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Alumnae Awards
Alumnae Awards are one of the highest honors graduates of National Cathedral School can receive from their alma mater. For many years, NCS bestowed the following awards on alumnae: Professional Achievement, Young Professional Achievement, Volunteer Achievement, Young Volunteer Achievement, and the Bettie Warner Thompson ’46 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Last year, the Alumnae Office updated the awards to shine a light on the NCS mission and each of the values we strive to instill and uphold at NCS: excellence, service, courage, and conscience. We will continue to bestow upon one deserving alumna the Bettie Warner Thompson ’46 Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes unparalleled commitment to NCS.
Excellence Award
Recognition of an alumna who has shown mastery of a skill or talent and/or has achieved distinction in their field.
Recognition of an alumna who has shown mastery of a skill or talent and/or has achieved distinction in their field.
Service Award
Recognition of an alumna who has made a difference in the world, contributing to the greater good of humanity and responding with purpose to the needs of others.
Recognition of an alumna who has made a difference in the world, contributing to the greater good of humanity and responding with purpose to the needs of others.
Courage Award
Recognition of an alumna who has acted with conviction, strength, and integrity, standing up for themselves and others.
Recognition of an alumna who has acted with conviction, strength, and integrity, standing up for themselves and others.
Conscience Award
Recognition of an alumna who is guided by an abiding sense of right and wrong and has sought ethical responses to life’s challenges.
Recognition of an alumna who is guided by an abiding sense of right and wrong and has sought ethical responses to life’s challenges.
Bettie Warner Thompson ’46 Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognition of lifelong support, loyalty, and commitment to NCS through participation as an alumnae volunteer, and/or philanthropic support of the school.
Recognition of lifelong support, loyalty, and commitment to NCS through participation as an alumnae volunteer, and/or philanthropic support of the school.
Nominations will be evaluated by a committee of faculty and staff, and final selections will be made by Head of School Elinor Scully. The Awards will be presented during the Alumnae Awards Luncheon on Saturday, May 3.
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Reunion 2023
Bettie Warner Thompson ‘46 Lifetime Achievement Award
Penny Glass ’59
The highest honor an NCS alumna can receive is the Bettie Warner Thompson '46 Lifetime Achievement Award, annually recognizing one alumna who has gone above and beyond in service and dedication to our community.
Penny is a prime example of an alumna who gives generously of her time, talent, and treasure. She arrived at NCS in 1957 as a boarder from Heidelberg, Germany. While at NCS, Penny participated in Players Club, the tennis team, and served as the Purple team’s head cheerleader!
In the years since her graduation, Penny has held a variety of volunteer roles including Class Representative, Class Agent, Annual Fund phonathon caller, and Reunion volunteer. She has served not only as the glue for her Class, but for the entire alumnae community. Outside of her volunteer work, Penny has consistently placed National Cathedral School among her top philanthropic priorities, which is exemplified by her membership in both our Satterlee and Cornerstone Societies. She is a champion for past, present, and future students of National Cathedral School.
Excellence Award
Anja Brau ’94
After graduating from NCS, Anja Brau went on to receive her BSE degree in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University, followed by her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. Now, Anja is a global healthcare technology executive with 25 years of research and development experience in the field of Magnetic Resonance (MR) Imaging. As a General Manager of MR Clinical Solutions and Research Collaborations at GE Healthcare, she leads a global R&D team, developing the next generation of MR clinical applications from concept to product, working closely with a portfolio of top academic and clinical partners. She is an internationally respected MR technology expert with over 10 patents and dozens of scientific publications and book chapters.
Excellence Award
Ashley Speights ’04
Dr. Ashley Speights has made her mark as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Black woman business owner in the Washington, DC area. Shortly before Covid-19 hit in February 2020, she opened The PHYT Collective, a physical therapy practice located in the heart of DC. After weathering the unexpected pause caused by the pandemic, which hit merely weeks after her clinic opened, Ashley and her business have grown exponentially, developing a strong and loyal patient base across the DC community, which includes people of all ages and athletic abilities. She has hired a team of employees, expanded to additional locations, and offered education and awareness opportunities such as hosting panels with Black small business owners across the city.
Service Award
Liz Hirschhorn ‘04
Liz Hirschhorn is a PhD clinical psychologist who has devoted her career to public service by treating veterans' mental health at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For many years, she has worked tirelessly in a challenging environment at the VA in Puget Sound, Wash., to help improve the lives of our military veterans with PTSD and other mental health challenges. During the pandemic, she was an essential worker who was going in to work when most of us were working at home.
Service Award
Gigi Galbraith ’69
In 1994, Susan helped found the Alliance for New Music-Theatre, a DC-based company that develops and produces original works of music-theatre, fostering artists in their development, and engaging with the community in partnership.
