Alum Association Committees

Alum Trustee Nominating 
This committee recruits, researches, interviews and selects alums to serve on the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees. Candidates are required to be former Trustees or Medal of Honor winners or to demonstrate broad Alum Association experience.

Alum Trustee 

In addition to the need for committee members, the Alum Trustee Nomination Committee is seeking alums interested in serving on the College’s Board of Trustees. This is a special six-year term, which includes one year on the Association Board followed by five years on the Board of Trustees. Alums interested in serving in this particular role must have outstanding leadership skills and experience serving the Alum Association. Details of this position and the selection process are described in Section VII of the Association’s Bylaws.

Chair (2023–2026)

Cynthia Reed ’80, Lexington, Massachusetts, is the president and founder of Reed Collins, LLC. Over the course of her career, she has worked in health care, nonprofit management and for disability rights organizations. Reed earned a Master of Public Health from Yale University, a Master of Public Administration from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Mount Holyoke College. Her volunteer service on behalf of MHC includes serving as president of the Alum Association and chair of the Alum Relations Committee. She has also served on the College’s Board of Trustees. She was the recipient of two Mount Holyoke volunteer awards: the Medal of Honor in 2005 and the Fellowship Award in 1987.

Reed participated in the 17th Mount Holyoke European Alum Symposium in Munich, Germany, in 2024 and is joining the symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland, in fall of 2026. Reed also is a founding member of the Global Alum Alliance. 

Alum Association Board term: Alum Trustee Nomination Committee Chair (2026-2029)

Members

• Alessandra Hickson ’09, 2026-2029, Brooklyn, NY
• Danetta Beaushaw ’88, 2026-2029, New Orleans, LA
• Lisa Utzinger Shen ’02, 2024-2027, Cambridge, MA
• Susy Ham Heldman ’73, 2026-2029, Denver, CO
• Tamara Dews ’06, 2024-2027, London, England
• Cynthia L. Reed ’80, 2023–2026, Lexington, MA
• Tarana Bhatia ’15, 2026-2029, New York, NY

Staff Liaison: Trisha Tanner ’00

Classes and Reunions
Support and encourage alum class activities, especially Reunion planning. Members should have a history of involvement in their own alum class activities and commit to volunteering during Reunion each year.

Chair (2025-2028)

Marie Bacchiocchi ’88 lives in New Jersey and is a minister at Old Brick Reformed Church. Throughout her career, she spent five years in teaching roles and has served as a minister in various states across the country. Bacchiocchi graduated from Mount Holyoke with a BA in religion/religious studies and music. She earned an MAT in elementary education and teaching from Rhode Island College and an MDiv in theological and ministerial studies from Harvard Divinity School.

A dedicated Mount Holyoke volunteer, Bacchiocchi has served on the Alum Trustee Nominating Committee; held multiple roles for her class, including treasurer, vice president and member of the nominating committee; and has participated in the MHC Pairing Project. She has also been an active member of many Mount Holyoke clubs and groups.

Members 

• Caroline Aranibar ’05, 2025-2028, Wakefield, MA
• Caissa McClinton Hadash ’97, 2024-2027, Jupiter, FL
• Destiny Barletta ’00, 2026-2029, Boston, MA
• Phoebe O. Murtagh ’21, 2024-2027, Chicago, IL
• Sarah E. Paquet ’03, 2023–2026, Providence, RI
• Jane Putscher ’87, 2025-2028, Swanton, VT
• Joan (Wink) Ripley ’55, 2026-2029, Mount Kisco, NY

Staff Liaison: Joni Zubi

Clubs and Groups 
Support alum communities organized around geographic proximity or shared interests, encouraging ongoing activities and helping new groups to organize. Valuable skills include experience in club/group activities, building/leading networks and growing professional or shared affinity communities.

Chair (2025–2028)

Symone New ’10, New York, New York, is the senior director of donor relations and stewardship at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where she has worked for a decade. In this role, she leads year-round programming focused on retaining and increasing individual donations. As a member of the principal and major gifts leadership team and the division-wide leadership team, she provides direct technical assistance to Planned Parenthood's 47 affiliates across the country. 

New majored in politics and gender studies at Mount Holyoke. She was an active member of the Mount Holyoke College Club of New York for six years and held several leadership positions. A former full-spectrum doula, New is currently a two-time co-president of Collective Power for Reproductive Justice, based in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a volunteer case manager with the New York Abortion Access Fund. New was the recipient of the MHC Alum Volunteer Leadership Award in 2025.

