Winsor Bulletin Spring 2020

WINSOR BULLETIN | SPRING 2020

BOLD AND UNAFRAID Patricia Elam ’71 tells the story of Winsor’s first students of color PAGE 24

CONTENTS

UTL TURNS 25 On Friday, October 18, Winsor celebrated the 25th anniversary of Under the Lights! The beloved tradition debuted in 1994 as a celebration of the installation of field lights, which allowed Winsor’s athletic teams to play outdoors late into the fall. Each year, the celebration falls on Red Day, the final day of Winsor’s Spirit Week, during which students, faculty, and staff dress in head-to-toe red for a spirited pep rally featuring class cheers, music, and prizes for most creative student and faculty costumes. Following this year’s rally, families, past-parents, alums, and friends gathered to cheer on the Wildcats late into the evening as they faced off against local interscholastic rivals.

IN THIS ISSUE

20 Paying it Forward

Miwa Watkins ’83 honors the generosity of Miss Wing

22 Art of the Argument

Paying tribute to the 35-year legacy of Jean Berg P’77, ’81, ’88

24 Bold and Unafraid

Patrcia Elam ’71 tells the story of Winsor’s first students of color

34 Disrupt the Status Quo

Suzanne Ranere Norris ’94 works to level the playing field

IN EVERY ISSUE

2 From the Head of School 3 From Pilgrim Road 38 Alumnae News 64 First Person

FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

The Winsor School HEAD OF SCHOOL

Sarah Pelmas

Blazing Your Trail

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few weekends ago, I was hiking in snowy Vermont on a beautiful day. It was easy enough for us to find our way because others had hiked the trail ahead of us, and there was a nice flat white path of overlapping boot prints. Had there been fresh snow, however, we surely would have gotten lost. There were no blazes on the trees to guide us.

The word “trailblazer” seems to have entered common usage at the end of the ��th century, right around the time Winsor was founded, or perhaps a decade later. Literally it refers to the people who not only forged the trails but also left markers for those who would follow. And for those mountain trailblazers, the job was evident—make the path clear for subsequent hikers. But for those who trailblaze under more complex social circumstances, it can be hard enough to make your own way and almost impossible to know what it would mean to leave blazes for the next group.

Still, the women you will read about in this issue have done just that. Mary Pickard Winsor was a trailblazer, and generations of Winsor alumnae have followed her lead, blazing trails of their own. In this issue, Patricia Elam ’�� tells her story of being in the first small cohort of African-American students to come to Winsor. She is unflinching in revealing just how hard it was to be one of the first black students here. Of course, everyone wanted it to be a successful experience, but it was far from easy and, as she notes, had the parents of those brave girls really understood the cost, they might have made a different decision. And yet, looking back, Patricia notes with pride that Winsor is a different place and a better place—and I can tell you, it’s precisely because of individuals like Patricia, Ellen Pinderhughes ’��, Marilyn Dawson ’��, Pam Parks McLaurin ’��, and Pam Brooks ’��. They did what all great trailblazers do: They learned and taught at the same time. It might not have been the role they wanted, and it might not have been fair, but what a gift they gave us. We are who we are because of them.

As an educational institution, we need to know who we have been, and we need to look with clear eyes at where we are now. Truth-telling like Patricia’s is essential for moving forward, for celebrating our successes and also for seeing what needs to be done. Winsor has much to celebrate, much to learn, and much to honor in the extraordinary women who have learned together here and blazed trails in all directions, over several generations. What I love most about Winsor students is their fierce commitment to making this world a better place. They know that blazing trails is hard work, and they embrace that work with generosity and optimism. We are who we are because of them. — sarah pelmas

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CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER

Sue Kim

MANAGING EDITOR

Jennifer Bub P’23, ’25 DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Melody Komyerov

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE ENGAGEMENT

Beth Peterson ’80, P’11

CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN

2COMMUNIQUÉ PHOTOGRAPHY

Kristie Dean, John Gillooly, Ellen Harasimowicz, Jörg Meyer, Alice Stern, Winsor Communications BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2019–2020 PRESIDENT

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

Lori Whelan P’23, ’25 TREASURER

Bart Epker P’13 ASSISTANT TREASURER

David E. Goel P’23 CLERK

Elizabeth Bennett Carroll ’89 Eman Ansari P’20, ’24 John R. Barker P’21, ’23 Rachel Casseus ’02 Larry Cheng P’23, ’25 Raymond Chung P’18, ’21 Mark Condon P’16, ’18, ’18, ’21 Wendy Cromwell P’21 Audrey McAdams Fenton ’93, P’26 Mary Gallagher ’94 Jonathan Goldstein P’22, ’24 Mary Beth Gordon P’23, ’26 William H. Heald P’18, ’21 Charles Hebard P’24 Sam Kennedy P’23 Adrienne Penta Lissner ’96 Joseph J. O’Donnell P’05, ’07 Krishna G. Palepu P’21 Sarah Pelmas Jill Shah P’25 Kerry Swords P’23, ’27 Perry M. Traquina P’09, ’13 The Winsor School does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, creed, national origin, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, scholars programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Founders Day In ����, Mary Pickard Winsor started the Winsor School on Beacon Hill, for girls with academic promise who would grow up to be significant contributors to the world. This year, the school brought back a beloved tradition, celebrating the October �� birthday of its forward-thinking founder.

Lower School students dressed to honor the birthday of Miss Winsor.

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Hailey Fuchs ’16 addresses students during a panel discussion on media and current events.

Fact From Fiction

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n Friday, September ��, Winsor invited a panel of guests for a discussion on news, current events, and the challenge of distinguishing fact from “fake news.”

In her introduction, Sarah AlbertRozenberg ’��, co-head of the current events club, offered encouragement.

“You can hone your lie-detecting skills,” she said. “You can look for commonalities and piece together a possible truth.” She also offered invaluable advice. “Rather than shying away from interpretations that clash with your own, you should learn to listen to news anchors you might disagree with and read op-eds whose titles infuriate you. The more diverse opinions you hear, the better you will

be able to formulate your own.”

On the topic of the recent Democratic debates, Lylah Alphonse, managing editor of Government Rankings & News for U.S. News & World Report, cautions against relying on them as a source for understanding policy issues. In practice, party debates serve more as “auditions” for a crowded slate of candidates “appealing to their current base” and “looking for a viral moment to become more recognizable,” she says. Entertainment value also plays a key role, adds Joanna Weiss, editor-in-chief of Experience, an online magazine published by Northeastern University. When you are watching and listening, she says, note how the coverage has “the ability to capture your full attention…[and]

keep in mind the power of rhetoric.”

Alumna Hailey Fuchs ’��, a senior at Yale and a reporter on the national desk at the Washington Post this summer as a prestigious Bradlee Fellow, covered several rallies held

by President Trump and noted how they differed from a typical political event. “It was like a rock concert.

Loud music, people dancing...people chanting,” she recalls, all things that draw media and viewer attention— and distract from the issues.

Television is great at drawing out emotion, confirms Alphonse, but to go in depth on a subject, print is a better medium, and you should try to seek multiple sources. “There’s definitely never just one side to a story, and usually more than two,” she says, adding that print also allows you to “take a break and think it over.”

On how to cull fact from conjecture and “fake news,” the panelist agree on a few general rules. “If, then” phrasing, references to opinion or commentary, and op-ed all represent one side of a story. Weiss says, “It’s also important to ask, ‘Why is this person telling this story? And what aren’t they telling you?’” And always be weary of social media as a news source or a way to assess policy.

Referring to tweets and posts that capture our attention, Alphonse points out, “Sometimes it’s the something shiny we’re all supposed to look at while something else is happening under the surface.”

OVERHEARD

“ You should learn to listen to news anchors you might disagree with and read Op-Eds whose titles infuriate you.”

—Sarah Albert-Rozenberg ’��, cohead of the Winsor current events club 4 WINSOR SPRING 2020

PENNYPACKER PRIZE

Students Cofound Non-Profit Following Winsor’s first Global Forum on trash, Salma Ibrahim ’�� (left) and Anjali Peplau ’�� (right) were compelled to do their part to make a difference.

Identifying a need to connect potential donors of excess goods with local charities that need them, the friends cofounded Pinpoint Donations. Originally an app, and now a website and Facebook page developed through Technovation Challenge, sponsored by Google to encourage girls to use technology to meet a need in their community, Pinpoint connects donors with charities. The non-profit and the students behind it have since been recognized for their ingenuity.

Janet Cowan

Reem HusseinFricke

Andrew Riely

Samantha Simpson

In December, art teacher and head field hockey coach Erin Calamari was awarded the Pennypacker Prize. A talented and versatile artist, leaguewinning coach, and incomparable educator, she ensures students “have a sense of their creative power and voice, their capacity to work together with classmates and teammates, and their strengths as learners,” notes Head of School Sarah Pelmas. “Demanding, classy, knowledgeable, playful, and competitive,” is how Brianna Feliciano ’�� describes Coach Cal. And alumna Nancy Kaneb ’�� adds, “she has the ability to find the unique characteristic of everyone she meets and bring it out in them in the best way.”

The Pennypacker Prize is in special recognition of a Winsor teacher of great promise. Created in ����, the award is “given annually in the name of Henriette Pennypacker Binswanger ’��, with respect and admiration for the educational excellence of the Winsor School and the memory of an extraordinary experience.” Erin joins past recipients including Andrea Chase, Josh Constant, Theresa Evenson, Julia Harrison, Jeremy Johnson, Meara Kaufmann, Denise Labieniec, Dana Martin, Kim Ramos, Ken Schopf, and Lisa Stringfellow.

Erin Calamari with Head of School Sarah Pelmas

WELCOME NEW FACULTY This fall, Winsor welcomed several wonderful new teachers: Janet Cowan in Lower and Upper School math, Reem Hussein-Fricke in Upper School science, Andrew Riely in Upper School history, and Samantha Simpson in Upper School English.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Greek Symposium The Wildcat Room was bustling with activity as Class II students shared the results of months of research on ancient Greek culture during the annual Greek Symposium. Aptly dressed for the occasion, the girls used a broad array of multimedia displays to present their findings and highlight parallels to our modern culture on topics including government, art, architecture, theater, fashion, mythology and gods, medicine, and the role of women.

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WILDBOTS AND WILD WIRES

The team’s award-winning robot.

In February, the Wildbots brought home their second trophy of the season, earning the coveted Control Award at the Wild West �.� FTC Competition at Hopkins Academy in Hadley, Massachussetts. A programming award sponsored

by Arm Inc., the Control Award celebrates a team that uses sensors and software to increase the robot’s functionality, demonstrating innovative thinking to solve game challenges, display intelligent control, or achieve better results. “This team is only in its third year competing, and they continue to perform extraordinarily well,” says Jason Cox, faculty advisor and coach of the team. “For an all-girls team to win one of the programming awards sets a great example and helps raise awareness and interest in the club at Winsor and beyond.” Earlier in the year, the Wildbots took home the Inspire Award, the highest award at qualifier events, for the second year in a row, qualifying them for the State Championships in March.

Inspired by the Wildbots’ success, Winsor’s first Lower School LEGO Robotics Team, the Wild Wires, also began competing. In their first competition, the team earned the Gracious Professionalism Award and qualified to compete with �� other teams at the Massachussetts West Championships.

SCHOLASTIC ART AWARDS

Class V at Camp Nevis

Class Retreats

Each year, teens in grades �–�� apply in �� categories of art and writing to the Scholastic Awards, submitting nearly ���,��� works in ����.

The following Winsor students were recognized for work exemplifying originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision: Hana Karanja ’�� (Silver Key) Portfolio, Zoe Lewis ’�� (� Honorable Mentions) Still Life and Ice Climbing, Brigid O’Connor ’�� (HM) Self Portrait, Michelle Pu ’�� (Gold Key) Silently Listening and (Silver Key) Mind Wandering, Abby Quigley ’�� (Silver Key) Hand and Pepper, Nell Sparks ’�� (HM) Broken Window, Anahita von Andrian-Werburg ’�� (HM) Portfolio, and Olivia Zhao ’�� (Gold Key) Predator and Prey, (Silver Key) A Spring Afternoon, and (HM) Daydreaming.

To help bring classmates together and foster teamwork, each September classroom learning is replaced with outdoor adventure for students participating in class retreats. Working together in groups and supporting one another in the face of challenges beyond their comfort zones, the students return to campus united by their shared experiences, and with a stronger sense of community.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

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Fall Sports Highlights �. VARSITY CREW

Crew had a great fall season, welcoming a number of new team members. Under the leadership of head coach Lisa Stone P’��, entering her ��st season at the helm, and led by tri-captains Sophia Copeman ’��, Avery Beber ’��, and Briggs Negron ’��, the team thrived under great weather conditions.

The Head of the Charles race was a highlight, where a huge crowd cheered on both the eight and four boats from the dock as they raced through the Eliot Bridge and into the last half-mile. In the fours, Winsor finished ��th in a very tight field consisting of �� entrants from across the country and Europe. In the eights, Winsor was ��th in an equally large field, and a minute and a half closer to the winning crew, a finish demonstrating impressive growth and depth for the junior crew. �. CROSS COUNTRY EIL �-�; Overall ��-�

In its second year of Division I/Class A NEPSAC competition, cross country had another spectacular season, winning EILs for the fifth straight year and repeating as NEPSTA

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runner-ups. The team of ��, led by captains Winnie Wang ’��, Indi Aufranc ’��, and Maggie Furlong ’��, finished the season with a ��-� dual meet record, while also beating some of the largest private and public schools along the way, including wins over Canterbury and Deerfield.

The team was paced by Meg Madison ’��, who set the new Winsor School record at an astonishing ��:�� and brought home individual champion titles from the Canterbury, NMH, and Brown Invitationals. She finished her NEPSTA season by winning the Division I NEPSTA race and then winning the all-star race by �� seconds and setting a new course record at St. Mark’s School.

Coach Moriah Musto was once again selected by her peers to receive coach of the year honors. �. VARSITY FIELD HOCKEY EIL �-�; Overall ��-�-�

Led by tri-captains Rachel Place ’��, Brianna Feliciano ’��, and Ellie Pellegrino ’��, varsity field hockey finished the year with a commanding ��-�-� overall record. The Wildcats were a dominant force all season, scoring �� goals while allowing only ��. Junior goalkeeper Rani

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Balakrishna ’�� and her defensive unit were virtually impossible to beat in the backfield, delivering �� shutout performances.

Coach Erin Calamari earned her ���th career win, forward Lexi Pellegrino ’�� knocked in a school record and personal best �� goals, and for the first time in program history, the team was ranked high enough (#�) to host the quarterfinal round of the NEPSAC Class C tournament, beating Canterbury �-� in the blustery cold. Although the dream of making it back to the Championships for the second year in a row fell short against a very strong Pingree team in the semifinal round, there is no denying what the team accomplished this season. �. VARSITY VOLLEYBALL EIL ��-�; Overall ��-� Led by captains Michelle Pu ’�� and Eva Shin ’��, varsity volleyball qualified for their second EIL playoffs as the #� seed with an ��-� record. In the EIL semifinals, the young but full-of-heart Wildcats beat a tough-hitting Beaver team, making it to the EIL finals. Moving on to face the #� seed Dana Hall (whom the Wildcats had never beaten), the

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Wildcats came out fighting, winning the ���� EIL tournament in four games.

Continuing to break new ground, the team earned its way to its first NEPSAC tournament as the �th seed, during which they hosted #� Rivers. In an amazing comeback, the Wildcats forced a �th set and came up just short of a victory. The amazing ���� season may have come to an end that night, but it will forever be a season to remember. �. VARSITY SOCCER EIL �-�-�; Overall �-�-� Led by tri-captains Caitlin Bracken ’��, Elizabeth Martin ’��, and Lauren Price ’��, the varsity soccer team started the season with a strong �-� victory over rival LCA and played an even better second game against Southfield. Then the Portsmouth Abbey Curse struck, and nothing seemed to break the right way. The team rallied its way to five ties over the course of the season and ended up .��� in league play. Even though it ended in a loss, the Pingree game proved a highlight of the season as Winsor held off undefeated Pingree (��-�-�) for �� minutes and finished with a �-� final score.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

The Wellness Department (l-r): Madeline Warlan, school counselor; Laura Vantine, coordinator of academic support; Diane Sneider, director of health services and school nurse; and Christina Baudis, Wellness Department head.

Better Together

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n Thursday, October ��, Winsor’s Wellness Department, in collaboration with the Parents’ Association, hosted a panel discussion, Better Together: Leveraging Winsor’s Wellness Department to Support Student Health & Wellness.

Wellness Department Head and moderator Christina Baudis began by showing a video featuring Lisa Damour, author of Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls, which was a community read for Winsor faculty and

BOSTON OUTREACH The Boston Outreach student club organized a drive to collect goods and a campus community event to make baskets with the donations for Friends of Boston’s Homeless. The baskets and handmade cards were welcome gifts for people transitioning from homelessness into safe, dignified housing.

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staff this summer. A valuable resource for familes, the clip can be viewed­— along with others spotlighting Lisa— on YouTube.

Director of Health Services and School Nurse Diane Sneider led a meditation exercise that students do during health class. “We’ve made time for meditation and self-care because we don’t just want students to understand what it means; we want them to learn that it should be a priority.”

The panel also shared student responses to the questions: What is pressure? What is stress? How do you

cope with stress? What do you want your family to know?

Many of the responses related to grades, which Coordinator of Academic Support Laura Vantine explains is because “they feel very urgent and concrete,” and the impact from a stressful or disappointing experience often lingers. Ms. Vantine advises parents to validate and acknowledge when their daughters are feeling the pressure. “They need to feel the feelings. Then you can help them peel back the emotion, get some perspective, and get back to work.”

