Spring 2013 edition - Wheelock College

Spring/Summer 2013

Spring/Summer 2013
Editor
Christine Dall
Production Editor
Lori Ann Saslav
Design
Leslie Hartwell
Photography
David Binder
Erin Heffernan
Don West
Cover: Board Chair
Ranch Kimball (left) and
President Jenkins-Scott
(right) applaud opening
of the Earl Center for
Learning and Innovation
with donors Sylvia
Earl ‘54 and Jim Earl.
Photo by Don West
T.O.C.
Wheelock Magazine
Spring/Summer 2013
Volume XXXIII, Issue 2
Wheelock Magazine invites
manuscripts and photographs
from our readers,
although we do not guarantee
their publication, and
we reserve the right to edit
them as needed.
For Class Notes information,
contact Lori Ann Saslav at
(617) 879-2123 or lsaslav@
wheelock.edu.
Send letters to the editor to:
Wheelock Magazine,
Office for Institutional
Advancement,Wheelock
College, 200 The Riverway,
Boston, MA 02215-4176.
1 A Message from
the President
2 News Nuggets
4 Earl Center for Learning
and Innovation Opened
6 Elizabeth and Hans Wolf
Community Room Dedicated
8 Commencement 2013
12 Scene on Campus
20 Faculty
20 A First Endowed Professorship
for Wheelock
26 Alumni Network
39 Class Notes
Joyce E. Butler ‘73
Kathy Luneau Simons ‘79MS
Caleb DesRosiers
Daniel Stern Terris
Leadership Transitions
Welcome to new members of the Wheelock College
Board of Trustees elected in the spring.
Karen Mutch-Jones ‘82
Joyce E. Pettoruto Butler ’73 A founding director of Ready to Learn Providence, a citywide
initiative in Providence, RI, Butler also served as the first project director for Child Care and Early Education
Research Connections, a federally funded website for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
A faculty member at Community College of Rhode Island, executive director of Brown/Fox Point Early
Childhood Education Center, and Head Start teacher in Charlestown, MA, and the South Bronx, NY,
she also helped to establish the United States Association for Child Care. She holds a master’s degree from
Teachers College, Columbia University, and has served as a corporator and on the Ad Hoc Innovation
Committee of Wheelock’s Board of Trustees.
Caleb DesRosiers An active participant in the health care industry, DesRosiers is counsel at
Foley Hoag LLP, a global legal and advisory firm focused on strategic health care policy, market access,
reimbursement, managed care, integrated health systems, life sciences, information technology, and
business development, transactions, and investment banking. He serves on a number of boards and is a
strategic adviser and outside counsel to Mansa Capital. He has a B.A. in health and human services and
a J.D./Master of Public Administration joint degree from Suffolk University.
Karen Mutch-Jones ’82 A senior research associate at TERC, a nonprofit education research
and development organization dedicated to improving mathematics, science, and technology teaching
and learning in Cambridge, MA, Mutch-Jones is also a learning disabilities specialist and has taught
in the education department at Curry College. She received Wheelock’s Centennial Alumni Award in
1989 and a Lucy Wheelock Award in 1997 and has served on the Alumni Association Board and several
of its committees. She has a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Kathy Luneau Simons ’79MS A national leader in the emerging work-life field, Simons
helped to define and advance understanding of work-life issues in academic institutions and has assumed
a variety of teaching, leadership, research, and consulting roles aimed at better understanding and
addressing the needs of young children and working families. She is co-director of the Work-Life
Center at MIT and a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts Children’s Investment
Fund. She received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and is a fellow at the Infant-Parent Mental
Health Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Daniel SternTerris Vice president for global affairs and director of the International Center for
Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis University, Terris has previously served as a corporator and
on the Wheelock College Board of Trustees as co-chair of the Educational Policy Committee, chair of
the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee. He received his
B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Dear Alumni and Friends,
This spring has been
a tremendously
exciting season
of celebration at
Wheelock College.
Events and activities marking
Wheelock’s 125th anniversary
have touched and brought together
every part of our extended
community—from students,
faculty, staff, and trustees to
alumni and special friends and
supporters. The milestone events
of Commencement, Reunion,
a special Founder’s Anniversary
Luncheon, the opening
of a beautiful new building on
Pilgrim Road, the dedication of
the Earl Center for Learning and
Innovation and the Elizabeth
and Hans Wolf Community
Room, and a very successful
international conference—our
first ever—closed the academic
year on a wonderfully joyous
and inspiring note.
Such a full schedule of events
brought many alumni back
to Wheelock and gave me the
chance to talk with more of you,
and at greater length, about your
work and your experiences with
issues impacting the children and
families you serve. So did the visits
I made with individual alumni
around the country and with
alumni groups that organized
regional anniversary celebrations.
Visits with alumni are always
instructive, keeping me in close
touch with the professional
challenges that you confront
every day while serving all children
and families, but especially
those living in poverty and
struggling with poor schools,
underemployment, and chronic
or severe illnesses and injustices.
As you talk with me about
your work building on the
individual strengths of children
and families, you give me not
only confidence in the futures
of the children in your care
but also concrete information
and knowledge which help to
ensure that the teaching and
learning happening on campus
are grounded in the needs of
today’s society and the changes
that are occurring in it at a very
rapid pace. I am very grateful
for your continuing connection
to the College and your
informed input.
Celebrating Wheelock’s
anniversary year has brought me
to a deeper level of appreciation
of the history of the College and
“Celebrating Wheelock—
past, present, and future—has
brought new vitality to our
community and a great amount
of fun as well! Such a wonderful
close to the academic
year leaves me eagerly looking
forward to what we will
accomplish together next year.”
its founder, who dared to take
on so many great challenges of
her time. It has reacquainted
alumni, faculty, and trustees with
the College’s roots in socially
progressive movements of more
than a century ago and has given
students a better understanding
of their College’s mission and
another reason to be proud of it.
This year, my respect has grown
for the endurance of that mission
and for the strength of alumni
who carry it forward through
decades of social and world
changes that Lucy Wheelock
could not have imagined.
Wheelock’s first international
conference, titled Global Challenges
and Opportunities Facing
Children, Youth and Families
and held in June, brought
together 500 educators, human
rights activists, policy-makers,
philanthropists, and leaders from
around the world to discuss issues
in education, health, and human
rights affecting children, youth,
and families and to share their
knowledge about and successes in
bringing about positive change.
Six Wheelock alumni presented
and were honored at the
conference. Alicia Carroll ’96MS,
a former Fulbright Scholar in
Kenya and Tanzania, teaches and
develops international curricula
in Boston schools. Toby Milner
’70 is co-founder of the Lillydale
Literacy Project, which provides
literacy training for teachers
in rural South Africa. Jackie
Carnevali ’70 is director of the
Navionics Education Foundation
and president of its board and
leads the nonprofit’s mission to
improve learning conditions in
India’s poorest schools. Marianne
O’Grady ’94MS, who has been
a teacher and professor of education
for 25 years, is now a trainer
of thousands of teachers in
Kabul, Afghanistan. Julia Challinor
’75, a professor of nursing,
also collaborates with NGOs in
Canada, Italy, and Belgium that
support children with cancer
in developing countries. And
Francis Ng Kok Liang ’04MS is
a leader in Singapore early childhood
education who, within six
years of enrolling in Wheelock’s
master’s program in Singapore,
founded The Childcare Alliance
there and developed 20 early
child care centers.
The passion these alumni
have for improving the education
and well-being of children and
families worldwide was inspiring
and reinforced my awareness of
just how far Wheelock’s reach
extends around the world and
how vital it is that the College
continue expanding its relations
with other international
institutions and programs. The
Conference was productive on
many, many levels and is already
generating new plans for future
programs to advance human
rights and education globally. It
was also a wonderfully symbolic
conclusion to a season of anniversary
celebrations.
Lucy Wheelock was an early
internationalist and educational
leader, conducting a visiting
conference across Europe with
leaders of the kindergarten movement
and vigorously insisting
that students at her school be
aware of and concerned with
world affairs. The 2013 Global
Challenges and Opportunities
Conference brought Wheelock
full circle, greatly increasing its
visibility internationally and
firmly establishing it as a worldclass
educational leader with
much to contribute to global
action that improves the lives of
children and families everywhere.
I encourage you to learn
more about the Conference at
www.wheelock.edu/conference,
where you will find videos and
interviews with many of its
participants.
Celebrating Wheelock—
past, present, and future—has
brought new vitality to our
community and a great amount
of fun as well! Such a wonderful
close to the academic year leaves
me eagerly looking forward to
what we will accomplish together
next year.
I wish you a wonderful summer
and hope you will find extra,
much-deserved time for yourself
and for your families.
Sincerely,
JACKIE JENKINS-SCOTT
President
Wheelock Magazine 1

NEWS NUGGETS
Wheelock Receives Prestigious
Blackburn Award for Mattahunt Work
The revitalized Mattahunt Community Center is a model for
public-private partnerships in other urban communities.
Historically, Wheelock College has
extended the reach of its mission into
Boston neighborhood communities
and to children and families living there. The
College’s recent revitalization of the Mattahunt
Community Center is an excellent example of
that philosophy in action, and now its work on
behalf of the city’s Mattapan community, where
the Center is located, has been recognized by
the American Association of University Administrators
(AAUA).
The AAUA presented Wheelock with its
2012 John L. Blackburn Award for the College’s
achievement in turning the Center into a
thriving, sustainable community hub that offers
academic and recreational programs serving an
average of nearly 200 families per day while also providing service and practicum opportunities
for Wheelock students.
The John L. Blackburn Award is given annually and recognizes outstanding examples of
college and university leadership that demonstrate creative solutions to common problems.
In announcing the award, AAUA Awards Chair Jerome L. Neuner said, “We were attracted
to the Mattahunt Community Center revitalization project because it represents a unique
expression of the Wheelock College mission to improve the lives of children and families,
and it is a model partnership between a city, a community, and a college.”
Pictured (from left): Adrian K. Haugabrook, vice president for Enrollment Management and
Student Success, chief diversity officer; Marta T. Rosa, special assistant to the president, Office
of Government and External Affairs; Jackie Jenkins-Scott, president, Wheelock College; Shellice
Baker, youth coordinator, Mattahunt Community Center; Rashad O. Cope, director, Mattahunt-
Wheelock Community Center Partnership
Beth Kaplan
Innovative (and Fun!)
Web Application
Launched to Address
STEM Knowledge Gap
Research overwhelmingly demonstrates
that parent involvement in children’s
learning is positively related to their
academic success, yet largely missing from the
national focus on STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, Math) education is an appreciation
for how families can promote learning. Many
parents and caregivers are not familiar with STEM
topics; some are even “STEM-phobic.”
Recognizing this STEM knowledge gap and
the time constraints faced by many families,
Wheelock’s Aspire Institute launched a first-of-itskind,
mobile-accessible Web application to engage
parents and students in grades 3, 4, and 5 in
STEM learning.The STEM Activity Application—
funded by a Sylvia Earl Innovation Award and
developed in conjunction with Web application
developer Jamie Folsom—provides accessible, fun,
and engaging activities that demonstrate STEM
concepts and can be easily weaved into everyday
activities, such as dinner conversations, car rides,
and family nights.
The application was piloted in April 2013 at
the Sarah Greenwood School in Dorchester, MA.
“Getting families to talk about STEM during their
regular, daily lives is critical,” says the school’s
principal, Alexander Mathews. “It shows them
that STEM is everywhere around them.”
In addition, activities can lead to a variety of
STEM-based explorations: Ranking items such as
a cardboard box, plastic bag, glass bottle, banana
peel, and tin foil by their decomposition time, for
example, can bring up questions about recycling
and the environment in addition to learning about
the composition of materials and math estimations
and calculations.
To boost accessibility, the application is
available in Spanish as well as in English and can
be customized. Parents can sign up to receive
activities by providing a phone number, select a
language of choice (English/Spanish) and time
of day to receive an activity, and choose their
technology preference (text with a link to the
Web application or email).
For more information on the STEM Activity
Application and Wheelock’s expanding role in
advancing STEM education, visit: http://info.
wheelock.edu/aspirewire/bid/176013/
Exciting-Parents-and-Students-about-STEM.
2 Spring/Summer 2013

Aspire Named Fiscal Sponsor for
$3.25 Million Gates Foundation Grant
Boston Compact has named Wheelock College’s Aspire Institute as fiscal
sponsor for a $3.25 million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to
advance the goal of better serving children in the Boston schools.
Boston Compact aims to join the city’s public, charter, and Catholic schools in a
collaborative effort to address the needs of specific groups of children—English
language learners, students with special needs, and boys of color—who remain
underserved, despite the efforts of individual schools to address these issues.
Since its launch in late 2011 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, all 127 Boston Public
Schools, all 16 charter operators, and 22 Catholic schools have joined the Compact—
a significant number of schools that represents 88 percent of Boston students.
The grant will support training of 250 teachers and administrators to improve
instruction for English language learners, the fastest growing population of students
in Boston; launching of new school partnerships to improve performance; identifying
and growing local initiatives aimed at accelerating performance for black and
Latino boys; and coordinating and simplifying the enrollment process for families.
“We are excited to host this important Boston
education reform initiative,” says Aspire Institute’s
senior director, Jake Murray. “For Wheelock to
serve as the home of the Compact makes great
sense. Its objectives are closely aligned with Wheelock’s
mission and academic focus areas.” The
Gates Foundation funding continues Aspire
Institute’s outstanding track record of fostering
collaborative partnerships. In fall 2012, the
Institute launched four leading-edge programs
and partnerships funded by $725,000 from
the Department of Early Education and Care,
Barr Foundation, and the Lynch Foundation.
For more information about the Compact, go to
http://bostoncompact.weebly.com.
NEWS NUGGETS
Read President Jenkins-Scott’s
Huffington Post Blogs
Do you know that President Jackie Jenkins-Scott writes
a monthly public affairs blog that appears online
at the Huffington Post website? Topics she addresses
represent a wide range of current issues affecting children,
families, education, and the general public welfare. Look for
her latest entry and past blogs by Googling Huffington Post,
Jackie Jenkins-Scott.
Past Blogs
• It’s Time for Action: What Are We Waiting For? “The Greatest
Cause That Can Be Served Is Childhood Education.”
• We Stand Together and Find Resilience in Our Grieving City
• Why Comprehensive Immigration Reform Is Needed to Propel
Our Country Forward
• Will We Take a Bold Stand for Our Youngest Citizens?
• A Sensible Approach to Gun Control: Keeping Our
Neighborhoods Safe
• The Tragedy in Newtown: A Renewed Call for Education
• Why We Should Put Children and Families First During
Fiscal Cliff Negotiations
• Affirmative Action’s Push-Pull on Diversity in Higher Education
• Media Literacy in the Digital Age
• The Digital Age and Higher Education
• Reform Comes to Higher Education
Emerging Playwrights Program Set to Premiere
Wheelock Family Theatre (WFT) producer, Wendy Lement, has an exciting new
Boston Public Schools initiative—the Emerging Playwrights Program—in the works
and scheduled to begin in fall 2013. The program will provide playwriting classes for
students who have an interest in and aptitude for writing and is made possible by the Susan Kosoff
Legacy Fund, established in honor of Sue Kosoff ’65/’75MS, WFT’s co-founder and longtime
producer, who retired from WFT and now teaches in Wheelock’s Singapore summer program.
Lement was a professor of theater and chair of the Theatre Department at Regis College
for 19 years before coming to Wheelock in fall 2012. A playwright, director, and writer of
children’s books, she is also the author of the nonfiction title And Justice for Some: Exploring
American Justice Through Drama and Theatre. The Emerging Playwrights Program will expand
on her teaching and her work as co-founder and artistic director of Theatre Espresso, the educational,
interactive theater company that tours schools, museums, and courthouses and is now
in residence at Wheelock.
When the Emerging Playwrights Program was announced last winter, David Henry Hwang,
the widely lauded playwright, librettist, and screenwriter, who is considered to be the pre-eminent
Asian-American dramatist in the U.S., spoke at the event. Hwang shares similar social and artistic
goals with WFT. He is president of Young Playwrights Inc., the only professional theater in the
country dedicated to playwrights ages 18 and under—onstage, in the classroom, and in the artistic
community. He is also known for writings inspired by his Asian background and heritage, and
his advocacy for increased roles for actors of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Wheelock Magazine 3

A LUMINOUS NEW BUILDING
AND
THE EARL CENTER FOR LEARNING AND INNOVATION
Spectacular Anniversary Gifts for Wheelock’s Future
Open Space
Open to New Ideas
Huge anticipation has
been mounting during
the last year as
faculty, students, and
staff watched the rapid
progress of construction on the new Pilgrim
Road building going up next to the
Wheelock Family Theatre on Wheelock’s
Boston campus. When the doors to the
building opened for the Earl Center for
Learning and Innovation’s dedication on
May 15, everyone agreed that the latest
addition to the College’s Boston campus,
designed by William Rawn Associates
Inc.—the firm that also designed Wheelock’s
landmark Campus Center—is
another spectacular winner.
Prior to the dedication ceremony,
faculty and staff, alumni, and city officials
explored the building’s three stories,
which include the modern Earl Center for
Learning and Innovation with its collaborative
activity and teaching areas on the
first floor, faculty offices on the second,
and a contemporary Larsen Alumni Room
with exterior patio dedicated to alumni
events and Alumni Association meetings
on the top floor.
The modern glass and steel design,
which presents a nearly transparent
façade from exterior vantage points, also
floods all three floors of the spacious
interior with a natural, airy light, offering
an environment that says, “open
space open to new ideas.”
4 Spring/Summer 2013
An Incubator
to Foster Innovative
Ideas for Teaching
and Learning
In 2012, when James “Jim” and
Sylvia Tailby Earl ’54 fully funded
the Campaign for Wheelock’s
$5 million goal for technology
enhancement and innovation,
they made possible the construction
of the new Center that will support the
College’s transformation into a 21stcentury
institution committed not just
to keeping pace with new ideas
in technology-based
education but
to leading the way in creating and developing
them. Actively supporting creative
collaborations between students and faculty
as well as Wheelock and Boston-area
communities is central to the strategy for
achieving this goal.
The new first-floor Center offers exciting
opportunities for students and faculty
to use technology tools, such as iPads,
touchscreens, and multimedia screens,
in a flexible workspace setting—
sliding glass panels can create
separate classroom or
workshop
“Wheelock College has led the city, state, and region in every possible way;
and Dr. and Mrs. Earl, you have created something wonderful here that
will allow Wheelock to expand on its great work.”
—Michael Ross, Boston City Council

Cutting-edge
donors
spaces in the large, open layout of the
main floor. But the real excitement is in
the Center’s driving purpose: to provide
a home and incubator for the inventive
spirit, encouraging students and faculty to
use its resources to try out new ideas, take
creative risks, and invent new approaches
that can improve education inside and
outside the classroom through technology.
“ The Earl Center
for Learning
and Innovation
is truly a gift
of leadership,
encouraging and
guiding Wheelock
College to be a
leader in innovative uses of technology
in learning and teaching.”
—Campaign Co-Chair Robert A. Lincoln
A portion of the Earls’ gift supports
the Sylvia Earl Innovation Award, which
is intended to stimulate innovative thinking
and the creation of new projects having
a measurable impact on Wheelock’s teaching
and learning. Last year, the Fund’s
first grants were awarded to three original
and doable projects proposed by faculty
and staff. See page 15 for a story on this
year’s awards and to learn more about the
type of inventive thinking that the Center
for Learning and Innovation is bound
to generate.
Carrying on the
Resource Center’s Values
The new Center for Learning and Innovation
is the latest and best residence to
date of the materials and creative spirit
previously located in the College’s Resource
Center, which first opened in 1967 in
the attic of the Classroom Building and
then moved to its basement. Now, in the
state-of-the-art space of the Earl Center for
Learning and Innovation, Wheelock has
the opportunity to grow resources within
the new context of technology-based
education—opportunities to learn best
practices for using technologies to improve
education, integrate theory and practice,
experiment with technology-based tools
and approaches, and use an abundance of
traditional materials and virtual resources
creatively—all while supporting students,
faculty, alumni, and Boston-area educators.
When speaking about the value of the
original Resource Center, Instructor and
Chair of the Elementary Education Department
Karen Worth said, “Perhaps most
importantly, it has always been a place of creativity,
learning, and innovation. Whether
students needed to create a new game, make
books, develop recipes, explore a science
project, figure out a new way to support a
child with special needs, or understand how
to use a piece of educational software, they
came to the Resource Center.
Fast forward
technology
“Now, thanks to the generosity of Sylvia
and Jim Earl, we are opening the Earl
Center for Learning and Innovation, an
incredible next stage in the evolutionary
pathway. And it is clear that the values and
ideas that have guided the Resource Center
until now are alive and well in this Center.”
What an exciting event the dedication
was, opening the way to nearly limitless
possibilities and inspiring great expectations
for the College as it approaches its
126th year of innovative and purposeful
education.
Wheelock Magazine 5

Dedicating
the
Elizabeth
and
Hans Wolf
Community
Room
When students returned from winter break in 2009 to find the new
Campus Center and Student Residence open for their use, their
reaction was—WOW! They were more than a little excited about
the sleek modern design of the building and the many areas carefully
thought out with their needs in mind—a first-floor multipurpose
room, conference room, and café; the huge and colorful secondfloor
dining facility; and the new student residences on the floors above.
The building and the spacious green it opened onto were envisioned as destination points
and crossroads, where everyone in the on-campus community would gather and mingle.
Bill Rawn, principal of William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc., the firm that designed the
building, said it was conceived as a mixed-use space that “celebrates community.”
Making Room for All
The expansive, multipurpose area on the first floor, with its striking architecture and
comfortable furnishings for relaxing, studying, meetings, and special events, was expected
to be a central part of the community equation. But in the four years since the building’s
opening, it has become all that and more—a place of energy, activity, and heart, vital to
nurturing the growth of friendships and strengthening a community that shares important
values, a sense of purpose, and a predilection for action.
The multipurpose room is a place to come together. On any given day, students are
meeting up with friends, gathering in groups to make plans, collaborating with classmates
on projects, or dropping by for conversation as different segments of the community come
and go throughout the day. Faculty, staff, and students all mix and talk together on common
ground.
More formally, the room is scheduled nonstop, day and night, to serve every imaginable
community function. Sliding doors close to provide a focus and sense of place for events
ranging from film screenings, discussions with visiting
scholars and experts, awards ceremonies, and College
meetings to dances, volunteer organizing, reading
to children on Read Across America day, collaborative
meetings with Mattahunt community members,
alumni luncheons, meditation and yoga sessions, and
even Red Cross blood drives.
It is an area that makes a true statement about
Wheelock’s commitment to building community,
and it evokes the true community spirit of one
outstanding and much-loved alumna—Elizabeth
Bassett Wolf ’54, otherwise known as “Chippy”—
to whom the room was dedicated on May 16.
An Event Full of Heart
In an eventful season of 125th anniversary celebrations,
the luncheon in honor of Chippy Wolf was one
of the most heartfelt. The multipurpose room—soon
to be christened the Elizabeth and Hans Wolf Community
Room—was crowded with faculty, staff, trustees, friends, and well-wishers who had
come together to express their gratitude to Chippy for generously supporting The Campaign
for Wheelock and for contributing in so many ways to strengthening the College community.
Well known for the sense of community she has fostered among her 1954 classmates—
three of whom were at the luncheon dedication to celebrate with her—Chippy has brought
her sharp intellect and can-do attitude to bear on a multitude of projects, programs, events,
and activities that have helped Wheelock’s larger community to grow and flourish. Thank
you, Chippy!
6 Spring/Summer 2013

