando, Jasmine Rollins, Catherine Wortmann, Karen Tarkulich, Lindsey Morse, Julia Streuli, Gillian Chase, Lydia Gammill, Melissa Greenberg, Brett Jordan, Sojourner Rivers, Genevieve Alice Woolverton, Armine Afeyan. Fourth row: Isabella Bulkeley, Natasha Terhorst, Jade Reaves, Keranie Theodosiou, Hayley Lucas, Mila Inge, Kathleen Goodwin, Alessia Morales, Caroline Fox, Hannah Wachtmeister, Paige Beaton, Laura Denman, Liza Weingarten, Deborah Lee, Janey Myers, Alexandra Clark, Camilla Hermann.

Reunion committee: Amy Gaylord, Juhi Kuchroo, Grace Ogilby, Madeleine Yardley

Armine Afeyan I moved back to Boston after Yale.

That lasted for a bit, then I started bopping around from Armenia to France to the UK. I work for a Boston-based company in London (to my delight and others’ bafflement) and I am the proud owner of three ferns on my office desk. While no one calls me Meanie anymore, no one calls me Nicey either. Otherwise, some things

from the last ten years: I kept rowing through undergrad, even was (as in, just me) the Armenian national team for a year. I worked for a foundation in Armenia for a year. I just graduated from INSEAD (business school in France) and currently work for Wayfair in London. My latest W›08 interactions were brunch with fellow Londoners Keranie (she was late) and Hayley (she wasn’t) and Paige & Liz at Wacht’s wedding. Because I always wonder who else does: I still wear my Winsor ring.

Emily Ausubel Since our five-year reunion, I have pursued my interests in international development, health, and human rights. I first worked at Management Sciences for Health in Medford, MA and then for Baylor-Uganda in Kampala, Uganda, where I also served as a Global Health Corps Fellow. Most recently, I was working in Boston for a local community development organization, VietAID. I am currently completing a Master in Public Policy degree at the Harvard Kennedy School, where I work for the Center for International Development and as an editor for the Women’s Policy Journal. I am delighted that fellow Winsor classmate, Grace Ogilby, is in my class there. I am excited to be back in school for the next few years and to stay local in the Boston area, where I can continue to spend time with my dear Winsor friends.

Victoria Bennett After graduating from Skidmore

College in 2012, I went on to get my Masters in Nursing Leadership from University of New Hampshire (UNH).

I have now been working in the Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Mass General Hospital for two years and recently started back at UNH for my Family Nurse Practitioner degree.

I am living in Boston with my fiancé Dustin and love being able to see my Winsor friends who still live close by!

Jessica Carol After graduating from Winsor, I proceeded to Hamilton College where I received a bachelor’s degree in Biology and met my now-husband, Brandon Lemos. We were wed on August 2nd, 2015 in Sudbury, MA. Brett Jordan ’08 and Julia Wucherpfennig ’08 were co-maids of honor, with Grace Lin ’08 and Cassandra Fach ’10 in attendance.

After Hamilton, I enrolled at Regis College where I obtained both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Nursing. Upon graduating, I became a Registered Nurse, and then progressed to a fully licensed Family Nurse Practitioner. I now work as

a primary care provider for my own panel of patients, while Brandon makes strides as a history teacher and curriculum designer for the top online public school in the state. We currently live in Franklin, MA, with our two boys, Raffa and Tristan.

Kinne P. Chapin My life has changed a lot in the past few years! I moved out to San Francisco and started teaching elementary school. Last year I earned my master’s degree, and I am currently teaching kindergarten and first grade at Presidio Knolls, a progressive Mandarin immersion school. I am also getting married in June to my fiance Chas, who works at Apple. But overall I would have to say the best part of being an adult is parenting my dog, Stevie Nicks, a corgi-mix we rescued from the SFSPCA. I hope everyone is doing well, and I wish I could make it back for reunion weekend!

Lila Flavin Hello! What has changed in 10 years?

I no longer post pictures on social media featuring solo cups. Or at least

I do not post pictures exclusively because they feature solo cups. I live in Somerville with my partner and our emotionally traumatized Chihuahua (the trauma happened before we got him). Until a few years ago I could gleefully park in Winsor’s lot with a note scrawled on my dashboard—I went here xoxo. This year I’m taking time off from Tufts medical school to do research. More importantly, I’m learning to bake bread and write fiction. At our 15th reunion, I hope to tell you 8+ years of training are behind me, I’m a family doctor, and my patients can catch their breath when they are in my office. And I hope to be writing every day. And ideally my Chihuahua will have kicked the habit of nervous peeing.