School Counselor Madeline Warlan also underscored the distinction between good stress and bad stress. “It’s part of life. But we can change the narrative around it.

Ultimately, we want them to make it through, with some scaffolding.”

“We are working to be preventative,” says Ms. Baudis. “We are working with the teachers and the advisors. We are working with teachers, advisors and in the classrooms. We are building the bonds before something becomes a crisis. And we are giving the students the tools and resources they need before they need them, and giving them lots of practice.”

Grandparents/ Grandfriends Day For the first time in �� years, Winsor hosted a grandparents/grandfriends day. The day was a wonderful opportunity for over ��� grandparents/grandfriends to come together, make connections, and learn more about Winsor. An opening program of music and introductions was followed by the opportunity to attend classes.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

Katie Burstein ’21, Hana Karanja ’20, and Sarah Albert-Rozenberg ’20 pose with their trophies.

Winsor Debaters Triumph

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atie Burstein ’��, Hana Karanja ’��, and Sarah Albert-Rozenberg ’�� triumphed as the highest-ranked U.S. debate team and the �rd place school at the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition (IISPSC) held in November in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

One hundred fifty students from �� schools and eight countries competed over four days, and in addition to the team win, Katie was the Top American Speaker, and Sarah captured third.

Winsor’s three debaters, chosen by faculty on the basis of tryouts and their debate records, competed in three categories: Persuasive Speaking, Parliamentary Debate, and Interpretive Reading. Sarah and Katie reached the finals in two of their three categories, and Sarah won the finals in Persuasive Speaking. Katie’s top scores qualified her for the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in China in April ����.

Following their success at Internationals, the team finished as the Top School at the DANEIS tournament, held at BB&N in December, thanks to the combined success of the whole team, including Advanced teams Sarah AlbertRozenberg ’�� and Sophie Yates ’��, Kaitlin Kolb ’�� and Caitlin Smith ’��; and Novice teams Brigid O’Connor ’�� and Ava Hosea ’��, Margaret Furlong ’�� and Alexandra Gorham ’��. Sarah Albert-Rozenberg was the Top Overall Speaker in the Advanced division and finished first in Parliamentary Debate; Brigid O’Connor was the Top Overall Speaker in the Novice division and finished second in Parliamentary Debate.

Sarah’s win earned her a coveted spot at the Worlds, joining Katie in representing Winsor at the prestigious five-day tournament.

Winsor students have brought home the trophy for Top American School and Top American Speaker five times. Winsor also made Internationals history when Grace Ogilby ’�� became the first American to ever win the entire tournament.

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SDLC 2019 This fall, Salma Ibrahim ’��, Alexis Vilmenay ’��, Alex Lee ’��, Avery Gardner ’��, Anne Joseph ’��, and Emma Charity ’�� attended the ���� NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). The multiracial, multicultural gathering of �,��� student leaders (grades �-��) from across the U.S. and abroad focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. Students develop cross-cultural communication skills, design effective strategies for social justice practice, and learn foundations of allyship and networking.

“Because students came from different areas and backgrounds, the stories they shared touched on issues that I had never faced,” notes Salma. Hearing the varied stories “helped me obtain a greater sense of empathy for their circumstances.” Adds Anne, “I learned how to take a step back and just listen while people were being vulnerable and candid about their stories. I had the privilege of meeting people from a vast range of places, and cannot express enough how unique this experience is.”

And Emma reflects, “�,��� kids from diverse backgrounds coming together in one room and saying ‘yes we can!’ showed me the power, passion, and potential of unity of our generation.”

Students at the 2019 SDLC

Students pay tribute to the Beatles during the Rock On! Concert.

Rock On! Concert Class IV students rocked their new skills in an annual concert that marked the end of the elective Rock On: A History of American Pop Music.

Each year, students embrace their inner pop, rock, and indie stars while showcasing newly honed vocal, instrumental, and performance skills. Performing Arts teacher Felicia Brady-Lopez developed and teaches the course, and she credits the incredible music space, access to equipment and instruments, and the time devoted to expanded arts electives with making a course like this not only possible, but a tremendous success. For many students, the class was their first introduction to a particular instrument, or their first time performing on stage. For other, more seasoned performers, it was an opportunity to collaborate creatively with peers and step out of their comfort zones. In the end, the concert brought the girls together as a band while allowing everyone a shot in the colorful spotlight.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE OVERSEAS The Visual Arts Department led a trip to Vienna, Prague, and Budapest for Winsor students that focused on the art, architecture, and cultural history of these three cities.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

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Arts at Winsor hroughout the fall and winter, the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater in the Nancy and Richard Lubin Center provided the perfect backdrop to celebrate music, theater, and dance at Winsor.

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leader, Jenny. Rounding out the cast were Maya Bodick, Daniel Rushes, Liza Kuntz, Danya Dubrow-Compaine, Oliva Sarkis, Asha Moreno, Nicole Hwang, Tristen Leone, Eleni Georgountzos, and Maita Mungah, and Grace Abbott as the stage manager.

�. THE SPARROW

�. THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN

In November, Upper School students delivered a captivating production of The Sparrow, featuring Izzy Leonetti as the shy Emily Book; Nazira Calhoun as her science teacher, Mr. Christopher; and Lola Fearon as the popular cheer-

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In January, Class I delighted audiences with their production of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. A beloved annual tradition, the production brings every member of the class together to work on all aspects of a play, from scripting and acting

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to costume and set design. And when the curtain falls, the full, all-school assembly on their feet ensures that Winsor’s newest students know they’ve found a home.

ultimately leads the audience to the conclusion, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

�. THE LITTLE PRINCE

�. THE WINTER CONCERT

In February, the Lower School performed The Little Prince, adapted by Rick Cummins and John Scullar from the novel by Antoine De Sainte-Exupery, directed by Ingrid Oslund. The story of a disenchanted Aviator stranded in the Sahara Desert and a mysterious “little prince” who recounts his own adventures through the galaxy, the play

The annual holiday concert in December featured vocal performances by the Lower School Chorus, Upper School Chorale and Small Chorus, and Senior Small Chorus, as well as inspiring instrumental performances by the Percussion Ensemble, the Lower and Upper School Orchestras, and the Intergenerational Winsor Chorus and Orchestra.

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FROM PILGRIM ROAD

WORTH BREAKING THE RULES FOR

Meg Madison ’24, Eve Lesburg ’21, and Winnie Wang ’20

XC Runners Set the Pace

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insor Cross Country took second place in the highly competitive NEPSTA Division I Championships this season, led by the record-breaking speed of eighth-grader Meg Madison ’��, who finished first at the championships, and Winnie Wang ’�� (��th) and Eve Lesburg ’�� (��th).

The three runners went on to the NEPSAC All-Star race in November, where Meg again came in first, setting a new course record time of ��:��, and Winnie and Eve were

named to the All–New England team, finishing �th and ��th, respectively.

Qualifying for the prestigious Nike Northeast Regional meet, Meg finished �th and earned a coveted spot at the Nike National Cross Country Championship in December, where runners compete for the sport’s biggest prize, the coveted Winged Goddess of Victory statue. On a cold and rainy day in Portland, Oregon, Meg finished ��th in a time of ��:��, running against the top ��� runners in the United States.

Calla Walsh ’�� and Imogen Cabot ’�� began working with local groups on the youth climate strike over the summer of ����. Then, with the support of the Conserve Our World and Amnesty clubs, they organized Winsor student participation in the Global Climate Strike on September ��, ����.

“What I thought was most memorable was how empowering the day was. As young people whose futures are endangered, it is easy to feel hopeless and scared about the climate crisis and our elected officials’ failure to act, but I think that everyone who participated in the strike came away with a more positive outlook. Knowing that there are millions of others around the world fighting for the same cause as we are was incredibly uplifting and showed us how powerful our voices can be,” said Calla.

MK Hart ’22 (l) and Ava Hawkins ’22 (r) heading to the Climate Strike

OVERHEARD

“ As Winsor students, we experience incredible privilege. We need to use our resources and stop deferring responsibility to act just because many issues do not directly affect us.”

—Calla Walsh ’�� and Imogen Cabot ’��, Climate Strike participation organizers 16 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Winsor Associates Dinner More than ��� guests gathered on Tuesday, October ��, for the annual Winsor Associates Dinner to celebrate those who, through generous leadership-level financial support, sustain the Winsor Annual Fund and make so much of daily Winsor life possible for students and faculty.

Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’��, P’��, ’��, president of the Winsor Corporation, welcomed guests to the celebratory dinner. Head of School and O’Donnell Family Chair Sarah Pelmas thanked the gathering of friends, parents, and parents of alumnae, and featured speaker Theresa Evenson, Lower School science teacher and ����-���� Pennypacker Prize recipient, shared her passion for helping students “become independent thinkers, informed citizens, and make choices that are best for them and their future.”

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY Gender equality is a promise unfulfilled. The truth is that real change has been excruciatingly slow for the majority of women, girls, and transgender individuals around the world. In ����, Winsor will join a host of other galvanizing movements in the push for gender equality. In partnership with Design for Change USA, Winsor will host its third biennial Global Forum: “We Can Do It: Gender Equality in the ��st Century.”

During this five-day program, Winsor students, faculty, alumnae, and friends will work toward practical solutions to issues such as unequal pay, physical and sexual violence, underrepresentation in politics, lack of education and access to healthcare, and other forms of gender-based discrimination.

Please join us as we seek to make good on the promise of gender equality. If you would like additional information or would be interested in participating in the Global Forum as a guest speaker or a workshop leader, please email Brian Didier at bdidier@winsor.edu.

KIM RAMOS NAMED NEW SCIENCE CHAIR “A beloved member of the faculty, a trusted friend, and the kind of teacher who changes people’s lives” is how Head of School Sarah Pelmas describes Kim Ramos, Science Department Head and the new Essential Winsor Science Chair. Over �� years at Winsor, Ms. Ramos led the Summer Science Internships Program, the independent study lab space, the science research class, and leading-edge science and forensics class materials.

A brilliant scientist and teacher with the kind of high standards “that make it possible for those around her to be better than they thought they could be,” Ms. Ramos “mentors new teachers with such generosity and thoughtfulness that they grow comfortably into their own style and strengths without feeling imposed upon or directed….Her commitment to excellence and diversity is a model for all of us,” says Ms. Pelmas.

The Essential Winsor Science Chair was established in 2003 by Lee T. Sprague ’58, Eleanor Lewis Campbell ’46, and the Honorable Levin H. Campbell GP’15, as well as Nancy and Michael Tooke P’98, to acknowledge exceptional teaching in science and the department’s dedication to students.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 17

FROM PILGRIM ROAD

20-Year Tributes (l-r): Alice Stern, Kate Grant, Laura Cohen, Clarissa Marshall, and Steve Jasset

Five Faculty and Staff Reach 20-Year Milestone

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ach year, Winsor honors faculty and staff reaching milestone years, with special tributes paid to those reaching 20 years of service. This year’s honorees cover a range of departments in the school, and they are as different from one another as humans can be—with the exception that they are all outstanding educators and professionals, utterly dedicated to their students and to Winsor, and very much sought after by colleagues for advice, support, and wisdom.

How to distill pages and pages of accolades, anecdotes, and sincere appreciation? Not easy! But the following short profiles, extracted from speeches delivered by Head of School Sarah Pelmas, celebrate these incredible faculty and staff members—their remarkable tenures at Winsor, and who they are beyond Pilgrim Road.

Over the past �� years, Alice has been busy! She has been an advisor for the newspaper, the film club, the book club, Spectrum, and, of course, the knitting club. Particularly attentive to the experience of minority students, she has added books about a wide-ranging list of topics to Winsor’s collection and displays them prominently to signal the community’s and the library’s dedication to creating an inclusive space. She has also served on and chaired several book award committees, which led to her donation of more than $��,��� worth of books to the library.

Winsor is incredibly grateful for Alice’s deep commitment to literature, learnedness, and the life of books; her remarkable ability to meet kids exactly where they are; and her generosity of spirit that helps make the library the most comfortable and welcoming hub in the school.

ALICE STERN

CLARISSA MARSHALL

With her fierce sense of humor, vehement dislike for holiday music, penchant for using her oven as storage space, and love of all things wool and knitting, Alice Stern has transformed Winsor’s library into a bright, welcoming, energetic, safe space for students to thrive and be themselves.

18 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Clarissa Marshall turns the Winsor School into the Winsor Family. Day in and day out, she shows every single student—and member of our faculty and staff—how much they matter to the community. She sees everyone as an individual who is worthy of love and care.

And Clarissa is the first face visitors see when they walk in the door. What better way to welcome people to our school? She is dignified and professional, caring and warm.

And the food she makes and shares with the community— there are no adjectives grand enough!

Clarissa manages attendance, mail, phones, visitors, parking passes, prize wrapping, and extra hours helping with UTL and reunions. And, since ����, she has also played an important role in single parent family outreach. Clarissa knows something about everything and is there to help, listen, and comfort.

Winsor was changed for the better when Clarissa joined the staff, and we are grateful each day for all her hard work, for her love, for her nurturing ways and willingness to bring us all into her family, for radiating God’s grace, and for shining that light on all of us.

STEVE JASSET

Loyal and kind—and “the top prankster in the Facilities Department”—Steve Jasset is the sort of person who “bleeds Winsor red.”

Steve is a master carpenter, someone who loves teaching his craft to others, a can-do guy who will pitch in and help in any situation, a wonderful chef, and a great storyteller— especially about his family of five children, nine grandchildren, and four dogs. He is also an indomitable Red Sox fan and—shhh!—a closeted Cowboys fan.

Around Winsor, he can and will fix and build anything anyone needs or doesn’t yet realize they need. The new windows? Installed by Steve. The new wellness area and nurse’s office? Built by Steve. The beautiful Winsor coffee tables made out of scraps of wood? Steve again!

On occasion his passion lands him in trouble. A lover of motorcycles, Steve rebuilt an entire motorcycle in his living room not realizing, upon completion, that it wouldn’t fit through the door.

Steve sees the positive in people and in situations, and he loves to help make things better for both his Winsor family and the family he and his wife created.

KATE GRANT

Kate Grant is witty, crazy smart, and has a huge heart—a combination that makes for moments both profound and entertaining. Winsor is appreciative beyond measure for her sense of humor, inquiring mind, and unwavering commitment to her students and colleagues.

Convinced that there is nothing “normal” in the world or in history, one of Kate’s quests is to seek answers to life’s most challenging questions. If you drop by her office, you will likely find her typing away and—without interrupting her fingers’ keyboard dance—posing questions, sharing peculiar facts, or launching perfect one-liners.

In addition to her historical quests, Kate is dedicated to her students. And in and out of the classroom, her students want to be around her and talk with her about life. She is a truly gifted teacher with the ability to get students excited about every aspect of history, and she makes it a priority to help ensure her students are happy, curious, successful, and self-possessed.

LAURA COHEN

When you ask people about Laura Cohen, the adjectives come flying out: calm, supportive, responsible, trustworthy, confident, and empowering. She is the epitome of the selfless leader, someone with clarity and focus who takes the emphasis off herself and allows the conversation to be about the other person, whether that is a student or colleague. Some believe the secret to her workplace demeanor stems from the fact that, at home, there may be more chaos than calm due to her seemingly endless epic construction projects.

That may be her secret sauce—in addition to her love for her dog, Batman—but the fact is that Laura loves math, and teaching. She has taught more or less every class Winsor has in the Upper School and, over the years, Laura has been quietly insistent that there be a woman teaching BC Calculus, modeling to her students that women can teach the highest levels of math and achieve anything they set out to do.

The Winsor community is enormously grateful for Laura’s ability to keep a straight face, even when the bad puns lob about, her centered leadership, her mathematical brilliance, and her thoughtful support of each individual student.

OTHER MILESTONES �� Years

Annie Huntoon Rudy Sirochman Helen Vest Mel Wood

�� Years

Laura Bravo Chris Kauth Lisa Reynolds

�� Years

Denise Labieniec �� Years

Jean Berg

WINSOR SPRING 2020 19

PROFILES IN GIVING

Giving Back and Paying Forward Miwa Watkins ’83

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s a student at Winsor, Miwa Watkins ’�� loved the arts and recalls hours passed in the studio, expressing herself through her work and mentoring younger students. As a senior, Miwa earned the “Mother of Class” award from her peers, a fitting award for a student who says she always felt Winsor was there for her, and in turn, made it a priority to be there for others.

“Winsor was really a sanctuary back then,” she says of the school that was centered in the city but tucked away in the medical district without any notable signage. “And it was a different time. Schools didn’t have counselors. We had teachers, and favorite teachers. But we also had Miss Wing. For so many of us, she was our counselor.” Miwa recalls how Miss Wing not only knew

everyone, but she knew when something wasn’t right. And when something wasn’t right, she did something about it. “A lot of people think she was old-fashioned, but in truth, she was pretty hip. She was a Smith girl after all! And she had a wonderful sense of humor.”

As the recipient of financial aid for six of her eight years at Winsor, Miwa knew more than many the extent of Miss Wing’s generosity, and the extent to which she took care of Winsor families.

Reflecting on her years here, and the lasting impact they had, she says, “There was something about being believed in by Miss Wing. She was such an incredible person, and such a force of nature. So when she believed in you, you had no choice: You had to believe it, too.”

Decades later, recalling a day

when she stood on the Winsor lawn dreaming of a time when she might be able to pay the money back, Miwa decided to take action, setting two plans in action. One was to put Winsor in her will, designating the money to support the Virginia Wing Memorial Scholarship Fund. The other was “to repay what Winsor gave me so that others can have the same experience I had. I have a way to go, but I can’t think of anything more meaningful.”

