Alumnae

Distinguished Alumnae

Advocates for the underserved and the environment; healers of the sick; entrepreneurs, inventors and trailblazers in their fields; authors, artists and educators—Laurel women inspire us.
Since 1978 the Laurel School Alumnae Association has honored women who dreamed big dreams, dared to follow those dreams and in doing so broke barriers, became mentors, assumed leadership roles in their careers and communities and connected to the larger world.

The Distinguished Alumnae Awards

List of 3 items.

  • Distinguished Alumna

    The Distinguished Alumna Award is given annually to one alumna, distinguished in her field of endeavor—professional, business or civic/volunteer—and who has already celebrated her 20th reunion.
  • Young Alumna of Distinction

    The Young Alumna of Distinction Award is given, at the discretion of the Distinguished Alumna Committee, to an alumna in her 20th reunion year or younger who has made a notable contribution to her field of endeavor—professional, business or civic/volunteer.
  • Lifetime Achievement

    The Lifetime Achievement Award is given at the discretion of the Distinguished Alumna Committee to any Distinguished Alumna nominee who has already celebrated her 50th reunion to honor a lifetime's body of work, volunteer and/or professional.

2023 Distinguished Alumna

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  • Anne Lindblad Quanbeck ’75 | Laurel School in Shaker Heights, OH

    ANNE LINDBLAD QUANBECK '75

    Retired CEO, EMMES

    As Anne Lindblad Quanbeck '75 once noted at an award’s ceremony, “When I was a senior in high school, I took my first course in statistics, and I loved it.” That course would spark a career trajectory taking her to the C-suite at the EMMES Corporation, a contract research organization tackling challenges that impact public health. After Laurel, Anne attended Hollins University, graduating with a degree in statistics. She would go on to earn a master’s degree in biostatistics from the Medical College of Virginia/ Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in statistics from The George Washington University.
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2023 Young Alumna of Distinction

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  • Ainslee Alem Robson '11 | Laurel School in Shaker Heights, OH

    AINSLEE ALEM ROBSON '11

    Award-winning Ethiopian-American director, writer and media artist

    A pioneer in emerging art fields, Ainslee Alem Robson tells stories from her point of view, using technology to draw the viewer into the experience. Currently a Sundance-National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellow and a former Sundance Interdisciplinary ‘Art of Practice’ Fellow, Ainslee explores the complexities of the liminal spaces between Africa and its diasporas using film, virtual reality and digital art to propel her narrative. Through a transcultural, feminist and first-generation American lens, she focuses on storytelling that deconstructs identity, perception, hierarchy and colonial legacies.
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2023 Distinguished Alumnae Committee

Cindy Farner '70, Chair • Judith Bishop '66 • Becke Broadbent '79 • Bethany Chaney '88 • Krista Ramonas '92 • Jenny Kovach Capers '05 • Anqi Chen '11 • Lucy Wu '15

Past Distinguished Alumnae

These are the remarkable women role models on whom the Alumnae Association has bestowed its highest honors.
[YAD = Young Alumna of Distinction; LA = Lifetime Achievement]

List of 50 items.

  • 2023

    Anne Lindblad Quanbeck '75
    Retired CEO, EMMES 

    Ainslee Alem Robson '11 (YAD)
    Award-winning Ethiopian-American director, writer and media artist
  • 2022

    Deborah Hannon Rosenblum ’80
    Assistant Secretary for Defense of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs

    Jamie Taylor ’02 (YAD)
    LPGA professional, founder Black Golf Directory and JT Mobile Training

    Jane Startzman ’70 (LA)
    Co-founder and Director, Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival
  • 2021

    Alison Feighan ’80
    Owner, The Feighan Team

    Therese Claxton Fleisher ’03 (YAD)
    Healthcare Integration Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services; COVID-19 incident Commander; Community Liaison for the Massachusetts COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Initiative

    Timotha “Timy” McGoff Sullivan ’57 (LA)
    Animal Welfare Champion and Changemaker
  • 2020

    Dr. Ellen Rome '80
    Head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Children’s and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University

    Grace Livingston ’06 (YAD)
    Community Leader in Grief Management and Mindfulness Training

    Betsy Kaufman Sampliner ’58 (LA)
    Educator and Community Volunteer
  • 2019

    Gwill York 75
    Co-Founder, Lighthouse Capital Partners

    Meghan Thornton Parquette 01 (YAD)
    Principal, Brooke Roslindale Charter School

    Janet MacMahon Carll 48 (LA)
    Community Volunteer
  • 2018

    Marne Levine ’88
    Chief Operating Officer, Instagram

    Tamara Broderick 03 (YAD)
    ITT Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Kathy Chilcote Pender ’55 (LA)
    Community Volunteer and Psychotherapist
  • 2017