Brett Jordan After graduating from Winsor, I went on to Washington University in St. Louis, where I completed my Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Political Science, with a minor in French. While at WashU, I discovered my passion for reproductive health and rights. I was able to pursue that passion through

WINSOR SPRING 2018 61

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

the Master’s of Public Policy degree program at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, where I concentrated in Women’s Health policy. I then found my dream job as Assistant Director of Public Policy and Research at Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, the statewide advocacy office for New York State’s nine Planned Parenthood affiliates. I continued to sing in college and have since discovered a love for community theater, participating onand off-stage in Boston and Albany.

I am also proud to be a 2018 New Leaders Council Fellow in the Capital District-New York chapter.

Kenidi Kern Following graduation from Colgate University, I returned to Boston and began working as a research assistant.

After three years, I started my job as a developmental therapist for toddlers with autism. Currently, I am at Harvard Graduate School of Education studying counseling and living in Brookline with my two Shih Tzus!

Lillian Kivel Since graduating from Harvard in 2013, I have been living in San Francisco working to improve education systems. For my first two and a half years, I worked at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In Spring 2016, I made the move from educational research to working directly with high school and college students at the Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute. Working in university recruitment and outreach, I have had the chance to travel the US sharing Minerva with potential applicants. Along the way, I have been sure to test out ice cream places

62 WINSOR SPRING 2018

and visit Winsor to share Minerva with the talented seniors there. This spring, I will be moving to Oklahoma City, while continuing to work for Minerva. I can’t wait to explore a new part of the country and plan to get involved with local politics. See you back at Winsor for our reunion!

Juhi Kuchroo After graduating from Winsor, I went to Harvard College for undergraduate, concentrating in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and getting a citation in Spanish.

Following graduation, I spent a year at the University of Oxford as a Fulbright Scholar and then returned to Boston to attend Harvard Medical School. I am currently a fourth year MD/PhD student at Harvard Medical School. I’ve also returned to Harvard College as a resident tutor in Eliot House and have greatly enjoyed this role in the Harvard community.

Alexandra Mitropoulos I feel like we graduated exactly 5 minutes ago (maybe because my sister, Arielle Mitropoulos ’15 did in fact graduate 5 minutes ago), but since Winsor I graduated from Law School where I got a JD and an MA in Higher Education Administration.

I now work in a law firm primarily representing Colleges and Universities in a variety of matters, but especially focusing on Title IX and sexual misconduct and harassment on campus.

Safa Osmani After Winsor, I attended Wellesley College. In the fall of 2013, I attended Suffolk University Law School. During my second year of law school, I was involved with the Mar-

shall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Program where law students teach Constitutional Law to high school students. I specifically taught at Cambridge Rindge and Latin. I was also on the Law Review and served as the Senior Managing Editor my third year.

I was also part of the Juvenile Defenders Clinic where I was a student defense attorney and managed my own cases in Suffolk County Juvenile Court. I graduated from law school in 2016. I passed the Massachusetts Bar that summer and in the fall started clerking at the Rhode Island Supreme Court for Justice Francis X. Flaherty.

I am currently clerking for Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Natasha Terhorst I am the Operations Manager for the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN), which supports and strengthens the state’s nonprofit sector through training and capacity building, public awareness, and advocacy and public policy. In this role, I am responsible for developing, implementing, and enhancing systems and processes to ensure that the organization and staff operate efficiently and effectively. I also help with the recruitment, retention, and engagement of MNN’s nonprofit and affiliate members. Before joining MNN, I spent several years working in the education sub-sector first at Community for Education Foundation in New York City then at Breakthrough Greater Boston. I have also consulted for College for Social Innovation, a nonprofit startup dedicated to improving the talent pipeline for social impact organizations. I graduated

from Columbia University with a BA in History. In my free time, I serve on the Board of Directors of YNPN Boston and on Columbia University’s Alumni Representative Committee.

Keranie Theodosiou It’s hard to believe another five years have gone by since our 5th year re-

union! After completing my undergraduate degree in architecture at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, I moved back to Boston where I worked for two different architecture firms and re-connected with many of my Winsor classmates. I have now moved back to the UK and if all goes well this semester, I will receive my Masters in

Architecture from the Royal College of Art in London (and I am lucky to have Armine Afeyan ’08 and Hayley Lucas ’08 in London, too!). Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the 10-year reunion due to my final exam, but I will be thinking of you all and hope to see everyone soon—my door in London is always open!

