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Libby Pockman Hughes ’50
Author, editor, playwright, and lyricist, you are a writer in every sense of the word. You have staged your own plays on three continents, written numerous biographies on subjects as diverse as Yitzhak Rabin and Tiger Woods, and been recognized for your extraordinary musical theater and song lyrics.
Your travels have influenced your creative work. Living in Asia for 12 years heightened your awareness of world affairs and world leaders. Life in Alabama has influenced your thirty-plus plays, many of which are set in the South. Your eagerness to experience the places and cultures that you write about lends authenticity to your work.
You characterize your writing style as a simple one—the marriage of journalism with playwriting, much like the work of your inspiration, Ernest Hemingway. For ten years, you were publisher, editor, drama critic, and feature writer for a chain of newspapers on Cape Cod, and while in Asia you were a freelance writer for The Christian Science Monitor.
You received a BFA in theater and English from the University of Alabama and an MFA in acting and directing from Boston University. You have served on the board of numerous literary and community organizations. You are the recipient of the Maxwell Anderson Playwrights Series Award and numerous honors for your plays and lyrics. Your prolific career continues: your latest publications include the first biography of best-selling author John Grisham and a biography for young adults on the late Ronald Reagan.
In recognition of your accomplishments as an artist and your remarkable body of creative work, the Alumnae Association Council proudly bestows upon you the Life Achievement Award.
Dr. Nancy Veeder ’55
You are one of this country’s most prominent scholars on social work, managed care, and marketing for human service agencies. For nearly four decades you have been a faculty member at Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, sharing with generations of students your wisdom and your passion for research and policy in the complex world of human services. A graduate of Smith College, you hold a master’s in social welfare from Simmons College School of Social Work and a PhD in research and policy from Brandeis University. Mid-career, you earned an MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College in order to educate yourself about the management side of social work.
You have written books and published articles in professional journals on managed care policy, social work education, human services marketing, and social work management and administration, and you have given innumerable presentations at scholarly meetings. You have even been known to lend your expertise to an Emma Willard Career Day.
In 2004, you were selected to present a paper on women’s human rights at the Oxford Round Table at Oxford University, an invitation extended to only 35 individuals worldwide. You were invited back to Oxford in 2005 to speak on women’s leadership. You served as president of the board of directors of the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, and you were honored as one of “50 Who Made a Difference to a Big Sister” at the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration.
In recognition of your achievements and the significance of your life’s work, the Alumnae Association Council of Emma Willard School proudly bestows upon you the Accomplished Alumna Award.
Susan Murcott ’70
Water. Drinkable water. For one billion men, women, and children around the world, clean, disease-free water does not flow from taps and cannot be pumped from the local well. Susan, you have built a career on your steadfast commitment to bringing access to safe water to people in developing countries. You use your talents and education as an environmental engineer to help prevent water-borne illnesses that kill 3.4 million people each year, including more children under the age of five than die from HIV/AIDS.
As principal investigator and lecturer for the department of civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and as president of your own consulting company, Ecosystems Engineering, you and your graduate student teams have brought innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective water purification technologies to Nepal, Kenya, Dominican Republic, Peru, Nicaragua, and Haiti. Through the World Health Organization’s international network to promote household drinking water treatment and safe Sstorage, you plan to continue this work in many other countries.
You hold a BA from Wellesley College and a BS and MA from MIT. You have been a keynote speaker at many national and international conferences, including Emma Willard’s symposium on women in science, which launched the Hunter Science Center in 1997. You are a widely published author in your field, and your list of memberships includes the International Association of Water Quality, Water for People, and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Closer to home you serve as a volunteer for the Marblehead Cancer Prevention Project.
In recognition of your continuing devotion to human welfare around the world, the Alumnae Association Council of Emma Willard School proudly bestows upon you the Humanitarian Award.
Kristen Lepore ’95
You began your career in public service as the face and voice of Emma Willard’s budding recycling program. You led that effort by example. No one spent more hours in The Laundry pulling staples from discarded documents and separating white from colored paper. By graduation you had also established an unwavering commitment to using your talents for the advancement of the human condition. You wrote at that time that you wanted to become an architect, not to build skyscrapers or trophy homes, but rather to create youth centers and shelters that would house crisis victims and their families.