Since 2012, Susan has served as Artistic Director, spearheading a number of projects promoting cross-cultural understanding and preserving and uplifting the stories and voices of communities around the world, including Afghan women, Ukrainian playwrights, and migrants at the southern U.S. border. More recently and locally, Susan and the Alliance have worked with the Black Georgetown Foundation to help uncover stories about the neighborhood’s rich Black history, specifically DC’s early Emancipation.
In all her work, Susan resists being siloed but continues to build partnerships and believes in nurturing Washington’s theatre community as a whole.
Courage Award
Cynthia Olds ’74
Upon her diagnosis of colorectal cancer that had metastasized to her liver in the spring of 2021, Cynthia quickly began radiation and chemotherapy at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She said that although her stage 4 cancer diagnosis was scary, she had hope. In the years since her initial diagnosis, Cynthia has diligently and bravely shared her health journey on CaringBridge, journaling her experiences in hopes of supporting others facing similar challenges.
Conscience Award
Noelle Trent ‘99
In June 2023, Dr. Noelle N. Trent began her tenure as President and CEO of the Museum of African American History (MAAH) in Boston and Nantucket. Prior to her appointment at MAAH, Noelle served as the Director of Interpretation, Collections, and Education at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis for seven years. While there, she developed and implemented strategies for major exhibitions, collection acquisitions, education programming, community outreach and interpretation. Before joining the Memphis Museum, Noelle served as a contractor in several roles at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Between 2009 and 2016, she worked there as a curatorial assistant, researcher, docent curriculum developer and docent instructor. Earlier in her career, she spent eight years as an interpretive park ranger in Washington at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, part of the National Park Service. Throughout her impressive career, Noelle has shown a profound commitment to preserving and uplifting the histories and contributions of Black communities.
List of Awardees
Bettie Warner Thompson ‘46 Lifetime Achievement Award
Penny Webb Armstrong ‘60
Penny Webb Armstrong ‘60
Jean Frantz Blackall ‘46
Parkie Adams Blaylock ‘49
Helen Wood Brigham ‘56
Vicki Gould Colburn ‘64
Diane Burr Dickey ‘62
Ann Jenkins Farmer ‘58
Jerry Hardy FitzGerald ‘57
Diane Farquharson Fleming ‘52
Cynthia Livingstone Gibert ‘59
Penny Glass ‘59
Anne Brooks Gwaltney ‘75
Jan Holderness ‘56
Mogy Lucas Holmes ‘56
Jan King Evans Houser ‘50
Mary Barr Johnson ‘58
Karen Steinhardt Kirkbride ‘52
Pixie Allnutt Kubeck ‘55
Patty Noble Mason ‘62
Sewell Freeman McLeod ‘58
Joanne Bonneville Moses ‘50
Julia Foulke Oat ‘41
Margot Strong Semler ‘50
Dinah Sunday ‘69
Elvira McMillan Mannelly ‘61
Bettie Warner Thompson ‘46
Melesse Werkheiser Traylor ‘56
Heather McDaniel Willis ‘88
Professional Achievement
Professional Achievement
Rima Al-Mokarrab ‘96
Nancy Stead Atwood ‘62
Margaret Miles Ayres ‘61
Jennifer Barron ‘88
Marjorie Bassila ‘56
Amie Bishop ‘78
Margaret Boasberg ‘86
Esther Brimmer ‘79
Deborah Washington Brown ‘70
Beverly Butcher Byron ‘50
Tatia Williams Carson ‘93
Ana Walker Caskin ‘80
Mary Ann Rorison Caws ‘50
Anna Uhl Chamot ‘51
Alexandra Wallace Creed ‘84
Martha Craig Daughtrey ‘60
Linda Vandaele DeCherrie ‘91
Hannah Weil Ehril ‘77
Mimi Lucas Fleming ‘57
Jocelyn Frye ‘81
Ellen May Galinsky ‘60
Cynthia Livingstone Gibert ’59
Nancy Needham Goodrich ‘44
Peggy Brown Gunness ’55
Alice Hill ‘74
Angela Roddey Holder ‘55
Alice Huang ‘57
Naomi Iizuka ‘83
Luci Baines Johnson ‘65
Frances Kendall ‘65