HONORING MISS WING

Established in ����, the Virginia Wing Memorial Scholarship Fund was initiated by Martha Rappaport Meyers ’�� and Elizabeth Jackson Rappaport ’�� as a community tribute to Miss Wing in support of financial aid at Winsor. To date, ��� donors have contributed to this fund.

Miwa Watkins ’83 on the Winsor campus

20 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Anne Cohen ’57, Lee Lawrence Albright ’57, P’88, GP’17, Evelyn Hollingsworth Doran ’57, Edith Arnold Sisson ’47, Julia Broderick O’Brien ’56, P’87

A CELEBRATION OF LEGACY, SERVICE, AND COMMUNITY

T Rachel Friis Stettler, Sarah Pelmas and Carolyn McClinctock Peter

his October, alumnae who’ve marked their ��th reunion, Lamp of Learning Society members, and Julia Lyman Simonds ����Awardees returned to campus for an annual celebration of legacy, service, and community.

Small Chorus, led by performing arts faculty Lisa Taillacq, performed three songs for the esteemed alumnae.

Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’��, P’��, ’��, the president of the Winsor Corporation and Lamp of Learning Society member, thanked the group for their continued support, acknowledging the ways in which their contributions impact every aspect of the school, and every Winsor student.

Head of School Sarah Pelmas reflected on the tradition of service and dedication to community that defines and unites alumnae with today’s Winsor families and students.

Seizing the opportunity with so many longtime alumnae gathered, Director of Alumnae Engagement Beth Peterson ’��, P’�� took off her own Lamp of Learning pin, designed and crafted by Margit Esser Porter ’��, and bestowed it on friend, alumna, former Winsor staff, and LOL society member Squeakie Thompson ’��.

Sue Kim, Winsor’s chief advancement officer, noted, “I love this event because it honors and celebrates the unity and dedication of this amazing community.”

WINSOR SPRING 2020 21

GENEROUS MINDED

Jean Berg, parent of 3 daughters: Jennifer Bittner ’77, Susan Klein ’81, and Jessica Berg ’85

The Art of the Argument For 35 years, Jean Berg has helped students find, and use, their voices.

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his year, Jean Berg P’��, ’��, ’�� celebrates her ��th year at Winsor. The mother of three Winsor alumnae, she has led the debate and Model U.N. teams for much of her time here, infusing all she does with her unique brand of wit, candor, drive, and compassion. As Head of School Sarah Pelmas remarked in her tribute to Jean in December, “The real testament to her incredible contributions lies in the myriad voices of our smart, well-spoken, fierce graduates, who learned so much and grew into them-

22 WINSOR SPRING 2020

selves in Winsor Debate and Model U.N.. Generations of Winsor students have learned to think critically, and have been made to feel remarkable and special, because of Jean.”

Current debate co-captain Hana Karanja ’�� notes, “Her seemingly infinite debate knowledge is matched only by her generosity and caring toward her debaters. Ms. Berg invites us into her home, personally encourages each and every girl.” Jean’s generous mind and heart are best captured in the words of those whose lives she’s impacted most.

A TRIBUTE BY CLAIRE GOLDSMITH ’��:

Walking up the hill to my home on weekends as a girl, I knew two things for sure: I wanted to go to Winsor, and, entirely related, I wanted to be like the girls I saw trotting out of my neighbor’s home, big binders under their arms and rat-a-tat conversations still going about topics I dreamed of understanding.

Jean Berg lives two houses from where I grew up. She and her late husband, Sol, were my godparents, and long before I entered Class I, I watched as Winsor debaters and Model U.N. participants gathered around their kitchen table. In a matter of years, I eagerly joined those groups and learned a way of being that is woven into the fiber of what it means to go to Winsor—and that has served me and so many other Winsor girls well at every turn.

A parent to three Winsor alumnae, Jean has had many roles at Winsor but is best known for her incomparable leadership of the Debate and Model U.N. teams. Over the years, she has taught countless young women to craft well-reasoned arguments, and to speak up—and continue speaking!—no matter what. She taught us research skills (for example, learning China’s position on a current event) before we ever wrote history papers with as much depth. Notably, these were both activities in which we competed (and generally won!) against boys. As Suzanne Joskow ’�� puts it, Jean “taught me an indelibly valuable skill: how to take a position.” She continues, “Because of her, I have the confidence to speak up, even when it’s scary. Because of her, I also have the confidence to change my mind when presented with a more

compelling point of view.” Those of us lucky enough to work with Jean feel we got the chance to practice and refine essential Winsor skills—like a bonus on our education.

But, boy, did she harangue us to get there! Jean’s feedback on a debate speech or Model U.N. position was forceful, direct, and specific. We had to start over, and over, and over.

The sun would set, and we would still be gathered in her living room, often with a partner, rewriting our speeches. A few years ago—having been a middle school debate coach myself—I returned to Winsor as Jean was helping seniors prepare for their Hemenway speeches. Lovingly (with asides to me about each young woman and how accomplished she was), Jean gave several sentences of direct and constructive feedback.

Some of it was hilarious. All of it was met with nods and agreement to go home and work harder. To this day, Jean gives me some of the best and most direct career advice.

Debate and Model U.N. were also about expanding our horizons. Our out-of-classroom experiences with Jean were the kind that stick with you years later. To this day, I speak to every cab or Lyft driver I encounter because of Jean’s example. We’d land in New York City or Washington, D.C., for Model U.N., and she’d strike up a conversation with the driver, finding out about his home or home country, position on politics, and what his mother liked to cook. We’d prepare to cross a busy city intersection only once Jean had placed herself smack-dab in the middle of it, in her long, quilted coat and eccentric hat, and we’d scurry across, feeling as old as we’d ever felt in the big city, but protected by her

imposing presence. When we represented China at one Washington, D.C., conference, we actually got an audience at the Chinese Embassy.

Jean inspired such adoration from her charges in part because she was also open, inclusive, and fair. She was a model of inclusion even before we used that term in schools. She saw what was special in each of her students and nurtured it. For decades, she has used her incisive mind and incredible warmth to shepherd future generations, and she will forever be a role model to me and so many others.

A TRIBUTE BY NUPUR CHAUDHURY ’��:

I can’t remember when I actually met Jean. In truth, she has always been a part of my Winsor experience. In Lower School, I wanted to join the debate team, but she advised against it. “Wait until Upper School, and come see me then,” she said. After that conversation, in the hallways, in the cafeteria, out in the courtyard, she would always say something to remind me. “Are you in Upper School yet? Come see me when you are!” or “Don’t forget!” with a wag of her finger and a knowing look.

I was thrilled when I finally made it to Upper School and marched into her office. She enrolled me in Debate and Model U.N., and much of my Upper School experience was preparing for debates and Model U.N. meets.

We would gather at Jean’s house on weekends, a beautiful house that overlooked the woods in Brookline.

She would have a spread of bagels and taught me, a little Indian girl, what the word shmear meant. I always remember having a glass of orange juice and her reminding us, “Protect the table!

Use a coaster!” I remember taking a furious amount of notes and spending weeks reviewing them all.

My appreciation for Jean stems from the fact that she saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.

A child of immigrants, with strict parents, I never fit in at Winsor. I was always reminded who I was, or rather, who I wasn’t. I wasn’t a part of a rich New England family. I didn’t have a college legacy in this country, and my parents weren’t a part of any sort of elite circle. I never wore the right clothes, and my family never vacationed at the right spots. I was made to recognize this piece again and again during my time at Winsor.

But Jean focused on what I could do rather than who I was. She built up my confidence to understand that what I had to say was just as important, if not more, than who I was and what family I came from.

Nearly �� years after I stepped into Jean’s office, she is a living, breathing part of my daily life, even though she and I have not spoken for �� years. As an urban planner at the forefront of the healthy communities movement, I am asked to speak at conferences, on panels, and in closed-door convenings on a weekly basis. The foundation that Jean gave me in structuring an argument, in staying grounded in my words, and, above all, in believing what I am presenting still rings true.

My talks and meetings run the gamut from ���-person keynotes to ��-person community meetings. But, thanks to Jean, I am never nervous! I am forever grateful for Jean seeing something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and nurturing the idea that I was important, that I had a point of view, and that I had something to say.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 23

COVER STORY

24  WINSOR SPRING 2020

od oday. o t t s ho or of w ers Wins z a l e ailb for th r t the way o t he e oic ved t v ves nd pa i g ’71 up, a m a El stood a i c ri out, Pat

D N A

PHOTO BY STEPHEN VOSS

COVER STORY

I

n ����, Ellen Pinderhughes and I were the first black girls to enter the hallowed hallways of Virginia Wing’s school for girls. We didn’t realize the weight of history we carried in our ��-year-old bodies.

Ellen remembers she and I took the Winsor entrance exam in the library, just the two of us. At one point she heard urgent chatter from behind and turned to see white girls at the window pointing and saying, “Look at the negro girls taking the test.” It was then, Ellen notes with residual sadness and resignation, she “knew what it was like to be an animal in a zoo.” Although my memory of that day has been erased, I trust Ellen’s because her hurt is still evident.

In ����, three years before she passed away, I spoke to Ms. Wing and asked her how she came to do something as revolutionary as admitting us her first year in the headmistress position. She told me that she was influenced by her relationship with her black nanny as well as by her father, a Springfield minister who sometimes exchanged pulpits with an African American pastor. When she brought the idea of adding black

“ In 1969, there was a grand total of eight black ‘Winsor girls.’ That term, an oxymoron of sorts, was fraught for us, and we struggled with it.”

—PATRICIA ELAM WALKER ’71

students up to the board, no one opposed her, so, through a series of connections, Ellen’s parents and mine answered her call. We were, our parents decided without our input, seizing an opportunity for a good education, which was as rare as a natural black diamond for many African American children in Boston and beyond.

But Winsor was not ready for us, and we were not ready for Winsor.

My world consisted of day-to-day survival tactics. White girls asked questions they dared not ask the only other black people they knew—their maids and chauffeurs—such as: “Why is the outside of your hands darker than the inside?”

“Can you wash the brown color off ?” When invited over for a meal, a classmate’s parent asked if my family sang We Shall Overcome at the dinner table. The many confusing thoughts, questions, feelings, and experiences bombarded my brain like a shower of shrapnel.

26 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Photos from The Winsor School’s 1970 and 1971 yearbooks.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 27

COVER STORY

The next year, in �th grade, Pam Parks, now McLaurin (Pam M, joined our class and later in �th grade, Marilyn Dawson rounded out our number to an even four. (Marilyn, sadly, passed away in ����. I spoke, however, with her mother and her brother. They both told me that she never mentioned any issues of concern while attending Winsor and returned on several occasions in recent years to speak and share about her illustrious life and career. Also in our �th-grade year, Pam Brooks (Pam B entered Winsor, but she was a year ahead of us and consequently the lone black girl in her ��th-grade class, as well as the first black graduate. Three other black students had entered Winsor’s lower school by then, Joanne Reavis and two more Pams— Whitley and Richardson.

Thus, in ����, there was a grand total of eight black “Winsor girls.” That term, an oxymoron of sorts, was fraught for us, and we struggled with it. Ellen says she tried but never could, and finally no longer wanted to be one. I, on the other hand, remember frantically trying to comb the kinks out of my hair so it would hang down straight and lank against the sides of my face.

Although learning to swim was a graduation requirement, I never did it. Why? Because I couldn’t bear the thought of white girls discovering that my hair, when it touched water, turned into a huge Brillo pad.

For a time, and in different ways, we questioned whether there was beauty in our blackness, even though our parents did their best to make sure we were grounded in the richness of our culture.

But as teens trying to fit in, things were not so crystal clear. In the mid to late ��s, Winsor haute couture was plaid kilt

28 WINSOR SPRING 2020

skirts worn with bare legs and loafers.

(Pants were not allowed, by the way.)

As we took public transportation to school—two or three buses, I recall— we weren’t allowed to leave the house bare-legged in the winter. Pam M and I removed our tights on the bus, but despite my best efforts, our knock-off kilts exposing ashy legs jammed into orthopedic loafers was a poor imitation. Pam B set us straight when she

“ Although she may not have known it at the time, [Pam B] had a specific mission to help the rest of us black girls understand our power. She pushed us to be our full selves under circumstances we did not totally understand.”

—PATRICIA ELAM WALKER ’71

began wearing an Afro and pulling African daishikis over her non-kilted skirts. Soon the rest of us grew proud Afros too.

In many ways, school was not a safe place for us, but we didn’t know it at the time. Though absorbed into our psyches, some of the difficult memories have faded, but each of us can recall an incident that still stirs up a battering ram of emotion almost �� years later.

Ellen says she felt “fundamentally invisible and [that] my experiences were not validated or understood, nor did they matter. I didn’t realize until later how much I steeled myself daily.” Years after graduation, a former

classmate remembered her as angry.

“I was,” she admits. Her most pivotal moment occurred in �th grade, when a classmate displayed a George Wallace sticker on her desk. Ellen recalls there was some discussion about how black people felt about the country’s racial climate, and all eyes turned to her as if she could speak for black folks across the nation.

My nemesis was Huck Finn. For some reason, in those days, we often had to read aloud in English class. I prayed I wouldn’t get a passage that contained the two most dreaded of words: Nigger Jim. But lo and behold, there they were, taunting and menacing. I remember how fast my heart was beating, how I planned for my tongue to skate across and render them inaudible, how desperately I didn’t want to cry.

But when I said the words, despite the softness of my voice, it was as if I were Nigger Jim and the whole class knew it.

Pam M remembers being asked to color in all the places on a map she had visited. Some white girls ran out of crayons because they had so much coloring to do. Pam had only been to Indianapolis, but she decided to color in the whole state of Indiana in an effort to keep up. The biggest upset, though, was when she won a coveted role as Jo in the production of Little Women. No black girl had ever been selected for a leading role, so we were proud and happy. Maybe we could be “Winsor girls” after all? As often happened, there were two casts selected because there were more students than major roles.

On opening night, the auditorium was filled to capacity with kids, parents, faculty, and friends. Excitement was palpable on many levels, for many reasons.

The first cast moved through the play without a glitch. Pam M was in

PHOTO BY ANGELO MERENDINO

Pam Brooks ’70 Pam Brooks blew into Winsor like a whirlwind, after finishing �th grade at Shady Hill, and admits she didn’t quite understand the Winsor culture. She “was treated as a curiosity by most of my new classmates. What is this place?” she remembers wondering.

She carefully chose which ones to talk to in class. “I could only relate to those who had good politics already. On the day Martin Luther King was killed, I led a walkout, and those who came with me felt like allies; they had some awareness and willingness to listen and hear.”

Her parents were both involved in the struggle for civil rights, and their work and passions affected her deeply. After school she’d go to Simmons where her mother was an advisor to the Black Student Union. Pam was impressed by the activism of those young women and wanted to bring that spirit to Winsor. “At the time, college students in the South were beginning to organize. I wanted to see it happen at Winsor, to see us come together as young black women. We were all taking heat, and the white girls were impolitic.”

Academics were frustrating to Pam because they didn’t feel relevant. The country was on fire as far as she was concerned.

“There was nothing in English class, no black literature.” What she found compelling was European History, a double-year

class that dealt with the revolution. “I loved it because I wanted to learn about socialism, communism, and periods in history that had resonance. I wanted to know how these movements bubbled up from below and had meaning in my life.” She researched and wrote about the Russian revolution and “it felt awesome.” Pam attributes her interest in history to a great teacher, Ms. Sherman, “the only person willing to talk to me about black people.” Pam also remembers that Ms. Hamilton tutored her in biology and was truly helpful. “She lived between cracks of privilege and non-privilege.”

As for extracurricular activities, Pam was a member of the chorus, which she enjoyed. Although she may not have known it at the time, she had a specific mission to help the rest of us black girls understand our power. She pushed us to be our full selves under circumstances we did not totally understand. She stayed away from the school for many years after being its first black graduate but later decided to send her daughter Ronnie ’�� because the school had changed so much. “There was finally a cadre of black adults who were serious. Nurse Jackie Arrington was fabulous. Ronnie would go to her to get black skin love.” Ronnie went on to attend Oberlin, where Pam is a tenured associate professor and former African American history department chair.

COVER STORY

the second cast. No adult, however, thought about the fact that she would make her first entrance during the section of the play when Jo has cut off her long hair. Pam M’s cue was another character’s distraught exclamation of, “Jo, whatever have you done to yourself ?”

That night in the Winsor auditorium, instead of the alarm being sounded about Jo’s shorn hair, it was the fact that Jo’s skin had turned from white to black. The audience burst into gales of raucous laughter while little Pam M burst into tears because she knew it was not meant to be funny.

Pam B’s moment came when a white classmate hung a confederate flag over her desk in their homeroom one day.

Once again, no adult intervened, so Pam B said, “Look here, that flag cannot stay up,” and she took it down. An argument ensued. Some of her recollection blurs, but ultimately, the flag remained down. Pam B also remembers the Irish maids at the front entrance who did not hide their feelings of superiority over, and disdain toward, the black girls.

Our parents, decades later, revealed that they hadn’t thought through the possibility of our social exclusion while matriculating at Winsor. Ellen recalls that at a dance with a “brother school,” she was the only black girl, and there was one black guy from Roxbury Latin, so they were expected to dance together. My singular experience (because I never went again) at a similar gathering was that the white boys found us to be invisible and the few black boys present did not want to dance with the black girls either, so they only danced with the white girls.

Back home in our Roxbury neighborhood, sometimes other African American kids teased us about going to

30 WINSOR SPRING 2020

white schools, so we often felt like we didn’t belong anywhere. I remember that Pam M and I, on days when we got out of school early enough, would hang out in the Roxbury train station where the other public school kids congregated and try in vain to blend in with them.