    Deborah Becker ’73
    Research Senior Associate and Director, the IPS Employment Center, the Rockville Institute at Westat

    Caitlin Leibert ’03 (YAD)
    Head of Sustainability, Chipotle
  • 2016

    Holly Gleason ’81
    Writer, songwriter, music journalist, critic and publicist

    Nichelle McCall ’01 (YAD)
    Tech Entrepreneur
  • 2015

    Shelley Osmun Baranowski '64
    Historian, Author, Distinguished Professor
  • 2014

    Mary French Conway ’46
    Community Volunteer

    Lt. Katherine Wirtz ’05 (YAD)
    Officer, US Navy
  • 2013

    Sandy Buchanan ’74
    Executive Director, Ohio Citizen Action

    Emily Johnson Jackle ’98 (YAD)
    Organic Farmer
  • 2012

    Barbara Peterson Ruhlman '50
    Philanthropist, Community Volunteer, Fundraiser
  • 2011

    Kathryn Hellerstein '70
    Assoc. Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Poet, Scholar/Translator of Yiddish poetry

    Tiffany Laufer '91 (YAD)
    Filmmaker
  • 2010

    Heather Roulston Ettinger '79
    Advocate for women and their financial health

    Amanda Cinalli '04 (YAD)
    Professional athlete (soccer)
  • 2009

    Virginia "Ginny" Foote '73
    President & Co-Founder of the US-Vietnam Trade Council

    Camilla Taylor '89 (YAD)
    Attorney, Lambda Legal
  • 2008

    Elizabeth D. McKinley ’78
    Physician, Academic Society Dean at Case Western Reserve Univ.

    Roopal Patel '89 (YAD)
    Physician, President's Initiative on Malaria
  • 2007

    Kay Sproat Chorao '54
    Children's book illustrator and author

    Kathleen Sullivan ’85
    Nuclear disarmament activist and educator
  • 2006

    Carol Madison Graham '74
    Executive Director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission
  • 2005

    A. Lindsay Frazier ’76
    Pediatric oncologist and researcher
  • 2004

    Mary DeCredico '77
    Author, historian and Vice Academic Dean, U.S. Naval Academy
  • 2003

    Virginia deConingh Fleming '48
    Activist for social reform
  • 2002

    Katharine Lee Reid '59
    Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  • 2001

    Elisabeth Galvin Kirsch ’58
    Founder/Director of domestic abuse shelter
  • 2000

    Nina Freedlander Gibans ’50
    Arts advocate extraordinaire
  • 1999

    Anne Hopkins Burnham '47
    Community activist, preservationist

    Elizabeth Morrison Marcotte '69
    Environmentalist, energy conservation consultant
  • 1998

    Sylvia Robinson Cruess '47
    Physician, hospital administrator and health policy maker
  • 1997

    Sally Pastorelle Reed '57
    Physician and founder of a free clinic
  • 1996

    Anne Hollis Reese '55
    Mental health educator
  • 1995

    Betty Hitchcock Rose '33
    Civic Activist and Inventor
  • 1994

    Joan Shook '72
    Pediatrician
  • 1994

    Priscilla Tyler '26
    Educator and specialist in Aboriginal literature and art
  • 1993

    Kathryn Beck Kris '51
    Psychiatrist
  • 1993

    Lucy M. Ziurys '75
    Astrophysicist
  • 1992

    Donna Ferrato '68
    Photojournalist
  • 1991

    Jean Steel '53
    Nurse Practitioner
  • 1990

    Andy Logan Lyon '38
    Journalist, Columnist
  • 1989

    Gwill Linderme Newman '50
    Brain research and mental health activist
  • 1988

    Helen Teagle Clements '26
    Lobbyist for nursing home standards
  • 1987

    Anne O'Neil '46
    Provincial, The Sacred Heart Order in the United States
  • 1986

    Mary Ellen Beck Wohl '50
    Chief of Respiratory Diseases, Boston Children's Hospital
  • 1986

    Elaine Grasselli Hadden '49
    Community Revitalization Activist
  • 1985

    Myra Evans Lapeyrolerie '77
    Entrepreneur
  • 1985

    Louise Ireland Humphrey '37
    President, Metropolitan Opera Association
  • 1984

    Terry Horvitz Kovel '46
    Authority on antiques/collectibles
  • 1983

    Susan Crile '60
    Artist
  • 1982

    Ann Denton Blair '31
    Radio and TV Bureau Chief
  • 1981

    Mary Feil Hellerstein '39
    Pediatrician
  • 1980

    Natalie Moore Babbitt '50
    Children's book author/illustrator
  • 1979

    Elizabeth Brooks Ford '14
    Public health and nursing education advocate
  • 1978

    Kate Ireland '48
    Chair, Board of Governors, Frontier Nursing Service

Alumnae in the News

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