Now equipped with a degree in political economy from Skidmore College, you have applied your many talents to healthcare advocacy, policy, and administration in the nonprofit sector. The array of organizations with which you have worked includes Family Planning Advocates of New York State, the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations, and Callen-Lourde Community Health Center. You have also served as co-chair of the public policy committee at The Gay & Lesbian Center of New York City. Currently you serve as the coordinator of the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition, where you have developed a national educational training initiative titled Treatment Activism 101. Through partnerships with local community-based and AIDS service organizations across the country, you focus this program’s work on community advocacy for drug development and federal/state policy measures.
In recognition of your remarkable accomplishments and your devotion to helping others, the Alumnae Association Council of Emma Willard School proudly bestows upon you the Outstanding Young Alumna Award.
Laura Bedford ’85
The daughter, niece, and cousin of Emma Willard women, you have a family history closely tied to this campus. Helping your classmates stay tethered to each other and to their alma mater has been your volunteer passion. Most notably, you have served as your class’s bulletin reporter for the twenty years since your graduation. Thanks to your tireless efforts, the members of the Class of 1985 know that when they read EMMA, they can be certain of reading the latest information about their classmates, rendered with enthusiasm and a sense of humor.
In addition, you have been a valuable member of the Alumnae Association Council, serving as member-at-large, secretary, and member of the governance committee, and contributing not only the zest of a committed volunteer but also the useful perspective of a development professional.
In recognition of your longstanding role as the “glue” for the Class of 1985 and your consistent and helpful service to your alma mater, the Alumnae Association Council proudly bestows upon you the Service to Emma Willard Award.
Sally Klingenstein Martell ’85
Your terms on the Alumnae Association Council and the Board of Trustees have been marked by insightful questions, tireless contributions of time and energy, and selfless action. You have become a powerful advocate for your alma mater, and in particular for ensuring that an Emma Willard education is accessible to deserving young women regardless of their financial circumstances.
As a trustee, you have served as a board officer, as a member of the board’s executive committee, and as member of the development committee. When the school asked—nay, begged—you on very short notice to serve as the development committee’s chair, you willingly leaped into the breach. And while your modesty probably would never allow you to admit it, your leadership strengthened that key committee significantly, in the process positioning Emma Willard for its current $75 million campaign.
Currently you lend your time and talents to the Campaign Executive Committee, a group of alumnae volunteers directly responsible for carrying out the most ambitious campaign ever undertaken by a girls’ school. In recognition of your many contributions and ongoing devotion to your school, the Alumnae Association Council proudly bestows upon you the Service to Emma Willard Award.
Martha McMasters Pearson ’70
An attorney and partner in a law firm specializing in representing public school systems in civil rights and federal constitutional claims, you have brought to bear on your volunteer work for Emma Willard a keen intelligence, a highly developed sense of organizational dynamics, and a willingness to fill any role asked of you.
You have been a member of the Alumnae Association Council since 1998, logging many frequent flyer miles between Atlanta and Mount Ida. Your myriad contributions to the AAC have included chairing the Governance Committee and the Nominations Committee. In this role you did much to ensure a diverse and committed slate of candidates, an effort integral to strengthening the Council itself.
During your three-year term as the AAC’s first-vice-president, you were a valuable source of leadership and wisdom. And as a member of the restructuring task force, you were instrumental in positioning the council to help Emma Willard realize its strategic vision for strengthening alumnae connections. Finally, leading by example, when Emma Willard has come calling, you have hosted an event for local alumnae at your home in Atlanta.
In recognition of your gifts of time, energy, and wisdom, the Alumnae Association Council proudly bestows upon you the Service to Emma Willard Award.
Beverly Burke Gunther ’60
A member of the Alumnae Association Council since 1995, you have played many volunteer roles with gusto, including secretary, governance committee member, and chair of the activities committee. At a time when the council has assigned priority to strengthening regional alumnae activities, you have led the way, serving as the catalyst for the creation of the Washington, DC, alumnae group, now affectionately know as the “DC Emmies.” You have organized local alumnae to run in the Race for the Cure and share in book club discussions. You are a wonderful ambassador for Emma Willard, hosting and attending events as an enthusiastic representative. At your urging, electronic mapping technology has been employed to streamline the development of additional regional alumnae groups across the country.
Recently you have contributed your insights to the Inner Journey Committee, a group of alumnae, parents, and faculty who serve as a resource for the School as it explores the importance of the search for meaning and strength in the lives of our students.
In recognition of your inspired and thoughtful commitment to your alma mater, the Alumnae Association Council proudly bestows upon you the Service to Emma Willard Award.
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