With deep appreciation
to Chippy and Hans . . .
President Jenkins-Scott presents
Chippy with a keepsake duplicate
of the room’s dedication plaque
Chippy with Bill Rawn, who
designed both the Elizabeth
and Hans Wolf Community
Room and the Earl Center for
Learning and Innovation
As President Jenkins-Scott and Judith “Judy” Parks Anderson ’62
prepared to present Chippy with the room’s dedication plaque engraved with
her name, Judy spoke of Wheelock’s deep appreciation for all that Chippy and
her husband, Hans, have contributed to the College community.
“Elizabeth Bassett Wolf, known to all of us as Chippy, we welcome you and your special classmates: Sylvia
Earl, Nicky L’Hommedieu, and Lois Mirsky. What a dedicated group of alumnae you are, and it is such an honor
that this beautiful room is now named the
Elizabeth and Hans Wolf Community Room.
“For those of you who do not know
Chippy as well as some of us do, I would like
to tell you a little bit about her.When I talk
with her classmates, they tell me how much
they admire her—that she has always been
strong-minded, always asked pertinent questions,
and always expected the best from all.
Nicky said she is the glue that has held the
Class of 1954 together for so many years.
“Chippy has never left this community, as
far away as Wheelock is from Palo Alto, where
she lives. She has always stayed connected to
us, she continues to believe in our community,
and she is a very important part of it. Many
College events have been held with Chippy organizing them from California! She
has been a leader in several Wheelock campaigns and an Alumni Scholars donor.
She was awarded the President’s Leadership Award in 1999 and the Distinguished
Service Award from the Alumni Association in 2009. And I cannot begin to describe
all the behind-the-scenes work she has done for Wheelock.
“Chippy, with Hans accompanying her many times, attended so many meetings—as
an active member of the Corporation and the Development Committee,
and as a member of the Steering Committee for The Promise of Growth Campaign.
“Chippy, we cannot thank you enough for your community spirit and
willingness to name this magnificent room. This room is a true place of coming
together for our students, and future students will know Elizabeth and Hans
Wolf as the names of two people who believed in the importance of community.
That is a fitting tribute to you and Hans because our students mean so much to
you and because Hans was a devoted community leader and believed, as you
do, in making the world a better place.
“We will be forever grateful for all that you have done to keep our College
strong and vibrant.”
Wheelock elock
Magazine azine
7

Lucy Wheelock
COMMENCEMENT 2013—
Celebrating 125 Years of
Commitment to Children
and Families
When she founded Wheelock College 125
years ago, Lucy Wheelock’s goal was to
improve the lives of children and families by
educating outstanding kindergarten teachers
through a program that stressed both academic rigor and
social justice. Wheelock’s academic offerings have expanded
and transformed dramatically in the decades since then, but
its core mission has never changed.
During the two days of Commencement celebrations
held in May, the College honored Miss Wheelock’s enduring
vision with the 2013 Commencement theme: “Celebrating
125 Years of Commitment to Children and Families.”
Our Community Gathers at the
End of a Great Academic Year
(Top to bottom) Center for International
Programs and Partnerships Dean Linda Davis
welcomes Jay Straughan and Associate Dean
of Social Work Hope Straughan; Special
Assistant to the President for Corporate and
Foundation Sponsorships Anne Turner and
former Trustee Alan Morse; honorary degree
recipient Hubert Jones, Vice President for
Student Success Adrian Haugabrook, and
Co-founder of the New England International
Donors Foundation Karen Ansara.
8 Spring/Summer 2013

Pre-Commencement Dinner Festivities
Chair of the Board of Trustees Ranch Kimball welcomed guests to the first of the
2013 Commencement celebrations—Pre-Commencement Dinner, an event held
annually to celebrate individuals who will receive honorary degrees the next day
at Commencement and to recognize the contributions of outstanding alumni,
friends, trustees, and corporators who support and lead the College.
The first and biggest thank-you of the evening went to all who are helping to make
The Campaign for Wheelock—Leading Innovation and Inspiring Change such a tremendous success.
Co-chair of the Campaign Robert “Bob” Lincoln got the evening’s festivities off to a fabulous
start with the announcement that more than $71.7 million has been raised toward the historic
goal of $80 million—an achievement, Lincoln said, that speaks to the strength of the College
and generosity of alumni and friends who have given so much to support Wheelock’s mission.
Honorees Who Inspire a World of Good
Wheelock paid tribute to three special guests who were recognized at the Pre-Commencement
Dinner before receiving honorary doctoral degrees at the next day’s Commencement
ceremonies: (L to R) Hubert E. Jones, dean emeritus of Boston University
School of Social Work, with President Jenkins-Scott; Mark K. Shriver, senior vice president
of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs; and Thekla “Teckie” Reese Shackelford ’56, founder
and chair of I Know I Can.
A Special Thank-You to
Barbara Sallick ’61
Lincoln led the applause for Barbara
Grogins Sallick ’61, who has
served as chair of the Board of
Trustees Development Committee for
seven years and whom he recognized as
a champion of annual giving and for her
strategic and enthusiastic leadership. “We
have met or surpassed our goal for annual
giving in each of the past seven years,”
he noted. “During Barbara’s tenure, we
have raised more than $10.8 million in
annual gifts.” Sallick continues to serve
as a trustee and member of the Board of
Trustees Finance Committee.
Recognizing Judy Anderson ’62
Chair of the Corporation Susan
Bruml Simon ’73 joined Bob
Lincoln, President Jenkins-
Scott, and Ted Ladd in recognizing Judith
“Judy” Parks Anderson ’62 for her lifelong
service and generosity to Wheelock and
presented her with the College Medallion
as she was named Honorary Trustee.
Among her many contributions to the
College are service that began with her
very first job as associate dean of admissions
and volunteering as president of the
Alumni Association and went on to include
her positions as chair of the Board of
Trustees, co-chair of The Promise of Growth
Capital Campaign, and honorary chair of
the current Campaign for Wheelock.
“The College sent me a two-anda-half-page
list of all the things
Judy has done for the school. It
was hard to find anything she
hadn’t done.”
—Susan Simon ’73
“What has made her such a great
leader?” asked Simon. “It is her personal
concern for others and for the well-being of
the College. Judy thinks about Wheelock
day and night, brainstorming about fundraising
strategies or how to cultivate new
leadership on the Board or Corporation.
She reaches out to faculty and staff to gather
accurate information in approaching her
responsibilities as a trustee. She has mentored
College presidents over the years and
has been a confidante to countless others.”
Wheelock Magazine 9

C OMMENCEMENT 2013
Graduation Day—It’s Grand
Students receiving degrees at Wheelock College’s
2013 Commencement ceremonies had the
bonus of graduating under beautiful sunny skies
and the memorable good fortune of doing so during
Wheelock’s 125th anniversary year. Continuing the
College’s new tradition of holding two separate cer-
“You are committing to caring for
vulnerable children and families
when a lot of people look the other
way. What is truly important in life
is not the pursuit of money and
adulation. What’s truly important
is to accept the invitation to create a just, caring, and safe
world for children and families.”
—Mark K. Shriver, undergraduate commencement address
Off to the Future
In the morning ceremony at a sun-filled Temple Israel, just down the Riverway
from Wheelock’s Boston campus, Wheelock awarded undergraduate
degrees to the very excited Class of 2013 and honorary degrees to three
dedicated advocates for the rights and education of children—Mark K.
Shriver, Hubert E. Jones, and Thekla “Teckie” Reese Shackelford ’56—whose
leadership embodies the spirit of Wheelock’s mission and this year’s graduation
theme: “Celebrating 125 Years of Commitment to Children and Families.”
Oginga Walters ’13, who graduated with a double major in human development
and elementary education and a minor in history, was the 2013 undergraduate
student speaker. “As we move on in our lives from here, I cannot
guarantee that there will not be difficulties and hardships,” he said. “My hope
is that, through our course of study here at Wheelock, we are crossing this stage
today with creative and open minds, well-honed skills for our practice, and an
enduring sense of social justice that will enable us to improve the world.”
Honorary degree recipient Teckie Shackelford
’56 served as a great inspirational model.
She is the founder and chair of I Know I Can
(IKIC), a nonprofit organization that provides
financial assistance to help all qualified Columbus
City High School graduates attend college.
It is one of the largest and most successful access
programs in the country, awarding more than
$1 million annually.
Senior Class Gift
Susan M. Mackey ’94
Scholarship Fund
This year’s Senior Class Gift was
a heartfelt contribution to the
Susan M. Mackey ’94 Scholarship
Fund. As noted in an announcement
by the 2013 Class Council:
“Sue was an amazing woman who had
a profound impact on Wheelock and
our class in particular. By supporting
this fund, we are ensuring that her
legacy lives on and joining thousands
of alumni who are supporting scholarships
and financial aid.”
10 Spring/Summer 2013

C OMMENCEMENT 2013
and Beautiful, and It’s Here!
emonies, one in the morning for undergraduates and a
second in the afternoon for graduate students, Wheelock
celebrated the achievements of its graduates in fine
style and with high ceremony; inspiring addresses by
faculty, students, and guest speakers; proud families;
and much whooping, hugging, and clicking of cameras!
Advanced Academic Achievement for
High-Achieving Professionals
Wheelock Family Theatre was the setting for the College’s afternoon
graduate student commencement ceremony. The College awarded
advanced degrees to 134 students in its growing master’s degree
programs who took the next step in their lifelong learning pathway.
Heather Vogel ’13MSW, who graduated with a Master of Social Work
degree and a certificate in organizational leadership and was the commencement
student speaker, gave a five-minute crash course on the change process
and new insights that graduate students experience at Wheelock.
“As a Wheelock grad, my purpose and my passion give my life meaning,”
she said. “Human life is not black and white. It is gray, messy, uncomfortable,
often functioning in the unknown, and that is the context in which we will all
practice. Knowing I can assist others and provide individuals, organizations,
communities, and society with the resources necessary to be successful in the
change process is empowering.”
“ We need you—we desperately need you. We expect you to be visionaries;
your vision should drive you forward. Never underestimate what is possible
for you and others to do.”
—Hubert E. Jones, graduate commencement address

On their 20th
anniversary,
Sharon Katz and
the Peace Train
bring music from
South Africa and
stories of transition
from apartheid to
democracy.
12 Spring/Summer 2013
Miss Frances Clayton, who disguised herself
as a man, “Jack Williams,” to fight in the Civil War. Serving more
than two years in Heavy Artillery Company I and Calvary Company A, she was
wounded in the battles of Shiloh and Stones River.
Bravo for Theatre
Espresso’s Benefit
Performance!
Now in residence at Wheelock Family
Theatre (WFT), Theatre Espresso
designs interactive plays to enhance and
deepen history and civics curricula for students
and help them to connect events from the past
with current-day issues of racism, social injustice,
and the evolutionary nature of the law.
Double kudos to Theatre Espresso for demonstrating
how it pursues its mission by holding a special
20th anniversary benefit last March and featuring
excerpts from WFT Producer Wendy Lement’s new
play, Secret Soldiers: Women Who Fought in the Civil War.
The Honorable Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court
(retired) and author of In Defense of Women: Memoirs
of an Unrepentant Advocate, was the keynote speaker.
Proceeds from the event are subsidizing performances
for students in Boston Public Schools at the John
Adams Courthouse, and in Lawrence Public Schools at
Lawrence Heritage State Park.

SCENE ON CAMPUS
Collage by
Mark, age 12
The View from Here
In Towne Art Gallery
The Towne Art Gallery’s The View from Here
exhibit of creative writing and art by patients
at Boston Children’s Hospital provided an
uplifting and inspiring break from Boston’s wintry
weather last February and March. The works on
display were created in the hospital’s Creative Arts
Program, which supports an integrated approach
to caring for the many diverse families and communities
that it serves.
Since 1996, Children’s has used the arts to promote
physical and emotional healing by providing opportunities
for expression and transforming the hospital environment.
Often the works are crafted amidst the beeping of machines,
administering of medications, and ongoing business of hospital
routines. Artwork grows through the cracks in this environment
and allows the individuality of each of the children to
blossom. Thanks to Towne Art Gallery, Wheelock students,
staff, faculty, and visitors got to share the children’s view.
David Friedman Concert
Celebrates the Day
Immediately following the Earl Center for
Learning and Innovation dedication ceremony,
multiplatinum Disney and Broadway composer
and songwriter David Friedman performed
a free concert featuring his songs in the critically
acclaimed revue Listen to My Heart.
The revue was originally performed in New
York at Upstairs at Studio 54; has played numerous
American cities as well as venues in England,
Ireland, Germany, and Australia; and was most
recently seen as the opening show of the new
Stageworks Theatre in Tampa. He is currently
touring the country with the Tampa production,
which was the one performed at Wheelock.
Friedman, whose songs have been used to raise
funds for charitable organizations ranging from
Duke Children’s Hospital to Broadway Cares/Equity
Fights AIDS, has been a visiting artist teaching at
the College during the 2012-13 academic year and
provided the perfect endnote to a perfect day.
Wheelock Magazine 13

SCENE ON CAMPUS
“Kids with autism get
silenced in all kinds
of ways, and we
hoped they would
see themselves in
Pippi. Just as Pippi
has her own unique
set of strengths, and
she experiences her
world differently, so
do kids with autism.”
—Wendy Lement, WFT Producer
WFT Puts On a Pip of an Autism-Friendly
Pippi Longstocking Performance
Broadening its unwavering commitment
to inclusive, communitybased
theater, Wheelock Family
Theatre (WFT) hosted its first theatrical
production adapted specifically for children
with autism and their families on a
Saturday morning in April.
The performance was designed to be
autism-friendly based on autism research,
input from College faculty, and WFT’s
experience with other disability-friendly
performances. The show design used adjusted
sound levels and modified lighting,
and all patrons were offered aisle seats to
ease access. To help families know what to
expect during the show, WFT provided a
social guide in advance and an opportunity
to “meet your seat” at the Theatre the
week prior to the performance. Wheelock
College Autism Club volunteers assisted
on the day of the performance, helping to
create a welcoming and safe environment
for children and their families so that they
could enjoy the show.
This production of Pippi Longstocking
was an adaptation by Thomas W. Olson of
Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren’s muchloved
stories written in the 1940s about an
unconventional and determined 9-yearold.
Pippi’s enduring appeal to children
lies in her strength and resilience in overcoming
what could be seen as overwhelming
obstacles. Her exuberance for life and
her free spirit allow her to see herself as the
heroine of a great adventure.
“Kids with autism get silenced in all
kinds of ways, and we hoped they would
see themselves in Pippi,” says WFT
Producer Wendy Lement. Just as Pippi
has her own unique set of strengths, and
she experiences her world differently, so
do kids with autism. Parents of children
with disabilities can often find themselves
socially and emotionally isolated, with
treatment of children coming within
the strict parameters of a school system.
Wheelock Family Theatre understands
the importance of teaching to children of
multi-intelligences, not through rote content,
but with a focus on problem-solving
through a multisensory approach. Indeed,
one size does not fit all.”
14 Spring/Summer 2013

SCENE ON CAMPUS
2013 Sylvia Earl Innovation Award
Winners Announced
It is only the second year that the Sylvia
Earl Innovation Awards have been given,
but the announcement of who the 2013
recipients would be—and what their proposed
projects would accomplish—was eagerly anticipated
at the all-College end-of-year luncheon
in May. The awards, funded by James “Jim”
and Sylvia Tailby Earl ’54, are intended to
encourage creative ideas for projects that use
technology and can have a measurable impact
on teaching and learning in any and all areas
of the College.
This year, eight proposals were submitted
from across the College. Roy Schifilliti, vice
president for Campus Life and Information
Services, said the proposals were extremely
strong this year, making it difficult to narrow
submissions down to three winners. “This
annual award has really inspired all of our
departments to think strategically about
ways they can use technology to deliver better
service to our students and our community,”
he said.
The STEM App Project: Exciting
Families and Children about STEM
Submitted by Barbara Joseph, Aspire Institute’s
Online Solutions project manager, and Jacob
Murray, Aspire Institute senior director
This award will support expansion of a
2012 project that will include a new collaboration
with a school. The project makes a STEM
application, loaded with interesting activities,
available to parents of children in grades 3 to
5—ages at which children may begin to lose
interest in science—to encourage them to participate
together in STEM activities at home
and discover the relevance of science, technology,
engineering, and math in everyday life.
Technology Initiative for
Paperless Writing Center
Submitted by Gillian Devereux, writing
support specialist at the Writing Center
This project will move the Writing Center
toward becoming paperless and contribute to
the College’s green initiatives while also helping
to prepare students to use digital technology
in the professional world. Rather than keeping
paper records on student writing consultations,
students and faculty can access them digitally
using iPads. Students can also access interactive
grammar exercises, reference websites, and
research tools, giving them ownership of their
development as academic writers.
Livescribe
Submitted by Rachel Buday, coordinator of
Disability Services
Many students, both with and without
disabilities, struggle with taking notes effectively.
This project introduces a tool called
Livescribe, which is described as “a virtual
computer in a pen.” With this device, a
student can record and play back audio, create
interactive files that combine handwritten
notes with simultaneously recorded audio,
and upload and share audio and digital notes,
all while taking notes in the traditional way.
STEM is amazing!
A Lucy Wheelock Award
for Shannon Pittman ’08
Cheers went up as it was announced
at Reunion 2013 that Shannon had
received the Lucy Wheelock Award, which
recognizes a young alumna/us for loyalty
and commitment to involvement in alumni
activities.The recipient’s enthusiasm for and
dedication to the College also inspire alumni
to support Lucy Wheelock in her vision to
improve the lives of children and families.
Shannon has been a member-at-large of the
Alumni Association Board since June 2010;
and this year, he initiated the alumni service
learning trip to Safe Passage in Guatemala.
Their Paw Prints
Are Everywhere
Make some of your own
by going to the
Wildcats website at
www.wheelockwildcats.com.
L to R: Gillian Devereux, Barbara Joseph, Rachel Buday
Wheelock Magazine 15

SCENE ON CAMPUS
Katelyn Coty ’13
Teaching in Ghana on a
Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship
Some opportunities present challenges
that create yet more opportunities.
Such was the case when senior Katelyn
Coty received a Benjamin A. Gilman
Scholarship for the educational and career
development of American students studying
overseas. Sponsored by the U.S. Department
of State’s Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs, the scholarship encourages
students to choose nontraditional study
abroad destinations.
Wheelock’s Center for International
Programs and Partnerships and the Student
Success Department introduced Katelyn
to the scholarship opportunity that funded
a seven-week immersion experience working
as a junior high school teaching intern
in Kpongunor, Ghana, and stretched her
in ways that helped her gain confidence
personally and as a teacher. “Learning about
the culture of Ghana through experience is
much different from learning about it in a
book,” says Katelyn. “I was able to experience
the customs and culture of a different
country, but I also struggled with some
things and, from that, learned what my
strengths are. And that there is hope in
the world.”
The struggles Katelyn faced included
communicating with others who speak a
different language and teaching mathematics,
science, information and communication
technology, and physical education with
limited resources. By applying classroom
knowledge from her major courses of study
and lessons learned from her fieldwork,
Katelyn quickly adapted her teaching style to
fit the needs of her students and used a variety
of simple aids to illustrate concepts. She
used the natural resources around her and
aspects of Ghanaian culture creatively, such
as using the Ampe jumping game to help her
students understand probability.
On weekends, Katelyn had the chance
to travel and learn in a different way. She
feels that touring the slave dungeons in Cape
Coast (Cabo Corso) and learning about the
history of the Triangular Slave Trade where
it actually happened was a life-changing
experience. “At that moment, standing in
the dungeons and hearing stories of slavery, I
was hit with the harsh reality of the past—an
“Katelyn’s passion to serve is exemplary
and consistent with the core
values embedded in the Wheelock
mission: to improve the lives of
children and families globally.”
Katelyn [center of photo] said she
chose to apply for a scholarship
to teach in Ghana because she
wanted to ‘experience a different
culture and understand the world
outside of the bubble I live in.’”
—Dr. Linda A. Davis,
dean of International Programs and Partnerships
experience that had more power than a photo
or book could ever convey,” she says.
Katelyn hopes to be able to return to Ghana
in the near future to see how her students are
progressing and to tell them how proud she
is of their dedication and hard work. “In the
U.S., we are lucky to have a form of education
and people in our lives to support us,” she says.
“I want to take that support and share it with
my Ghanaian students. I want them to be recognized
for the hard work they put into school
and toward improving their futures.”
Katelyn’s experience in Ghana has helped
to shape another aspect of her own future as
well: She now knows that she can push herself
beyond her comfort zone. With a career goal of
teaching within special education, focusing on
students with social and/or emotional disabilities,
she will next apply to graduate school to
study applied behavior analysis. And she plans
to incorporate her Ghanaian experience in her
future classroom lesson plans.
Center for International
Programs and Partnerships
In addition to assisting students in
obtaining scholarships to study overseas,
Wheelock’s Center for International
Programs and Partnerships develops
and delivers globally a range of academic
degree programs, innovative seminars,
and professional development opportunities.The
Center coordinates the College’s
global initiatives, including: degree
programs offered; service learning trips;
academic internships and student and
faculty exchanges; and an International
Presidential Visiting Scholars program
which enriches Wheelock’s on-campus
experiences.
16 Spring/Summer 2013

SCENE ON CAMPUS
Karissa Hultgren ’16MS Candidate
Heading to Mongolia Via Wheelock’s Peace Corps
Master’s International Program
Karissa Hultgren is both nervous and excited about spending the
next two years in Mongolia helping primary school teachers in
the former communist nation reshape their education system.
“My goal is to bridge the gap between families and education,
especially in a country where the education system is fairly new,”
says Karissa, who is enrolled in the Peace Corps Master’s International
(MI) Program at Wheelock. “What Wheelock has taught
me is that there is a big connection between children’s learning and
their families.”
Mongolia, which for decades had been a satellite of the former
Soviet Union, underwent a peaceful revolution in 1990 that ultimately
resulted in a democratically elected government and a transition to a
market economy. Karissa says that the country’s evolving landscape
gives her an opportunity to work with local teachers to apply everything
she has learned at Wheelock during the past year while working
on her master’s degree in educational studies, with a focus on organizational
leadership.
Peace Corps Master’s International Program
at Wheelock
Wheelock’s Peace Corps Master’s International Program gives students
who are interested in Peace Corps service an opportunity to do that
while also fulfilling requirements for a master’s degree. The 30-credit
program begins with approximately one year of courses completed
on the Wheelock campus. Students then earn eight credits of field
study during their 27 months of Peace Corps service. The program
concludes with a one-credit capstone course at Wheelock when the
student returns from service.
“ I’m really excited about going into an environment
where I’m not a native and becoming part of a
different community for a while, seeing how other
people live, and gaining respect for another community
that’s deeper than what a two-week trip
can offer.”
Karissa, who is the first participant in the program to begin her
Peace Corps service, says she has always planned that service would
be one of her career goals, and she thinks the Peace Corps is a perfect
fit for her. “The Peace Corps really does a good job of helping
a community without stepping over boundaries,” she says. “You are
really expected to use your own knowledge and experience, but also
to learn about the culture and use that to inform what you do with
your program.”
A benefit of the Wheelock program, Karissa says, is that it allowed
her to spend the yearlong Peace Corps application process
working on her master’s degree and gaining skills and knowledge
that will be invaluable during her Peace Corps service and beyond.
“The master’s coursework is challenging and focused, and I received
strong support from my Wheelock adviser, [Associate Professor]
Stephanie Cox Suarez, who is a Peace Corps alum, and others at the
College as I went through the complex and often stressful application
process,” she says.
Her Core Goal: Advocacy on Behalf of Families
Karissa’s only previous trip overseas was a two-week service learning
trip to Italy as an undergraduate student at Emmanuel College, where
she earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and secondary
education. She says the extended stay in Mongolia will be a much
richer experience.
“I’m really excited about going into an environment where I’m not
a native and becoming part of a different community for a while, seeing
how other people live, and gaining respect for another community
that’s deeper than what a two-week trip can offer. I’m excited about
seeing the world and using my master’s education to actually do the
work, to apply what I’ve learned.”
Karissa eventually wants to become an international human rights
lawyer, although she acknowledges that her career goals could very
well change as a result of her service in Mongolia. “Whatever my
career ends up being, it will definitely involve some kind of advocacy
on behalf of families,” she says. “That’s my main drive.”
Follow Karissa’s Peace Corps Blog
Karissa will be writing regular blog posts chronicling the Peace Corps
application process and her experiences overseas. Keep up with her
adventures at http://bostonmongolian.wordpress.com.
Wheelock Magazine 17