While all of our parents were community activists in their own right, Pam B’s father was actually on the front lines in the Mississippi Delta organizing politically and economically.

“ If everyone looks, talks, thinks alike, there won’t be many inspired decisions.”

—PAM PARKS MCLAURIN ’71

He discussed his work with his young, impressionable daughter and brought home people in the movement for her to meet, like Fannie Lou Hamer. In this way, Pam B became a dynamic force who rounded up our disparate energies and put them to important use. At some point, Pam B decided that we needed to organize and formulate our “demands”: Black history! Black role models! Black teachers! A young man named Roosevelt was summoned from Simmons College to help in the ways he could. One of his solutions to our plight was to play recorded Malcolm X speeches. Malcolm’s words pricked the surface of our discontent, but we were far from cured.

Meanwhile the administration tried to put patches on the various gaping holes in the curriculum and conceded to our Black History month proposal.

We planned an assembly where we

would dress in African attire, read poetry, dance to African drumming, and sing James Brown’s “I’m Black and I’m Proud” because…we were, weren’t we?

I remember trying on those ideas and liking them, but also being somewhat afraid of them. We rehearsed several times, and the big day came. I don’t remember the small details, but I do remember that something remarkable happened. Pam B, our pied piper, seemed to leap up and then broke from the script, screaming out to the ocean of white faces something like, “None of y’all know what it’s like to be black, to be slaves, to have your mammies and pappies lynched…!” She was on fire, but I recall thinking to myself, well, neither do I. I also remember worrying about what would happen next. Would the school explode? Would we explode?

Pam B became an unacknowledged hero in my mind because she was bold and unafraid, versed in black historical facts and closer to being a grownup than any other teenager I knew. Her speech that day was almost like Martin Luther King, I told my mother later on.

The time-honored rule for commencement was that the seniors were expected to wear white dresses while the students wore pastels. Ellen recalls Ms. Park saying the purpose was to “blend in” and “not stand out.” (Even brass buttons needed to be covered with tape.) Ellen wondered how this would be possible with our un-blendin-able skin. She thought, once again, we would be visible yet invisible, and we conformed every year until our last.

When it came time for us to graduate, we instinctively had to do something different because ours was so different from every other class. We were the first class, after all, that was not all white. To this day, I’m very proud that

Pam Parks McLaurin ’71 Pam Parks McLaurin ’��, P’�� is Winsor’s first black admissions director. It’s a big job, made even more expansive by the myraid roles she fills that come with the territory—and those she’s added to the mix.

From meeting the school’s annual target, to selecting the right mix of students and administering $�.� million in financial aid; to serving on the senior administration council, advising students, and co-leading SISTERS, the black student mentoring organization, Pam’s role in the school has continued to evolve over her ��-year tenure. She also founded the vital Parents of Black Students at Winsor group and is often lending her time to help families and students who have needs Winsor is otherwise unable to address.

After graduating from Winsor in ����, Pam, like her black peers, did not return to the school until the ��th-year reunion panel. The emotions stirred up by the panel provided incentive for her to attend an end of the year celebration for Winsor’s black student mentoring program. “Seeing the dining room filled with black people was powerful but overwhelming.” The program honoring the African American seniors left a marked impression. It showed how much Winsor had changed, and demonstrated that then Head of School Carolyn McClintock Peter was clearly committed to bringing in more students, faculty, and staff of color.

When Jackie Arrington P’��, the school nurse at the time, suggested Pam apply for the admissions director position, she consulted with others in the field and decided to pursue it with the aim of further transforming the school, and the lives of other children. “I was, and am, motivated by what I did not get as a student at Winsor,” she says candidly.

“I do what I can to make sure ALL students are successful,” she adds, which sometimes means providing a much-needed ear, or calling upon her resources beyond Winsor to help a new student navigate the private school world. In admissions interviews she “tries to make applicants feel like royalty even if they don’t get in.”

Pam admits that she was hesitant about sending her own daughter to Winsor, knowing the challenges she might face.

But realizing she could have a hand in guiding her and helping her process all aspects of her experience, she afforded Evan Joy ’�� the opportunity. Winsor’s large number of affinity groups can be traced to Pam’s vision. “If everyone looks, talks, thinks alike, there won’t be many inspired decisions,” she says. “I want to create an environment students don’t have in their neighborhoods.” She adds that students “learn how to disagree but still love each other, and they become invested in maintaining what they have.”

Like the colleagues she consulted predicted, Pam has quite literally changed the face of Winsor. When she began, it was �� percent students of color. Currently that number is at 50 percent. Other private schools have asked how she achieved such remarkable diversity. (There are also significant religious, social, and economic differences. Foremost, Pam understands that no student should be the only one or one of a very few in any setting. She has dynamically represented Winsor, recruiting in the local and academic communities; ensured marketing materials and the website represent students of color; and sought out perspectives more conservative than her own.

COVER STORY

Class of 1971

ours was also the one and only class to not wear all white. Our class picture, documenting that year’s stunning statement, hangs unapologetically between the other redundant class photos before and since. In our phone conversation, Ms. Wing recalled the moment that Ms. Dresser (our senior homeroom teacher) told her about our sartorial decision. Her words were, “Those seniors are trying to solve problems the rest of the world has not.”

Twenty-five years after we graduated from Winsor, none of us black girls wanted to attend the reunion. Ellen, however, came up with the brilliant idea of convening a session where we would talk about our experiences called “Red,White, and Black” (Winsor’s colors are red and white; you know what the black is), and with the help of Lynn Randall, we planned it. It was amazing! The auditorium was standing room only, with black girls who came after us, white girls who had been in

32 WINSOR SPRING 2020

“ We are proud that our difficult experiences at Winsor portend that a ‘Winsor girl’ no longer means a preternaturally privileged white girl.”

—PATRICIA ELAM ’71

our class, parents, teachers, and many others. They came to hear our stories, cried with us, shared some of their own tales (Jewish girls spoke of mistreatment, of which we were unaware), and we began the much-needed process of healing. Some of our former classmates embraced us afterward and apologized if they “ever said something stupid.” A few of our parents revealed that perhaps they might have made a different educational decision, finally acknowledging the toll that it took.

That illuminating day and the internal growth Winsor has achieved over the years in terms of faculty, staff, and student of color presence is why Pam B could send her daughter,

Ronnie, and why Pam M could become the first black director of admissions and also send her daughter, Evan Joy. It is why I can continue to return to the myriad of wonderful events that today’s Winsor hosts. We black graduates of yore have attended the magical “SISTERS” (black student mentoring group) events and been mesmerized and buoyed. At the same time that we are saddened we did not have such opportunities, we willingly bear the scars so that many others can and do.

Although I begged my parents year after year to take me out of Winsor, they always refused. (Decades later, our parents revealed they hadn’t thought through the possibility of our social

exclusion and might have made a different decision.) Ultimately we all know that we received an academic education that prepared us to further our studies in the best of environments. And yes, there were some teachers who looked past our skin and saw our humanity.

Pam M remembers the warmth and kindness of Mr. Rogers, who appreciated our unique creativity. Ms. Wortham Robbins was the first person besides my mother to tell me I was a writer.

Ms. Alger tutored me in math. We adored Ms. Lupinacci and her fashion sense. Pam B recalls that Ms. Sherman taught her about revolution and was the only teacher who would engage her blackness. Ellen also acknowledges Ms. Sherman and says that Ms. Bigelow was an affirming presence as well.

We, and our offspring, have achieved many of our dreams and continue to do so. We are proud that our difficult experiences at Winsor portend that a “Winsor girl” no longer means a preternaturally privileged white girl.

That once-loaded term is much more inclusive today. A “Winsor girl” may be African, African-American, LatinX, Muslim, Asian, non-binary, gay, have two same-sex parents, be a young Republican, and the list is open-ended.

When I complained about Winsor as a teen and later when I was challenged to find the right educational depots for my three very different children, my father reiterated that “there is no perfect school for a black child.”

Winsor is doing its best to dispute his theory. Despite everything, the place still pulls at those of us who made history there. We’re thankful for the school’s commendable ability to face its bumpy past head on, learn from it, and transform itself in leaps and bounds, and we hope it never stops.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Pam Brooks is a tenured professor of Africana Studies at Oberlin and former chair of the department.

Her daughter, Ronnie ’��, ��, is a curatorial fellow at Kalamazoo Institute of Art and teaches at Kalamazoo College in Michigan.

Pam Parks McLaurin is the director of admission at Winsor. After graduating from Winsor, her daughter Evan Joy ’��, ��, graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Spelman College and received an MPP and MBA from Brandeis University.

Ellen Pinderhughes Greene is a professor of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts. Her son, Marshall, ��, is a history major at University of Massachusetts Boston; her daughter, Olivia, ��, practices international law in New York.

Patricia Elam Walker is a writer and assistant professor of creative writing at Howard University. Her first children’s book will be published this summer. Patricia's son Justin, ��, is an actor/writer in Los Angeles; her son Elam, ��, is a high school basketball coach in Virginia; and her daugh-ter, Nile, ��, is a member of Dayton Contemporary Dance Co. in Ohio.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 33

FEATURE

Two women, one mission: level the playing field for female entrepreneurs.

Disrupt the Status W

hat’s wrong with this picture? Women start �� percent of companies in the United States but receive only � percent of venture-capital funds.

Within these venture funds, women represent less than �� percent of the partners who make the investment decisions.

Ridiculous, right? That’s just what Suzanne Ranere Norris ’�� and Lori Cashman thought when they founded Victress Capital in ����— an early-stage venture-capital firm with a conviction that diverse teams deliver outsize returns. “We saw an opportunity in this massive funding gap to support women-led businesses in consumer-focused industries that drive innovation and emerge as clear market leaders,” says Suzanne. “While focusing on gender diversity is the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do. Companies with women on the leadership team deliver better top-line and bottom-line performance consistently. Investing in gender diversity is smart investing.”

BY VICTORIA TILNEY MCDONOUGH ’83 PHOTOS BY ELYSE PONO PHOTOGRAPHY

34 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Quo!

WINSOR SPRING 2020  35

FEATURE

Like all trailblazers, Suzanne and Lori want to disrupt the status quo. In fact, that’s one of the main tenets of their company. “Almost all decisions in venture capital are made by white men, so here we are, two women choosing consumer businesses in which to invest, and in addition, we are looking at companies that not only empower women and other less dominant groups, but we also back companies that see things differently as they grow their companies into category leaders,” she explains.

Suzanne, a mother of three, and Lori, a mother of five, met almost �� years ago, and they clicked from their first conversation. They would trade stories about raising children, of course, but they found their conversations invariably meandering to their careers, to business, and to the funding gap. Combining Suzanne’s extensive background building and operating consumer businesses with Lori’s skills in investing, they could leverage their differentiated networks, perspectives, and experiences to create an edge that others didn't have.

Already, Victress Capital has researched more than �,��� companies and, to date, has backed �� early-stage businesses, including Mented (a company founded by two African-American women with the goal of providing women of color with vegan, parabenfree, non-toxic, and cruelty-free beauty options), Lia Diagnostics (a company that created the first and only flushable and biodegradable pregnancy test), and Daily Harvest (a business that set out to “disrupt the frozen food industry” by starting a subscription service that sends healthy, pre-portioned superfood smoothies, soups, and harvest bowls to people’s homes).

“Diversity is always better than

36 WINSOR SPRING 2020

homogeneity,” Suzanne says emphatically. “We are diversity-driven, and we are who we invest in. Just as we had to do when we started out—and continue to do—we tell our founders that success comes from testing your product and market, being willing to fail and learn from it quickly, and once you have a plan, knowing that you constantly need to analyze what’s working, what’s not, and then knowing how and when you need to shift.

There are going to be a million people telling you no. People will scoff, raise their eyebrows, and tick reasons off their fingertips as to why your idea will never fly. Having an idea and finding that opportunity to fill a gap is one thing; having the confidence to follow it through is quite another.”

Suzanne also notes that, unlike their male counterparts, women seeking venture-capital dollars often have to contend with the inevitable questions about children and families. “What does your husband think about your business plan?” “Do you have children?”

“What will happen to your business when you have children?” Nine times out of ��, women are asked “prevention questions”—questions related to safety and potential risks and losses—rather than “promotion questions” related to the entrepreneur’s hopes, ambitions, and achievements, which are usually directed at men.

Studies, such as those from Deloitte and McKinsey, show that businesses where women are part of executive teams outperform those with exclusively male teams. “Access to funding dollars is the largest obstacle for early-stage companies if they are seeking outside capital. And the stats show that men are giving the majority of that money to other men. Sadly, the

“ I believe so deeply in what we are doing that the fear of the unknown was far outweighed by the opportunity I could see.”

—SUZANNE RANERE NORRIS ’94

fact remains that women don’t present themselves as confidently as their male counterparts. Women undersell themselves, using words like ‘if ’ instead of ‘when,’ and often subconsciously diminish themselves when asking for the amount of money they actually want and need,” explains Suzanne. “There is an unconscious bias people have which causes them to lean toward and choose people similar to them, people they better relate to and value by default. Most times, early-stage businesses don’t have a lot of stats to back their efficacy, so believing in and relating to the person

Suzanne Norris and founding partner Lori Cashman (far left) give women a seat at the venture-capital table.

who is pitching the idea is crucial at first. An honest, even vulnerable, story is relatable—and powerful.”

In late ����, Suzanne and Lori were guests on Jim Cramer’s popular TV show on CNBC, Mad Money. “We were in the office when an email from the producer popped up. At first, we laughed and thought it must have been sent to us by mistake because we are still in the early days at Victress and are relatively unknown. But we set up a call with their team, we did a mock interview, and then two days later we were on the show,” says Suzanne. “It was a thrill and a great opportunity. Our story is important, not just our own Victress Capital story, but that of the enormous gender imbalance and why it’s important to invest in women.

“It’s important for people to recognize themselves in others, to see that hard work and determination do matter,” says Suzanne, who started her first business at �� years old in her basement using a carbon-copy receipt booklet her parents purchased

for her. Through her career working at Robertson Stevens, CMGI, The Parthenon Group, and Liz Claiborne Inc., where she developed e-commerce strategies and led the e-commerce businesses for seven portfolio brands, including Kate Spade, Suzanne also recognizes the need to stretch beyond one’s comfort zone. “In my role as one of the partners at Victress, I have raised capital, deployed it, and built our team, none of which I had previously done. I believe so deeply in what we are doing that the fear of the unknown was far outweighed by the opportunity I could see.”

In large part, Suzanne credits Winsor for her confidence, ability to lead, and drive to take risks in the name of making change. She was part of the class of ����, the pilot class of Winsor’s inaugural Leadership Initiative. “We were ‘a small and mighty class of �� girls,’ as my friend and classmate Liz Finn Payne called us. We were—still are!—very self-driven, but we also wanted to make each other, our teachers, and our community proud,” she says. “Success is never about one person. At Winsor, I learned the power of camaraderie and the importance of helping your friends and colleagues—no matter their endeavors—push the bar and aim to exceed expectations. One of my close friends, Alison Killilea, has been an inspiration to me as we started Victress. She has been in private equity for almost �� years and has been part of the leadership at PEWIN (Private Equity Women Investor Network).

Through PEWIN, she has helped to connect hundreds of women globally in finance who want to advance their careers and empower other women to do the same.”

Suzanne also notes how essential it

is to have a strong support system. “I feel fortunate that I have a family that supports what I do and believes in our mission. My husband and I both look at our five-year-old daughter and know that when she enters the workforce, we don’t want to be discussing how to create opportunities for women to advance. We want the conversation to be about how the most talented and capable people, regardless of gender, deserve and are given fair opportunities to lead and shine.”

Currently, Victress Capital hires summer interns from Harvard Business School but hopes to extend that opportunity in some way to Winsor girls. “I think it’s incredibly important to start conversations about entrepreneurship with girls and young women, to expose them to experiences where they learn to come up with an idea and deliver on it,” says Suzanne. She laughs when she recalls asking to start an investment club at Winsor. “We were intrigued by the stock market, so they let us start this club with Mr. Bowman’s help. The best part was the fact that they empowered us by taking our request seriously!”

Today, there is a Venture Capital Club at Winsor.

When asked if she thinks of herself as a trailblazer, Suzanne pauses. “I’m not disillusioned to think that we are changing the world with Victress Capital or undertaking the most innovative thing, but I do believe that we are doing something different that we are deeply committed to, which in the big picture is how change evolves,” she says. “We found an opportunity and had the skills and confidence to keep going. That’s what we tell the founders we are investing in. … Find your mission, stick to your values, deliver on your goals, and keep believing.”

WINSOR SPRING 2020 37

ALUMNAE NEWS CLASS NOTES

Art in the Family This fall, the halls were host to a first at Winsor: an exhibit by three sisters, all unique artists, and all former Winsor students—Mary Mosely ’��, Evelyn Stewart ’��, and Lisa Otis ’��.