Lydia Hoff Kris ‘73
Ann Lackner-Graybiel ‘59
Emily Lawson ‘89
Sarah Lisanby ‘83
Susan Mango ‘70
Kathy Mack McDonald ‘80
Kristin Nicholson ‘89
Michelle Nunn ‘85
Deborah Price ‘76
Susan Rice ‘82
Diann Rust-Tierney ‘73
Jennifer Sheehy ‘80
Linda Keene Solomon ‘82
Putrie Viravaida ‘60
Amanda Williams ‘92
Lisa Williams-Fauntroy ‘87
Young Professional Achievement
Young Professional Achievement
Monica Barnes ’97
Zoe Bedell ‘03
Catharine Bellinger ‘08
Laura Brenneman ‘95
Linda Chavers ‘00
Alexa Chopivsky ‘97
Victoria Dunnan ‘02
Elizabeth Askew Everhart ‘96
Emily Repp Geiger ‘97
Lauren Goldberg ‘92
Alaina Harper ‘99
Margaret Thomasson Norris ‘93
Michelle Nunn ‘85
Nina Woolley Ragunanthan ‘08
Stephanie Ready ‘94
Margaret Richardson ‘94
Tessa Berenson Rogers ’10
Xanthe Scharff ‘98
Maureen Smolskis ‘11
Sarah Staudt ‘06
Dacia Toll ‘90
Volunteer Achievement
Lynn Grant Adams ‘64
Lynn Grant Adams ‘64
Sarah Whitehouse Atkins ‘82
Mary Barber ‘67
Carolyn Vinson Bou ‘78
Eloise Graham Brooks ‘64
Margaret Greer Carr ‘78
Joan Crandall ‘58
Diane Burr Dickey ‘62
Hutchey Brock Doley ‘82
Kristen Durkin Staples ‘86
Judy Carr Evans ’58
Ellen May Galinsky ’60
Tish Garnder ‘53
Cynthia Livingstone Gibert ’59
Penny Glass ‘59
Nancy Needham Goodrich ‘44
Peggy Brown Gunness ’55
Susan Gutchess ‘68
Anne Brooks Gwaltney ‘75
Frances Newton Harwood ‘59
Mary Hobart ‘61
Jan Holderness ‘56
Betsy Christenberry Holleman Burke ’60
Susan Eichelbaum Homestead ‘55
Deborah Principato Jessiman ‘79
Mary Barr Johnson ‘58
Pat Row King ‘70
Diana Moshovitis Lach ‘82
Frances McCall Lewis ‘57
Alice Tulley Lively ‘61
Helen Luke ’47
Patty Noble Mason ‘62
Shirley Shreve McCombe ‘53
Sewell Freeman McLeod ‘58
Julia Foulke Oat ‘41
P.C. Pitts ‘75
Skye Raiser ‘85
Margot Strong Semler ’50
Lou Rollinson ‘77
Jean Abrams Smith ‘44
Linda Keene Solomon ‘82
Tina Chen Stark ‘76
Betsy Bell Stengel ‘64
Susie April Marhsall ‘63
Dinah Sunday ’69
Melesse Werkheiser Traylor ‘56
Vicki Van Rensselaer ‘67
Teri Allen Walters ’80
Young Volunteer Achievement
Young Volunteer Achievement
Lauren Adler ‘85
Catherine Sheehan Bruno ‘87
Mary Graeter Cheng ‘95
Kristen Crockett ‘94
Alexis Ellis ‘07
Jocelyn Moore Gailliot ‘99
Anna Bierlein Handy ‘00
Jeni Hansen ‘96
Diane Jones ‘80
Anne Handwerger Large ‘86
Elizabeth Kraybill McIntyre ‘01
Georginna Paul ‘90
Tracy Ferguson Pepperman ‘90
Molly Price ‘95
Kate Schnare Salisbury ‘95
Hawley Morrison Schneider ‘03
Anna Sproul-Latimer ‘03
Amanda Crawford Stifel ‘92
Leah Sullivan ‘98
Molly Atwood Taylor ‘91
Nancy Weindruch ‘03
Mieka Freund Wick ‘93
Heather McDaniel Willis ‘88
Alumnae Citation
Alumnae Citation
The Alumnae Citation was first awarded in 1965, and in 1997 was split into Professional and Volunteer Achievement Awards. The citation was presented each year to one or two alumnae who distinguished themselves in their career or performed outstanding work within their communities.
Jocelyn Arundel Alexander 1948
Mildred Gwin Andrews 1921
Lucy Adalade Barton 1910
Barbara Jean Betz 1928
Jean Frantz Blackall 1946
Mary Ann Rorison Caws 1950
Catherine Ellen Cooper 1968
Martha Craig Daughtrey 1960
Eleanor Creekmore Dickinson 1948
Jean Wallace Douglas 1939
Clare Hammel Dupont 1951
Ellen May Galinksy 1960
Lucille Ahnawake Hastings 1918
Nora Ronhovde Hohenlohe 1962
Angela Roddey Holder 1955
Alice Huang 1957
Lucia Beverly Hollerith 1909
Louise Alpert Howton 1963
Mary Elizabeth Johnston 1908
Alice Ann Koontz 1945
Kathryn Bradley McGrath 1962
Ruth Larner Oliphant 1909
Harriet West Overbeck 1921
Lloyd Leva Plaine 1965
Penelope Pate Scott 1963
Cita Scott 1970
Janie Ruffner Stirling 1948
Bettie Warner Thompson 1946
Elizabeth Hendry Vercoe 1958
Margaret Hicks Williams 1918
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Important Reunion Resources
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