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Recognize Anyone?

In preparations for celebrating the life of Virginia Wing, the Winsor Archives proved a treasure trove of material. Among the early photographs of Miss Wing is a faculty photo from the 1954 yearbook. While she had joined Winsor’s faculty only the year before, the Class of 1954 dedicated their book to her, borrowing from the words of Pope: “Thou art my guide, philosopher, and friend.” (Three years later, the Class of 1957 made her an honorary classmate, giving her a yearbook page of her own.) Miss Wing cared deeply about her faculty colleagues. Today, the school’s annual outstanding teacher award honors her memory. Every summer, Virginia

Wing Faculty Enrichment Grants, established in her honor, support professional development. Can you find Miss Wing in the picture? How many faces do you recognize?

First row: Duggan, Connolly, Bridge, Todd, Knapp, Ball, Waters, Houghton, Littlefield; second row: Ripley, Mellott, Hjelm, Hamilton, Church, Hastings, Niles, Barghoorn, Roelker, Jones, Montgomery; third row: Saxton, Beecher, Wing, Howell, Jenkes, Watkins, Neufeld, Eddy, Willey, Alger, Dresser. (Missing: Ambrose, Andrews, Boyd, English, Gombosi, Goss, Haussermann, Hewins, Labes, Luce, Moore, Putley, Rogers, Russell, Snow.)

WINSOR SPRING 2018 63

FIRST PERSON

Documented A Winsor junior creates a documentary film to give voice to immigrants, hoping others will “see the beauty in what I saw.”

W

hen Lia Kornmehl ’19 debuted her “Back of the House” documentary during a Winsor assembly, she admits she was still surprised by how it all came together. The junior, whose film is already an international film festival semi-finalist, illustrates how great vision and a willingness to take action are a powerful combination at any age.

What made you decide to make this film?

It started with the desire to educate myself about immigration in the U.S. in light of the 2016 election. But I discovered I had gathered a lot of information I felt needed to be shared, and film seemed like the ideal medium to explain something of such importance.

How did you find people willing to talk to you?

A lot of trial and error! I called about 100 restaurants, ultimately focusing on a list that participated in the “Day Without Immigrants” in the Boston area. But no one wanted to talk to a student filmmaker. I had a lot of moments where I thought—this isn’t going to work. But my mom wouldn’t let me quit.

What struck you the most when you finally got an interview?

It was amazing that they felt they could confide in me, a high school sophomore who doesn’t even speak their language. They trusted me to tell their story. It made me so hopeful. For the rest of that year, I thought back to that first interview.

What do you hope people take from your film?

I really wanted to humanize the immigrant community and show people that it’s not an ‘us’ versus ‘them’. It should be a ‘we’. I wanted people to listen, and to see the beauty in what I saw.

Winsor has already begun to use the film in the Spanish curriculum, and I hope other schools will also consider using it as an educational tool.

64 WINSOR SPRING 2018

“ WINSOR CHANGED MY LIFE,” writes novelist Leila Sales ’02.

At age 7, Leila was smitten. She read in the Globe about a Winsor student winning a robotics competition. She just knew she needed to be at a school like that.

Here, she wrote her own Winsor storyline: learning never to shy away from challenges and “to think, write, and speak critically on just about anything.” At her 15th reunion, she showed classmates you’re never too young to write a will. Including Winsor in her plans was a simple way of “giving back to a community that has given so much to me.”

Have you remembered Winsor in your will or retirement plan?

Let us know and we will welcome you to the Lamp of Learning Society. Please be in touch with Elizabeth Drolet, 617 912-1391 or edrolet@winsor.edu. www.winsor.edu/giving

THE WINSOR SCHOOL 103 Pilgrim Road Boston, Massachusetts 02215 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED If you have received this for your alumna daughter who is living elsewhere, please let us know by contacting Alumnae Relations at (617) 912-1321 or alumnae@winsor.edu.

Dance Moves The March dance concert featured moving performances and choreography by more 40 students, including Maddie Petro ’21. During Arts Block, she worked with teacher Carey McKinley to create a solo. “What I love about teaching dance,” says Ms. McKinley, “is it’s a vehicle for learning about yourself and how you relate to the world.” Audiences loved everything about the concert.

For more photos and video, visit www.winsor.edu/arts.

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID AUGUSTA , ME PERMIT NO 121