SCENE ON CAMPUS
Student Service Learning 2013
Wheelock students who participated
in service learning programs last
spring went to New Orleans; Barbados;
Belize; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Benin
and Ghana, West Africa; Wiemar, Buchenwald,
Quedlinburg, and Berlin, Germany; and
South Africa.
Spotlight on Belize
During May, six students traveled to the heart
of Central America as part of the course Neotropical
Ecology, Culture, and Service in Belize,
an introduction to the natural resources of the
tropics, concentrating on ecology, conservation,
and the importance of ecotourism in
the economics of small countries. Belize, a
country that is both biologically and culturally
diverse, provided an excellent location
for guided hikes, boat trips, and snorkeling
activities that gave students opportunities to
observe flora, fauna, and species interactions,
and to discover environmental and conservation
issues revolving around tropical rain
forests, mangrove and river habitats, and coral
reef environments. Students extended their
learning into the community by planning
and engaging in STEM-related activities with
children at Sittee River Methodist School.
Faculty Leaders
Assistant Professor of Math and Science
Dr. Lisa Lobel was the lead faculty member
on this service learning journey. She is an
environmental biologist whose research
interests include understanding effects of
The service learning program was open to Colleges
of the Fenway students; five were from Wheelock.
L to R: Leah Deveau, Criosanna Allred (from
Simmons), John Hathaway, Christina Pressley,
Lea Bartolo, Andrea Driscoll, and faculty leader
Lisa Lobel
Faculty Mentoring Yields Top Research Internships for Students
Mentoring by faculty members is something that alumni
frequently mention as one of the most memorable aspects of
their Wheelock educations.Associate Professor Detris Honora
Adelabu is one such faculty member whose attention to her students and
to matching them with advancement opportunities is helping to make it
possible for three Wheelock undergrads to participate in prime research
experiences the through Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP).
Ivan Jackson ’14, a communications and American studies major,
will spend the summer at Ohio State University conducting research
with Dr. Kevin Brooks in the Department of African American and African
Studies. Katrin Reeder ’15, who is majoring in psychology and human
development/early childhood education, will intern at Michigan State
University and study the emotional lives of children with Associate Professor
of Psychology Dr. Catherine Emily Durbin. Guillermo Caballero ’14,
an American studies/elementary education major, will pursue research at
Purdue University with JoAnn Miller, professor of sociology.
SROP experiences, which are often gateways to graduate school for
many students of color, provide opportunities for intensive academic
research, insights into graduate admissions processes, course credits, and
all-important stipends. Bravo to all!
L to R: Guillermo
Caballero, Katrin Reeder,
and Ivan Jackson
18 Spring/Summer 2013

SCENE ON CAMPUS
Drs. Ellen Faszewski (left) and Lisa Lobel demonstrated
how STEM learning and service are a natural
combination.
contaminants on development, reproduction,
and growth in fishes and how these can be
used as indicators of environmental health.
Her current research projects focus on marine
conservation and include documenting patterns
of marine diversity in the unique ecological
region off the shore of Belize, where she has
conducted research since 1994. She is also
a scuba instructor and provided snorkeling
training on the trip!
Chair and Associate Professor of Math
and Science Dr. Ellen Faszewski is a cell
and developmental biologist whose primary
research interests are amphibian development
and sponge immunology. She is currently involved
in research projects at Mount Holyoke
College and the Marine Biological Laboratory
in Woods Hole. As a recent director of the
Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Environmental
Science Program (now the COF Center for
Sustainability and the Environment) and a
current member of its steering committee, she
also co-organizes and participates in numerous
science-and-the-environment presentations,
workshops, and conferences.
Quack! Quack! Honk! A game of Duck, Duck, Goose—
led by students Leah Deveau and John Hathaway
(seated)—translates internationally.
Assistant Professor of Math and Science
Lisa Lobel (center) in front of the Sittee
River Methodist School in Belize with
Shelmadene Robinson (left), who is
a longtime friend, Sittee River Village
resident, and parent of children at the
school; and Anna Bernandez, former
principal of the school
A New Library Tradition
Larry Wynn ’14 and his family were
honored at a reception in the Wheelock
Library on April 30 when Larry’s mixedmedia
art piece was unveiled in preparation
for its hanging on the first floor of the Library.
The event also celebrated a new Wheelock
tradition of selecting one piece of student art
for purchase and display by the College each
year—an artfully appropriate representation
of student development, creativity, and
achievement. Be sure to take a look next time
you are on campus for a visit!
Wheelock Magazine 19

FACULTY
Jim and Sylvia Earl ’54
opening doors to the future
“ The world is changing with
the advent of technology and
its impact on learning inside
and out of the classroom, and
so must Wheelock College.
Given our mission to make
the world a better place for
children and families, the
College would be remiss if
it did not take intellectual
and pedagogical leadership
on these critical issues. This
generous gift from Sylvia and
Jim allows Wheelock to do
just that.”
—President Jackie Jenkins-Scott
The Sylvia and James Earl Professor
of Technology and Learning
President Jenkins-Scott
leading the cheers
The exuberant atmosphere at the opening of the Earl
Center for Learning and Innovation climbed even higher
when President Jenkins-Scott announced a second transformative
gift from Jim and Sylvia Tailby Earl ’54—funding of the
College’s first endowed professorship, which is named the Sylvia
and James Earl Professor of Technology and Learning.
This is the College’s first endowed professorship and one of the
Five Transformational Firsts—endowment goals established in five
different institutional areas—that The Campaign for Wheelock has
determined are essential for strengthening College resources. The
endowment will support a tenured senior faculty position, which
will contribute to Wheelock’s leadership in higher education and
in the growing role of technology in teaching and learning. Planning
for the position has begun and an appointment is expected
as early as fall 2014.

FACULTY
Vice President of Academic Affairs Joan Gallos
Expresses Wheelock’s Gratitude
“Scholars and historians of
higher education know that
there are marker events in
the history of every college or
university. Events that signal
a significant turning point for
the institution, that provide
“A Marker Event in the
College’s History”
the fuel for a great leap forward,
that stand as a symbol of
a new day, that tell the campus
and the external world that the
institution will not be stopped
in its quest for knowledge and
educational impact.
“Not only are we here to
mark the dedication of this
beautiful and significant new
Center and learning spaces; we
are also all here to bear witness
to one of those marker events in
the history of Wheelock College.
And it is again because of our
dear friends Sylvia and Jim.
“Through another generous
gift, Wheelock College formally
announces today the formation
of its first endowed professorship:
the creation of the Sylvia
and James Earl Professor of
Technology and Learning.
“I don’t think I need to tell
you the importance of this new
professorship and the supports
being made available to leverage
the impact of its work. The
Sylvia and James Earl Professor
of Technology and Learning is a
tenured senior faculty position
that adds faculty bench
strength in a number of important
ways. It enables Wheelock
to enhance the College’s
international thought-leadership,
cutting-edge scholarship,
teaching best practices, and
educational programs in an
area transforming education
and human development: the
evolving role of technology in
learning and teaching.
“In ways I had never expected
when my husband and
I bought our first Osborne
computer to share in 1981, the
world has changed because of
technology—and with it, how
people learn and develop, relate,
communicate, connect, forge
communities, access information,
connect as family, take our
place as global citizens—and
how we teach.
“A scholar-educator with
a well-developed research
agenda furthers our thinking
on these complex issues. A
distinguished senior faculty
member also puts Wheelock
center stage in this increasingly
important area—and
back to where Lucy Wheelock
positioned the College 125
years ago—at the innovative
forefront of education. This
new professorship is a cornerstone
of Wheelock’s strategic
goals to enhance academic
excellence, transform techenabled
learning, and provide
quality education for an emerging
world.
“And I could go on: It
enriches our vibrant campus
culture, provides the foundation
for new partnerships, and positions
Wheelock as a scholarly
hub on issues of technology,
teaching, and learning—and
positions Wheelock in new
ways among its bigger, older,
and better-known institutional
neighbors (on either side of the
river or the world) and at tables
and into national conversations
on teaching and learning to
which the College would not
be invited to now.
“This special gift also comes
at a time when Wheelock College
has set out to expand its
institutional capacities to use
technology to deliver deeper
learning, empower students, increase
access and affordability,
and deliver more strongly and
efficiently on its mission.
“How better to do that
than to complement the wonderful
teaching and research
of our faculty with a new
faculty colleague who can join,
support, and elevate our work.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
Thank you, Sylvia and Jim, for
a gift that will bring academic
excellence to Wheelock for
generations and generations—
helping us prepare today’s
educational and helping professionals
whose work impacts
the children and families of
today and tomorrow.”
“ Our Campaign, which
we named Leading
Innovation and Inspiring
Change, has taken on
new meaning for us as we
celebrate your generosity
today. We now have the
resources to address the
ever-changing landscape of
technology in our learning
community.”
—Campaign Co-Chair
Keena Dunn Clifford ’68
Wheelock Magazine 21

FACULTY
Faculty Serve Beyond
the College Campus
Faculty members in
every one of the College’s
academic areas
contribute a tremendous
amount and
variety of scholarship through their
research, journal and book publications,
conference presentations and
scholarly lectures, artistic work,
and faculty-student collaborations.
Beyond producing a constant
flow of intellectual contributions,
faculty are also active throughout
the academic year and during the
summer months providing professional
service to their fields and to
wider communities outside of our
campus community. They advocate,
teach, and serve in schools,
libraries, arts organizations, and
towns throughout the state, nationally,
and internationally.
The Center for Scholarship and
Research’s recent annual newsletter
highlighted just some of the ways
that Wheelock faculty served
beyond the College campus during
the past year.
Professional Service
Joan Gallos (Academic Affairs) serves on
the editorial board of the Journal of Management
Education. In addition, she is on the
editorial board of the Journal of Management
Inquiry, Reflections on Experience section.
Eric Silverman (American Studies and
Human Development) serves on the School
Committee of the Framingham Public Schools.
Working under the umbrella of VSA
(Very Special Arts) Massachusetts and
Grace Kim
its new COOL model (Creative Outlook
on Learning), Marianne Adams (Arts)
offered two workshops for K-8 educators
titled “The Play’s the Thing: Drama and
Critical Thinking in the Language Arts
Classroom.” These workshops provided
teachers with tools and concrete applications
for using drama primarily in the English
language arts classroom.
In addition, Adams is working with the
Condon Elementary School in South Boston
for a third year as a VSA Massachusetts teaching
artist. She works with second-graders and
their teachers, using an arts-based Universal
Design for Learning model with students to
build comprehension skills, and a demonstration
coaching model with teachers to develop
curriculum-focused integrated arts skills.
Akeia Benard (American Studies) is the
co-president of the New England American
Studies Association.
Jeff Winokur (Elementary Education)
gave the keynote address on “Connecting
Science and Literacy Through Talk, Writing,
and Reading” at a public school’s professional
development day in Sandwich, MA.
Marcia Folsom (Humanities) gave a talk
at the Swampscott Public Library titled “Five
Reasons Why We Still Read and Love the
Novels of Jane Austen.”
William Sharp (Human Development)
led a group of grade 10 teachers from
Charlestown High School through 10
supervisions on “Working with the Difficult
Student.” The sessions were designed and
put into use based on a therapy model that
highlights how school-based learning issues
can be expressed in transference, resistance,
and countertransference and reflected in
Janine Bempechat
such areas as grades, attendance, boundaries,
and acting out.
Sharp also taught “Connecting with Students
in a Computer Age: Building Healthy
Relationships” to Boston public school teachers.
This class allowed teachers to think (and
feel) about how to connect with students in
a constructive way and work through their
own resistances to learning and succeeding
in school.
Janine Bempechat (Human Development)
serves on the editorial review board of
Teachers College Record. She also served this
year as an ad hoc reviewer for several journals,
including Educational Psychology, Association of
Mexican American Educators Journal, and Asia
Pacific Education Review.
Irwin Nesoff (Leadership) is a volunteer
management consultant for Executive Service
Corps of New England. In addition, he gave
a three-part workshop series on “Succession
Planning for Nonprofits,” which was sponsored
by BNY Mellon.
Last summer, Ellie Friedland (Early
Childhood Education) led a professional
development workshop for teachers and volunteers
at Safe Passage (founded by Hanley
Denning ’96MS) in Guatemala and led
workshops for public school teachers with the
Guatemala Reading Association and the Guatemala
Literacy Project of the International
Reading Association.
For two years, Friedland has also served
as the consulting director and created and
performed HIV/AIDS educational theater
for the AWARE Theatre Ensemble, which is
associated with the Multicultural AIDS Coalition
in Boston. And she has participated in
drama workshops at the Ivy Street School in
Brookline for adolescents with brain injuries
22 Spring/Summer 2013

FACULTY
Irwin Nesoff
Ellie Friedland
and planned shared programs with the school
and Wheelock Family Theatre for this spring
and summer.
Grace Kim (Human Development) was
invited to Boston College University Counseling
Services in Chestnut Hill to discuss
her work, “Astronaut Families and Parachute
Kids: East Asian American Transnational
Families and Clinical Implications.” She also
serves as the co-chair of the Asian American
Psychological Association (AAPA) leadership
fellows program and is finishing her term as
board member of the AAPA Executive Committee.
And she served as an ad hoc reviewer
for several peer-reviewed journals, including
Asian American Journal of Psychology, Cultural
Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, Journal
of Research on Adolescence, and Equity &
Excellence in Education.
Diane Levin ’69MS (Early Childhood
Education) spoke at the Winnetka Alliance
for Early Childhood, gave the keynote
address “Beyond Remote Control Teaching
and Learning,” and led a parent session titled
“Beyond Remote Control Childhood.”
Advocacy, Community
Service, and Partnerships
Diane Levin ’69MS (Early Childhood
Education) has been serving as the co-founder,
with Nancy Carlsson-Paige, and senior
adviser of Defending the Early Years, a project
that calls for early childhood educators to
Joan Gallos
speak out on how policies and reforms impact
early childhood education.
Irwin Nesoff (Leadership) serves at Mass
Mentoring Partnership, a youth mentoring program,
where he provides a monthly leadership
training seminar for their AmeriCorps staff.
Paul Thayer (Child Life and Family
Studies) presented three workshops: “Working
with Grieving Families,” “Professional
Boundaries in Early Intervention,” and
“Bereavement Theories and Why They
Matter.” He also serves as a regular facilitator
for Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate
Care Rounds at Tufts Medical Center, the
VA Medical Center in West Roxbury, and
Aetna Healthcare.
Dwight Datcher
Wheelock Names New Athletic Director
Following a nationwide search,Wheelock has named Dwight Datcher to be the College’s new
athletics director. Datcher will provide direction and oversight for the entire intercollegiate, intramural,
and recreational athletics program, including staff, student-athletes, and facilities. He has
an extensive background in athletics with more than 20 years of experience as a coach and athletics
administrator. He has served as athletics director at Howard University, and, during his four-year tenure,
he bolstered programs to assist student-athletes’ academic progress and ensure their high quality of life.
Before joining Howard University, Datcher served in associate and assistant athletics director roles
at Georgetown University. During this time, he directed six sports programs, supervised facilities, and
acted as event manager for all on-campus activities. And before his arrival at Georgetown, he was also
the athletics director at University of the District of Columbia and Roger Williams University. During the
1970s, Datcher was an assistant coach under John Thompson, a Hall of Fame basketball coach.
“I am excited and honored to join Wheelock College as their new director of athletics,” Datcher says.
“[Meeting] the faculty and staff solidified my perception of Wheelock
as an institution that strives to create a just world for children
and families, with a strong commitment to the total being
of the student-athletes.”
Datcher received his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology
from Roger Williams University.
Wheelock Magazine 23

FACULTY
Wheelock Faculty Awards Go to
Advance Teaching and Scholarship
Commencement ceremonies and the final all-
College meeting of the academic year are wonderful
celebrations of and for members of the
on-campus Wheelock community. It is a time of great
anticipation for faculty especially, when Wheelock fellowship
awards that advance their work are announced.
Applause, applause for this year’s recipients and the
excellence in teaching and research they demonstrate!
“ Teaching at Wheelock offers me so many opportunities to
grow as a teacher and a professional because I am able to
make sincere connections with passionate students and inspiring
colleagues. Such a learning environment enables me
to support student strengths and interests.” —Dr. Jenne Powers
Gordon Marshall Award Winners
Dr. Eric Silverman and Dr. Lenette Azzi-Lessing
Dr. Eric Silverman and Dr. Lenette Azzi-Lessing are the 2013 recipients
of Wheelock’s Gordon L. Marshall Fellowship Award.
Gordon Marshall was president of Wheelock College from 1973 to
1983 and was dedicated to creating academic resources for students
and faculty. This fund, named in his honor, provides prestigious
teaching and scholarship fellowships for tenured and tenure-track
faculty members.
Dr. Silverman’s award will allow him to conduct ethnographic fieldwork
in Papua New Guinea during summer 2014 and to update and
complete the writing of a book manuscript (which is under contract
at the University of Hawaii Press) titled Primitive Art in a Postmodern
World: Totems, Tourists, and Sepik River Aesthetics.
Dr. Azzi-Lessing will use her fellowship to write a book that addresses
the cycle of child poverty in the United States. The book, In Defense of
Welfare Mothers: Breaking the Shameful Cycle of Poverty for Our Youngest
Children, will examine the forces that have shifted public opinion to be
largely against aiding low-income, single mothers, and why this must
change in order to prevent long-term poverty for children.
Cynthia Longfellow
Award
Dr. Jenne Powers
Wheelock named Dr. Jenne
Powers, assistant professor of
humanities and writing and director
of the Writing Center, as winner of
the 2013 Cynthia Longfellow Excellence
in Teaching Award. The award
is given annually to a nontenured
faculty member to acknowledge and
honor distinguished teaching and
the promise of continued excellence in teaching at the College. The
award honors the memory of the late Cynthia Longfellow, a Wheelock
faculty member in human development who was known as a superb
teacher and a great supporter, friend, and adviser to students.
Recipients of the award are faculty members who inspire academic
excellence in students and who create strong connections to students
through teaching, mentoring, and advising. One student said of
Powers: “She has helped me learn how I learn best and has helped me
understand literature on a deeper level. She is an inspiration, and I will
always look to her as a role model. She has shown me exactly what a
perfect teacher looks like.” Another wrote: “I believe the heart of her
teaching lies in this: She understands learning as a process rather than
an outcome, one that can take wildly different forms for every student
in her classroom. In what seems like magic, she teaches me while
standing in front of a classroom of 25.”
Edward H. Ladd
Award
Dr. Barbara Rosenquest
Associate Professor of Early Childhood
Education Dr. Barbara
Rosenquest received the 2013 Edward
H. Ladd Award for Academic
Excellence and Service, which recognizes
an outstanding member of the
tenured faculty for their commitment
and contributions to the mission of
the College. The award is a tribute
to Edward “Ted” Ladd, who has served on the Wheelock College Board
of Trustees for more than 25 years and chaired the Board for 10 of those
years. In honor of his service to Wheelock and his commitment to the
College faculty, his family and friends created this senior faculty award.
Dr. Rosenquest is a faculty member and leader who demonstrates
extraordinary dedication to academic excellence and to service at
Wheelock. Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Joan Gallos, who
presented the award, described Rosenquest as the personification of the
criteria for this award and named many of her attributes: a professional
dedicated to the intellectual and emotional development of her students,
in and out of the classroom; a leader in defining meaningful service and
its significance for the Wheelock community; and a teacher devoted to
improving the world of teacher education and the care and education of
our children, infants, and toddlers.
“Our community is richer and livelier for this year’s recipient—and
our students are very lucky,” Dr. Gallos said.
24 Spring/Summer 2013

FACULTY
B
Wheelock Magazine 25

ALUMNI NETWORK
Turn-of-the-19th-century
Wheelock graduates
OUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
IS 121 YEARS OLD—
Wheelock’s first group of six alumnae graduated from Miss
Wheelock’s one-year kindergarten teacher preparation
program on June 6, 1889. United by a common experience
and cause, they were also active organizers. Within three years, they
and several more graduates established the Alumni Association that
today serves more than 15,000 Wheelock alumnae/i worldwide.
The First 10 Years
1892: The Wheelock Alumnae Association of Graduates is formed,
with Ella Smith Wheelock 1892, sister-in-law of Lucy Wheelock,
elected president.
1897: Five years later, the alumnae pin is designed. Its triangular
shape with a circle of white enamel in the center and the
gold cube, sphere, and cylinder shapes in the corners of the
triangle represent the famed Froebel Gifts developed for
Friedrich Froebel’s original kindergarten in 1837.
1902: The graduating class size has grown to 58, and the Alumnae
Association changes its name to the Lucy Wheelock Kindergarten
Alumnae Association.
Annual Membership Fee: $1 • Lifetime Membership Fee: $25
Froebel Frieze Pop Quiz
(Answers below)
1. Who were the children who
modeled for the Froebel Frieze,
now located above the Wheelock
Library entrance?
2. What famous architects were
educated using the Froebel Gifts
pictured in the frieze?
1. Sons and daughters of Wheelock alumnae
2. Frank Lloyd Wright, Buckminster Fuller, and
many other notable architects and artists
were educated with the Froebel Gifts.
26 Spring/Summer 2013

ALUMNI NETWORK
“Two, four, six, eight—who do we appreciate?”
Alumni Association Presidents
A Salute to Kathryn Jones ’96MS (left below), who is transitioning out of her position
as president of the Alumni Association Board after two years. Thanks for your great leadership
of the Board and your service to all of our alumni, Kathryn.
A Big Welcome to Sara Hosmer ’93BSW, who comes onto the Board as its newly
elected president.
Alumni Donors
“ I gave because Wheelock gave
to me. I gave because when
I left Wheelock, I was ready
to be a teacher. I gave because
my professors taught me the
way I needed to be taught.
I gave because Wheelock
understands what children
and families need.”
And a Great Big Thank-You to Recent Past Presidents of the Alumni Association!
Front row, L to R: Mila J. Moschella ’75, Joan Anderson Watts ’65/’83MS, and Betsy
Dewey Giles ’53 with President Jenkins-Scott; second row, L to R: Bonnie Page
’76/’92MS, Linda Banks-Santilli ’85, Tina Morris Helm ’64/’98MS, and Sandy Christison
’92MS; top row, Beverly Tarr Mattatall ’72 and Barbara Tarr Drauschke ’72
Support the
125th Anniversary
Giving Challenge
Wheelock College’s 125th anniversary
year of celebration
continues, and there is still
time to participate in a most productive
way by contributing to the Annual Fund.
A series of matching gift challenges has
been established for all donor levels. We
hope these matches encourage alumni,
as well as staff and students, to renew or
increase their support for Wheelock—
or make their first contributions!
There are as many individual reasons
to support the 125th Anniversary Giving
Challenge as there are alumni. Dualdegree
Alumni Association Board member
Katherine Clunis D’Andrea ’97/’98MS
has several. What are yours?
Wheelock Magazine 27