38 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Landscape by Lisa Otis ’63

WINSOR SPRING 2020 39

CLASS NOTES

Alumnae Board 2019-2020

caption

PRESIDENT

Audrey Fenton McAdams ’93, P’26 VICE- PRESIDENT

Erica Mayer ’91, P’25 SECRETARY

Suzanne Ranere Norris ’94 MEMBERS AT LARGE

Hillary Brown ’80, P’17 Christina Spagnuolo Condron ’92, P’26 Susan Holzman ’67 Jennifer Inker ’93 Lindsay Mullen Jeanloz ‘00 Ruth Chute Knapp ’60, P’86, GP’21 Jillian Campbell McGrath ’02 Julia Broderick O’Brien ’56, P’87 Jennifer O’Neil ’93 Julie Rockett Paulick ’92 Mary Noonan Quirk ’05 Nancy Adams Roth ’66 Marion Pantazelos Russell ’91 Catherine Frankl Sarkis ’82, P’23 Ann Bainbridge Simonds ’66 Elizabeth Skates ’88 Miwa Watkins ’83 Meg Weeks ’04 Bryn Zeckhauser ’89, P’24 EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS LIFE MEMBER

Allie Flather Blodgett ’52 PAST PRESIDENT

Jennifer Morgan Peterson ’89, P’20, ’22, ’26 CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

Caitlin Crowe ’89

Cross-Generational Giving This February, the Alumnae Board hosted an event at Cradles to Crayons in Brighton that brought together more than �� alumnae and their children. The event was one of many community service events organized by the Alumnae Board each year to bring students and alumnae together to help others in need. Many of the daughters in attendance are current Winsor students, which made the outing even more meaningful for the cross-generational group, who helped sort essential clothing and goods donated to help the more than ���,��� children under age �� in Massachusetts who now live in low-income or homeless situations.

CO-CHAIR, ALUMNAE GIVING

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

Katherine McCord ’02

CO-CHAIR, YOUNG ALUMNAE COMMITTEE

Amy Gaylord ’08

CO-CHAIR, YOUNG ALUMNAE COMMITTEE

Regina Noonan, ’13

CO-CHAIR, YOUNG ALUMNAE COMMITTEE

Mary Catherine Quinn ’07

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE ENGAGEMENT

Elisabeth B. Peterson ’80, P’11

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF YOUNG ALUMNAE

Lily Cole-Chu

Winsor and the Great War Hosted by the Alumnae Board, Peter Drummey, librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society, joined members of the Winsor community for a discussion about Winsor and the Great War (����-����). Mr. Drummey is one of the nation’s leading archivists and has spent �� years working with some of the nation’s most important documents, including the Constitution.

OVERHEARD

“ It’s freeing to know that we are the harbingers of our own futures, but that means it is also our responsibility to take whatever chances come our way,” because “if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.”

—Isabelle Sibble ’��, Senior Class President 40 WINSOR SPRING 2020

The Fierce Urgency of Now More than ��� members of the Winsor community gathered in the David E. and Stacy L. Goel Theater for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Tuesday, January ��, ����. The event, now in its ��th year, unites people of all ages and reminds us of our common humanity in a world that too often highlights what divides us.

The theme of this year’s program was “Community and Activism: The Fierce Urgency of Now,” a common thread on a day when Winsor’s Lower School students were off campus volunteering with numerous organizations supporting those in need in the Greater Boston area. Featuring an inspired lineup of speakers, singers, and dancers, the event included stories, told through voice and movement, that inspired hope and renewed purpose to face any challenges ahead.

Year after year, so many members of the Winsor community dedicate time and energy to making this celebration meaningful. Special thanks to all the program speakers, including Winsor’s own Des Allen ’�� and senior Lulu Ansari ’��, who demonstrate in word and action that each of us has the power to make change.

Also, special thanks to the Lower School poetry performers, Small Chorus and Senior Small Chorus, senior Asrah Rizvi’s original student dance performance, the uplifting voices of WISE, and the members of Parents for an Inclusive Community (PIC) for their leadership and program organization.

Des Allen ’98

PARENTS OF ALUMNAE UNITE Parents of alumnae who graduated within the past four years gathered in the dining hall for an annual event hosted to help families stay connected.

CLASS NOTES

1941

Margaret Waite Arnold Although I am now �� years old, I have not forgotten my wonderful years at the Winsor School. My parents were always astounded to think I would ever look forward to going to school each day with pleasure! I remember so many occasions and so many teachers, all of whom were helpful, patient and kind!! Enclosed is a small amount to thank you for the joy I received!!!

1946

Patricia Perrin Lawrence I do want to tell my Winsor classmates and friends that I lost my dear husband, Bob Lawrence, last September, after having enjoyed �� years of a wonderful life with him. We had four marvelous children. Unfortunately, we lost our youngest son, George, of a heart attack in September. However, I have just returned from two days in NYC with my two granddaughters, Perrin Lawrence Hicks and Crosby Lawrence Piche, daughters of my son Rob and his wife, Weezie. They arranged the whole trip via their iPads.

I really feel we have all experienced another Industrial Revolution with the fast-paced world of technology today. It is hard for our generation to keep up with this ever-changing world.

The Winsor School does a good job of keeping us all in touch.

1947

Patricia Ross Pratt After many years of writing, I have finally finished my book: a biography of Denman Waldo Ross, major art collector, trustee of the Museum

WINSOR SPRING 2020 41

CLASS NOTES

of Fine Arts Boston for �� years, writer, painter, trustee of the Fogg Art Museum, and teacher at Harvard.

The Best of Its Kind: The Life of Denman Waldo Ross (Teacher, Collector, Painter 1853-1935), by Patricia Ross Pratt ’��. Privately printed, available on Amazon.com and at local bookstores.

1950

Joanna Bailey Hodgman Winsor goes on from strength to strength, and after �� years I am still incredibly grateful for all it gave me.

Love to classmates.

1951

Vera Converse Gibbons Continuing to work for Gibbons Real Estate as a broker and property manager in Mattapoisett, MA—over �� years as a realtor. Welcomed first great-grandchild, Charlotte Sophia Sanchez, in May ����.

1952

Antonia Colby Shoham Old age beginning to catch up. Feel o.k. but slowing down. Lost my husband, Neil Fields, on Valentine’s Day ����. Suddenly, life seems awfully empty. Dianne Isaacs Weil ’�� and Betsy Bragg ’�� and Marjorie Forbes ’�� keep me going! Love to all!

1955

Clara Mack Wainwright I am still working five days a week in my Allston studio. I had �� quilts installed in Boston City Hall until January ��. I am working with a psychoanalyst friend on Where Do You Go When You Leave Me, Mom, geared to young children. I have loved doing the illustrations, and we hope to find

42 WINSOR SPRING 2020

a publisher soon. Sally Murray Crissman ’�� and I have lunch periodically, and Joan Binney Ross ’�� and I talk on the phone about our days together.

1959

Margaret Cushing I have not retired yet! Being a travel agent is such fun. This year took me to Brittany, Doc Martin areas in UK, all around Japan cruise, South Dakota, and Italy. I had lunch with Christina Converse Jackson ’�� this summer in Portsmouth—we met halfway from her home.

Olivia Hood Parker ���� has been a rewarding year for me. My retrospective at the Peabody Essex Museum has ended, but the book Order of Imagination is still available. At present I am still working on Vanishing in Plain Sight, which is my imagination’s take on my late husband John’s Alzheimer’s. Also, much to my surprise I was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in November. My family is doing well. Son John and his wife, Karen, have three boys: Jack a junior at Dartmouth, Brett a freshman at St. Lawrence, and Chase a sophomore at Lincoln Sudbury. Helen and her husband, Frank, have two girls at Brookwood School: Libby in seventh grade and Lauren in fifth grade. Both girls have been doing karate for several years. Libby has her black belt, and Lauren will probably get hers this spring.

1960

Gail Hugenberger Gillies In November, my husband, Don, and I went with a small group through

the Friendship Force, a domestic and international home stay exchange organization to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the State of Chiapas in Southern Mexico. We had a very safe, educational, and interesting time. The people of that club came to Santa Barbara two years ago, so we knew how nice and family-oriented they are. The highlights of our trip were our visit to scenic Sumidero Canyon with a boat ride on its river, where we came very close to two crocodiles in the wild (along with monkeys and many birds), the Mayan ruins of Palenque, and our experience in the cool highlands of the town San Cristobal seeing the handmade colorful fabrics of the indigenous peoples.

We definitely had an opportunity to learn about the customs and lives of the people there.

Eleanor Canham Shanley Four daughters, spouses, and seven grandchildren for Thanksgiving— hectic but heavenly. I am enjoying an occasional trip—Ireland last May, Italy in October—am carpe-ing the diem, mostly with the great National Trust trips. Love my “new” house and garden, my dog and cat, and having two daughters within walking distance. And love visiting the Boston and California daughters. My favorite quote: All shall be well and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. Thank you, Dame Julia, and excuse any missed words. Can’t wait for our ��th in May, although it is so impossible to take in.

1961

Judith Smith Powers I’ve been living in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, for the last �� years. It’s a

small rural city (pop. +/- �,���) about an hour south of Oklahoma City with brick streets and a wonderful Toy and Action Figure Museum. We have an active Senior Center where I volunteer every day. I am also involved with my church and a trustee on the board of Texoma Christian Camp, a camp owned by several Disciples of Christ churches. Between all that, working part-time at Walmart, and keeping up with all �� grandkids, I manage to stay pretty busy. I’m looking forward to our ��th reunion in ����.

1

1962

Nancy Greep I moved to Santa Barbara full-time.

My husband commutes up from LA on weekends. I love it here. So much nicer than LA! Have completed major landscaping project on �.� acres. Lost my part-time job in a clinic and am searching for another part-time job.

I feel rudderless without practicing medicine. Son Scott and family (girls � and �) live here; he is a robotic urologic surgeon here. Other son, Matt, is in vocational school for construction.

Sarah Cannon Holden Enjoy my work as arbitrator and role as Town Moderator in Lincoln.

Delight in seven grandchildren and my three capable children. Larry and I took two ��-year-olds on hiking, fishing, biking trip in Montana and Idaho last summer. Trying to downsize from our big old house. Married �� years! Skiing with family. Travel.

My youngest daughter had a double mastectomy last summer. She is on the mend now and is back as a ski coach. I am horrified by the corrupt and disrespectful White House and pray for a change in ����.

2

3

1: Leslie Blake Jordan ’70 and husband Michael on a recent hike in Utah. 2: Judy Wall ’70 with her two daughters. 3: Sarah Mead ’72

WINSOR SPRING 2020 43

CLASS NOTES

ALUMNA PROFILE: YASMIN FAHR ’01

“Eat with your hands. It’s good for you.”

Yasmin Fahr ’�� was �� when her aunt, a playwright and creative type, plopped a plate of spaghetti in front of her sans cutlery and uttered words to this effect.

“I grew up in a house where we didn’t put our elbows on the table, and napkins were always folded on our lap,” Fahr says, “so eating with my hands felt like a wild break from the norm—and it was one of the more fun and liberating experiences I’ve had. I still remember that feeling of scooping up the hot noodles with my fingers and picking up the bites of meat, feeling like I was able to truly enjoy this dish how I wanted to.”

44 WINSOR SPRING 2020

The moment resurfaces—Fahr laughing, hands deep in a bowl of pasta—in a series of photographs accompanying the “Less-ThanAn-Hour Ragu” recipe in Fahr’s recently released cookbook, Keeping It Simple. This combination of boldness and joy informs Fahr’s culinary career, which encompasses a master’s in food studies at NYU; stints at Food & Wine and other magazines; founding editorship at The Daily Meal website; recipe development for The Kitchn; and the founding of a hospitality consulting practice. She also traveled worldwide as an incognito hotel/ restaurant inspector for Forbes Travel Guide and wrote a weekly column for

SeriousEats.com, an experience that inspired her book.

Given this résumé, it’s surprising that Fahr’s professional life began not in a kitchen but in a cardiology lab.

For years, she thought she’d practice medicine: At Winsor, she loved biology, and after studying pre-med at Cornell, she moved west to work at Cedars-Sinai.

But misgivings arose, and Fahr began keeping a daily journal (sample page: “What To Do With My Life?”).

Three constants emerged: food, travel, and writing.

“Food was definitely a large part of my childhood,” she says. Her father was an avid gardener and creative cook (Fahr credits him with

PHOTOS BY PATRICIA NIVEN

Community, Creativity, and Cuisine

Yasmin (left) enjoys her ‘Less-Than-An-Hour Ragu’ (center); ‘My Mama’s Chicken’ (right), recipe featured on the next page.

inspiring her “Garlicky Romaine Summer Salad”). Her mother cooked most meals, and despite, or perhaps because of, the family’s running Mom-related joke—“What’s for dinner? Chicken!”—Fahr features “My Mama’s Chicken” in her book.

“Go-to Weeknight Pizza” was inspired by her family’s communal pizza-making experiments.

But it was the intimacy of eating together that mattered most. “No matter what time my sister and I came home from sports games or my parents from work,” she says, “we always waited and ate together as a family.”

During her years traveling for Forbes, conversations with locals

would inevitably turn to food, and the floodgates would open: From taxi drivers in Shanghai to bar patrons in Brazil, people would share their favorite food or restaurant and “a barrier would drop,” she says. “[Food] is something that connects us all, and I think it’s more powerful than just needing food for nourishment.” Food nourishes us with community and companionship, too.

At the same time, food is a vehicle for self-expression, and Fahr believes that how we cook can and should reflect our individual creativity and quirks. (Not everyone shares her “thing for feta,” for example.) She urges readers to bring their own

flair and sense of adventure into the kitchen.

“I don’t think a recipe is ever ‘done’ or perfect, especially the kind I create, and I think that’s the beauty of it,” she says. “I want everyone to make tweaks and adjustments so it matches their preferences and lifestyle.”

So be bold in the kitchen. Swap ingredients. Crank the heat. Boogie while the dish bubbles (Fahr keeps a hula hoop in her kitchen for just this purpose). Then invite someone to join you, and eat with your hands… together.

Juliet Eastland ’86, P’23 is a writer in Brookline, Massachusetts.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 45

CLASS NOTES

Yasmin Fahr’s “My Mama’s Chicken” Recipe

G

rowing up in my house, we had a running joke: “What’s for dinner?... chicken!” My mother is not someone who enjoys cooking, even though she’s very good at it. It’s ironic because both my sister and I have pursued careers in food. My dad is the one who loves cooking and instilled that appreciation in us.

Regardless, it was very important to both our parents that we ate well and always had dinner together as a family.

Inevitably, what was at the center of this dinner was some form of chicken dish. My mother made a chicken stir fry, a roasted “chicken with greens” (Cornish hens coated in dried oregano and other herbs), and “lemon chicken” (roasted Cornish hens in a lemon and saffron bath with whole black peppercorns and red potatoes). All were served with fluffy Basmati rice.

This recipe is inspired by these dishes, as it’s a one-pot combination of seared chicken that’s finished on top of a bed of lemon-saffron rice. The idea is to get a nice color on the chicken and add some of their rendered tasty bits to the overall dish as they will finish cooking with the rice.

As a note, the skin will get a little soft during the cooking process, but will still taste delicious. Though the rice ends up being softer than traditional Persian rice, the taste and smell are undeniably as rich and wonderful as my childhood memories.

Serves � Prep �� minutes Total �� minutes

INGREDIENTS

� skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about ��� g/� �/� lb) � teaspoon ground cumin � tablespoons olive oil, divided �/� teaspoon saffron threads � tablespoon hot water salt and freshly ground black pepper ��� ml (�� fl oz/� cups) low-salt chicken stock (broth) or water ��� g (� oz/� cup) Basmati rice, rinsed � lemons, juice of �, � cut into wedges, for serving �� g (�/� oz/�/� cup) fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro) leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped, for sprinkling

46 WINSOR SPRING 2020

METHOD

�. Season the chicken all over with salt, pepper, and cumin. Heat � tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat until very hot—less of a gentle, wavy shimmer and more like aggressive lava when you move the pan. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook without moving until it easily releases from the pan and skin is crispy and well browned, about �–� minutes. (Test the chicken at � minutes to check its resistance.) Use tongs to flip and brown the other side, about �–� minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. �. Meanwhile, in the bottom of a small metal or sturdy bowl, grind the saffron and mix with hot water until dissolved. �. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken stock to the same pan, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the rice, juice of � lemon, and saffron water, then season with salt and stir to combine.

There will probably be a little fat in the pan, which is great. If it’s charred or black, though, rinse it out quickly and add � tablespoon of the oil to the rice/stock mixture. �. Cover with the lid, bring the liquid to an active boil, and then lower the heat to maintain an active simmer.

Remove the lid and lay the chicken, skin-side up, carefully on top. Cover and cook until the rice is tender, most of the liquid is absorbed, and the chicken has finished cooking, about ��–�� minutes. Use this time to clean up, set the table, and make sure your pepper mill is stocked. �. Remove the rice from the heat, fluff with a fork, cover and let it sit for a few minutes while you prep the herbs.

Divide among plates and finish with loads of pepper. Top with the herbs and serve with lemon wedges.

LEFTOVER NOTES

Pull the chicken off the bone for sandwiches or to serve on top of salad. For an easy soup, heat low-salt stock with chopped vegetables such as potatoes or carrots, and, when cooked, add leafy greens and shredded chicken to warm up for � minutes.

If you find yourself chicken-less, heat up the rice, crack an egg in it, and make a quick-fried rice, stirring in baby spinach, and serve with sambal.

1963

Lesley Merriman Lyman Whatever else I did this year was eclipsed in October when I returned to Medellin, Colombia, with my daughter Nora and her husband to meet her biological family. It was an amazing journey that we are still processing. Nora was adopted when she was nine, and for the last �� years, her biological family thought she was dead. Nora found her older sister with one inquiry on Facebook.

I am so thankful she wanted me at her side and that I got to spend over a week with her, her husband, and her amazing biological family. Back in Alaska, Jon is making bamboo rods (highly functional works of art), and I still sub in preschool classrooms.

We enjoy several trips out a year, especially to see our little grandson in Seattle. Wish we could see our son Ben in Madison, Wisconsin, and our friends in Massachusetts more often!