Members:

• Alexis Trocki ’05, 2026-2029, Chicago, IL
• Jessica Abad-Serpas ’05, 2025-2028, Houston, TX
• May (Zhaoyuan) Chen ’21, 2024-2027, San Francisco, CA
• Catherine Ryan ’16, 2025-2028, Brooklyn, NY

Staff Liaison: Kelly Uccello FP’03

Community & Belonging 
With a new mandate to help broaden engagement among alums worldwide, this committee focuses on reaching alums whose voices may be underrepresented in the Alum Association’s work. Valuable expertise includes constituent relations, facilitation and equity-centered design. Recent graduates, alums of color and trans and gender nonconforming alums are especially encouraged to apply.

Chair (2023–2027)

Diane Jones Lowrey ’83, is a global brand marketing and social impact leader with extensive experience guiding the operations of global marketing organizations, building global brands and forging meaningful partnerships to accelerate growth and impact. Jones Lowrey is currently the head of diversity equity & inclusion at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology. Before Common Sense, Jones Lowrey held several roles at Levi Strauss & Company, leading global marketing operations for the Levi’s brand. She led diversity marketing, which included Latino marketing for the United States, as well as marketing for Latin America. Jones Lowrey was the marketing lead for the team that launched Levi Strauss Signature, the first new global brand from Levi’s designed for the value channel. Prior to Levi’s, she worked in advertising at DDB Needham and Carol Williams Advertising.

Jones Lowrey's community and volunteer service focuses on equity, education and the arts. She has served as a trustee of the French American International School in San Francisco and as an Alonzo King Lines Ballet Board member. Jones Lowrey attended Mount Holyoke College and the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business Administration.

Members:

• Sheree Morgan ’88, 2026–2029, Queens, NY
• Stephanie Gillette ’96, 2026–2029, Brooklyn, NY
• Quanita R. Hailey FP’14, 2024-2027, Brooklyn, NY
• Raquel Lloreda ’00, 2026–2029, Austin, TX

Staff Liaison: Jennifer Grow ’94

External Achievement Awards
Mount Holyoke alums are amazing. Help us find and celebrate noteworthy professional or volunteer contributions beyond Mount Holyoke. Requires strong research and evaluation skills, as well as a commitment to diplomacy and confidentiality.

Chair (2023-2026)

Kathleen (KC) Maurer ’84, Brooklyn, New York, is the chief financial officer and treasurer for The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., which makes grants to further the creation, exhibition and documentation of the contemporary visual arts. She has held this role since 1998. 

Maurer has a bachelor’s degree in American studies and history from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree from American University’s Kogod School of Business, where she received a two-year graduate fellowship and the Award for Outstanding Scholarship. Maurer was the recipient of Mount Holyoke College’s Medal of Honor in 1999 and the Helen Warren Smith Award in 1984. She is a former member of the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees and the current secretary of the Isaac H. Tuttle Fund Board of Trustees, which gives direct financial support to individuals and nonprofits providing services to seniors in Manhattan, New York.

Members

• Sara Burgdorf ’97, 2026-2029, Providence, RI
• Tiffany Dembowski ’06, 2025-2028, Casco, ME
• Viviana Mauri Ibarra ’14, 2024-2027, Pasadena, CA
• Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe ’96, 2024-2027, Weston, CT
• Hill Ossip ’12, 2025-2028, Seattle, WA

Staff Liaison: Jess Ayer

Finance
This committee monitors the Alum Association’s financial health and performance, recommending relevant policies and supervising its assets. Valuable skills include knowledge of resource allocation, risk mitigation, auditing and financial best practices.

Chair (2024-2027)

Combining 20 years of Wall Street experience with an elite customer service background, Shelly (Xiaosong) Wu ’93 brings together a deep knowledge of the both Southern California and New York City real estate markets and a global network of contacts to deliver top-tier results for buyers, sellers and renters alike. Licensed in both New York and California, she is able to open doors for her global clients in two of the most desired real estate markets in the world.

In her two decades as a bond and foreign exchange salesperson for top investment banks, Wu cultivated a comprehensive understanding of financial markets as well as a commitment to delivering the highest level of customer service. As a real estate investor herself — both domestically and internationally — Wu is both personally and professionally able to advise her clients on everything from major sales decisions to small financial details to real-life insights.

Originally from China, Wu has lived and worked all over the world, from Hong Kong and Tokyo to London and Beijing, allowing her to offer clients a strong international perspective as well. Living bi-coastal in San Diego and Manhattan, she is especially adept at introducing international clients to the California and New York market.

Wu graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a BA in statistics and economics.

Members

• Ann Elizabeth McMahon ’14, 2026–2029, Arlington, VA
• Naira Ahman ’98, 2025-2028, Chicago, IL
• W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83, 2024-2027, Princeton, NJ (Ex-officio voting member)
• Risha Dewan ’18, 2026–2029, Evanston, IL
• Julie Temlak ’92, 2025-2028, Cumberland, RI

Staff Lead: Kathy Cadorette

Internal Achievement Awards 
Identify and research alums to honor for volunteer work done on behalf of the Association and its committees, classes, clubs and groups. Strong research and evaluation skills, objectivity and confidentiality are crucial. Candidates are generally recipients of a volunteer award.