R EUNION
So cool in our Ray-Bans!
Reunion 2013, held on the same
May 31-June 2 weekend as Wheelock’s
125th Anniversary Founder’s
Luncheon, was extra-celebratory
for the lucky alumni from classes ending in
3 and 8 who attended. Just like all Wheelock
Reunions, though, the best part was the chance
for classmates and dear friends to reconnect
and share memories of their College years—
and create more good times at Reunion events!
Whoooosh—It’s the sound of alumni activities
cascading through the weekend: touring
the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum . . .
exploring what’s new on campus (hint: the
fabulous new Earl Center for Learning and
Innovation and Larsen Alumni Room) . . .
meeting up for the President’s Reception and
Dinner . . . off to tour Fenway Park . . . take
a Boston Duck Tour . . . kayak on the Charles
. . . back to the free coffee bar . . . to the young
alumni reception at Game On . . . dinner time
. . . movie night . . . a Theatre Espresso performance
. . . Cabaret . . . plus plenty of catching
up to do—the best activity of all.
Follow the piper
Foreverfriends
Silliness abounds
Gertrude “Gert” Van Iderstine Phillips
’43-’44 . . . Everyone’s favorite

2 • 0 • 1 • 3
Reunion Class Prizes
Can the competition—or shall we call it “enthusiasm”—
get any stronger for the Reunion class prizes? Alumni who will be celebrating
at Reunion 2014 (classes ending in 4 and 9), take note of
what was achieved at this banner Reunion.
Class of 1963 The Gertrude Abbihl Prize
Class with the highest percentage of alumni in attendance
Class of 1953 The Beulah Angell Wetherbee Prize
Class with the highest percentage of donors to the Annual Fund
Class of 1963 The Dr. Frances Graves Prize
Class that raised the largest gift to the College since its last Reunion
Reunion Gifts Totaled More Than $800,000!
Thank you, one and all!
Happy Birthday, Alumni!
A New Home for the Larsen Alumni Room
The Larsen Alumni Room has been lived in and loved for many years and will
be “home” for alumni visiting the campus for many decades to come. But now,
you will find it located in wonderful new space on the top floor of the recently
completed modern addition to the Activities East Building. Members of the Larsen family,
the Class of 1953, and the Alumni Association gathered with President Jenkins-Scott
on Saturday afternoon of Reunion Weekend to rededicate the room. During the closing
months of this anniversary year, a collection of older and new alumni mementos will be
installed for permanent display in the room.
Wheelock was delighted to have Holly McAlpine Dulac ’80 and Jim McAlpine
represent the Larsen family and join President Jenkins-Scott in cutting the ribbon on the
rededicated space. Four generations of Larsen alumni have attended Wheelock. In 1987,
the Larsen family made a gift in memory of Carolyn Bonney Larsen ’30, a dedicated
College volunteer, to renovate the original Alumni Room. Carolyn’s mother, Laura
Shapleigh Bonney 1905; daughter, Sally Larsen McAlpine ’53; and granddaughter,
Holly McAlpine Dulac ’80, all graduated from the College.
Sally Clark Sloop ’68 and her son, Peter, gave a hit
presentation mapping the experiences of families
affected by autism.
It’s outta the pahk
Peace rally
The Class of 1953, celebrating their 60th Reunion,
honored the memory of their classmate Sally Larsen
McAlpine ’53 with an elegant mirror engraved with
her name and the names of others in their class
who have passed away.
Wheelock Magazine 29

125th Anniversary
Founder’s Luncheon
Greetings from Alumni
Association President
Kathryn Jones
Under thebigtop—all the smiling faces
30 Spring/Summer 2013

Happy Birthday,
W HEELOCK COLLEGE
Alumni from
every class
are known
for making
a difference
by taking on
special causes
and challenges.
Afestive week of ribboncutting
events and
Reunion Weekend
activities culminated
in a grand and joyful Founder’s Luncheon
held at the president’s residence
in Brookline on the afternoon of June 2.
Nearly 200 alumni celebrated along with
faculty and guests under a huge tent,
air-conditioned due to record-breaking
“summer” temperatures and humidity.
Not to worry—nothing could dampen
the high-flying spirit of Wheelock College’s
official birthday party!
In her welcoming remarks, President
Jenkins-Scott emphasized that Wheelock’s
125th anniversary year is not only
a time to celebrate the remarkable history
of our beloved College and its unique
mission, but also a time to recognize
the more than 15,000 alumni who live that mission daily around the
globe. “Generations of Wheelock graduates have shared Miss Wheelock’s
conviction that ‘the one thing that makes life worth living is to serve a
cause,’ a conviction that today’s alumni continue to hold with a passion
that is distinctly ‘Wheelock,’” she said.
The ceremonial cutting of the cake
We Pay Tribute to All Alumni . . .
“Amongst our alumni are preschool teachers, professors, social workers,
policy and justice advocates, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, child
life professionals, artists, authors, philanthropists, lifelong volunteers,
Peace Corps workers, leaders of government agencies, and founders of
schools and NGOs who serve in rural and urban communities across
the country and in many, many locations internationally. We pay tribute
to all alumni who every day put their educations to work caring for
others, leading in their communities, and making a difference in the
lives of children and families, who are the future of our world.”
Outgoing Alumni Association President Kathryn Jones ’96MS
lauded the work of all Wheelock alumni by describing the accomplishments
of several graduates who were among 125 representative
alumni included in an anniversary publication distributed at the
luncheon. President Jenkins-Scott called them “the mirror image of
Wheelock alumni everywhere” and presented those who were in
attendance with awards recognizing their commitment to inspiring
a world of good.
Grand Finale Event
Global Challenges and Opportunities Facing
Children, Youth and Families
President Jenkins-Scott also spoke about Lucy Wheelock’s commitment
to internationalism and her 1911 expedition to Europe, when
she led 90 U.S. educators to see the teachings of Friedrich Froebel in
action and to exchange ideas and experiences with education leaders
in Antwerp, Berlin, Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Zurich.
It was the perfect introduction to a discussion of the grand finale
event the College planned for its quasquicentennial celebration
year—the first Wheelock College international conference, titled
Global Challenges and Opportunities Facing Children, Youth and Families,
which addressed important issues affecting children, youth, and
families in education, health, and human rights across the globe.
With everyone inspired by Wheelock’s legacy and its mission—
past, present, and future—there was nothing more
to do but raise a toast and our voices in song:
“Happy Birthday to Wheelock,” of course. And
cut and eat the cake!
Faculty & Alumni Reunion

ALUMNI NETWORK
ALUMNI
SPOTLIGHT
Nancy and her students demonstrate the expressively
floppy elephant ears for an upcoming
production of What If All the Elephants Die? She
credits Pete Hengen for designing and building
amazing sets for her annual productions; musical
collaborator Victor Giordano for giving life to her
lyrics; and her sister, Deane Pippin, for the brilliant
pastels and paintings she provides for the sets.
Nancy Blumenthal Lewis ’74
Learning Social Justice through People’s History Plays
Revolutionary America and the
contradiction between slavery and
freedom (Take That King George!)
or Cesar Chavez gaining rights for
migrant workers (To Be a Leader)
might not be themes typically found
in plays put on by second-graders—
unless you’re attending one by
Nancy Blumenthal Lewis ’74 and
her students, who think social justice
is just the ticket to a great story
and more.
Nancy has been writing plays
and songs with her students
and helping them to prepare
for performances for 20 years—
an aspect of her early childhood educator
role that she says has become as important
as being responsible for in-class curriculum
content in reading, math, social studies,
and overall child development.
At the time of her interview in May,
Nancy was finalizing preparations on the
latest play she is staging with children in her
second-grade class at the McDonogh School
in Baltimore. What If All the Elephants
Die?—about elephant conservation efforts
to stop poachers in Kenya who harvest the
gentle and highly intelligent animals for
their ivory tusks—is set to go, except for
the ears on the elephant costumes. They are
resisting hitting the “expressively floppy”
design target—a minor problem on the long
list of details that absorb Nancy and all of
the children during the sometimes chaotic
run-up to production.
Everyone Contributes
and Collaborates
Nancy’s productions are not simple, and they
depend on every child’s involvement, from
writing and dealing with inconsistencies in
character or theme to being prepared to handle
onstage missteps. “As we go through rehearsals,
the kids will raise questions regarding the subject
matter, especially if it is about a topic we’ve
studied. Together we discuss the script or what
the actor is doing. Sometimes they have a better
take on how to convey the story line,” she says.
“The process facilitates a greater depth of thinking
for all of us; it becomes extremely collaborative
and helps children take on the personas of
the people they portray more comfortably, and
gives the story line a wonderful flow.”
“Preparation, preparation, preparation” is
Nancy’s mantra for ensuring that performances
are a successful experience for everyone.
“I make a point of our being completely
prepared and well-rehearsed so the children
will feel secure and confident on stage by
performance time,” she says. “They know the
blocking and lighting cues and do much of
the backstage organizing themselves, because
they know I will be back in the booth during
show time, and they will have to handle whatever
happens on stage themselves.”
Nancy believes that challenging young
children to be responsible for an entire per-
32 Spring/Summer 2013

formance teaches them to support each other,
be cooperative, and develop self-confidence.
“I orchestrate the show, but I’ve learned to
be very clear about the difficulties of pulling
a play together, and I see them step up to do
their part, share their ideas, and help find
ways of making it work better—to think on
their feet together, and become their own
little acting troupe. There is a tremendous
amount of growth and development that goes
on every year during production season.”
That the plays are so much fun and so
important to the children in Nancy’s class
makes them a great academic motivator. “I try
to get them to the point in the year where they
are very strong academically. Everyone is in the
‘go’ mode in mathematics and writing,” she
explains. “By early spring when I write the play
and give the kids their parts, they have internalized
expectations and are self-motivated. The
time we put into the play is balanced out by
their wonderful effort on schoolwork.”
Fairness and Empathy—
A Natural Connection for Children
Nancy’s signature success with social justice
plays and songs combines the solid foundation
in understanding how young children think
and learn that she acquired at Wheelock with a
Howard Zinn, people’s history approach to social
studies subjects. She believes this approach
is perfectly in sync with young children’s
intense interest in fairness, developing sense of
empathy, and need to make sense of the world.
“I believe that children have an innate sense
of right and wrong, of fairness,” Nancy says.
“In general, we can help kids use their sense
of fairness by talking about and acting on examples
that occur daily. In my class, we discuss
how talking about doing the right thing is easy,
but acting on it is much more difficult.
“During the last number of years, as I’ve
realized the preponderance of bullying that
1996 A Year and A Day, the story of Martin Luther
King Jr. and the Alabama bus boycott
1997 Black History Hall of Fame, famous African-
Americans come to life in the Black History
Museum
1998 Take That King George!, Revolutionary
America and the contradiction between slavery
and freedom
1999 Starletta Silvane Rides Again, a young
heroine saves her town from local outlaws
2000 Planet Zen, a historical overview of women’s
rights, from corsets to denim jeans!
2001 The State We’re In!, a look at Maryland’s
early history, the Calvert Family, and
Margaret Brent
2002 Carter G. and John McD., who take a
journey together and explore highlights of
black history
2002 Light of Day, the story of the Underground
Railroad and Benjamin Lundy, Frederick Douglass
and William Lloyd Garrison,Angelina and Sarah
Grimke, and Lucretia Mott
2003 The Galimoto and the Train, the history of
canals, steamboats, and steam engines in the
U.S. and a developing friendship between a
young girl in South Africa and another in the U.S.
2003 Fossilize, a group of children go to a summer
camp and discover a living dinosaur!
exists and future cyber dangers that lie ahead
of children, I’ve learned how important it is
for young children to have lots of conversation
all along the way about these issues, their
rights, and standing up for what they feel is
right or wrong.”
“As I’ve done more of the plays, I’ve learned
that playing character roles—walking in
another person’s shoes—leads children to share
in different life experiences emotionally and
empathetically. Social justice themes interest
children because in their daily lives they’re
struggling all the time with understanding
Buffalo Soldiers
on stage
Plays Written and Produced by Nancy Lewis
Alumni who are interested in Nancy’s plays and music
may contact her at nlewis@mcdonogh.org.
2004 Maryland Stories, scenes from the early
state of Maryland: Francis Scott Key and
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” Eubie Blake and
the first black Broadway musical
2005 Starletta Silvane Goes to Alaska, returning
for a northern adventure
2006 The Dogfish and the Submarine, a tale of two
children saving a memer of an endangered species,
the dogfish, and returning him to his family
2007 Moon Walk, the young Martin Luther King Jr.,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and what shaped their
ideas about helping others
2008 To Be a Leader, teaching about Cesar Chavez,
and his leadership in the struggle for justice and
the rights of migrant workers
2009 Never Give Up!, about the slave Oney Judge’s
walk to freedom and Gandhi’s leading the East
Indian people to freedom from England
2010 Wassaja, the first Native American doctor,
Carlos Montezuma; his early life; and his dedication
to saving lives
2011 Hawaii, What Really Happened?, a play
about Queen Lili’uokalani and the U.S. takeover
of Hawaii
2012 Renewable Energy, looking at connections
among the move from a coal-based industry to
solar and wind power; the Breaker Boys in the
coal mines; and Mother Jones, the voice of labor
right and wrong, fairness, difference, and their
own and other people’s needs and wants.
People’s History and Social Justice
Nancy hopes that what happens in her classroom
and in her play productions will be part
of a learning continuum for her students that
will be lifelong. That, after all, is what first
sparked her personal interest in plays that teach
social studies subjects from a people’s history
perspective.
“I started with plays about black history,
and my own awareness and passion about social
justice themes increased as I began to peel
back the layers and realize my own ignorance
about so much,” she explains. “I wanted to
shine a light on what I never learned, and what
isn’t generally known or understood because it
hasn’t been taught in the standard curriculum
or in history books that focus on great white
leaders and events rather than on the lives of
ordinary people who contribute so much to
social change, and whose stories can actually be
more approachable and interesting.”
Nancy doesn’t find it difficult to bring less
well-known stories into her social studies curriculum.
“If we are learning about the history
of Maryland, I can teach about Francis Scott
continued on page 34
Wheelock Magazine 33

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Amy loves
a challenge!
Amy Brown Steinberg ’03
Finalist in Great American Teach-Off
It is no surprise that Amy Brown Steinberg ’03 was one of the
final contestants in the Great American Teach-Off. GOOD
magazine, a quarterly print publication for people “who want to
live well while doing good,” partnered with University of Phoenix to
hold the second annual Great American Teach-Off to support and celebrate
deserving teachers. Votes were solicited for pioneering teachers
who develop innovative lessons and engage students beyond textbook
teaching. The winner received a $10,000 classroom grant.
Amy is a fifth-grade teacher at a small school on the coast of
New Hampshire. A self-proclaimed “science nerd,” Amy enjoys
conducting experiments with her students. They also like to take
to nearby trails to track animals and translate the language of the
birds they hear. Amy invites experts from around the school area to
talk with her students about topics of the units they are studying,
encouraging them to explore different learning paths and find their
passions. She believes that every child who enters her classroom has
endless potential, and her purpose as a teacher is to find an avenue
through which that potential can be accessed and expressed.
Congratulations, Amy!
Nancy Blumenthal Lewis ’74 continued from page 33
Key, who wrote the national anthem, but
also about Thomas Kennedy, who worked to
pass Maryland’s bill that gave Jewish men the
right to vote in 1826, or Margaret Brent, who
advocated for women’s right to vote as early as
1649. Their stories can get children thinking
Cars from The Galimoto
and the Train
concretely about the concepts of freedom and
justice at a very early age.”
What she does find hard is taking the brutality
that exists in history and finding a way
to make it appropriate for children without
skipping over or sugarcoating it. “Taking controversial
material and finding ways to put it
in the voice of 7- and 8-year-olds, while keeping
it entertaining for them and their audience
and without preaching or pointing fingers is
a challenge,” she says. “Music, songs, humor,
and learning that taking action changes things
work wonders.”
Which brings Nancy back to her current
production of What If All the Elephants
Die?, a play she has dedicated to Lawrence
Anthony, the international conservationist
and environmentalist who died last year.
“We just had a discussion about Anthony
and doing the right thing as the 14 kids
were involved in painting elephants for scenery,”
she says. “His life is a huge example of
someone taking action and protecting those
who can’t protect or speak up for themselves.
I think the kids feel empowered when they
know about these individuals and what you
can do when something doesn’t ‘feel right.’
As one child said, ‘Follow your instincts.’”

ALUMNI NETWORK
Look what you can do with a
Marjorie Wolf Memorial Grant!
Lynn Beebe ’73 received a Marjorie Wolf Memorial Grant
last year and created a dynamic science education program
for preschoolers in La Conner, WA. The goal of her project,
Salmon Study: An Introduction to Life Cycles, Ecology, and Fish
in a Native American Context, was to increase the students’ powers
of observation and their ability to describe what they observed.
“In the fish unit, the class observed live fish in the classroom
aquarium, looked at fish in books, drew fish, and observed salmon
at the Samish Hatchery,” Lynn says. “They returned to the hatchery
in late winter to view the young salmon hatched from the eggs
that they saw collected last fall. The class has also gone on a field
trip to the Breazeale Interpretive Center at the Padilla Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve to study estuaries and has taken
a trip to the salmon stream restoration project at Lone
Tree Point, which is a traditional salmon fishing area
still used today. In the classroom, they learned the
names of parts of a fish, the stages of the life cycle
of the salmon, and the predators of salmon, and
they have used puppets to act out these stages.”
Do you have
an idea for a project
that improves the lives of
children and families? Find out
about applying for a Marjorie Wolf
Memorial Grant today by calling
Alumni Relations Director
Lauren Marquis at
(617) 879-2328.
The “Making a Difference”
Service Award
Ruth Angier Salinger ’53
& Kristen Quinn Shorey ’93
The Alumni Association recognized two alumnae
at Reunion whose professional and volunteer
work exemplifies the Wheelock mission and honored
them with the “Making a Difference” Service
Award. Kristen (right) has dedicated her career to
children with special needs and is a tireless advocate
for them. Ruth, a lifelong civil rights activist
and social policy advocate, said upon receiving her
award: “Wheelock has taught me that when people of
goodwill use that will to confront challenges together,
beneficial change most often happens.”
Wheelock Magazine 35

ALUMNI NETWORK
SUMMER READING SELECTION
When the Emperor
Was Divine
by Julie Otsuka
Wheelock’s Summer Reading Program—
which selects a book for first-year students
and all members of the campus community
to read during the summer—is an excellent
introduction to the college experience for incoming
students and provides a great chance for everyone in
the extended College community to join in a conversation
around important ideas. It also offers alumni a
great recommendation for their own reading lists.
This summer’s book is When the Emperor Was Divine,
an emotionally compelling, fictional account of
a family’s experience living in a Japanese internmentt
camp during World War II that is narrated from the
points of view of different family members. Michiko
Kakutani wrote about it in The New York Times:
“The hardships Japanese-Americans were subjected
to during these years
emerge obliquely
in these chapters.
The glimpses of
the depression
and dislocation
suffered by those
interned, the small
and not-so-small
slights delivered
by former friends
and neighbors
upon their return,
the fracturing of
lives and dreams;
these are all the more powerful for being under-
stated, for being delineated as simple day-to-day
realities in one family’s story.”
The novel was selected by a group of Wheelock
faculty who evaluated many books recommended
for the summer reading program by other faculty
members and staff according to three criteria: alignment
with Wheelock’s mission, balance between
intellectual merit and accessibility, and connection
to the transformative first-year college experience.
Otsuka’s novel stands out in all three categories.
TIP: The publisher Anchor Books,
a division of Random House, offers a free
teachers guide for When the Emperor Was Divine
as an added resource.
“After the final chapter of any book, we find printed in
capital letters: THE END. If the book is at all worth-while, it is not
the end of the book. It will remain in the minds of its readers
as a source of information or of inspiration.”
NEW BOOKS BY ALUMNI AUTHORS
Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir
by Deborah Miranda ’83
Deborah Miranda ’83 visited campus last
March to read from and discuss her new
novel, Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir, in
which she blends narrative, poetry, photographs,
anthropological recordings, and more into a
mosaic memoir
of her own
life and that
of her people,
the California
Indians.
An excerpt
from education
activist and
writer Bev-
erly Slapin’s
review of
Deborah’s
work reads:
“Some childhood memo-
ries, some faded photographs, some snippets
of stories written down word for word by an
anthropologist, some paragraphs from old text
books. A lesser author might have crafted a novel
spanning the generations, a linear novel, maybe
a chapter for each character. But Deborah didn’t
and wouldn’t do that; it would have dishonored
her ancestors. Rather, she looks at what is—the
pieces, the shards of a broken mirror—and interprets,
imagines, wonders. If she doesn’t know a
thing, she says so. Throughout, she is in awe of
the voices, drawings, photos, whatever she can
find—all treasured gifts, entrusted to her by the
elders and ancestors she never got to meet.”
My Grandma Loves to Play
by Winifred “Oyoko” Loving ’72MS
today’s busy world, with
“In busy children and even
busier parents, grandmothers
can provide a differentent
kind of play and learning,
grounding us and slowing us
down with their generosity of
spirit and simplicity so that we
don’t miss essential lessons
embedded in the game,”
Oyoko Loving writes about
her new book, My Grandma
—Lucy Wheelock
Loves to Play. Throughout the book, Grandma
cleverly engages her “pumpkin” in a game of
peekaboo while guessing her granddaughter’s
whereabouts with a series of fun, rhyming questions.
The interaction between the two shows the
importance of the dynamics of play, pretending,
and communication across generations and how
grandmothers dispense a healthy dose of teaching
and learning through play.
Yo-Yo & Yeou-Cheng Ma,
Finding Their Way
by Ai-Ling Louie ’76MS
Ai-Ling Louie’s first book, Yeh-Shen: A
Cinderella Story from China, is a folk tale
passed down from her grandmother and
one of the oldest written Cinderella stories in the
world, predating
the European
version. When
Ai-Ling noticed
there weren’t
many children’s
biographies
about Asian-
Americans,
she decided
to create a
book series
titled Amazing
Asian Ameri-
cans and begin it with
her second book, Vera Wang: Queen of
Fashion.
Now, her second book in the series, Yo-Yo &
Yeou-Cheng Ma, Finding Their Way, is out and is receiving
wonderful reviews by critics and Amazon
readers alike—“Yo-Yo Ma deserves to be widely
recognized for his talent, innovation, interests in
many cultures, and spirit of public generosity. This
children’s book gives readers another angle on
his life story: growing up with a
talented sister who missed out
on
some musical opportunities
but
still has made her mark as
a doctor and administrator of a
children’s orchestra. The writing
is great, the illustrations charming
...
. . ” Ai-Ling’s next book in the
series, Astronaut Kalpana Chawla,
Reaching for the Stars, is forthcom-
ing. See more at dragoneagle.com.
36 Spring/Summer 2013

Alumni Service Learning Journey
Safe Passage/Camino Seguro in Guatemala
Left to right: Sara Hosmer ’93BSW, Mora Katz,
Deb Smith ’97MS, Diane Pucci ’82MS, Geoff
Howard, Christina “Chrissy” Cox ’05, Brenda
Aalto Archambeault ’83, LacyJane Folger
’10/’11MS, and Patrick Cremmen
Six alumni and three guests—ranging in age from 24 to 56—traveled to Guatemala
in April for a week of service and experiential learning at Safe Passage/Camino
Seguro. The group included teachers, child life specialists, and social workers. In
1999, eight years before her accidental death in 2007, Hanley Denning ’96MS
sold her computer and her car for funds to open the doors of Safe Passage, a school
she founded to improve the lives of children and families living in extreme poverty near the
Guatemala City garbage dump. Thanks to dedicated staff, fundraisers, and volunteers who
further Hanley’s mission, Safe Passage continues to thrive and transform lives.
“ The week was nothing short of amazing. We all commented
on how bringing nine random people together is a risk, but it
worked because we all had a common thread—caring deeply
about children and families.” —Sara Hosmer ’93BSW
Led by Sara Hosmer ’93BSW, alumni met project leaders, families, and children at
Safe Passage, and learned about the organization’s programs in early childhood education,
adult literacy, and educational reinforcement, as well as its new initiatives in social entrepreneurship.
On the first day, with the children’s book Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney as their
guide, they introduced children to the concept of maps. Their study continued the next day
with making cardboard puzzles of maps and map-shaped pillows, but the volunteers quickly
learned that making personal connections with the children was the most significant part of
the project.
The Wheelock crew also volunteered at the Safe Passage preschool, attended multiple
English classes so that students could practice conversation with them, and spent an
afternoon with a group of mothers in the adult literacy program learning about a jewelry
business they had started. And there was recreation, too—they had fun with two classes
on a field trip to a water park!
Sara reports that there are several pictures of Hanley in the building along with plaques
dedicated to her. The service learning week began with a video about Hanley, setting the purposeful
and personal tone for their trip. They found that even staff members who had never
met Hanley speak of her with reverence and agree that she is their inspiration.
Information about Safe Passage can be found at its website: www.safepassage.org/.
A BONUS RESOURCE
Me on the Map
by Joan Sweeney
The book that Wheelock alumni used in Guatemala to
teach children about maps is a playful introduction
to geography, illustrated in color and suitable for children
ages 3 to 7. Step by simple step, a young girl introduces
the concept of maps by showing readers herself on a map
of her room, her room on a map of her house, her house
on a map of her street—all the way to her country on
a map of the world. Once she has familiarized readers
with maps, she demonstrates how they can find their
own country, state, and town—all the way back to their
room—on each colorful map. Easy-to-read text, bright
artwork, and charming details give children a lot to search
for and, perhaps, will have them eagerly offering to help
navigate on the next family vacation.