1968

Louise Moorrees Berglund I am now living in Dallas, Texas. My daughter just had her third baby and I’ve been helping her with the kids.

It’s hard work!! I’ve made some nice friends and look forward to some kind of volunteer job or other activity in the coming year. I do miss California, but life changes are good too. Love to all.

1974

Daphne Burt Serving an Episcopal Church in Western Massachusetts is great fun!

I’m looking forward to turning �� and being flooded with “birthday greetings and bottles of wine.” Family news: My mother is doing well; my

father is receiving hospice care nearby.

I am glad to be able to visit almost weekly. My brother proudly supports his three brilliant children. Wife Lisa loves living in the Berkshires, and we have made several trips to Eastern CT, to visit with her family, including my youngest niece who just turned three.

Together we mourn the death of ��-year-old corgi, Idgie, and enjoy the presence of Charlie, our special-needs cat. We don’t get to visit Nancy Cutler Ignacio ’�� and family on Martha’s Vineyard enough, but we are glad to connect with English teacher Judy Robbins, who lives in the same senior living place as my mother. I’m not ready to retire—are you?

Dianne Georgian-Smith Ned and I are moving to West Palm Beach. My daughter, Emily, has been in Wellington for the past five years (dressage) and in college at FAU in Boca Raton, and now time for me to join in on the sun n’ fun. I have left my academic career and I’m now in private practice at JFK North and Main, heading the new breast imaging department. Loving every minute!

1978

Nancy Rappaport I recently traveled to Bolivia and hiked a route with six passes over ��,��� feet, which means waking up breathless. I am working on a novel which is incubating as we speak, waiting for me to get back to the characters. And, of course, it is hard to believe we are ��—vulnerability comes in all forms.

1980

Katharine Baker-Carr Following Winsor, I graduated from

Smith College and Yale Divinity School. I was ordained in ���� with many Winsor friends present and a Winsor graduate, Rev. Allie Perry ’��, in the pulpit! For almost �� years, I served as a Parish Pastor and Protestant Chaplain at Mount Holyoke College. I returned to the Boston area and spent the next �� years in health care working on different programs and strategies to expand access to care. In ����, I joined Northeastern as the Presidential Communications Officer and now head up communications in Human Resources. I continue to preach, teach, provide pastoral care, and lead retreats.

My collection of nieces, nephews, Godchildren, and honorary grandchildren are cause for celebration and knitting. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with exploring the glorious Salzburg region of Austria and a wonderful man named Dan. Life is busy and good.

Louise Tilney Moore Hello, friends! Chris and I celebrated �� years of marriage right before our son, Parker, got married to Diana Kelterborn in Petaluma, California. It was an absolutely perfect day. Saw all three of my sisters, Rebecca Tilney ’��, Victoria Tilney McDonough ’��, and Frances Tilney Burke over Thanksgiving, which was such fun! So looking forward to seeing many of you at our (gasp!) ��th reunion in May!!!!

1982

Angela H. Toussaint After four grueling, but incredibly enriching, summers, I earned my MA in French at Middlebury last August.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 47

CLASS NOTES

1

1984

2

Amory Garmey Mansfield I am still teaching European History at Berwick Academy in Maine (�� years and counting). My daughter, Lily, is now a sophomore, and my son, Michael, is in �th grade—both at Berwick. My husband, Chris, teaches physics at the school as well, so we’re all in the same place, which is fun. Mike plays hockey for the Seacoast Spartans (��E), so if any of you out there are also hockey moms, let me know­, we travel all over New England for games, and I’d love to touch base with former classmates!

Lily loves math, science, books, and theater, and she is a role player at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth during the holidays. I’m not on social media, so email is the best way to reach me.

3

1986

4

5

1: Regan Dorothy Resch, born May 8, 2019, to Laura Gaylord Resch ’06 and Garner Resch.

2: L to R: Melissa Greenberg ’08, Olivia Kivel ’12 Lillian Kivel ’08, Nancy Morgan Kivel ’78, Barbara Morgan Perry ’80. 3: Members of Mairead Reilly Ray ’09’s bridal party included Becca Willard Sherman ’09 (second from left) and Kelley McNamara ’09 (third from left). 4: Margie Hamlin ’10 and Dave DeFelice celebrating their recent engagement. 5: Devin LaSane (L) and Kendall LaSane ’05 (R) with son Greer.

48 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Lynn Harris What better way to turn �� than to host a New York-tastic seven-woman galpal weekend at my home, featuring Emily Perlman Abedon ’�� and Juliet Siler Eastland ’��, P’��. Off-Broadway theater, a Brooklyn backyard spa—and, of course, bonding and catching up (over sushi, cocktails, cheesecake, etc., with ��s soundtrack) late into the night. If there’s anything I have to celebrate, it’s their enduring friendship and the secrets about me that they will carry to their deaths.

BONUS: I also got to see Shalewa Mackall ’�� at her ��th, and obviously she celebrated in fun and regal style. Happy collective ��+ to everyone! We don’t look a day over... graduation day?

1987

Elizabeth Samet On October ��, ����, I had the great honor of speaking at the inauguration of Hilary Lieberman Link ’�� as the ��nd president of Allegheny College. Classmates Debbie Banks Forrest ’�� and Laura Fischman ’�� were also in attendance, and we took great delight and pride in this milestone in Hilary’s remarkable career as an educator and a dynamic leader in higher education. At the ceremony,

Hilary and I both reflected on the origins of our shared commitment to the humanities in our Winsor experience. The day was full of promise and excitement, and it was evident to all that Hilary is just the right person to lead this wonderful liberal arts college into the future.

1988

Annie Keating I am releasing my ��th album this summer! For fans of Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, and the

Rolling Stones, have a look/listen @ www.anniekeating.com

1999

Jane Orkin Glazer I very much enjoyed seeing everyone at the reunion last May and reconnecting. It was great to meet alums families and see so many improvements in the school facilities. My husband, two kids, and I are back in the Boston area for good now, and we couldn’t be happier.

ALUMNAE AUTHORS

Jennifer Wheeler, PhD ’�� and Stacy Heard, JD Family Law Attorneys and Parenting Evaluators: Improving Professional Collaboration ABA Book Publishing Giving attorneys insights and practical guidance on how to improve the collaboration between attorneys and parenting evaluators, this book examines all aspects of this collaboration. The book also provides definitions of the roles of mental health professionals in parenting evaluations and the applicable laws and standards for each professional Patricia Ross Pratt ’��, P ’��, GP ’�� The Best of Its Kind: The Life of Denman Waldo Ross Northern Liberties Press Denman Waldo Ross (����-����) spent his life pursuing beauty in the form of art. He traveled the world collecting examples of what he called the best of its kind, eventually donating ��,��� objects to the nascent Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston (where he served

as a trustee for �� years) and another �,��� objects to the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. He said, of his collecting philosophy, we see in the masterpieces of art what life has been at its finest moments and what it ought to be again and again.

Beth Bacon ’�� I Hate Reading (available June ����) HarperCollins Publishers Did you know �� percent of �th-graders in the US read below grade level?

Learning to read can be frustrating. But it can also be fun. I Hate Reading, by Beth Bacon, validates the experience of reluctant readers and rewards them with laughter.

Yasmin Fahr ’�� Keeping It Simple Hardie Grant Featuring over �� quick and easy onepot dinners, and humorous and relatable anecdotes and musings on cooking and life, this is the ultimate collection to have on hand at the end of a busy day.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 49

CLASS NOTES

2006

Laura Gaylord Resch Regan Dorothy Resch joined our family on May �, ����. She is the happiest baby, and big brother Fenway (our spirited brittany spaniel) is smitten. Still loving life in Shaker Heights and working in preventive conservation for the Cleveland Museum of Art.

2009

Mairead Reilly Ray I’m excited to share that my husband, David, and I were married this past October! The celebration, which was inspired by our love of hiking, took place in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where we were surrounded by many family and friends, including Kelley McNamara ’�� as maid of honor and Becca Willard Sherman ’�� as bridesmaid. Catherine Rea ’��, Madeleine Mitchell ’��, and Liliana Tandon ’�� were also there to celebrate our special day!

2017

Audrey Bloom After two years of enormous growth at Stanford, I’ve come to the UK for the term to study the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics course at Oxford University. I am so enjoying my experience as an affiliate of Corpus Christi College, where I’ve joined the rowing team and made some incredibly fun, intelligent, and most importantly, British friends.

Upon arrival home, I’ll get back to work on my major in Human Biology (concentration in health policy) and, if all goes well, my thesis!

MARRIAGES

2008

Nancy Nichols Roggeveen

Amy Gaylord Eynatian and Tim Eynatian July ��, ����

1939

2009

Cynthia Thorndike Thackara

Mairead Reilly Ray and David Ray October ��, ����

Priscilla Wright Allen

1940 1942

Susan Loring

1943 ARRIVALS

Elizabeth Prince Van Buren

2003

1945

Norah Lewin and Georges Rouan a daughter, Annabelle Madeleine Lewin Rouan September ����

2005

Kendall LaSane and Devin LaSane a son, Greer Ellison LaSane August ����

2006

Laura Gaylord Resch and Garner Resch a daughter, Regan Dorothy Resch May ����

IN MEMORIAM

1935

Ann Soule Reed

1936

Elisabeth Shrigley Bundy

1937

Anastasia Thannhauser Dunau

50 WINSOR SPRING 2020

1938

Katherine French

1946

Eleanor Lewis Campbell Hilda Carey

1947

Ann Leonard Macomber

1949

Frederica Williams Lawrence

1950

Jane Beals Butler

1951

Rebekah Porter Wells Harriet Williams Nicol

1954

Elisabeth Swan Weitzel

1955

Elizabeth Gwin Vestner Edith Stetson Hankins

1956

Sarah Crawford

ALUMNA PROFILE: SYDNEY HOWLAND ’06

Outdoor Education Unites Alum with Winsor’s Youngest Students Hale Reservation hosted this year’s Class I retreat, and Sydney Howland ’06 shared what made it so meaningful.

As an avid outdoorswoman who grew up in Boston, working at Hale has been an exciting and challenging opportunity for me over the past two years. It is difficult sometimes to describe the scope of work that is done here at Hale. We are an educational non-profit located on more than �,��� acres of forest in Westwood and Dover, Massachusetts that is focused on reimagining learning, achieving equity, building community, fostering wellness, and protecting nature.

Through �� different summer camp programs, we bring over �,��� children from more than �� different communities

in the Greater Boston area out to Hale every day in the summer. During the school year we also run a semester-long program, Intrepid Academy at Hale, that brings high school students from Boston to Hale for rigorous academics, exercise, and nature education. My work at Hale is co-leading our Education & Adventure team, which offers teambuilding, ropes course, science, and nature education programs for schools, colleges, and professional organizations. I enjoy so many aspects of what I do here, but my favorite part of each day is watching the faces of young people as they learn about the natural environment and find new ways to challenge themselves, solve problems, and find connections between them. That, and being able to call �,��� acres my office.

WINSOR SPRING 2020 51

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

50TH REUNION

Class of 1970 Top (l-r): Susan Haar, Susan Kaufman, Marion Brewer, Nancy Stephenson, Virginia Gordon, Lawton Wehle McLaren, Martha Rappaport, Ruth Gerrity Timme, Linsey Lee. Second from top (l-r): Millicent Thayer, Pamela Brooks, Susanna Kenney Russo, Sarah Irwin, Nancy Okamura, Sarah Adams, Nancy Tuck Echlov, Elisabeth Merrill Pratt, Monica White, Virginia Clark Church, Harriet Nelson Stenzel, Susan Stobaugh Samuelson, Leena-Maija Purhonen Lauren. Third from top (l-r): Elizabeth Stubbs, Melissa Smith Baker, Ellen Granoff, Doretta Mork, Joan Granoff, Judith Sebestyn, Susanna Stone Farmer, Katrina Barrows McCall, Janet Doerr Wilson, Noel Sanger Gearhart, Mary Jo Moore Heyl, Deborah Ritter Aylward, Lea Donovan Watson, Nancy Grossman. Front

52 WINSOR SPRING 2020

(l-r): Kimberley Kenyon O’Hara, Linda Coolidge, Lisa Johnson Lawsing, Christine Clapp, Marianna Cooper Howland, Miss Dresser, Caroline Hollingsworth, Linda Nardi Gilman, Leslie Blake Jordan, Carolyn Post, Susan Holland, Alison Richardson

Melissa Smith Baker Here’s what I’ve been up to over the last �� years: Earned two degrees. Got married. Raised a son. Been teaching French, piano, Spanish, long-term relationships, and executive function skills. Wrote three books. Writing another one. Lived in France, Spain, and Hawaii, where my husband and I ran a bed and breakfast. Have been

living north of San Francisco for the last �� years. Now getting ready for our son’s wedding. How I love parties and dancing! I’ve been enjoying a creative, fun, and meaningful life.

Of course, there have been poignant times—almost getting divorced and the deaths of both of my parents and many friends. But, thanks to the enduring love of relationships, my life will always be wonderful. I remember all of my Winsor classmates and hold you dear in my heart.

Pamela Brooks Fifty years after graduation from high school, I live and work in small-town

Oberlin, Ohio. You may have heard some disparaging comments about our college because our students happen to believe in fairness and free speech.

Ask me about that later. So, my daughter Fari (Ronni Armstead) graduated from Winsor in ’�� and from Oberlin in ’��. I graduated NYU in ’��. Taught school in the Boston area. Went back to school as a single parent to earn the MA and PhD in history at ��.

Invigorating. Winsor did teach us to write well and respect our intellects, despite our struggles as Black young women to be seen and supported. I wrote a book about Black women in the US South and South Africa and earned tenure in the Africana Studies Department. Some of the richest experiences of my life I spent listening to the women’s stories about fighting against white supremacy. I love my work and am very proud of many of my current and former students who make art, defend and heal those who need them, teach their own students, and raise their own children to live and fight for justice.

Virginia Clark Church Whether it’s been luck, common sense, grace, or all three, I’ve made a life in a small town in northern Vermont since graduating college. My musician/teacher husband and I raised two sons who both live in Oregon, too far away but a nice place to visit. Five years ago I retired from teaching children in the Northeast Kingdom how to read. Allen and I grow vegetables, ski, hike, bike, canoe, and kayak. At Winsor I learned to think critically.

In the streets of Boston I learned about inequality, and in the Episcopal Church I learned about reconciliation. In February ����, I went to El

Salvador and witnessed healing in action at a non-profit called Cristosal.

The wounds of the ����s Civil War are still open. I returned home to raise awareness and monies to support Cristosal’s work. In a small rural community, the opportunities to serve are as vast as the night sky. I cook for a free breakfast program, work at our food pantry, bake sourdough bread for a weekly community dinner—all ways to meet people I otherwise might have missed. I finished backpacking the Long Trail last summer. Vermont’s natural beauty gives me solace, solitude, and challenge.

Linda Coolidge After graduation, Melissa Smith Baker ’�� and I hitchhiked through the Loire Valley, stayed with a family, and took classes in Aix-en-Provence.

I spent two years at Franklin & Marshall, before transferring to Tufts and interning at a British Infant school. I earned my master’s at Antioch. I moved to New Hampshire, met Lawrence Berndt, and together we built our hilltop home on �� wooded acres in Cornish. We used stones from the old stonewalls and lumber milled from the surrounding trees, while living in a tipi I made, inspired by my summers spent as a counselor at the Farm & Wilderness Quaker camps. I taught NurseryGrade � for �� years, which kept me on my toes and involved in our community. Lawrence owns a specialty wood business: beautifulboards.com.

We are blessed with two wonderful daughters, their fine husbands, and four delightful grandchildren. Julia, a pediatric nurse practitioner, lives in Terrace, British Columbia, and Laura, a physical therapist, lives in Cheshire,

Connecticut. I’ve just retired and am looking forward to this next chapter in my life—more time with my grandchildren, gardening, quilting, reading, kayaking and sailing on Squam Lake, and connecting with family and friends, including our remarkable class of ����!

Josephine Gardner Crosby I was at Winsor for a few years and have never written! My sisters Tammy (Tamson Gardner ’��), Nancy (Gardner Powlison ’��), and Barbara (Gardner ’��) all graduated from Winsor; Beaver turned out to be a better match for me. I have lived in Vermont since ���� in a wonderful old farmhouse on Lake Champlain. I retired from a career as a teacher of the Deaf, which I loved.

I worked with infants and toddlers in their homes, had a classroom of preschool/kindergarten Deaf, signing children, and was a consultant for children with hearing loss in the public schools.

My wife, Christine, died at home in ����. I retired in ���� to care for her.

We had �� wonderful years together.

This was a difficult time, but my life has taken an unexpected turn—I’m now a Hospice volunteer and have certified my dog, Atticus, as a therapy dog. He and I do Hospice visits and work at the Community School in my town with Special Ed students. My life is full with the beauty of Vermont, hiking, kayaking, meditation, yoga, deep friendships, and family. I have fond memories of Winsor and was delighted to see some from my class in Vermont at a summer reunion in ����.

Nancy Tuck Echlov The day before Thanksgiving ����, I rode the “MTA” from Waban for

WINSOR SPRING 2020 53

REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

my visiting day at Winsor, a school I had not heard of until that fall. I loved everything: the kind adults, the welcoming girls, the imposing, seemingly historic buildings, and the lunch (although I’m pretty sure there wasn’t coffee ice cream with butterscotch sauce). After graduating from Wheaton with a degree in math and economics, I entered an MBA program, intending to work in finance. But a friend alerted me to a midyear math opening at Brimmer, and that was the start of a ��-year career at three very different Boston area schools. I remember with great fondness some wonderful teachers at Winsor: Miss Hamilton in her cozy, quirky lab; Miss Davis’ demanding but patient coaching of singers; and Miss Gambee, who inspired my love of math.

Susanna Stone Farmer Life has been good to me. After college in Connecticut. I went off to be a ski bum in Vermont for five years, working for a veterinarian, getting married, and building a house on top of a mountain. I would have stayed forever, but opportunities pulled us to New York, London, and then Boston.

Three kids later, we chose to move to New Hampshire to a more rural lifestyle but still an hour to Boston.

I have had numerous volunteer jobs, my favorite being as a marine docent for UNH. For the last �� years, I have been in real estate on the legal side of it, running a title company and now with my own closing business. I spend less time now working at that and more at our island house on Lake Winnipesaukee in the summer, XC skiing and travelling, often to see our kids, two in Texas and one in NYC.

54 WINSOR SPRING 2020

My biggest challenges have been my mother’s �� years with Alzheimer’s and my cancer diagnosis �� years ago, now gone. My biggest accomplishments are a ��-year marriage and my three kids, who are all confident, interesting, accomplished adults. As I said, life has been good to me.

Linda Nardi Gilman Writing about �� years in a life is a daunting task. There are the people— family and friends. Then there are the accomplishments and passions of which the best always involve the people. I have lived in Maine for all of my adult life, though travel and adventure have taken me to many parts of the world. Children have been a major focus in my life. My son and daughter and their families live nearby, which provides me with much joy and laughter. Kids are amazing, watching them process the ups and downs of life. I was an elementary teacher for many years, the last �� at Waynflete School in Portland. Loved going to work each day and then summers off to explore, learn, and play. Though I still have a condo in Portland, I spend most of my time in Harpswell, enjoying time with my partner, extensive gardening of vegetables and flowers, along with travel and family time keeping us very busy.

I have really enjoyed spending time with many Winsor classmates over the years in Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island and am very excited to connect again this May with a truly remarkable group of women.

Virginia Gordon Following “careers” in clinical/biomedical engineering and education (developing programs for undergrads

and Latino youth), I’ve returned to political activism. As a J Street Board member, I advocate for US policies to promote a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and help elect congressmembers who support such policies. I recently joined two Israel/West Bank Congressional Missions. Two enduring Winsor memories are: Miss Wing’s scolding for organizing, without her consent, a ���� Science Club talk on abortion (which was illegal in Massachusetts); and my midnight call to little-known Vietnam veteran John Kerry requesting he speak at Winsor after the May ���� Kent State killings. I chuckled watching Secretary Kerry address J Street’s Gala �� years later.

Filmmaker/professor husband Bob Hooper and I live in La Jolla and have spent time in Malaysia, Fiji, Cuba, and Tunisia, among other countries.

I worried daughter Julie might end up selling make-up at Nordstrom, but she discovered science, completed her UNC Chapel Hill Public Health/Nutrition master’s, and blogs about food, health, and diabetes as “type�traveler.” My dad passed away at ��. Mom and sisters are, thankfully, well. In my spare time, I study jazz piano, another impossible dream (big mistake quitting lessons in Class II).

Caroline Hollingsworth We are planning a wonderful ��th Reunion and looking forward to seeing each other again. Since college, I have been a mathematics teacher at the Brookwood School, the Winsor School, and Newton South High School. I loved teaching at Winsor, where I experienced the school from a different angle! While I have spent many summers hiking in the

Rockies, now I am exploring a new world of the outdoors, the ocean.

With a very special group of friends, including Betsy Clark ’��, we built a ��’ wooden sailboat, a Crocker Gull named Celerity. The original Gull belonged to the Livingston family.

Now I am climbing a steep learning curve. I continue to love and admire my �� nieces and nephews. They are all doing wonderful things in their lives and making me very proud.

Leslie Blake Jordan In January ����, I moved to Colorado with two friends. I took very little with me, not knowing how long I would stay. A log cabin seven miles up a mountain road became the first of many houses I’ve lived in during �� years in Colorado. Once here, I got a BA in education and a master’s in counseling from the University of Colorado. My career was teaching and counseling high school kids at a public alternative school. I ran groups encouraging young women to support, instead of compete with, each other. As part of the school’s experiential program I also led service trips to Northern Ireland, Cuba, Pine Ridge Reservation, and the Navajo Nation, among others. Now retired, my husband and I live in a small town in the foothills outside Denver, where I’m involved in activism around water quality and wetland protection. I paint watercolors, garden, play piano, hike, and study the Irish language.

Happily, we have two sons and various other “adopted” kids close by. We travel a little, mostly to Ireland, Utah, and New Mexico. I have so appreciated our Winsor ’�� gatherings every few years and can’t wait to see everyone again in May!

Leena-Maija Purhonen Lauren Dear Winsor friends, I wish to send you greetings from my home country of Finland. Incredibly, it is more than �� years ago that Mrs. Eleonor L. Wilson, the founder and owner of the International Student Placement Service, chose me for a scholarship for senior year ����/���� at Winsor in Boston. My academic experience was excellent: learning a new language and studying the four subjects intensively with my English-Finnish dictionary!

Our senior class of Winsor ’�� was a unique opportunity for me to make friends for life! I count my classmates as important factors together with my welcoming host families with “American Sisters” Nancy and her family, the Grossmans, in the Fall term, and Carrie and her family, the Hollingsworths, in the Spring term.

The Winsor academic legacy has certainly had a lifelong impact on my way of thinking and understanding the world. Particularly I was hit by one book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, which oriented me toward the global concern over our Planet Earth.

Therefore I spent the April training session outside Winsor volunteering at the New England Ecology Center on Mass. Avenue in Cambridge. Those days opened my eyes! Hope to see you all in May ����!

Linsey Lee Life is good. We—I, my husband, Brendan, our ��-year-old daughter, Mya, and dog and cat—live in an old farmhouse on Martha’s Vineyard.

We can walk through the woods to the sea to swim, which we do as often as we can. I’ve lived here since ����, with time spent “off-Island” working in film with Merchant Ivory

Productions, and eight years with an African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge developing housing for homeless families and pioneering a farmers market program linking low-income residents to fresh food.

In ����, we traveled to China to adopt Mya, now a freshman in high school, who is a joy, a fiddle player, and a teenager. I serve as oral history curator at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. I have been collecting oral histories on the Vineyard for over �� years. Some of the stories and photo portraits are assembled in three volumes of Vineyard Voices—Words, Faces and Voices of Island People and in Those Who Serve—Martha’s Vineyard and WWII. Other book projects include Wild Edible Plants of Martha’s Vineyard (����). Work and family keep us busy.

We retreat to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, for a few weeks in summer— escaping the Vineyard crowds!

Martha Rappaport Meyers I fondly look back on my six years at Winsor as having given me the basis to live a full life. The leadership roles, access to sports and student council, gaining a love of reading and learning, six years of French and Latin (great for my Sunday NY Times crossword puzzle), learning grammar, spelling, and how to write…have all been useful skills. But most importantly I think of the friendships that have grown stronger as time passed.

We pick up right where we left off—we’ve all faced life milestones at similar times and have shared with each other how to deal with whatever gets tossed our way: college, marriage (or not), children (or not), divorce, remarriage, blended families, aging parents, sibling relationships

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REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

(good and bad), job elimination, new careers, grandchildren, retirement, death, travels, finances, laughter, and tears. Looking forward to seeing many of you in person in May. Betty Morningstar Hello, old friends. Life has been a series of surprises. First, I have loved staying connected to many classmates, even though I left after Class V. I’ve been a clinical social worker for over �� years and a pastoral counselor for ��. I live in Newton with my wife, Jeanette. She is originally from Cape Town, South Africa, so we’ve been there several times. One visit was with Carrie Hollingsworth ’��. Carrie (aka Ms. H.) was my son, Will’s, math teacher in high school. Jeanette and I had one of the first gay marriages in Massachusetts in ����. Will, age ��, is a Spanish translator, related to nothing he did in divinity school. He has been able to spend long stretches in Spain, after recovering from a serious illness. We are grateful for support from classmates around that crisis.

And the biggest surprise is that I am writing my ��th reunion biography.

It feels like yesterday that I thought those people were from another planet. See you all in May. Elisabeth Merrill Pratt Who is reading this anyway? If you’re a classmate, very little here will be news, as many of us have joined the fun of the (off -Winsorradar) class gatherings in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island (thank you hostesses and organizers!).

I hold my years at Winsor with great appreciation. As corny as it sounds, the skills and confidence gained there have served me well in life. But oh,

56 WINSOR SPRING 2020

those last few years were doozies: assassinations of RFK and MLK, the Vietnam War protests, the draft, Apollo moon landing, and Woodstock (yes, I was there)! Enrolled in the first co-ed class at Trinity College, but soon discovered it was still at heart a male institution, which did not sit well after my Winsor experience. Transferred to Wheaton, graduating in ����. Married in Blue Hill, Maine, to David Pratt in ����.

Two sons: Nick and Tom. Worked for Alford Lake Camp, start-up gourmet shop, Boys & Girls Clubs, Children’s Museum of Maine, and most recently as an independent fundraising consultant. Still in the home we bought in ����, David and I are now both retired, although somehow busier than ever with family (especially fun are two grandsons!), friends, travel, and various hobbies.

son and his wife welcomed their daughter into the world—my first grandchild! Neil and I celebrated �� years of marriage last summer with a wonderful Mediterranean cruise. We are still tennis fans, playing and watching. I am involved with the USTA, playing in a league and serving on the National Junior Competition Committee. I have been on the Board of the Friends of Harvard Tennis for decades and am delighted to be a founding member of the Friends of Harvard Field Hockey! I am active in the Harvard Club of Las Vegas and chair our Harvard Prize Book program here.

Getting back together with Winsor friends, some of whom I have known since kindergarten at Chestnut Hill School, has been a highlight.

Spending time with family and friends is my priority. I am blessed!

Alison Richardson I am working four days a week at Brown Richardson + Rowe in Boston as a landscape architect, watching my granddaughter Mia on Fridays.

My daughter, Emilie, lives nearby in Somerville. My husband, Ken Pickering, and I still live in Needham since ����. My sister Annie Richardson ’�� lives in Rhode Island and my twin Emilie and sister Margie live in Brookline. Life has been good with some challenges. I am excited to see everyone in May!

Susanna Kenney Russo I grew up in a family with seven cats, two dogs, five children, as well as a donkey named Eeyore and a Palomino named Honey next door.

Since I fantasized about being a doctor, I guess it was inevitable that I should end up in veterinary medical school at age �� (Miss Wing told me I was a late bloomer). Soon after graduation, I found myself corralling my friends to be directors of my newly formed non-profit Divine Feline. As of this year, we have sterilized over ��,��� community cats. In ����, I finally made my long-awaited move to the City of St. Francis, where my reputation as a feral cat advocate landed me on the San Francisco Commission on Animal Welfare. I found myself leading the charge to pass a ban on the horrific procedure of declawing

Claire Stuart Roth Over the last five years, I have been experiencing the Circle of Life. My children are all now on their own living around the country. My dear Mum passed away in June of ����, and on December �, ����, my older

cats. In ����, my passion for animals catapulted me to the disastrous “Camp Fire” in Paradise, California, where I ended up micro-chipping over ��� homeless cats for five days while trying to sleep in a tented army cot with �� other California Disaster Corps volunteers. Today I play competitive tennis, sing Baroque arias, and care for my large pride of geriatric cats.

Susan Stobaugh Samuelson I was only at Winsor for the last three years, but it was a real oasis for me.

I had been at five other schools, and this was the first one where girls were admired for being smart and athletic.

I met Bill Samuelson at the Class VI dance, and we married during our junior year at Harvard. After Harvard Law School, I practiced corporate law in Boston for six years. Although I enjoyed my firm and the practice, I struggled with being both the parent and lawyer I wanted to be. I left to join the faculty at the BU business school, where I have had every title from instructor to full professor.

I have also co-authored a series of business law textbooks. My weekly editing sessions with English teachers at Winsor were how I learned to write, a useful skill in academia. (And Bill edited all my chapters in the first edition…) Bill and I have three children: Couper produces (mostly horror) movies in LA (Whiplash, Get Out, the most recent Halloween), Maisy is in tech in SF, and Ned is a VP of sales in Boston. All are married and have produced three grandchildren.

Harriet Nelson Stenzel After Winsor, I went to Penn and majored in nursing, then returned

to Boston for five years working at various hospitals. I joined the Air Force in ����. My first assignment was Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas. My second was nurse-midwifery school. I was then sent to Shaw AFB in Sumter, South Carolina, where I met my husband, Tom. We were stationed for five years at March AFB, California, where my two sons, William and Michael, were born. Tom retired and became my house-husband. We were stationed at RAF Lakenheath UK, Langley AFB, Virginia, and Misawa AB Japan, where we adopted our daughter Katie from Cambodia. I retired in ’�� and we moved to Atlanta. Tom worked for the Veterans Administration. I worked for Kaiser Permanente for �� years. I retired in ���� after delivering over �,��� babies. I spent the following year as a full-time high school marching band mother. After Katie graduated, I went to work for Weight Watchers (now WW). In retirement, I have taken up competitive running.

Tom says I am outliving the competition. I also am active in the Society of Air Force Nurses. Recent travels include Colorado Springs, New Orleans, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Millicent Thayer I began my journey at Antioch College, as far from the constraints of Pilgrim Road as I could muster.

I studied politics and plunged into the anti-war, farmworker, and Black Panther support movements. After college, my partner and I moved to nearby Dayton, where we did community media work and survived substitute teaching. In ����, we lit out for Oregon, spending a year at Reed getting MATs and then

teaching high school. In ����, I spent my summer in Sandinista Nicaragua and lost my heart to the revolution.

I spent most of the ����s there, working as a journalist and solidarity activist. There I met my first woman love, with whom I shared several decades. The devastating Sandinista loss at the polls in ���� sent me to graduate school at Berkeley in search of answers. I came late to feminism, but it became my field of study and led me back to Latin America (Brazil) and, most recently, to southern Africa (Mozambique). Much to my surprise, I have fallen in love again and live with my new partner in Western Mass, where I teach sociology at UMass Amherst. Looking forward to reconnecting with longtime friends.

Judith Clapp Wall After my ’�� Winsor graduation, I attended Bradford College, then Lake Forest College. My family had left Wellesley and settled in the Midwest, moving to Chicago. I married after graduation (Carolyn Post ’�� was my most beautiful bridesmaid). Lived in Cincinnati; Winnetka, Illinois, and Potomac, Maryland then returned to Chicago with our two young daughters after my divorce in ����. I remarried in ����. My oldest daughter, Christy, is now ��. She has an intractable seizure disorder, which has led to increased developmental delays and decreased physical functioning as the years have gone by. She lives nearby at Misericordia, a place of unbelievably wonderful care and love. She comes home monthly and we visit her weekly.

My younger daughter, Lisa, is married and lives in Mississippi with her husband, Job, on the naval base. They have two wonderful sons. Feels surreal

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REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

to be a grandmother, but it is the best!

I retired in August ���� from �� years as the social worker in two private special education schools. Mom passed away last December, but my dad, who will turn �� in a couple of weeks, lives in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, so we do get to New England every few months.

Lea Donovan Watson Recently I walked solo ��� miles on the Camino de Santiago, Spain.

A pilgrim on her path in harmony with her spirit, I return to Pilgrim Road for our ��th Reunion. For �� years in my home-office I coach parents whose children are deaf to use hearing aids or cochlear implants allowing their brains to hear, listen, and develop spoken language. As a husband-wife team, Jim and I are international consultants for children with hearing loss. We travel to train professionals in AuditoryVerbal Therapy near and far. We lived in Australia, Qatar, Canada, and Vietnam. Helping babies learn to communicate is my life-long passion.

With courage and curiosity, book groups, artist workshops, and memoir courses energize me. Adventuring with sailing, backcountry skiing, and hiking, I stay close to “greensong.”

Cooking vegetables from our garden and sharing meals around our table, conversation is key. Daily practice of writing, walking, and yoga grounds me. Our three children live in town, plus four grandchildren. Life is fascinating and fun living on the Mill River. Weathering the high and low tides together in Gloucester, Massachusetts and at our summer home in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, I am grateful for family and friends sharing peace, love, and understanding.

58 WINSOR SPRING 2020

25TH REUNION

Class of 1995 Elizabeth Cornish Chamberlain After college, I moved to San Francisco where I wove my way though the growing startup world. I eventually settled into running operations at a couple of growing e-commerce companies. I loved living in the Bay Area and am forever grateful that it’s where I met my husband, Cory, and where we started our family. We ended up moving back to the Boston area in ����. Now I’m happy to be raising two children, Cecily (�) and Will (�), in Wellesley. I’m looking forward to catching up with classmates at our ��th this spring!

Elizabeth Nickrenz Fein These days I’m on the faculty of the Department of Psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

My husband, Pete, and I love it here—we’ve recently moved into a little house with a big garden in a neighborhood full of good friends, living the Mr. Rogers dream. The book I’ve been working on for the past decade or so is coming out in July ���� through the Anthropologies of American Medicine series at NYU Press. Living on the Spectrum: Autism and Youth in Community is an ethnographic study of how people affected by autism spectrum conditions negotiate the contested meanings of neurodiversity, within the places they work, play, live, and love. Meanwhile, I’m still making music—my band Take Me With You just put out our first album, “a building, a dreaming” (find us on Spotify and Bandcamp and stuff).

Beth Keaney Folsom It is almost impossible to believe that it has been �� years since graduation!

My family and I live in Framingham, where my daughter, Maggie, is a sophomore in high school, and my son, Nate, is in second grade. My husband, Kelly, continues to enjoy his work running adult education and job-training programs in Boston.