San Francisco
Alumni Gatherings
We celebrated—and continue to celebrate—Wheelock’s 125th by
coming together at alumni events held all across the map: north,
south, east, and west. The gatherings are fun and special times for sharing
our legacy and our hopes and dreams for the future. • Providence, RI •
New York, NY • Albany, NY • Sarasota, FL • Naples, FL • Cape Cod, MA
• Martha’s Vineyard, MA • Palo Alto, CA • San Francisco, CA • Chicago, IL •
Portland, ME • Washington, D.C. • Atlanta, GA
“ Wherever you are, the bond
which binds you to the Wheelock
School and its teachers is one of
the things that endures. Neither
time nor distance can break it.”
—Lucy Wheelock
Naples
Providence
Martha’s Vineyard
New York City

“So glad to see that Wheelock has made
great strides, and I am proud of my education
there! Onward and upward for 2013!”
—Nancy Brown Stevenson ’38
CLASS NOTES
This Wheelock Magazine includes Class Notes
news that was received before April 8, 2013.
1933
Elizabeth Smith Gavriel ’65 called the
Alumni Office earlier this year to let us know
that her mom, Phyllis Ensor Smith, had
passed away just two weeks after turning 100.
Elizabeth told a very moving story about how,
even though her mom’s short-term memory
was gone and she couldn’t even remember
her grandchildren, her eyes lit up when anyone
spoke of Wheelock and especially “Miss
Lucy.” She said both mother and daughter
loved Wheelock very much and got back to as
many Reunions as possible.
1938
It was so wonderful to hear from Nancy
Brown Stevenson back in January that she
has been enjoying good health and feeling
blessed with family, good friends, and an
active lifestyle. Her home is now at Redstone
Village in Huntsville, AL, where she has a
lovely apartment with beautiful views. “This
is where my daughter, Ann McDonald, and
her family live—hence, why I am here!” she
writes. Nancy wishes she were still in New
England to be there for the Class of 1938’s
special Reunion celebration, but she sends her
love to all classmates. She adds: “So glad to see
that Wheelock has made great strides, and I
am proud of my education there! Onward and
upward for 2013!”
1939
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
1942-’43
“My kindergarten for 30 years in Norwood,
MA, was the best,” Betty Volk Paris writes.
“I still have boys and girls speak to me at the
supermarket. Now my super husband remarks
how blessed we are to still have each other.
The other remark we have is enjoying our
super grandkids. Wheelock was a marvelous
training for me.”
Helen “Stevie” Roberts Thomas writes:
“My daughter, Katherine, who came to
Reunion with me last spring, and I have finished
writing my memoirs of growing up in
China years ago (I’m 92)—In the Valley of the
Yangtze: Stories from a China Childhood. Now
to assemble the few pictures we have left, maps
and such, and then go to Amazon for printing/
publishing. It’s a good thing that I started three
years ago. Now I could no more do it than fly!
Then Katherine came here from California,
and suddenly I had a co-writer and editor.
(It’s great to have a daughter nearby!) Now
my hope is that the book will not disappoint
friends and family, or bore them to death.”
1946
Cordelia Abendroth Flanagan
Sarah Thomas Allnutt had no trips scheduled
this year but was still planning to swim with
the Masters Team and go to Fort Lauderdale
for the national meet in April. “It is always
fun—no matter how you come out!” she
writes. She now lives in a retirement home in
Gaithersburg, MD, and is just six miles from
their farm. Sarah would love to hear from
others in the Class of 1946 who live near the
Washington area. Shirley Mann Creesy is living
at Brooksby Village in Peabody, MA, and
enjoying her grandchildren—one in college
and one in kindergarten.
I(Cordelia) am still in the same retirement
community. I’m doing well even though
I’m pushing 90. Jacey Clapp Donaldson and
I keep in touch. I hear from Martha Allen
Farwell at Christmas. Please, class members,
send your news in to Wheelock.
1947
Daphne Tait Cooper didn’t make it to our
65th Reunion last year but writes of a delightful
visit she had in the fall with Wheelock’s
Terri Houston, who brought her up-to-date
on Wheelock “doings.” Daphne reminisced
about the many places that her life—and,
often, husband Morgan’s job—took her after
Arlington Heights, IL: Port Washington, NY;
Dearborn, MI; Ramsey, NJ; and Crystal Lake,
IL. She writes: “So I am still here [Rockford,
IL], tenuously holding on to a few friends in
the Boston area as I enjoy the many friends
and groups in Illinois.” Daphne had her note
card business for about 15 years, until 2010,
and has moved toward fine art in watercolor
and pastel. “If anyone knows of a card company
that would like to feature Scandinavian
folk designs, do let me know,” she writes. “I
will have a deal for them!” She would love to
get back to Wheelock to see all the changes
Historic Hugs—
But Who & When?
Reunion 2013 was wonderful, just like
always. Now, can you tell us who in this
photo is having a great time at a Reunion
from the past? Email Lori Ann Saslav
at lsaslav@wheelock.edu or write
to her at Wheelock College, 200 The
Riverway, Boston, MA 02215.
but hasn’t figured out how to do that yet—
perhaps she can again tack it onto a trip to
New York City to see her eldest daughter.
We were sorry to hear that Barbara
Bolinger Crabtree had a rough 2012. She and
her partner, John, had two great years together,
including many good cruises and trips, but
he died that May. She had an “interesting”
Christmas, hosting six adults, three children,
and a dog for a week. Barbara says she has
many great memories of her years at Wheelock.
She signed her note from “Barbara and Ying
and Yang” (they’re her two wonderful shih
tzus). Carol Sisson Freeman and husband
Bill love living in the Thousand Islands area
of northern New York even though it gets too
cold for them in the winter. Their entire family
visited for a week last July to help them
celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary, and
“needless to say, [they] had a wonderful time.”
Wheelock Magazine 39

CLASS NOTES
Carol is still singing in Sweet Adelines and goes to
the gym three times a week.
“Great vacation!” Mary Hemphill Haring
called it when she lost power for two weeks because
of “Sandy” last fall and spent one of them at her
daughter-in-law’s and the other with daughter
Heather in Auburn, NH. Sometime this summer
Heather will be coming to live with her in New
Jersey, and they’ve been planning “interesting trips,
etc.,” for months! Her oldest grandson and wife
recently had a second baby boy. “It feels odd to
be a great-grandmother!” Mary writes. Ann-Penn
Stearns Holton has been at Carleton-Willard
Village for five years and really loves it there. “I take
a number of exciting courses and attend parties,”
she writes. She has two sons nearby who are very
helpful and a daughter in D.C. who flies up every
month. Her two granddaughters are 15 and 12. She
had a great time at our 65th Reunion and, more
recently, a great visit with Sally Latham Coonley
and her daughter. Penny says hello to all classmates
and wishes them the very best. Edith Goddard
Pangaro enjoyed Florida’s warm weather this past
winter with husband Larry. They headed back to
New Hampshire in mid-April, just in time to celebrate
their 63rd anniversary. Edith had a bad fall
in June 2012, “resulting in 24 stitches and weeks of
rehab,” but she is currently doing well. “Larry puts
me through the ‘exercise program’ daily,” she wrote
in December, “and I have regained my walking and
use of hand. Back hitting some tennis balls and
driving the car where traffic is light.”
“The beat goes on—thankful for my good
health!” writes Ann Gilbert Putnam. She was
sorry to have missed our 65th Reunion but instead
enjoyed a grandson’s graduation in California.
She has six grandchildren—four in California and
two in Florida. Ann talked to Rosalie Van Zandt
Simson over the holidays, and the two were going
to try to meet when Ann went down to Jacksonville
Beach for another grand’s graduation!
1949
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Anne Mulholland Heger
Virginia Thompson Green and husband Ron both
turned 85 last fall and “wonder how [they] got so
‘old.’” They’re both in good health, though, and still
traveling. They were planning a 60th anniversary
trip to Rome.
“Early in September of 2013, Bob and I are
planning a romantic Danube cruise,” writes Jane
Bartlett Mason. “In World War II, Bob was stationed
in Regensburg for four months. This old
German city was never bombed, and that will be
one of our stops.” She had a special Thanksgiving
2012, either seeing in person, Skyping with, or
talking to all of her family and “[thanking] the
Lord for such a special treat on such a special day.”
Three more great-grandbabies have been born
since then! Jane sends love to all. Mariah “Cindy”
MacGilvra Temby says she loves to move! After
Barbara McCarthy Brennan ’54
Protecting Teachers’ Benefits
Barbara writes that, as president of the
Hartford County Retired Teachers Association
this year, she will be organizing the group’s
banquets. Her added responsibilities keep her
active in teachers’ state concerns. She believes in
being an active participant in protecting teachers’
benefits and that it’s important to be aware and
make others aware of our ever-changing laws!
18 happy years in Concord, MA, she was in
Petersburg, VA, for almost a year and then got
invited by one of her sons down to Katy, TX. She
has an apartment in his garage there and has been
enjoying her family and new lifestyle very much.
“I may move to the Washington, D.C., area after
this and come back here later,” she writes. “I have
a car I can sleep in, and I love camping and seeing
the country. There are so many places I would like
to visit and stay a while.”
As for my (Anne’s) news, my children gave me
a wonderful 85th birthday celebration. All but one
of the 18 family members spent a weekend in my
hometown, Long Branch, NJ. We stayed at a bed
and breakfast in a large old mansion. We toured my
childhood town, seeing my home, church, school,
etc. We spent the afternoon on the beach, and in
the evening there was a catered dinner on the porch
of the B&B. Luckily, this was before Hurricane
Sandy did much destruction to the area.
1954
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Elizabeth Bassett Wolf
Ginger Mercer Bates
Thanks, great class! You did it again. You all will
enjoy reading about “Life as an Octogenarian.”
Barbara McCarthy Brennan writes that, as
president of the Hartford County Retired Teachers
Association this year, she will be organizing the
group’s banquets. Her added responsibilities keep
her active in teachers’ state concerns. She believes
in being an active participant in protecting teachers’
benefits. It’s so important to be aware and
make others aware of our ever-changing laws!
Sylvia Tailby Earl and Jim Earl’s new grandson,
James, born last August, lives nearby, which means
that Syl and Jim get to hold him when they are
babysitting. The Community Foundation in
Annapolis, MD, honored them as Philanthropists
of the Year. Of course, Wheelock is one of the
recipients. Thanks to you both, and congratulations
for that huge honor!
Peggy Clifford Goode mentions, “Things are
much the same here; two grandchildren have graduated
from college, and seven are at various stages
of their education.” She continues to volunteer in
first grade, teaching composition, and is totally
awed by what these children are expected to learn
and how much they are able to absorb. Caroline
Howard McCarty had a wonderful and informative
visit with Terri Houston, director of major gifts
and planned giving, last September in Evanston, IL.
“She is an excellent representative for Wheelock,”
she writes. “We had a good lunch and enjoyed chatting.
All is well, and I send my best wishes.”
For those of us who remember Nancy
Ferguson Greenlees, from Colchester House, I
wanted you to know that she passed away on Jan.
27, 2011. She was the wife of the late J. Rogers
Greenlees, and they had been married for 55 years
and lived in Swansea, MA. Three children survive
Nancy. Ruth McKinley Herridge writes that an
evening party on July 28, 2012, under a marquee in
their garden was a celebration of her and Bill’s 55th
wedding anniversary, with their three daughters
hosting. Other members of their family and many
friends and neighbors were present. It was a great
event for them all to remember. Nicky Wheeler
L’Hommedieu had a very active summer 2012
with all 10 grandchildren and their parents visiting
their home in the Adirondacks. The oldest grandchild,
Anne, announced her engagement. They
also enjoyed a visit from Irwin and Lois Barnett
Mirsky and Peggy DeLuca Loughead. Nicky
reminds us that when we make our annual pledge
to Wheelock, we need to specify the Class of ’54
Scholarship Fund. Anne Feyling MacDonald has
moved to a delightful retirement resort in Sun City
West, AZ. Last March she had pancreatic surgery
and happily reports, “I am a survivor!” (Great news,
Anne!) Her seven grandchildren and one greatgrandchild
keep her very busy.
“I am well and busy,” says Eileen O’Connell
McCabe. She spent almost a month on the West
Coast last December with two of her three children
and grandchildren. She is in contact with Neilie
Heffernan Odell and Agnes McBride Barry, who
are also well and are leading very busy lives. Harriet
Knapp McCauley says, “Mac and I both survived
turning 80.” Their summer in Canada was great—
busy with golf, bridge, and family and friends. Back
in Fox Run (senior home) in October, she led a
water aerobics class two mornings a week, provided
food for Friends of the Night People at church, and
enjoyed other activities as well. Two grandchildren
graduated from college this spring. Lois Barnett
Mirsky enjoys her writing class and is self-publishing
her series of “Reflections” as a legacy for her
children and grandchildren. She is a literacy tutor
and also takes courses at the Academy for Lifelong
Learning at Cape Cod Community College. “The
best part of being 80,” she says, “is enjoying the
time I spend with my grandchildren.”
Bob and Jo West Norton are enjoying the
Northwest climate. Jo, daughter Sharon, and
granddaughter Hanna went to New England last
summer to connect with nieces, etc. They had a
great time, but the heat and humidity were a bit
much. She is scheduled to have a hip replacement
soon and is looking forward to getting back to
walking at a better pace after that. Penny Power
Odiorne writes that she keeps very busy. She
plays bridge two or three times a week; belongs to
40 Spring/Summer 2013

CLASS NOTES
Teckie Reese Shackelford ’56 (second from left) had
no shortage of (bundled-up) relatives eager to cheer
her on when she participated in the “Turkey Plunge”
in Nantucket Harbor last Thanksgiving!
P.E.O., where she is the treasurer of her chapter;
sits on the symphony board; and attends many
of the cultural programs offered in Vero Beach,
FL. She has two sons and two grandchildren—
a 21-year-old boy and a girl who graduated
from high school this June. Pattie Andrews
Richmond is “living” with multiple back problems,
Parkinson’s, and a few other things she has
picked up along the way. She has “graduated” from
a cane to a rollator that is working out well. She
has not been on any trips since September 2011.
Her grandchildren are growing up quickly. Austin,
17, is 6’4”. Evan, 13, is not too far behind, and
Margie, 10, is moving right along. Minnesota,
where they live, is too far away, Pattie says. She had
a nice visit from Wheelock’s Terri Houston last fall.
She loved hearing the news about the College.
Sue Hamburger Thurston’s youngest grandchild
is in sixth grade and enjoys fencing; his sister
is a high school freshman and plays water polo;
two will be college freshmen next year; one will
graduate from West Point in May; the sixth is a
nursing student; and his brother is working in a
national park in Colorado while getting his master’s
in environmental sciences. Ginny Thomas
Williams writes that her big 8-0 was celebrated
with family and the replacement of her left shoulder
was celebrated by Ginny. She and Dick went
on trips to California in July and December and
long weekends with family at their home. Their
hours were filled with endless doctor visits and
physical therapy—some with joy and some not
so much. A new Kindle Fire, from their children,
is the latest challenge. Ginny’s kids gave her a
cleaning woman for her 80th, and Ginny says she
doesn’t have to clean her!
I (“Chippy”) am well and enjoying living near
three of my five grandchildren. I send my warmest
greetings and wish each of you the pleasure of
finding something joyous in each day. See you at
our 60th Reunion on May 30 to June 1, 2014.
1956
Persis Goodnow Hamilton
Thank you for your news. Lori Ann certainly got us
going with her questionnaire. Thank you, Lori!
Bette Grimm Hoskins wrote that she is still
enjoying her waterfront home in Boston. She is
pleased to be here to take part in the 125th activities
at Wheelock. Bette and Bill are members of
the Heritage Society of Wheelock to ensure a
strong future for the College. She and her children
and grandchildren had a grand ski trip to
Colorado for the winter holidays. Mary Lou
Stickles Perkins wrote that grandson Mark and
his wife have a 3-year-old son and were expecting
a second in February. Granddaughter Molly
and her husband are in Ghana with the Peace
Corps. Her son and his wife met them in Paris
for the Christmas 2012 break. Grandson Rob is
attending the University of North Dakota, and
his brother who attends high school went to the
Gator Bowl with his school band. Both her boys
and their wives are educators. Mary Lou and Bob
continue with exercises, and she still plays the
church organ and is active in the DAR chapters.
Wilma Kinsman Marr keeps track of classmates
Pat Cotter Smart in San Diego, Sue Grearson
Fillmore in San Francisco, and Peggy McLean
Caywood in Florida. The years disappear when
they get to talking because of the strong bonds.
Nancy Griggs Razee has had a year of visits:
daughter Caroline and family of Dunedin, FL,
and their daughter-in-law Sarah and sons from
Honolulu. Son Thomas (also from Hawaii) came in
September so he could travel to England with them
to visit the land of the Razee ancestors. He and his
father are very interested in genealogy. Grandson
Eric will relocate in Texas, while his younger brother,
Mark, and his family remain in Southbury with
their son Robert and his wife. Mark’s son, Lucas
(3), is their beloved great-grandson.
We all were saddened to hear of the loss of
Laura Lawyer Phelps. Beverly Haley Richter
wrote of how her friendship with Laura had
enriched her life so much. They attended many
Wheelock meetings up until the end. Their friendship
was special because of college. Yes, Beverly, it
does make you realize how short life is.
Thekla “Teckie” Reese Shackelford is happy
to brag about having done the Turkey Plunge in
Nantucket Harbor last Thanksgiving! She won a
prize for being the oldest person to help with this
fundraiser for the library. She got out alive too—
the oldest one to do so! Congratulations, Teckie!
Ruth Bailey Papazian had a grand visit with
Terri Houston from Wheelock last September and
learned about all the great happenings at Wheelock.
She and her husband traveled to Toronto to see
their daughter and had a fall river cruise on the
Danube, seeing all the sights and making new
friends. Julie Bigg Veazey is working on her fourth
novel. She lives in Portsmouth, NH, and recently
celebrated her 30th year as owner of the Hudson
Children’s Center. She and her wonderful husband
winter in Florida.
I (Persis) hope some of you will make the trip
to Boston during this special anniversary to take
part in all the festivities and to see all the changes!
I stay close to home these days as I have much to
keep me busy, like trying to type out these notes.
(I never learned to type.) I do see Bette Hoskins
and Gretchen Sterenberg from time to time. And
I have very long telephone chats with Carolyn
Paul Connell. It is grand to get together!
1957
Barbara Stagis Kelliher
“My philosophy of writing is simple: Blessed
are the plodders, for they shall be published,”
Harriet Weil Hodgson writes. The book she most
recently finished, Walking Woman: Step by Step to a
Healthier Heart, was to be available from Amazon
in May. Harriet is serving as secretary of the
Minnesota Medical Association Alliance and is on
the board of the Friends of the Rochester (MN)
Public Library, which operates a used bookstore
and raises money for the library. She adds: “My
other surprising and happy news is to be chosen
as one of 125 alumni who represent the College’s
mission of improving the lives of children and
families. My blurb, posted on the Wheelock 125
Story tab, has the heading ‘Writing to Educate
and Heal.’ I am touched by this honor and proud
to represent thousands of Wheelock graduates.”
Bernadette Bruer deGutierrez-Mahoney
and husband Wallace had a very good 2012. The
Wheelock Magazine 41