After four very rewarding years as the director of education for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Natick, I am about to begin a new adventure as the program manager at the Cambridge Historical Society, where I will be responsible for their discussion series and other public events. In my free time, I am still an avid reader and crafter, and I am enjoying singing in our church choir with both of my kiddos. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Reunion and hearing all about your adventures!

Elizabeth Flint Hooker In June ����, I married Mark Hooker in Kennebunkport, Maine, where my parents now live yearround. That same month I launched my own interior design firm, Dibby Flint Design, after �� years in the industry. Mark and I met while at Connecticut College, and we live in Milton, Massachusetts, where you can find us elbows deep in DIY home projects. We have a rescue pup named Brickley and two kids, Emerson, age �, and Robert, who turns � in April.

Staying close to Winsor, returning for various alumnae events has been particularly nice. Most recently I’ve enjoyed playing squash on Winsor’s gorgeous new courts thanks to coach Szilvi Szombati, who helped organize Saturday squash sessions

First row (L-R): Sharon Raskob, Alison Ross, Elizabeth Nickrenz, Beth Keaney, Elizabeth Katz, Sarah Lang, Julie Rath, Hilary Dolan, Jennifer Akins, Carolyn Shea, Dabney Baum, Catherine McDonough, Ainsley Rose, Alicia Bothwell. Second row (L-R): Abigail Nixon, Sarah Duffy, Jessica Sloman, Sarah Thurer, Nicole Cofield, Catherine Bothe, Jennifer Park, Elizabeth Flint, Mrs. Bezan, Mrs. Peter, Julia Benton, Melanie Kahn, Brooke Richie, Elizabeth Cornish, Elizabeth Sandman, Niki Tiliakos, Sharon Lin. Third Row (L-R): Sheria Morrison, Kristin Langone, Ariane Cruz, Kirstin Yogg, Sophie Thomas, Rachel Mayer, Ashanta Ambush, Mariah Sieber, Andrea Mautner, Gisele Edwards, Justina Yee, Nikomo Peartree, Eleanor Gailey, Christina Spilios, Deirdre Conroy, Julia Raish, Stephanie Towle, Jennifer Leisman, Caroline Finnerty, Shamila Khetarpal

for Winsor alums and parents.

Winsor has evolved tremendously since ����, yet so many special traditions remain the same. I so look forward to seeing more classmates at the reunion in May! Sharon Lin After two years at Winsor, came south to Yale, majored in biology, coxed men’s lightweight crew, wrote about sports, and made lifelong friends with whom I travel frequently. Apart from one-year stints at Tsinghua and Penn, I’ve spent the past quarter-century in New Haven. Did leukemia research before pivoting to development in ����.

Currently working at the Yale School of Management and consulting for

Beth Israel-Deaconess. Earned an MBA in finance/management from the University of Connecticut.

Still coxing crew competitively and playing in a community orchestra—essentially the same activities I did at age ��, except now I have a driver’s license. Involved in college advising, urban goat-tending, and line dancing (gospel/soul, country/ western). Occasionally meet other Winsor women through crew or volunteer work. Father passed away in September ���� of glioblastoma multiforme. Mother still lives in Brookline; I visit often. Looking forward to seeing many of you in May. Sarah Thurer Alive in Brooklyn, New York.

Emily Brassard Walt After attending Winsor from Class I to Class V, I left to attend my town high school. I graduated from Boston University, and for the past �� years, I’ve worked as an investor relations officer for publicly traded tech companies. Recently, I joined a cybersecurity member consortium to head communications and member engagement. Along with my husband and two children (�� and �� years old), I live in Quincy. I have been fortunate to stay in touch with many of my classmates, whether in person or social media, and have so many great memories—from The Mikado to The Two Gentlemen of Verona to our eventful Class IV ski trip! Look forward to seeing everyone!

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REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

10TH REUNION

Class of 2010 Front row (L-R): Maura Kelly, Olivia Lynch, Emily Duffy, Laura Mejia-Suarez, Elinor Broadman, Katherine Donham, Sommers Kline, Margaret Yellen, Kylie Lucas, Minda Monteagudo Alcántara, Cassandra Fach, Sanjana Sharma, Katherine Mallett. Second row (L-R): Emily Schlossman, Marisa Bulkeley, Julianne Adams, Class VIII dean Jennifer Graham, Amelia Piazza, Amy Le, Maxine Winston, director Rachel Friis Stettler, Upper School head Kate Grant, Chevahn Brown, Molly Stifler, Aliya Padamsee. Third row (L-R): Morgan Thompson, Susannah Shipton, Tayla Walker, Rebecca Benett, Katherine Ernst, Laura Potter, Taleen Afeyan, Willa Howe, Stella Peisch, Lindsay Eysenbach, Alison Conway, Blair Ballard, Amy Bridge, Catherine Mankiw, Margaret Fulham, Isabella Terhorst. Fourth row (L-R): Elizabeth Byrne, Jessica Nahigian, Tara Krishnan, Linnea Metcalf, Rebecca Shaw, Tara Nahill, Erin Driscoll, Anne Fox, Hayley Dwight, Marguerite Hamlin, Lily Pratt, Caroline Batten, Danielle Waldman, Liliana Tandon.

60 WINSOR SPRING 2020

Blair Ballard I graduated from Duke with a degree in cognitive psychology. After a brief stint in NYC finance, I quickly transitioned to a career in consumer insights and strategy so I could further explore my passion in consumer psychology and decision-making. Thirsty to get back to California, and to acquire a more holistic sense of overall business strategy, I earned my MBA at Stanford GSB in ����. It was there I fell in love with the tremendous challenge of and opportunity in the cannabis space and joined Cann (early stage cannabis startup) as the head of strategy. I live in Oakland and got engaged to Zach (yes, the same one from RL)!

Chevahn Brown I am currently a professor on the Visiting Faculty teams at Boston University, Emerson College, and Lesley University, teaching

Screenwriting for Film & Television.

I also own a lifestyle photography company, and I shoot all over the Greater Boston area. I welcomed my first child, a son, in July of ���� and I’m expecting a baby girl in February of ����. My fiance, Rhett, and I will tie the knot in Spring of ����.

Marisa Bulkeley Hello, Winsor community! I’m looking forward to celebrating the ��-year reunion in ���� with my classmates.

Since leaving Winsor I have received my BA, with a double major in environmental studies and German literature and culture, from New York University and my MA in environmental policy and planning from the Technical University in Berlin, where I lived for about three years. Since September ���� I have been working in management consulting specific to the electric utility industry, based in

Boston but traveling for projects in Germany and New York City. I am currently living in Davis Square and enjoy meeting up with my Winsor pals in the area.

Erin Driscoll It’s hard to believe it’s been �� years since we graduated! After Winsor, I went to Harvard College, where I studied sociology and global health and health policy. While at Harvard, Katherine Mallett Zimmerman ’�� and I won the national title in women’s lightweight rowing! After college, I moved in with another Winsor alumna, Gevvie Stone ’��, while I coached the Harvard men’s rowing team and worked in life sciences consulting. Later, Amy Le ’�� and I lived together for two years and binged countless hours of TV shows. I now live in Charlestown, Massachusetts, with my fiancé, Brian Teague. I work as a clinical research coordinator at Beth Israel Deaconess, so I get to look across to Winsor every day! Wishing everyone well!

Cassandra Fach Hey, all! Still living the Navy life. From Guam, Port Hueneme, Okinawa, Thailand, Indonesia, and Oceanside— you’ve managed to keep finding my forwarding address! Still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up, so engineer will have to work for now.

Headed to London to work for NATO this summer. Looking forward to another five years of adventures (and at least two more mailing addresses).

Anne Fox Since graduating from Winsor (’��) and Amherst College (’��), I’ve worked in neurology research

(Boston), at a health tech startup (NYC), and for global health organizations (Zambia, Kenya). I am currently pursuing an MBA in healthcare management at Wharton, UPenn, in Philadelphia and will be moving back to NYC in the summer of ����.

Marguerite Hamlin It is hard to believe it has been �� years since we graduated! I am currently living in Brooklyn, still working as an analytics consultant at Kearney. I have been here for the last six years, ever since graduating college; although rather than building data models I oversee Junior teams building models and advising clients.

In the past five years, I’ve commuted to Kansas City, Minneapolis, Denver; Beloit, Wisconsin; San Francisco, Miami, Seattle, and even Shenzhen, China! The latest news in my personal life is that I am recently engaged! I will be marrying Dave DeFelice, who is a Penn State BSMBA graduate and currently working in private equity. I met him through a Kearney coworker four years ago (and over the years have gotten to hear many stories and meet many Winsor friends). Looking forward to seeing everyone in May! Amy Bridge Hausmann I graduated from law school in May ���� and am currently clerking for a US District Judge in Connecticut. I got married in August ���� to Andrew Hausmann, whom I met in choir in college. Our wedding was in Boston and was graced by three Winsor bridesmaids: Ellie Bridge ’��, Olivia Lynch ’��, and Amelia Piazza ’��.

Sommers Kline For the past few years, I have been

working in non-profit and strategy consulting and living in Boston, Australia, Ethiopia, and New York. I am now working for a consulting firm called ISF Advisors, which focuses on developing new financial structures to drive capital to rural enterprises and smallholder farmers. I am happy to be semi-permanently in New York for now, and I get enough work travel to keep me from getting restless.

While my world has expanded since high school, I do continue to think of my Winsor friends as my closest and am grateful for their ability to offer support with humor and frankness that only friends who saw you grow your bangs out, get braces, and have an ill-advised rolly backpack in middle school can do.

Amy Le For the past few years, I have been living in Cambridge, working at Boston tech companies, and hanging out with lots of Winsor friends! I’m currently a product manager at a travel tech startup in downtown Boston and recently moved out of an apartment where I was living with Erin Driscoll ’��, and moved in with another Winsor gal, Lyle Gangemi ’��. I’m so lucky to great have lots of close Winsor gals nearby in Boston and love hosting when friends are home visiting!

Olivia Lynch I can’t believe it’s been �� years since graduating from Winsor! After college, I worked for a few years in healthcare consulting and now I’m a third-year medical student in Rochester, New York. I’m still not completely sure what I want to do, but I’m leaning toward surgical oncology. Many of my closest, life-long friends, are my

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REUNION BIOGRAPHIES

Winsor friends and I love seeing Winsor girls in Boston or NYC or wherever and just being able to pick up right where we left off. I’m so amazed by everything everyone is doing and can’t wait to catch up at reunion!

Laura Mejia-Suarez After Winsor, I went to Lehigh and earned both my BS and master’s in mechanical engineering after finally graduating in ����. Been working on my own projects, and I’m thinking about going back for a PhD. Minda Monteagudo Since graduating from Winsor I completed my BA in Earth science at the University of Southern California and MS in Earth science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I am now a PhD. candidate in Earth and atmospheric science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. My research uses microfossil chemistry from marine sediments to reconstruct past climate in the tropical Pacific over the last glacial cycle (~���,��� years). Understanding how climate has changed in response to past atmospheric CO� concentrations is key to projecting how it will respond to anthropogenic forcing in the future.

In July ����, I spent a month at sea on the R/V JOIDES Resolution as a member of the JR���/Expedition ���T scientific research cruise, collecting marine sediment cores along the Chilean Margin for paleoclimate studies. I hope to continue conducting research and teaching after completing my PhD. next year.

Stella Peisch After Winsor, I went to Georgetown University and focused on conflict

62 WINSOR SPRING 2020

analysis in the Middle East. I spent some time working for a tech company in New York, but have mainly been living abroad since graduating college. I lived and worked in Palestine, then went to the London School of Economics for my master’s in international development and humanitarian emergencies. I have since been working in international development consulting in Dubai and Beirut. I’ve been so lucky to have had Winsor visitors and alumnae run-ins around the world!

Susannah Shipton I live in NYC and work in venture capital at a fund called AlleyCorp, focusing on early-stage investing, portfolio strategy, and impact investing. Much of my focus (through work and outside of it) goes toward expanding opportunities for female entrepreneurs in NYC and beyond: I work with women to raise capital for their ideas and to develop the business strategies to grow them. I also spend time with fantastic orgs like Women in VC and All Raise as a speaker and mentor. I still play squash and row, and still love medieval history (all things I continued at Princeton after Winsor), and I take regular trips back to Asia, where I laid some roots during a post-college year in Laos. Sending immense love to Winsor this year—so proud to be an alum and a member of the class of ����, as always.

Danielle Waldman Hi, Everyone! I am excited for our upcoming reunion—I can’t believe it has been �� years! I am currently getting my MBA at Harvard Business School and will be graduating in May. I have loved being back in school, and

one of my favorite parts has been having the time to travel. After school, I am excited to be staying in Boston and joining a growth equity firm called Silversmith Capital Partners.

My parents are still in Boston, and my sister, Lauren Waldman ’��, is not too far away at UMASS Med School; I am happy to be near them after living previously in San Francisco and New York. I can’t wait to host many unofficial Winsy reunions—let me know whenever you are back home!

Maxine Winston Hi, Winsor ladies! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in just a few months. After graduating from Penn, I spent a few years in Boston working in strategy consulting, then a few years in New York working in private equity. I’m currently in my first year of business school at Wharton and am building a company that provides a better solution for women suffering with mental health challenges post-partum. I can’t wait to hear about all of the exciting things that you all are doing as well!

Katherine Mallett Zimmerman Since last reunion I have finally finished medical school and recently moved to Minnesota for my residency in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. I was thrilled my husband, Carl, could come with me now that he has ended his commitment with the Marine Corps, and we picked up a new black lab puppy, Dunkin, on the way. So far we love Minnesota, and I could not feel luckier to train at Mayo! To be determined whether the winter here is colder than Boston, but luckily we have our own local Dunkin Donuts to keep us warm.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Steady in a Storm The ����s and ����s were tumultuous times. Attuned to the winds of change, but always steady at the helm, Virginia Wing faced the challenges head on, committed to leading the way in girls education while maintaining Winsor’s core values. Despite outside pressures, she was determined that Winsor remain an urban, single-sex institution with the highest academic standards.

Winsor was the only independent school for girls in Boston, and Miss Wing made certain the school continued to “seek out strong candidates from our immediate community” and “include students with a variety of experience and backgrounds.”

On her retirement, many in the Winsor community reflected on these times as pivotal to the school, writing that Winsor’s “position is attributable largely to your leadership and purposeful determination during a very volatile period” and that “you were there during the turbulent ��s, with all that meant—you guided the school, demonstrating stewardship that was steadfast and superb.”

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR NETWORK JUST GOT EASIER. Reconnect with classmates, see what they’re up to, and check out who they know. They might just need a new co-worker...

www.winsor.edu/alumnae/alumnae-connect Powered by

WINSOR SPRING 2020 63

FIRST PERSON

Reflections of an Activist Advocating for immigrant rights, Lulu Ansari ’20 finds clarity and resolve.

Extracted from a speech delivered during Winsor’s MLK celebration

64 WINSOR SPRING 2020

PHOTO BY KRISTIE DEAN

D

o you consider yourself an activist?”

Mr. Braxton asked this question, and I paused, thinking…

Every year around Ramadan, I make donations from savings to charities and organizations. I volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club in Newton every Thursday, and periodically at Boston’s Food Bank or Rosie’s Place. But while this type of philanthropy is valuable, and necessary, it is short-lived-—and distant from those that it seeks to help. It is not the work of an activist dedicated to ending world hunger or homelessness.

But then I considered my all-consuming summer work advocating for immigrant rights. As the daughter of immigrants and a distraught onlooker of recent developments in immigrant life in the US, I had a strong sense of purpose in my work.

I taught English-language courses, helped families navigate a public housing system designed for Englishspeakers, and served on a statewide coalition working to enable access to driver’s licenses.

I sought to build the collective power of immigrant youth, adults and families to participate in and shape community decisions through programs and policies that would strengthen their capacity to advocate for themselves.

The level of involvement differentiated this work. As an activist, I was, exhilaratingly, so much closer to the source of movement and innovation and solutions.

Today, more than ever, countless causes demand our action. And to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.” Now and not tomorrow is the time to stand up for the values, lives, and institutions we believe are worth fighting for, not only with our money or volunteer efforts but also with our consistent and purposeful commitment.

So, after a pause...I responded to Mr. Braxton, “Yes, I would like to think so.”

“ I WAS KNOWN AND LOVED FOR WHO I WAS.” says Miwa Watkins ’83.

PHOTO BY JÖRG MEYER

A member of Winsor’s eightyear club, and a scholarship recipient, Miwa, a human resources manager, recognizes, “It’s the teamwork, diversity of thought, and commitment” that creates Winsor’s uniquely supportive learning environment.

Grateful to Miss Houghton, Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Jones, and others for providing a safe space and seeing her potential, Miwa says, “For three decades, I have been working to pay back my scholarship to Winsor for someone else to have the same opportunity. When planning for my will and retirement, Winsor was the clear choice for me. The more young women in our world with Winsor skills, the better a world we are creating.”

Have you remembered Winsor in your will or retirement plan? Let us know and we’ll welcome you to the Lamp of Learning Society.

Please be in touch with Beth Peterson ’80, P’11, 617-912-1321 or epeterson@winsor.edu. www.winsor.edu/giving

THE WINSOR SCHOOL 103 Pilgrim Road Boston, Massachusetts 02215 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID AUGUSTA , ME PERMIT NO 121

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.

TO THE MOUNTAINTOP An original student dance performance

by Asrah Rizvi ’20, choreographed to Dr. King’s famous last speech, was one of many memorable performances during Winsor’s annual MLK celebration.

PHOTO BY KRISTIE DEAN