CLASS NOTES
Francine McNamee Shea ’57 and Bernadette Bruer
deGutierrez-Mahoney ’57 had a chance to get caught
up in Orlando earlier this year.
highlights were their son Pete’s wedding in eastern
Thailand in February and their granddaughter
Alison’s wedding closer to home in October. The
trip to Thailand was “the trip of a lifetime,” and
they got to spend some time in Bangkok, a huge,
modern city. They had a chance to spend some
time with their grandkids after Ali’s wedding;
unfortunately, that coincided with Superstorm
Sandy’s arrival on Long Island, so, without power,
they talked a lot, played Scrabble, and cooked on
the barbecue grill! In early March, Bernadette and
Francine McNamee Shea had a mini reunion
in Orlando, FL—and “compared notes on kids,
grandkids, and Wheelock memories.”
Sally Curran Smith happened to send her news
while she was visiting her son and his family in
Australia—“an annual affair with a different twist
this year!” She writes: “In March 2012, I purchased
my ‘Horse of My Dreams,’ Trevor, a 16-year-old
Irish Sport Horse. Not everyone at age 77 would
consider this a priority, but then again, I’ve never fit
into the ‘everyone category’! Can’t start now! Now
to ‘fast-forward’ a bit. All had gone well with our
Dressage Journey until our lesson the morning of
Dec. 4. I was planning to ride without stirrups, but
because the leathers didn’t lie flat, I decided to just
let them hang down. BIG MISTAKE! The stirrup
irons tickled his tummy and gave him the wrong
message, which he believed meant to go faster—so
we progressed from controlled sit trots to canter
and beyond in a very short period of time. As I saw
the sand approaching, I knew it wasn’t going to
be a soft landing! So, here I am, recouping by the
pool in the beautiful Australian sunshine, with eight
broken ribs and a punctured lung! Not sure when
I’ll get the green light to ride and ski again, but the
doctor is well aware that he isn’t dealing with a typical
‘senior citizen’! When they have Special Senior
Olympics, Trevor and I will be ready!”
I(Barb) am very happy in my new apartment
in Nashua. It’s wonderful not to have to worry
about replacing the roof or shoveling snow. One sad
thing happened, however. Every afternoon all during
the fall I waited by my mailbox for news from
all of you that never came. Thank you to those few
who did send news, and I hope more of you will
Liz Sturtz Stern ’58 (left) recently surprised classmate
Judy McMurray Achre with a gift of a beautiful quilt!
brighten my dark winter days with your tales of life,
love, and adventure next time around.
1958
Margaret “Maggie” Weinheimer Sherwin
Liz Sturtz Stern had a terrific visit with Judy
McMurray Achre in Florida earlier this year and
gave her a beautiful quilt.
1959
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Sally Schwabacher Hottle
Bonnie Steele Clark writes that after a 45-year
exciting and important teaching career, she has
retired. She will never forget both the adults and
children she has been privileged to know and love
over those years. She, her children, her grandchildren,
and a longtime teacher friend celebrated
for many days. Bonnie’s ultimate event was a trip
to the Galapagos Islands with that same friend.
Bonnie says her thoughts and prayers are with all
her Wheelock classmates. Patricia Haas attended
the Wheelock lunch in Sarasota in February. She
writes of some “pretty hectic” times she’s been
through and says her 16-year-old great-niece has
moved in with her.
Helen Doughty Lester has been having a
wonderful time on snowshoes lately hiking with
Robin three to four miles a day and trying to pretend
that she’s 65. She spent a week in the Acton,
MA, schools last fall. Her spring 2013 book is
Happy Birdday, Tacky, the ninth Tacky the Penguin
book; it features a dancing penguin named
Twinklewebs from Iglooslavia. “Doutsie” sends her
love to all classmates.
As for me (Sally), I’ve had one more healthy,
happy year, advocating for seniors in Fairfax
County, VA, playing lots of bridge, and traveling.
I’ve taken two trips with Road Scholar: In the fall
of 2011, I spent almost two weeks in Paris and
Provence, and in October of 2012, I spent two
weeks hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I,
too, send love to all and hope that more will send
me news the next time you receive my request.
It is with great sadness that I share with you the
news of Jeanne Wilson Hatch’s death. We’ll all
miss her enthusiasm and tireless work, particularly
at Reunion time. I know all of you join me in offering
condolences to her family and friends. I was
also sorry to hear that Catherine “Kitten” Howell
Susanin’s husband, Andre (“Andy”), died suddenly
of pancreatic cancer in March 2012. She sold the
wonderful old home they lived in for more than 40
years and moved to a town house in Haverford, PA.
1960
Deanne Williams Morse
Lynne Pleuthner Green writes of a fun reunion
she had with Betty Bannard Stookey and her
Distinguished Service
Award
Cynthia Hallowell ’58
Cynthia received the Distinguished Service
Award at this year’s Reunion, which
is given to a member of a Reunion class
celebrating a 25th or higher Reunion whose
service to the College, to alumni, or to his or
her class is exemplary. Shown here (left) with
Elizabeth “Betsy” Dewey Giles ’53, who
won the award in 1993, Cynthia has been a
steadfast supporter of Wheelock, a thoughtful
steward of the Alumni Association, and an
inspiring nurturer of connections amongst her
classmates and the College for 55 years.
42 Spring/Summer 2013

CLASS NOTES
Lynne Pleuthner Green ’60 (right) had a fun reunion with Betty Bannard Stookey ’60 and husband Noel Paul
Stookey in New Hampshire last fall.
husband, Noel Paul Stookey, when they performed
at a benefit concert at her church in
Keene, NH, last fall.
Highlights of Jan Halsted Sussebach’s life in
Vermont include stacking the firewood needed
to heat their home for the winter, clearing their
long driveway after a snowstorm so they can reach
civilization again, and deciphering the tracks wild
creatures leave in the snow around their house! She
has been active volunteering and substitute teaching
at the New England Kurn Hattin Homes (www.
kurnhattin.org) in her village of Westminster, a
residential school for youngsters ages 6 to 14 who
“face extreme, complex problems in their families.”
As you may remember, Jan and Heiner straddle the
Atlantic between there and Europe, where their son
and his family live. In April they attended a family
reunion in Florida before their return to Germany,
where Heiner had an interpreting assignment in
Berlin and Jan planned to row with friends, reunite
with family, and “[rescue] the Saarbruecken garden
from winter havoc.” She writes: “I have such fond
memories of the many visitors we’ve had over there,
from our Wheelock class and from Colchester
House. Some visited in the summer and, for several
years, our class raffled off tickets to help raise
money for Wheelock student scholarships. We
could revive the raffle, if there is interest.”
Carol Reed Newsome and husband John
enjoyed their annual visit to Palm Desert, CA, during
the winter, playing golf and enjoying the sun.
They were going to try to bring some warm weather
home to Massachusetts with them in April.
“I have worn my snow boots once since moving
to Roanoke [VA],” Phyllis Pisano writes, “and then
the snow was gone in two days. My Southern buddies
could not understand my glee as the snowflakes
started to fall.” A member of the local art museum,
Phyllis also enjoys lectures, musical performances,
theater, bridge, and play reading. She hopes to go to
Richmond in the fall.
Mary Ann Mylott O’Rourke has retired again,
having found a very good director to take over at
the Y where she was working. Still a consultant for
about nine schools, she enjoys visiting the schools
and helping them by offering her experience.
Late this past winter, Susan Robbins Berger
wrote: “I just attended a performance of Oliver! at
the WFT. Terrific for all ages (we were 9 to 76).”
She recently took a fascinating Overseas Adventure
Travel trip to Morocco and has signed on to go to
“Patagonia, Chile, etc.,” next January. Susan and
Bob continue to go to Santa Fe for three weeks
every summer and say it’s “a favorite destination
competing with Paris.” In between trips, she works
at her private practice for 20 to 25 hours a week.
My (Deanne’s) news is that I retired (again)
from Wheelock at the end of June. It was with
mixed feelings that I moved on because I so value
all the contact I have had over the years with our
class and other alumni. I will stay on as our class
scribe and enjoy hearing from everyone. Do write!
I was very sorry to have missed a visit with
Sandy Hopkins Clausen ’60/’85MS in February.
She hosted the Naples, FL, luncheon for Wheelock,
but I couldn’t stay as I had to get back to Boston
ahead of the Feb. 8 blizzard.
1963
Jane Kuehn Kittredge
Joan Packer Isenberg ’63/’68MS still lives in
Springfield, VA, and has retired as professor
emerita at George Mason University College of
Education and Human Development in Fairfax.
Her husband, George Samuels, is a retired administrative
law judge.
1964
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Ann Fleming Fiske
Phyllis Forbes Kerr
We were sorry to hear of the passing of Carol
Jeffers Hollenberg’s husband earlier this year.
From East Aurora, NY, Margot Rumsey Banta
writes that for her 70th birthday she checked
off one of her bucket list wishes. She traveled to
Fallingwater in Pennsylvania and saw the Frank
Lloyd Wright house. Her passions are being with
her four grandkids, playing bridge, and teaching art
classes to the elderly. She lost her husband to cancer
two years ago and has found it to be a difficult
adjustment. She sends well wishes to all ’64 classmates
and would love to hear from anyone, especially
if they have advice on handling widowhood.
Ann Fleming Fiske and husband Harold occasionally
bemoan the fact that all their grandchildren
live far from London, Ontario. They see daughter
Jessica and her little girl five times a year, and son
Jonathan and his two girls come in the summer to
visit from Dubai. Ann and Harold visit them in
Dubai each year at Christmas. Summer finds the
Fiskes at their lovely woodland cottage in Sorrento,
ME, near Mt. Desert.
From Hawaii comes news from Janet Larsen
Weyenberg. She writes: “It is a huge shock to think
of ourselves as being 70-something. Especially when
we know we are still so young and cute!” Nicely
said. To begin the year, Eric had a hip replacement.
However, he was well enough to enjoy their surprise
20th anniversary party given by his daughter. In the
fall, they traveled from San Francisco to Vancouver,
British Columbia, with stops in Washington to see
family and friends. More than six years after Janet’s
mother’s death, her dad at 94 finally went into
assisted living. “He’s a tough old Viking,” explains
Janet. The Weyenbergs are renovating his house and
plan to move there, leaving their home of many
years. Janet plans to come to our 50th Reunion.
She has seen Stephanie Young Hee and Perry
Colmore and stays in touch with Barbara Wilson
Parks, Nancy Fowle Purinton, and Rhoda
Henkels Pykonen.
“Hi, all,” from Perry Colmore in Cambridge,
who adds: “Not too much to report. I’m still working
part time as a chaplain at Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center in Boston. It’s intense work and
rewarding too.” Debbie Gleason Gokey sends
news from New Hampshire. She and Don are
doing OK. He has a few health issues that don’t
seem to hold him down, and she is very mobile
after a second hip replacement. Debbie runs the
prayer shawl ministry at her church and also subs in
CCD in all grade levels. She loves teaching again.
Last summer she babysat a miniature horse who
is great company to her miniature horse. She also
enjoys taking care of her neighbors’ dog and flock
of chickens when they travel. She loves country living.
At 70, Rachel Ripley Roach is fit as a fiddle—
“walking hills and desert paths, doing all of [her]
acre of yard work, and decorating for Christmas
and really enjoying four grandchildren under age
4.” She continues volunteering with community
literacy, tutoring, and subbing. She is active with
the retired teachers association. Rachel is already
planning to come to Boston for our 50th.
Ann Brown Omohundro and husband Dick
have left Belmont, MA, for Sarasota, FL. Most of
the summer and early fall were spent sorting what
to take, what to leave behind—a terrible job. The
Wheelock Magazine 43

CLASS NOTES
new house is large enough for son Paul, his wife,
and their two grandchildren to visit in comfort.
Ann had a tough time enjoying her first Southern
Christmas, which didn’t feel anything like a New
England one. However, as the weather here gets
colder and snowier, she hopes she will adjust to the
warmth and sun in her new home. Ginny Pratt
Agar spent a busy three months in a rental in
Arizona to be nearer to her three children. She was
with them and their families to celebrate her 70th
birthday in December, and at Christmas, Ginny
enjoyed helping daughter Elizabeth take care of
her son, Oren, in Tempe. She spent time with her
11-year-old granddaughter, son Trevor, and his new
bride in Irvine, CA. She was with son Carter for the
birth of his baby girl in San Francisco.
A family trip to Italy is how Ann Meigher
Smith celebrated her 70th birthday. The group
included Andy, husband Harry, two young grandsons,
and her daughter and son-in-law. She celebrated
also with a large party she gave for herself
in Charlotte. Andy has also taken a sabbatical from
her “docenting” job at the Bechtler Museum of Art
after many years of volunteering. It was great to
hear from her.
Patricia Burke, Ginny, Ann, and I (Phyllis)
had a short but very gala reunion in Maine last
summer. We were all roommates at Wheelock and
picked up right where we began so many years
ago. Andy, my husband, seems to be much better,
thanks to acupuncture and anti-anxiety pills. It is
a precarious time for all of us. I continue to do my
cards and pictures and go the MFA once a week
to sketch and get inspired by the great art there. I
enjoy my three grandchildren, eagerly play Scrabble,
read for my book club, and twice daily go for long
walks with my golden retriever, Lollipop.
My thanks to Ann Fleming Fiske, who has
very kindly offered to take Roberta’s place and act as
class scribe with me. And thanks to all of you who
wrote in your news.
1966
Margery Conley Mars
As our email friends know but others may not, I
(Margery) have had some health issues since last
fall, but my recovery is going well. I thank those of
you who wrote not only with news for this letter
but also with healing wishes for me. Your love and
support mean so very much!
Many classmates returned last year for their
50th high school or prep school reunions. I had a
lovely email from Susan Lodge Peck after her great
weekend at Dana Hall in Wellesley, MA, which she
attended with her former roommate there. They
had a blast, and now Susan says she’ll definitely be
back to Wheelock for our 50th.
Susan Magennis Underwood also attended
her high school reunion and stayed in a classmate’s
home, which made it a very pleasant time for
her. Susan Leeb Fuhrer and Jack went to their
reunion in Shaker Heights, OH, in August. As you
recall, they both graduated from the same high
school in the same class. Ann Linden Stewart
attended not only her own reunion at Beaver
Country Day School but also that of husband Bob
from Brookline High School (which was also my
[Margery’s] alma mater). Thanks to Ann, I was able
to get new contact information for Joanne Moskey
Grady. Joanne and Skip are now settled into their
new home, “Ladyslipper Cottage,” in Henniker,
NH. For several years Skip has been the master carpenter
of this project!
Laurie Knowles Carter is most happily
settled into her new retirement home in Ashland,
OR, and describes it as “our wonderful ‘destination’
setting. Living in Ashland is like living our
bucket list, and we love sharing it with friends
and family.” Laurie is involved with AUW, an
active group of wonderful women in Ashland,
and helps to run their scholarship fundraising
garage sale. She also enjoys many of the interest
groups—play reading, book group, dining, knitting,
movies, etc. Patty Phillips Fraser wrote
that her mom, a Wheelock alumna, celebrated
her 90th birthday in December! That event
brought everyone home for the holidays for the
first time since she and Bob have been in their
downsized house. “We had 14 of us sleeping
here,” she writes. “It was bedlam, but we had a
great time.”
Hope Binner Esparolini had a very busy 2012
full of family and travels. “I have missed Ramon, of
course,” she writes. “Yet he is an active part of each
and every day.” She enjoyed some lovely trips last
year and attended her 50th high school reunion in
Highland Park, IL. Hope’s Minnesota family continues
to be a highlight for her, and she spends as
much time as she can with her grandson. She finds
her service on a couple of nonprofit boards fulfilling
and says being on the strategic planning committee
for the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches is
very exciting.
Speaking of Hope, in June 2012, Carole
Hayes Williams wrote: “I had a wonderful Hope
sighting in Minnesota. Talking to her reminded
me to appreciate every minute I have with
Richard.” Later in the year I found out one thing
that is crossed off of Carole’s bucket list: When
she and Reid Algeo Schenck went on their trip
to Botswana in October, she got to bungee jump
from the Victoria Falls Bridge! Carole wrote
that their trip was so enjoyable, in fact, that she
and Reid are scheduled to go to Tanzania with
the same outfit a year from now! In Carole’s
words: “Botswana was divine. We had marvelous
guides and got very close to the wildlife—lions,
elephants, leopards, cape buffalo, wild dogs, antelopes,
etc. We counted about 100 different bird
species. We loved the people in our group. The
sense one gets in Africa is that you’re privileged to
be standing where man is palpable. It’s the most
peaceful, majestic atmosphere—truly magical.”
“Service, Learning, and Fun are my bywords for
retirement, and, really, it’s hard to separate one from
the other!” Betsy Marks Voss writes. In addition
to being a hospice volunteer (she does home visits)
and volunteering in the infant room of a Troy, NY,
day care center one morning a week, Betsy loves to
travel. “We don’t know what’s around the corner,
do we?” she writes. “I tell myself I have the window
of opportunity in which I can do active travel.” In
the summer of 2012, she went on a guided walking
trip in the Swiss Alps for six days and hiked seven
to eight miles a day with a British group called
HF Holidays (which she highly recommends).
This summer she is taking a river cruise in France
with Pat Roh Aldrich and her husband.
Before heading off to Florida with her sisterin-law,
Natalie Palmer Stafford mailed. Like
me, she has not done as much with her art lately
and is enjoying this time of retirement. She does,
however, volunteer as an art teacher in an elementary
school and is taking an art class on palette
knife painting. Like me, she is still maintaining
her website (www.echohillcards.com) and still
sells on etsy.com. She and Norm recently went to
Rome and have a new little dog who has captured
their hearts! Norm should be fully retired by the
end of July. Son Dan, now 20, and has his own
apartment about 45 minutes away and works in
Amherst. “Please come visit us in the Hilltowns in
Western Mass.,” Natalie writes.
Lynne Wyluda Beasley, who worried that she’d
be lonesome in Maine, seems to be settling quite
well into her new home in Cape Elizabeth and into
the Greater Portland community. She has spent this
past year as an interim director of religious education
in her church but is looking forward to returning
to her retired status and having the freedom to
visit her 11 grandchildren whenever she wants!
“Every day is a treasure down here,” wrote
Heather Robinson Reimann in her note from
sunny Naples, FL, where she and husband Joe were
in their RV for the winter. In February, Heather
attended the Wheelock alumni luncheon at the Port
Royal Club. She reports: “President Jackie spoke of
adding another position of full professor of technology.
They are opening a new center for innovation.
On the second floor of that building will be 20 new
offices for faculty, and on the third floor will be the
Larsen Alumni Room with an open garden. There
is a lot going on to celebrate the College’s 125th
anniversary. Mark Shriver (of the Peace Corps and
Special Olympics) will be the Commencement
speaker in May. In June, there will be an international
conference covering three important global
issues—education, health, and human rights—and
Tony Blair’s wife, Cherie, will be one of the keynote
speakers.” Heather had a wonderful time
and learned a great deal. While still in Naples, she
was looking forward to having lunch with Kandi
duPont Sanger and Judy White Chapman. (Judy,
also a “snowbird,” spends two months in Naples.)
Heather and Joe now spend the rest of the year in
44 Spring/Summer 2013

CLASS NOTES
Williamsburg, VA, after being in the Boston area
for 34 years. They followed their two children
there and are now an active part of their four (2- to
8-year-old) grandsons’ lives.
Pam Miller Callard writes of a nearly monthlong
trip she recently had to Myanmar. She visited
an English-speaking center in Kengtung and had a
chance to teach 9- to 12-year-olds there “everything
from geography . . . to the Hokie Pokie.” Anyone
interested should ask Pam about the church, monastery,
open-air market, and silk shop she visited;
her new official longri (wraparound skirt); and her
most interesting riverboat rides and exhilarating
albeit brief motorcycle ride. “The people were so
genuine, so warm and welcoming, and it was a
memorable experience,” she writes. Back home,
she still has “[her] toe in the door” at her school,
Beauvoir, where she works on writing with children
K-3. She loves having the flexibility to travel, do
yoga, and take a watercolor class, and she has also
started giving workshops on Mindfulness Practice
for Children. 2013 highlights will be a trip to
France to see daughter Johanna and her family and
daughter Katharine’s wedding.
Sue Leeb Fuhrer and Jack have moved to Notre
Dame, IN, where they are in an independent-living
apartment at Holy Cross Village, a “friendly and
vibrant” continuing care retirement community.
They were planning to keep both their Scottsdale
and Kalamazoo properties for at least six months
to make sure that they had made a wise decision.
In October, Sue had knee replacement surgery on
her right nonparalyzed knee. Her Indiana address
is P.O. Box 303, Notre Dame, IN 46556. I know
she’d welcome mail!
Our love and sympathy go to Kay “Wink”
Winkler Page, whose husband, Charlie, passed
away last July. A celebration of his life was celebrated
at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in
Sanford, ME, in August. In a recent email from
Wink, she had done some traveling to Nova
Scotia and to North Carolina to visit two of her
children. She is also working on the final editing
of her book, Doing Time With Charlie. And for
fun she has taken up watercolor painting. She
was another who went back to her high school
reunion, and she now corresponds with two old
and dear friends reunited at that event.
“Retirement is a gift,” writes Jennifer Mott
Raun. She has four grandchildren, including a
precious 2-year-old, Emma, who has a very rare
overgrowth syndrome and will continue to need
occasional operations. “I feel humbled to be the
parent of such a courageous daughter and granddaughter,”
Jiffy writes.
Donna Kazanjian Scribner has a new address
at Decatur House in Sandwich, MA. Jane Martin
McMackin saw her in December, and I have spoken
with her on the phone several times recently.
Donna is courageously battling dementia, and her
family felt that she needed 24-hour care. Last year
she became a grandmother to two granddaughters.
It would be wonderful if you would send her a card
and mention a favorite Wheelock memory. She still
remembers lots about our college days! Her address
is 176 Main Street Box 1070, Sandwich, MA
02563. I share this information with the permission
of her daughter, Casey.
Sylvia Thorndike Sheriff reminisces: “Does
anyone else remember volunteering out in
Dorchester Heights for that day care center? The
trip out there was rather daunting, but the kids
were really cute once we got there. I decided not
to become a ‘play lady’ when one of my favorite
patients at the Children’s Hospital died.” Sylvia now
volunteers in the gift shop of her neighborhood
retirement community, Hillcrest, and helps her kids
with child care whenever she’s needed. Members of
a great Trail Trekker group, she and husband Mike
hike the many trails in her area in addition to going
to places like Death Valley and Zion. Sylvia loves
the watercolors and drawing classes she’s taking at
their community center but says, “I’d like lessons
from Margery!” Sylvia and Mike had a wonderful
time last summer seeing cousins, then seeing
classmates at Sylvia’s 50th Beaver reunion, and then
having a mini Wheelock reunion. “Amazing how
friends and family become more precious with
time!” she writes.
I’ve talked with Phoebe O’Mara recently too.
She’s as busy as ever with all of her volunteerism.
Connie Muther is still busy playing all day in
sunny California! She is actively enjoying her various
pursuits that usually involve marine life and
zoo creatures—parks, zoos, water. I still chuckle
as I recall her great phrase: “Retirement is better
than childhood! You can play all day—and you
have a car!”
Remember our goal for 2016—Fifty (or more)
for the 50th! The countdown is on! I already have
the favors bought/made . . . and wrapped! The ideas
for the Reunion Booklet are in the works, too!
We have the committee chairs named who will be
working to make this event our best Reunion yet!
And please keep me updated on your news. It is
these greetings that hold us together, I am told. I
will do my best to stay well so you won’t have to
wait so long next time for news.
All of us New Englanders are survivors of the
Blizzard of 2013. Here in Maine we received close
to 30 inches of snow. A Snowy Day is still one of my
favorite stories—and like Peter, I still like to make
snow angels and drag a stick and make tracks in the
newly fallen snow!
1967
Betsy Simmonds Pollock
Greetings from your Class of 1967 scribe, Betsy
Simmonds Pollock! My 100-year-old mother
passed away Dec. 30, 2011, and we had services
for her in June 2012 in Connecticut. We traveled
there and took an extended beach trip down the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts for the first time in many
years. Our house basement is still unfinished from
the flood. Interestingly enough, now we are in a
drought! I am still card merchandising for American
Greetings as a part-time job and filling in with
church volunteering, DAR, and being a Reading
Buddy to first- and second-graders in the Pierre
Indian Learning Center.
Jenny Gordy Cannon writes that, since graduating
from Wheelock, she has lived in Fremont,
CA; Philadelphia; and Atlanta, and she now
splits time between Lake Toxaway, NC; Naples,
FL; and Atlanta. In each area, she taught school.
In Georgia she worked for a large suburban
school system. Jenny was selected as one of four
elementary teachers out of 2,000 in the county
to work with the State of Georgia Education
Department in producing instruments for beginning
teachers’ evaluation. She was responsible,
along with other team members, for observing
beginning teachers twice a year for 125 schools.
Assistance was designed to meet individual teachers’
support needs. Jenny enjoys retirement by
traveling, playing bridge, reading, and gardening.
She has two grown daughters and is enjoying her
first precious grandchild, born in February to her
second daughter, Sloane. “These little ones grab
your heart!” Jenny writes.
Carol Armstrong Dillon and her husband
live in San Diego. They have a son and daughter
and two grandchildren. She says, “My early childhood
education comes in very handy these days
with these two young family members.” Carol
and her husband have traveled to Sri Lanka,
southern India, southern Africa, and South Africa
this past year. They also travel to Florida several
times a year to visit her 93-year-old mother.
This spring she will attend her 50th high school
reunion. “Can’t believe it!” she writes. “My best
to all.” Peggy Smith Smith still works full time
in real estate in Stowe, VT, and is also a sculptor.
Ironically, after she started working on creating
women’s clay breast plates, Peggy was diagnosed
with breast cancer. Today she is clear and well.
“My Wheelock training has come in handy as I
have five step-grandchildren and twin baby granddaughters.
All are in and out of the house almost
daily,” she writes. “Life is a joy, and I still think
Wheelock is the best place to get an education. It
has helped me throughout my life.”
1968
Marilyn Rupinski Rotondo
Cynthia Carpenter Sheehan
“I had a ball!” Faith Schultz Perkins writes.
“Those preschoolers were terrific!” Faith returned to
Wheelock this past March and read to Boston-area
children during a special Dr. Seuss story time that
was part of the College’s “Read Across America”
day. This annual daylong event (always held around
Theodor Geisel’s birthday) promotes the importance
of reading in the lives of young children.
Wheelock Magazine 45

CLASS NOTES
1969
46 Spring/Summer 2013
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Linda Bullock Owens
Tasha Lowell Allan
Cheri Breeman happened to send her news on a
January day that was -20 F outside (in Colorado)
without wind chill, and even she said that was
too cold to go skiing! Last October, Nancy Kelly
Hershey visited her for an afternoon, taking a trip
into the mountains while visiting her daughter
in Boulder. Margaret Graham Caswell is living
in Illinois and enjoys spending time with her
two granddaughters, ages 5 and 6. She has been
active on the Women’s Board of the University of
Chicago. There’s star power in the family as one of
her daughters is a designer on HGTV and her son
is in a soon-to-be-released movie called Slingshot.
Jane Luke Hill and her husband still love their
life in the retirement community in Sun City, TX.
Summers are still spent in North Carolina, close
by their granddaughter. Jane is looking forward
to a trip to Australia and New Zealand this year
and is curious to see the changes in Sydney since
she taught kindergarten there in the early ’70s. Jill
Phelan Lentowski and husband Jim celebrated
their 30th wedding anniversary with a brief trip to
San Francisco and were hoping to travel to Europe
this spring. She has a daughter at Boston College
and another who graduated from UMass Amherst.
Jill still works for a Marine Home Center and
enjoys helping clients with their various projects.
Congratulations to Nance Kulin Liebgott,
whose daughter Blythe made her a grandmother
recently! Unfortunately, they live in Prague, so
it’s doubtful Nance is babysitting often! She was
hoping to make a trip to some national parks in
June and is really looking forward to Reunion! Liz
Henderson Lufkin has retired from public school
teaching in Massachusetts and has become a snowbird!
She loves spending the winter months in the
Naples, FL, area. She suggests we all get motivated
for Reunion 2014! Merrill Press Witty is keeping
busy being editor-in-chief of The Hunt, which
she describes as a “lush lifestyle magazine” from
the Brandywine Valley of Delaware/Pennsylvania.
She calls Baltimore home, however, and does style
reporting for one local magazine as well as writing
for the Port of Baltimore magazine. Merrill summers
in Marblehead, MA, where she regularly connects
with Riverway House pals Pat Coughlin Adams,
Hester “Pooh” Lampert Hill Schnipper, and
Janet Stitt Warren. She also is enjoying time with
her two young grandchildren.
It was great to hear from those who wrote. I
(Tasha) hope the past year has treated everyone well.
Many of us are certainly enjoying grandkids and
retirement. I retired in June after 32 truly rewarding
years of teaching and will embark on a whole new
chapter of my life as I will marry longtime beau Jim
Stynes in August. The wedding will be at my family’s
summer home in Mattapoisett, MA, followed
by a honeymoon to Switzerland in September.
After eight years, we feel we know each other well
enough to take the plunge! We feel blessed that Jim
has been cancer-free for more than two years and
that each of our three kids, spouses, significant others,
and grandkids all really like each other! Three
of our grandkids are 3, so life is full of energy and
joy when everyone gets together. In case you aren’t
feeling old enough, my oldest grandson, Tyler, will
be off to college in the fall. How did that happen?
Don’t forget that we have a Reunion coming up
next year. As Liz said, let’s get motivated to attend!
1970
Marge Weiner is still serving as director of the
Early Learning Center at Gateway Community
College, consulting part time, and staying active in
advocacy initiatives. A member of the Success by
Six Committee of United Way, she is also on the
NHAEYC board of directors and the Connecticut
Early Childhood Alliance. She had a busy 2012,
between the preschool lab school’s NAEYC reaccreditation;
its move to the college’s beautiful,
new, LEED-certified building in downtown New
Haven; and son Hal’s September marriage to Laura
Bennett at the Wadsworth House in Middletown,
CT. Marge writes: “I’m looking forward to the
Global Conference in June and hoping to see other
Wheelock grads there. My husband, Roger, had
such a good time at the 40th Reunion that he asked
to accompany me in June!”
1974
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Laura Keyes Jaynes
“Wow! Wasn’t 1974 just a few years ago?” Vicki
Greenspan Broman writes. She and husband
Jack still live in Paradise Valley, AZ (next to
Scottsdale) and love the weather of blue skies
and two temperatures: hot and hotter! They have
two grandsons who live in Sweden, and Vicki
is working on her Swedish and hopes to buy a
A big milestone birthday year should be celebrated
“where everything is big”—in Texas—says Becky
Kaminsky (far left), shown here in Austin last November
with the rest of the ’74 “quad”: (L-R) Rita
Abrams Draper, Becky “Birdie” Smith Denevan,
and Mimi Noering Wicker.
summer home there to be near them and spoil
them (and get out of the Arizona heat)! Vicki and
Jack celebrated her 60th last year with 10 days in
Orlando “going on every ride possible” and attending
the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. She writes:
“Although I do not teach, a good portion of what
I learned at Wheelock is used in many areas of my
life, including customer and vendor management.
I am still working as a consultant in the technologies
world. The smaller company I was working for
was purchased by a large company, so I am back
to working for a large worldwide American-based
company. I love what I do! She is also certified as
a hypnotherapist, which took more than 150 class
hours to complete, and is working on the next 150
hours to become a certified clinical hypnotherapist.
She has helped people in areas like memory, weight
management, smoking cessation, and gambling
cessation. Vicki asks that any classmates who find
themselves in the Phoenix area look her up.
Paula Davison left her job at The Pinehills in
Plymouth, MA, after seven years, and she has had
time since then to enjoy the beautiful Cape Cod
beaches, travel across the country, and do more
work with the kids at a local homeless shelter. She
just wrapped up her last year as chair of the Alumni
Association Endowment Committee. “It was a great
experience,” she writes. “I don’t think many alums
realize that the Wheelock Alumni Association is
unique in that we have our own endowment fund,
which is the committee’s responsibility to manage.
This year, the income from the fund contributed
over $50,000 to the College for scholarships and
service learning stipends. We also awarded $750
grants to several alumni for special projects. I hope
more alums from the Class of ’74 will apply for
grants. See the website for more info.”
Last year, Becky Kaminsky wrote: “Every
milestone birthday year, the quad of Rita Abrams
Draper, Mimi Noering Wicker, Becky ‘Birdie’
Smith Denevan, and I try to get together for
a few days. Since this was a big birthday year,
we decided to go to Texas (where everything is

ig!). Birdie flew in from California, and the others
of us came in from the East Coast to visit and
play in Austin. We had a great time there over the
Veterans Day weekend! Happy celebrations to all
in the Class of ’74 in this big birthday year!” Julie
Moffatt has had a good year, as far as her health
is concerned, compared with the previous year.
She sees Pat Sullivan ’75 and Diane Rothauser
’74/’81MS fairly often and Jill Schunick Putnam
’74/’84MS at least a couple of times each year. Julie
and Jeanne Wissner Gartenberg are on Facebook.
“I’m ready for the ’14 Reunion already!” she writes.
Janet Leonard O’Loughlin is still teaching second
grade in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District
in Goldens Bridge, NY. Her daughter gave birth
to her first grandchild last October, and her son is
engaged to be married, so life is good! Janet is looking
forward to retiring so she can spend time with
all of them!
“Much as I loved teaching, retirement may even
be better!” Betsy Robertson Pottey writes. She
retired two years ago after teaching kindergarten in
Abington, MA, for 36 years, and she has become
more involved in her town (Sandwich, MA). A volunteer
at the local preschool as well as her church,
she also started volunteering in the education
department at Heritage Museums and Gardens in
Sandwich, and that developed into a part-time
retirement job. Betsy and husband Michael still
have time to travel and really enjoy that. They have
two grown sons: One has just finished pharmacy
school, and the other is an officer in the Merchant
Marines. Betsy has recently reconnected with several
Wheelock friends through Facebook and looks
forward to our next Reunion. Naomi Resnick
Schwartz has been living in Providence, RI, since
1979 and is still teaching third grade. “I work in an
‘inner-city’ school and have had my share of challenging
kids over the years,” she writes. “The work
is getting harder and harder (thanks to the administration),
and I’m considering retiring in a year or
two.” Naomi and her husband have been married
for 38 years and have three grown children living in
Boston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. They love
visiting with them when they get the chance. One
of their favorite things to do is spend two weeks in
a cabin on Lake Damariscotta in Maine, where they
vacation with friends.
Greetings (from Laura) to the Class of 1974
and fellow 60-year-olds! How can we now be so
mature and yet so young in our hearts? Thank you
for your responses! I do hope more of you will join
us next year, 2014, at our 40th Reunion! What a
hoot! We need to celebrate our times together.
I am fine and still live in Merrimack, NH, with
my husband of 40 years, Steve. I continue to teach
fourth grade in public school and love working
with the families in my town. I am involved with
Merrimack’s Parks and Recreation Committee and
our Lake Association. Steve is now retired and keeping
our empty nest going! Our 29-year-old son,
Steven, lives in Honolulu and is now engaged to
be married in a couple of years. Our 23-year-old
Paula Davison ’74
A Reminder about Alumni
Association Resources
Idon’t think many alums realize that the
Wheelock Alumni Association is unique in that
we have our own endowment fund, which is the
committee’s responsibility to manage. This year,
income from the fund contributed more than
$50,000 to the College for scholarships and
service learning stipends. We also awarded $750
Marjorie Wolf Memorial Grants to several alumni
for special projects. I hope more alums from
the Class of ’74 will apply for grants. See the
Wheelock website for more information.
daughter, Julie, is in New Mexico, having graduated
from the university with majors in English and
Spanish! Great places to visit.
Start planning for next year’s Reunion (May 30-
June 1)! Let’s make it our best year yet in attendance!
We have friendships and memories to celebrate.
1976
Angela Barresi Yakovleff
Although we heard from only a few classmates this
year, there’s great news. Marianne Daly Chellgren
is really enjoying her new venture, selling homesites
at an Active Adult community in Texas. Watching
the process, from plowing the 16-acre field to the
paving and plumbing over five months, was very
interesting for her. Maryanne Galvin went to last
August’s Center for Independent Documentary/
Kopkind Filmmakers Retreat & Seminars in
Guilford, VT, and her Urban Odyssey was shown at
special screenings in Boulder, CO; Vancouver, BC;
and India later in the year.
Marian Miller, noting how “Time flies” is
certainly more than a cliché, says, “The longer I am
away, the more connected I feel to the ideas and
ideals experienced while [at Wheelock] so long ago
now it’s hard to believe.” She feels particularly lucky
to be in her current position as education coordinator
for an environmental organization. Marian
feels the learning, training, and experience she got
at Wheelock have given her a decided advantage
in this role. She has been married to the same guy
she met while at Wheelock and still happily lives
in the Boston area. “Things are good, life is fine,
and education still matters deeply, although maybe
differently, than when I was an undergrad,” she
writes. She would be interested in hearing about
others’ professional pursuits and reflections on
an education life. She would like any classmates
to email her at mmiller@massaudubon.org. Diana
Spence Uehlein ’76/’94MS sent an update about
her efforts to open a children’s museum in London:
“The project is growing, gaining momentum, and
enjoying welcome recognition. We have a small
office in Covent Garden and a team of five dedicated
employees; I am on the Board of Trustees.
We are very fortunate to have acquired substantial
development funding, and we are beginning to
CLASS NOTES
attract individuals to a Campaign Board. We are
still looking for a suitable site and have set a goal
to secure one by the end of this year. The future
museum aspires to have 100,000 primary pupil
visits per year and an extensive outreach program
connecting to schools in London’s 33 boroughs.
The concept of a children’s museum is new to
London, and it is a constant challenge to explain
it.” Anyone interested in learning more can go to
http://www.childrensmuseum.org.uk/.
Carla Uribe is living in Cali, Colombia, with
her husband of 34 years, Manuel. Their three
daughters are living and working in the U.S., so
they are in the “empty nest” stage of life. Carla
writes: “I enjoy my job as principal of the preprimary
section at the Colegio Bolivar (U.S.-approved
school), embracing new programs and changes
on our campus. We have an Atelier in our section
which is completing six years of success. El Nido,
our early childhood center, is turning five, and
that is coordinated by Amanda Felton ’03 and
another veteran teacher and offers a high-quality
Reggio-inspired program for 55 children. Working
with young children continues to be rewarding
and gives us daily blessings! My family helps with
Trinity School, located in the western hills of Cali.
The school was founded by the North American
families who attended Trinity Church in the ’60s.
It educates about 500 students from a lower socioeconomic
neighborhood, from preschool through
middle school. We donated violins 12 years ago,
and now they have an ongoing music class and
participate in community concerts.”
Sharla Sitterly Wager enjoyed her secondgraders
during her 37th year of teaching. Although
she is “way overdue” to retire, she enjoys teaching
and thinks “the little ones keep you young!” With
so many new standards and changes in the field of
education, it is becoming increasingly difficult for
young people to pursue the field, she says. Sharla
feels fortunate that Wheelock gave her such a strong
background on which to grow through the years.
One of her daughters is completing her studies to
be an RN; another is in her last year of law school,
studying environmental law; and her son is in his
second year in the Army, stationed at Fort Hood,
TX, where he is training to be a combat Army
medic. An added delight for Sharla is being near
her 3-year-old granddaughter, who keeps her busy
and is great company.
I (Angela) continue to teach fourth- and fifthgrade
literacy and social studies in Whitingham,
VT. Next year my elementary school will merge
with the elementary school in the neighboring
town. This will be quite a different experience.
We are all hoping our jobs are secure! My son,
who lives in Portland, ME, recently completed his
master’s degree in public policy, and my daughter,
an RN, moved to Burlington, VT, to accept a job
in the hospital’s ICU. I am serving as president of
Vermont Council on Reading. It has been a privilege
to serve this wonderful organization for many
years in many capacities. We recently teamed with
Wheelock Magazine 47

CLASS NOTES
Liz Miller ’78/’78MS
Caring For and Touching Base with Natural Places
After seeing in earlier issues of this magazine that Wheelock students have been involved in cleanup
around the Muddy River, Liz wrote in about similar work she has done: “I spent a few years cleaning
up around small bodies of water in Sarasota [FL]. It began for me because I needed something to do and,
as I had previously worked in rehabilitation of birds, I was interested in the numerous ducks, herons, and
many other species which used ponds and lakes adjacent to parking lots of large shopping malls.
“I managed to persuade several businesses to keep their parking lots freer of plastic bags and Styrofoam
and their dumpsters closed, so the debris didn’t continue to end up in the water, interfering with the birds,
turtles, and fish. . . . The wildlife makes a difference, at least around here where the temps are mild
and watching and feeding are educational and entertaining. I’m interested in the concept of the use
of green areas within the city and how these can be enhanced for the interest and enjoyment of all sorts
of people—who may not realize its benefits. It’s good for the mind and the soul, in everyday life, to at least
touch base with natural places.”
the Green Mountain Writing Project to bring
Ralph Fletcher to keynote about boy writers at our
fall conference. It was a wonderful, informative
day. I was also fortunate to be accepted to travel
to Thailand with UVM Asian Studies Outreach
Program. Together with 11 other teachers, we
spent three weeks last summer visiting schools and
historic and cultural sites. It truly was a life-changing
experience. So many changes for many of us
are leading to new challenges and new chapters.
1977
Margaret Smith Lee
Lisa Brookover Moore
Patty Kimball Bragg writes that she “loved
reconnecting with so many favorite classmates at
the June [2012] Reunion” and that her daughter
is “[following] in her mom’s footsteps by jumping
into the sales world.” Jill Schoenfeld Ikens
has participated in Wheelock’s “Read Across
America” day enough times now that Wheelock
library employees refer to her as “[their] devoted
annual RAA volunteer”! She—and some Atrium
Staffing co-workers of hers—went to campus
again this past March 1 and read to local preschoolers
during a special Dr. Seuss story time
that was part of this annual daylong event
(always held around Theodor Geisel’s birthday)
that promotes the importance of reading in the
lives of young children.
Susan Cook Vaughn is adjusting to being back
in New Mexico after finishing two and a half years
of volunteering at an orphanage in northeastern
China, giving her a “new perspective on child care
when it is in a 24/7 setting.” Lita Kochakian
Zuchero is in her seventh year of teaching in a
seventh- and eighth-grade classroom at her local
middle school and is also tutoring grades K to 7
after school. She and her husband celebrated their
25th wedding anniversary. They have one daughter
recently graduated from college and awaiting grad
school acceptance, and a son graduated from high
school this year.
My (Lisa’s) husband of 35 years and I are enjoying
spending time with our 18-month-old grandson,
and teaching scuba diving on the side.
1978
Pat Mucci Tayco
Diane Clarke Delehanty ’78/’95MS and husband
Kevin still reside in South Boston and enjoy
having their two grown sons close by. For three
years Diane has been managing a human services
training program offered at Morgan Memorial
Goodwill, and last fall she took advantage of the
tuition remission benefit for graduate studies at
Goodwill and enrolled part time in the M.S.W.
program at Salem State University. “It has been
challenging to work and take two classes,” she
writes. “However, it has been exhilarating. I am
betting on my longevity to accomplish the task in
four years and utilize the degree for years to come
before even thinking about retirement.”
1979
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
After 33 years working for Boston Public
Schools, Dr. Linda B. Cabral retired in
September 2012. She began her career in Boston
as a classroom teacher with students with disabilities,
was appointed to headmaster in 2000,
and in 2009 held various positions at the district
office, including academic superintendent/chief
of schools. “I am most proud of my work with
aspiring school leaders,” she writes. “Five of the
five individuals I formally mentored are now
or were headmasters, and there are countless
other individuals [I supported] who have moved
through the system in various capacities.” Linda
has two grandchildren—Sierra, 14, and E.J.,
11—who attend the Meadowbrook School in
Weston, MA. Now that she is retired, she will do
some educational consulting and she and husband
Rudolph “Rudy” plan to travel.
1984
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Kathy Welsh Wilcox
Jackie Johnson Markley and her family continue
to be blessed with good health—and spent the
winter break in the Caribbean! “My angel girl continues
to grow and excel at sports!” she writes. “Go
figure. She has her dad’s athletic ability!” Childhood
friends made the trek cross-country to help Jackie
celebrate her 50th birthday.
I (Kathy) have finally completed my master’s
in school administration. It was a long 18 months.
I can hardly believe that I am not typing any more
papers or reading any education books. My two
children, Steven and Andrew, are both in college
and thought their mother was very funny, having
to stay home on the weekends to do homework. I
continue to teach first grade and enjoy now having
time to get back to the gym and travel more.
1985
Linda Edwards Beal
Like many ’85ers, I (Linda) will celebrate my 50th
birthday this year. As a way to mark this milestone,
I gathered some smart and caring friends and
created a nonprofit called Kids Five and Over. The
shorter name is “Five-0”—as in 50. The nonprofit is
the birthday gift I am giving to myself.
I have worked in the public schools since the
age of 22 and met some incredible children over
those years, including children who, unfortunately,
have life obstacles that stand in the way of opportunity.
These children have unique gifts and special
talents, often unrelated to academics, but they don’t
have the chance to grow their gifts. With funding
from Kids Five and Over, we are hoping to shine a
light on the next generation and provide opportunities
for them to grow their greatness.
Check out our website, www.KidsFiveAndOver.
org, and use the contact page to be included on our
email list. Let us know if you have any ideas to help
shape our nonprofit or if you work with children
who might benefit from this kind of support. Share
the link and help spread the word, so we can reach
far and wide.
Happy 50th to all of you who will carry the
one to the tens place this year and welcome in a
new decade!
1986
Lori MacKinnon Churchill is living in central
Massachusetts with her husband and three kids.
They have spent the better part of the last eight
years renovating an 1830s home, and Lori has
been back to social work (private practice) for
the last four years, following many years in youth
ministry. Two years ago they bought their town’s
original “town store” (ca. 1845), they went on to
renovate it, and now Lori has her private practice
there. In addition to that part-time work,
she is also now teaching (something she never
thought she’d do): She is an adjunct professor
in the B.S.W. program at Anna Maria College
in Paxton and really loves it. “I especially love
the B.S.W. program and the fact that my life is
coming full circle, teaching in a B.S.W. program
like the one I was professionally born into at
48 Spring/Summer 2013

CLASS NOTES
Wheelock so long ago,” she writes. Lori went to
Reunion 2011 with Karen Fitch Voellmann ’86
and Hilory Rosenzweig Paster ’86 and more
recently had lunch with Laura Montminy Parks
’85 in Maine. She says everyone is doing great!
Maria Petronio McAfee has a new position
as the assistant director of special services for the
town of Johnston, RI. “I am humbled and honored
to serve the children of this suburban district
and pray daily that I will do what is best for each
and every student in the town,” she writes. Even
more important, she says, she continues to try to
be the best mother she can be. “My oldest daughter
is a sophomore in high school.” she writes. “So
many people who know me come up to her and
say, ‘You look just like your mommy!’ God help
her. My youngest daughter is now 12, looking like
she is 21! She is almost 5 feet 8 inches and looks
like a model? Where, may I ask, did that come
from? All I can say is that it must have skipped
a generation!” Maria would love to connect with
Wheelock friends and invites you to look her up
on Facebook and friend her and say hello. She
ends, “P.S. NANCY, where are you?”
1987
Libby Hubbard VanDerMaelen
Still teaching special ed preschool, Allison Small
Annand is now working in a program in Nashua,
NH, for children turning 3 after Oct. 1. “They are
very young, and most have never been away from
home,” she writes. “It is a challenge but lots of
fun.” Allison lives in Nashua with husband David
and her two children. Daughter Katie just finished
Kathy Kourapis Sipes ’83
Sarasota Luncheon with “Amazing Women”
her sophomore year at Furman University in South
Carolina, and Emily just graduated from high
school and will be off to college in the fall. Kathy
Kenney Donnellan and husband Jim have been
living in their home in Saratoga Springs, NY, for 11
years and have three children—one in college, one
heading to college in the fall, and one just out of
eighth grade—who keep them (and their cars) very
busy! Kathy works at Domestic Violence and Rape
Crisis Services of Saratoga County as a counselor/
case manager. “I went to the Wheelock Reunion
[last] June and met up with a few old friends,
which was great!” she writes. “I am very thankful
for the education and the friendships that I received
at Wheelock.”
“First, I must say that my heart and prayers
went out to all who were affected by Sandy,” Jean
Dresley wrote late last year. “As someone whose
life changed overnight from Katrina, I understand
the devastation a storm can have on one’s life.” Jean
continues to build Catholic Charities of Shreveport,
LA, as the executive director and feels inspired
nearly daily by the people they serve and by the
care their staff and volunteers give. While being
the chief fundraising officer in today’s economic
times is challenging, she says she wouldn’t have it
any other way. After work each day, Jean delights
in going home to daughter Nora, 11, and Nora’s
dad, Joseph. Suzy Kneeland has been working at
the Community Safety Network in Jackson, WY,
as shelter manager, helping victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, and stalking. “I enjoy working
with the families I come in contact with, and
especially enjoy doing important work,” she wrote
in late 2012. “Our community is very lucky to have
the shelter we have, and it’s been a busy spring,
I
left the Wheelock College alumni luncheon held here in Sarasota, FL, on Feb. 7 with an exhilarated
feeling of having been among these amazing women, my fellow alumni. I was especially impressed with
Helen Martin [’64MS], who hosted our luncheon. She shared a story about her mother, who not only was
a Wheelock alumna, but also knew Miss Lucy Wheelock. Helen herself is a rare and special woman who
was named principal of a school in Connecticut soon after her graduation with a master’s degree from
Wheelock, only in her 20s at the time. Helen, now, is a leader at the Education Foundation of Sarasota
County, as well as a past mentor for new principals in Sarasota.
During the luncheon, I was so pleased to sit between two amazing women, each of whom has
volunteered in the past to assist our children in the Riverview High School Cyesis Teen Parent Program. Jerry
Clauss [’51] is an energetic, smart, and fun-loving woman who is always interested in learning about other
people and has a gift for teaching that is evident even in the way she communicates with me! She is also a
photographer and avid tennis player. On my other side was Judy Achre [’58], who is an uplifting woman who
leads very gently but passionately. For several years she has led our local League of Women Voters, and she is
now launching the group into an exploration of homelessness among children in our Sarasota community.
I was also pleased to renew my acquaintance with alumni who have supported the Cyesis program’s
children at the annual Wheelock World Service Weekend events—Patty Haas [’59], also a past volunteer
with our program; Barbara Weiner [’63]; and Liz Miller [’78/’78MS]. I left the luncheon impressed with
the women—retired, but by no means out of circulation—who continue to contribute so much to their
communities. We all were so pleased to hear from Jackie Jenkins-Scott about the programs, the buildings,
and the students at Wheelock. Her words at the luncheon inspired me to know that the legacy will
continue, and I am proud to be part of it.—Kathy
summer, and fall. I volunteered for the shelter as an
advocate for years, but now I’m enjoying working
with a great staff and doing meaningful work.” Suzy
continues to spend a lot of time outdoors and taking
photographs. She became an aunt in the spring!
A yoga teacher since 2008, Beth Kaminow
Lawrence has recently begun working with both
kids and the elder population. She enjoys time with
husband Matt and her children, Lucy and Emma,
11, and Asher, 9. Last year they took a road trip
from D.C., where they live, to Orlando to visit
friends and the theme parks.
1989
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Susan Kelly Myers
Kolleen DeCarolis Callaghan is a stay-at-home
mom to two teenagers, Connor, 16, and Berkeley,
13. Still in Connecticut, she hopes to get back to
North Carolina in the next few years for good.
Last year they all went to Maui, where she and her
husband renewed their vows on the beach at sunset
with their children around them.
1990
Jeanette Henshaw relocated to Taos, NM, with her
7-year-old daughter, Gabriella June, to be near her
brother. She teaches at a charter school called Taos
Integrated School of the Arts.
1991
After several years working outside the classroom
with infants and as a nanny, Erin Sweeney
DeSantos got an assistant teacher job in a pre-K
at an elementary school in Hillsborough, NJ. “It’s
so nice to be back in a classroom, and I’m getting
very attached to the children already,” she writes.
1993
Patti Bys Carando completed her doctorate in
educational psychology, even while raising her
three energetic kids, and continues to work as a
school psychologist. Her dissertation involved early
childhood, teacher education, and literacy/readiness.
She writes: “It was a great culmination of my
interests professionally, reflecting on where I started
at Wheelock, but also involving all that I was interested
in as a mother who fosters early learning with
her own children. Wheelock remains in my roots.”
Patti also volunteers with her kids’ PTO and is
involved with her local International MOMS Club.
1994
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Alex Campbell ’94/’97MS got married in June
2012 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline,
MA. There was a homemade movie shown,
popcorn and cupcakes were served, and a good
Wheelock Magazine 49

CLASS NOTES
Justine Johnson Photography
Alex Campbell Vaillancourt ’94/’97MS, who married
Roger Vaillancourt in June 2012, says she loves her new
name because “it sounds like royalty”!
Michelle Smith Perry ’96 with her husband and their three Akitas, now all Texas residents
time was had by all! Amy Hawkins ’95 did a
theatrical reading. Alex writes: “I changed my last
name (again!) to my husband Roger’s name of
Vaillancourt and updated my Facebook account
to read ‘Alexandra Vaillancourt’ because it sounds
like royalty. No, I have not changed a bit!” After
15 years as a preschool teacher in Brookline, Alex
decided to slow down her life a bit and is now a
nanny to a 4-year-old girl and newborn boy. “I now
have more time to focus on my budding writing
career,” she writes.
“I am busy all the time but am enjoying life,”
writes Sarah Westmoreland Dehey. As the high
school special education math specialist at the New
Leadership Charter School in the Forest Park section
of Springfield, MA, she has 37 students on
her caseload and works with them daily to improve
their skills. She is also halfway through work on
her master’s in special education at Westfield State
University. Sarah lives with her husband, son, two
foster children, and three dogs in Winsted, CT.
Arlene Duncan fills us in on her career: “I started
out teaching for the Brookline [MA] Public Schools
system in an integrated preschool classroom and,
when I relocated to Greenfield, MA, taught Head
Start for a few years. Later I transitioned to working
with adults who had developmental disabilities
with dual psych and medical diagnosis. My interest
in the medical aspect of my work led me to further
my education, and I am now a registered nurse at
Kindred Hospital in Springfield, MA. I am currently
the unit manager on a traumatic brain injury
unit, where I am able to use my education background
and my nursing knowledge to better serve
my patients.”
1996
“One of the great things about having a social work
degree is that I can move across the country and
always have a job that impacts children and families
for the good!” writes Michelle Smith Perry, who
recently moved and changed jobs again. She now
lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and works for
the State of Texas Child Protective Services as an
investigator in a specialized unit dealing with child
death and sexual abuse. She and her husband of six
years are still happily married and recently got their
third Akita to “complete [their] family.” Michelle
adds, “I am super happy and content in life, and I
am on Facebook if anyone wants to keep in touch.”
1997
“I got married in October to my soul mate and
the funniest man I know, Mark Anderson,” Sue
Harmon writes. Sue has been teaching at Amistad
Academy Middle Charter School in New Haven,
CT, for the past 12 years and recently earned
National Teachers Board Certification. Rebecca
Shanahan-Galligani is loving life in Lowell, MA,
with husband Steve and their two children, Kevin
(10) and Angelina (8). She is an educational trainer
Robin Weissman Heard ’93/’94MS
Appalachian Trail Hiking & The Gratitude Project
Alumni who read in the Reunion 2013
registration booklet about Robin’s threemonth
spring/summer 2012 Appalachian Trail hike
will no doubt be interested in more of her story:
After making a plan, gathering the right gear, and
preparing her family (in South Carolina) for her
long absence, she set out from Springer Mountain
(in northern Georgia) last April 21. “My prime goal
was to put one foot in front of the other,” she
writes. “I walked up and down mountains every
day through cold and rain, sun and heat. Starting
at five to seven miles a day, I was able to walk
15 to 20 miles a day by the end. Sometimes there
were views or trail highlights like some stranger
offering ‘trail magic,’ food or a place to stay. It was
always thrilling to come into a town for a shower!
“Most of my days were spent walking alone
enjoying the inherent beauty in the woods and
being truly grateful for the gift of being there. Of
course there is a huge migration of AT hikers, and
you are hardly alone on this path. My greatest
fortune was meeting up early in the trip with a
group of women my own age. I was able to cover
1,100 miles, or half the trail, and will be able
to reminisce with them about so many shared
memories. It reminded me a lot of the fun I had
at Wheelock, supported and encouraged, free to
engage myself.
“This trip turned out to be a life-altering
experience where I was reminded to live (joyfully
if possible) in each moment and be truly open to
whatever comes.” Having learned through her
experience that “gratitude [is] the key ingredient
in creating an amazing life,” Robin went on to
discover the Rhonda Byrne book The Magic with
her 12-year-old daughter and got inspired by it to
start a club with kindred spirits of different ages,
perhaps in the Wheelock community, who might
join her in what she wants to call “The Gratitude
Project.”
Any alumni interested in talking to Robin
about the book and the project should contact
Lori Ann in Wheelock’s Alumni Relations Office at
lsaslav@wheelock.edu, and she’ll put you in touch
with Robin.
50 Spring/Summer 2013

Angela Slowinski ’05
Teaching on Eleuthera
In late August, I moved to the remote island of
Eleuthera, in the Bahamas. Here, I work in a small
settlement school with 42 students teaching math,
assisting with physical education, and supervising
student government as well as student support.
In my free time, besides learning about the new
environment around me and exploring the ocean,
I’ve been revamping the school’s math curriculum
to incorporate experiential opportunities. Who knew
how easy it was to calculate the height of palm
trees based on their shadows and our heights, or to
find the Fibonacci sequence in not only conch shells
but also jellyfish and sand dollars?
The school where I work, Deep Creek Middle
School, is the only green certified eco-school in the
Bahamas, as well as the entire English-speaking
Caribbean, and the mission is to teach the future
leaders of the Bahamas. Because many Bahamian
children do not know how to swim, one of our
goals is to graduate each student with functional
swimming skills. With the support of the Island
School, an affiliated local nonprofit, children in
grade 9 even learn to scuba dive.
The picture shows me with my advisees at
High Rock, a popular swimming location. Last
quarter, in celebration of their hard work, I took
the students on a swim/snorkel adventure before
returning to my apartment, where we made pizza
(a first for most) and cookies.
I live at the Island School (my partner,
John, is the head of school), a semester program
on Cape Eleuthera for students all over the
world. The school is linked to the Cape Eleuthera
Institute (CEI), a world-class marine research
station that is connected by a bridge over the
CLASS NOTES
mangroves. Students at both the Island School
and the Deep Creek Middle School team up
with researchers at CEI to collect data on sharks,
conch, and lionfish, and to work with aquaponics
and aquaculture.
It’s all slightly amazing.—Angela
Angela (second from right) celebrating
her advisees’ hard work with a
“swim/snorkel adventure” near High
Rock, a popular swimming location
for Keller Williams Realty International, which she
says is a great company, and provides direct support
to their operational staff—working from home
most days, traveling the country training other
days. Seeing the country has especially been a great
blessing, she says. Rebecca loves having extra time
at home with her kids even though she’s become
“the mommy shuttle bus,” driving them to a lot of
sports and arts activities. Still doing a lot of theater
herself, she works at the Academy of Notre Dame
in Tyngsboro, MA, as the drama guild director and
continues to work with local theater companies
doing shows. When her family does have some
spare time, they love to go to their summer place
on Sebago Lake in Maine. “You should all come
visit!” Rebecca writes.
1999
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
Carrie Pittore Kulowiec and her family—which
includes Tyler, 7, and Savannah, 2—have moved
to Shelton, CT. “I miss my Wheelock family,”
she writes. “I haven’t been back to Boston for a
long time.” Cathy Marciello ’99/’04MS has been
teaching sixth grade at Joseph Browne Middle
School in Chelsea, MA, for nine years. She has
two grandchildren who are the joy of her life, and
her son was married last October. Cathy enjoys
spending as much time in Conway, NH, as she
can—“destressing” with hiking, swimming, skiing,
snowshoeing, and shopping. Laurel Simonini
Schnitman writes of “busy beavers” Caden, her
3-year-old son, and Weslie, her 2-year-old daughter.
Their family had a great vacation in Nantucket
last summer and was looking forward to it again
this year. Laurel talks to Jen Simonini Dezotelle
frequently and they love whatever time they get to
spend together. “So happy to have her back on the
East Coast!” Laurel writes.
2000
Kristine Swan is the learning center director at the
South Shore YMCA in Quincy, MA.
2002
After having her second daughter in May 2012,
Laurie Fraga Corbett ’02/’04MS left her job as
a child life specialist to stay home with her girls.
She loved being home with them but “wanted
to do something to use all of the things [she]
learned at Wheelock,” so she has become publisher
and editor for Macaroni Kid South Shore
Boston. “Macaroni Kid is a free, weekly e-newsletter
and website that highlight all the great things
for kids and families to do in their community,”
she writes. “We share fun things to do at home
and all the great events, classes, and more happening
on the South Shore. I am loving it!”
2004
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
After spending seven years as a math teacher
at Case Junior High in Swansea, MA, Karyn
Beaudry Denningham has been taking some
time off to raise her daughter. Elizabeth Ann
was born on April 4, 2012. Lisa Rosselli
DiCecca gave birth to her third daughter, Aria
Rayne DiCecca, on May 29, 2012 (a month
early at 9.8 lbs.!).
2005
Alison Cook Nogueira had a baby boy, Bryce Alan
Nogueira, last Dec. 7.
2006
Nikki Coderre Kinsella emailed Wheelock in
February about son Chase’s arrival last July.
2009
REUNION 2014
May 30–June 1
In addition to working at a local day care,
Allison Shea works out, still dances, and spends
time with her 2-year-old twin nephews and
1-year-old niece. Jill Chaffee Kennett went on
to receive her M.A. in cultural studies in education
from the University of California, Los
Wheelock Magazine 51

CLASS NOTES
Angeles and since then has been teaching second
grade for Glendale Unified School District of
Southern California. “My school focuses on
fine-tuning proven teaching techniques, particularly
in engagement and explicit instruction,”
she writes. “The majority of the students are
of a low-income population, and the challenge
to raise them up academically is constant but
incredibly rewarding. I have learned so much
through working at this ambitious and driven
school with such a wonderfully connected staff
who works together to help children succeed.”
2010
Amanda Babine received a master’s in social work
and public policy from Columbia University last
year and works at John Jay College of Criminal
Justice (in the CUNY system). “I specifically evaluate
a program funded through the NYC Center
for Economic Opportunity, NYC Justice Corps,
which addresses recidivism among young adults,
ages 18 to 24,” she writes.
2011
“Life is funny sometimes,” writes Marci Leno.
“On the afternoon following graduation in 2011,
I boarded a plane bound for my new home in
Bozeman, MT. Here, I would begin my journey
to medical school (or so I thought!). Turns out,
I got hired working part time at two motels. Just
this past week, I got hired as the full-time general
manager of a 42-room motel. It has been a busy
week of transition, but I thank Wheelock College
for providing me with excellent leadership abilities
and time management.”
2012
As area coordinator at Castleton State College in
Vermont, Kevin Kareckas supervises the operations
of two residence halls and attends to the needs of
students. “I find delight in every day of work and
am thoroughly enjoying my location in snowy
Vermont,” he writes.
Master’s Degrees
Ai-Ling Louie ’76MS has a new book for children,
Yo-Yo & Yeou-Cheng Ma, Finding Their Way. “It’s
a biography for elementary school in the series
Amazing Asian Americans (Dragoneagle),” Ai-Ling
writes. “Yeou-Cheng is Yo-Yo’s sister and a violinist
and pediatrician.”
Wheelock was sorry to hear of the recent passing
of Joan Budyk Costley ’78MS, who devoted
her long professional career to improving education
for young children, adult learners, and ESL students.
For 17 years she did that work at Wheelock,
as director of the College’s Statewide Childcare
Training Program, director of its A.S. Degree
Program for Adult Learners, program developer
and director of its Childcare Careers Program, and
co-founder of its Center for Career Development in
Early Care and Education. The College is grateful
for her contributions, in so many different capacities,
to advancing the work of its mission.
Still a trustee at the AIDS Foundation of
Western Massachusetts, Robert Quinn ’86MS
also facilitates the foundation’s Living Positive peer
support group for men living with HIV/AIDS.
He recently launched the blog OpenlyPoz.com
(www.openlypoz.com). Jeanette Thomas ’95MS,
who retired in June 2011 after working with special
needs children at the Jackson Mann School in
Boston, now has a granddaughter at Wheelock!
Kiana Robinson just finished her junior year as a
B.S.W. major!
Congratulations to Elizabeth Marino Brown
’07MS and husband Andre, who welcomed their
daughter, Eila Taveri Brown, on Oct. 4, 2011.
Arrivals
04 Karyn Beaudry Denningham,
a daughter, Elizabeth Ann
04 Lisa Rosselli DiCecca, a daughter,
Aria Rayne DiCecca
05 Alison Cook Nogueira, a son,
Bryce Alan Nogueira
06 Nikki Coderre Kinsella, a son, Chase
07MS Elizabeth Marino Brown, a daughter,
Eila Taveri Brown
Communication Makes
the World Go ’Round
K
eep the communication in flow. Send us
your current email address, and we promise
to send you Wheelock’s monthly E-News so you
can be up-to-date on late-breaking news, alumni
spotlights, resources and events, and much more!
Email Lori Ann Saslav at lsaslav@wheelock.edu.
Unions
94/97 Alex Campbell to Roger Vaillancourt
97 Sue Harmon to Mark Anderson
In Memoriam
33 Allana Sawyer Saywell
33 Phyllis Ensor Smith
34 Katherine Beck Maguire
38 Mae Christensen
38 Betty Quick Collin
38 Jane Knapp Gerow
38 Elizabeth Barrett Sigloch
38 Ruth Hart Spacciapoli
39 Pearl Corliss Putnam
39 Virginia Vannah Treat
42 Elizabeth Crooks Morris
42 Elizabeth Beck Welton
44 Elizabeth Arnold Eastwood
48 Priscilla Leahy Blue
48 Dorothy Swett Clifton
48 Margaret Van Blarcom Gaston
48 Barbara Windels Mulqueen
49 Ann Haldeman Tatem
49 Evelyn Bowler Wendell
49 Elaine Macmann Willoughby
51 Nancy Noelte Cloutier
53 Roberta Goodman Morgan
53 Patricia Day Rowland
53 Patricia Lea Woodward
54 Nancy Ferguson Greenlees
55 Nancy Hedstrom Griffiths
55 Ellender Tuller Lutek
56 Janice Lacy Franck
56 Laura Lawyer Phelps
60MS Catherine Goodrich
61 Avery Thompson Funkhouser
63 Rebecca Cotton Christoffersen
63 Margaret Hanley Corrigan
64 Carole Cooper Harris
66 Linda Hine Peake
68MS Kathryn Gilliam Morgenthau
70 Jill Meyer Suchke
74MS Constance Gresser
76 Rebecca Neblett Hedin
77AS Phyllis Williams Faulk
78MS Joan Budyk Costley
84MS Marlene Shoolman Saloner
89MS Wendy Whipple
93 Sandra Ogilvie Horvath
93 Mary Ann Petrie Vardaro
52 Spring/Summer 2013

Ruth (right) with Natalie
Smith Garland ’53, who
presented her with the
“Making a Difference”
Service Award during
Reunion Weekend
RUTH ANGIER SALINGER ’53
Celebrating Wheelock’s 125th and My 60th
Ican remember graduating from Wheelock
on a sunny June day. The world was before
us, and our small band of 96 or so graduates
were ready and eager to do our part. We
were going to make a difference in the lives of
children and thus the world. Now, it’s 60 years
later, and most of us are assessing our roles as
change agents. We realize that our look back is
longer than our look forward, but something
is very clear, at least to me. Wheelock made a
larger difference in my life than I could have
ever imagined.
From its beginning, this college took on the
mantle of clear thinking, positioning itself on the
cutting edge of change in educating its graduates
to be confident human beings. It emphasized
child—indeed, human—development, as well
as the value of observation, curiosity, historical
perspective, diverse cultures, and innovative
thinking. And it endowed us with the knowledge
that every child—every person—has potential,
perhaps a unique potential waiting for someone
to help bring it to the fore. We only needed to
find the key to unlock it.
No matter what field we entered, our Wheelock
education stood us in good stead. I taught
school, became a director of religious education,
inner-city youth worker, art teacher, member
and chair of a local school committee, founder
of a human rights council, district director for
a congressman, founder of a peace and justice
foundation, founder of a company doing
business in Russia, and founder of a nonprofit
corporation that processes global environmental
decision-making. I am a divorced mother
of two, grandmother of six, political activist
for democratic causes, consultant, speaker,
and house sitter still working with an office in
Gloucester, MA, overlooking the Little River.
Wheelock gave me an appreciation for
what a lifelong education means. It gave me an
understanding of what an individual can do
within a caring community. Wheelock’s capacity
can never be fully measured, but I know it
has enhanced my North Star vision. It has taught
me that when people of goodwill use that will to
confront challenges together, beneficial change
most often happens. Celebrating Wheelock’s
125th and my class’ 60th is not only a tribute
to longevity; it is a tip of the hat to the legacy
of hopes fulfilled, and an assurance of a pathway
leading to an enlightened tomorrow.
—Ruth
“Wheelock gave
me an appreciation
for what a lifelong
education means.
It gave me an
understanding of
what an individual
can do within a
caring community.”

200 The Riverway
Boston, MA
02215-4176
(617) 879-2123
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
PROVIDENCE, RI
PERMIT NO. 421
617-879-2300
www.WheelockFamilyTheatre.org
Calendar of Summer Events
July 11 • 12 p.m.
Cape Cod Summer Picnic
July 25 • 6 p.m.
New York
125th Regional Event
Desmond Hotel
Albany, NY
Aug. 14 • 12 p.m.
Cape Cod
125th Celebration
Thirwood Place
South Yarmouth, MA
Aug. 15 • 12 p.m.
Martha’s Vineyard Luncheon
West Chop Club
Sept. 2
Palo Alto
125th Regional Event
Sept. 17
San Francisco
125th Reception
Facebook Corporate Office
Menlo Park, CA
Nov. 21 • 6 p.m.
Washington, D.C.
NAEYC Conference
Alumni Reception
University Club Library
PLANNING FOR FALL
Maine 125th Regional Event
Atlanta 125th Celebration
For more information and
event updates, watch for
your monthly E-News, check
the College website at www.
wheelock.edu, or email
alumnirelations@wheelock.edu.
COMMENCEMENT 2013
page 8
Honoring Year Up and Gerald Chertavian
T
o
benefit the Passion for Action Scholarship Program at Wheelock
College and to honor the national nonprofitYear Up and its
founder, Gerald Chertavian, this year’s Leadership Award Dinner will
be held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Every gift helps the next generation of Wheelock
create a better world for children and families.
ONE YEAR TO GO! The Campaign for Wheelock is on a roll,
and you can help to make it a historic success by contributing
to this year’s Annual Fund. Your contribution helps the
College to meet its current scholarship needs and to reach
its $80 million Campaign goal. We’re getting close! Make your
gift and then keep current on the largest capital campaign
in Wheelock’s history by going to the “Giving” tab on the
Campaign web page at www.wheelock.edu.