Chair (2026-2029)

Alyssa Whitbeck Rose ’02, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is senior vice president of business operations at Health Solutions, a nonprofit provider of medical and behavioral wellness services. She has worked in health care for 20 years, with previous positions at the Stepping Stones Group, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Anthem and Beacon Health Options. 

Whitbeck Rose earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Mount Holyoke College, a J.D. and an M.S.W from the University of Connecticut and an M.B.A. with a focus on health care from University of Northern Colorado. 

Her MHC volunteer service includes class agent, reunion gift chair, and participation in her local alum club.

Members

• Melissa Ibarra ’12, 2026–2028, Menlo Park, CA
• Carrie Kortegast ’98, 2025-2028, Dekalb, IL
• Joan Ford Mongeau ’80, 2024-2027, Gloucester, MA
• Linda Ing Phelps ’86, 2024-2027, Manhasset, NY

Staff Liaison: Luisa Tavares

Nominating
This committee is responsible for recruiting alums to fill open positions on Alum Association committees and its Board of Directors. Requires strong research, communication and organizational skills as well as dedication to ensuring that the Association board and committees represent the diverse backgrounds, voices and perspectives of our community of alums.

Chair (2024-2027)

Alessandra Hickson ’09 has worked at Apple since 2018. Her current focus is strategy, programming and editorial integration for the Retail Engagement and Marketing team.

Prior to joining Apple, Hickson served as a leader on Refinery29’s marketing team, where she steered the strategic development of new channels. She established the brand R29Unbothered, a platform that celebrates the strength, power and beauty of Black women, femmes and nonbinary folks.

Additionally, Hickson worked as a digital producer for NBC News — and later MSNBC — where her storytelling focused on U.S. immigration policy and reproductive rights. She won the NBC News GEM Award in 2013.

Hickson majored in art history at Mount Holyoke College and has a master’s degree from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. Former volunteer positions within the Alum Association include membership on the Nominating and Communications Quarterly Committees. She is also a former admissions representative and book award sponsor.

Hickson was a co-founder of BRN GRL SPK, an NYC-based creative arts collective that empowered and supported women of color by building community, organizing events and fundraising for progress.

Members

• Fabiola DeCaratachea ’97, 2025-2028, Lemoore, CA
• Fran Gardner-Smith ’88, 2025-2028, Reston, VA
• Lisa Glenn ’88, 2026–2029, Knoxville, TN
• Luciany Capra ’21, 2026–2029, New York, NY
• Naomy Poot Ibarra ’25, 2026–2027, Carpentersville, IL
• Melissa Johnson ’20, 2025-2028, Glenside, PA
• Martha A. Segovia ’13, 2024-2027, Snoqualmie, WA
• Sandra Welsh ’75, 2026-2029, Somers, CT

Staff Liaison: Trisha Tanner ’00

Volunteer Experience
Helps design and recruit for dynamic new micro-service opportunities and support the growth of meaningful alum volunteer engagement. Vital experience for this committee includes equity-centered operational design, volunteer service and/or management. We are especially seeking alums skilled in using technology to support volunteer and training programs at scale.

Chair (2025-2027)

Janice Abert ’82 retired from working as an executive recruiter for more than 20 years in New York City with a focus on placing institutional marketing professionals at asset management firms. In addition to being a partner at major global firms, TMP Worldwide and DHR International, she ran her own firm, Abert Associates, LLC for 12 years. Prior to becoming an executive recruiter, Abert was the national sales manager for the retirement business at PaineWebber.

In NYC Abert was a board member for High Water Women, where she ran the Backpack Drive initiative by raising funds and organizing corporate assemblies providing more than 150,000 children in need with fully supplied backpacks to start the school year.

Abert holds a B.A. in biology from Mount Holyoke College, where she has been a longtime volunteer serving as the co-head class agent for more than 30 years, setting records for participation and giving for numerous Reunions and March4MHC challenges. She has also served two terms as a member of the Mount Holyoke Fund Committee and been involved with local clubs. Abert received the Loyalty Award at her 30th Reunion.

Nicole Villacres-Reyes ’18 (Co-Chair), 2023-2026, Portland, ME

Members

• Christina Petrigliano ’02, 2023–2026, Waban, MA
• Ilika Tripathi ’22, 2025-2028, Brookline, MA
• Genevieve White ’24, 2026-2029, Arlington, VA
• Zoe Zelkowtiz ’19, 2024-2027, New York, NY

Staff Liaison: Marisol Fernandez de Cordova ’20

Fellowship 
This faculty committee of the College invites an alum representative to participate in the process of selecting alum recipients for various College and Association fellowships. Strong research and evaluation skills are required; academic background is a plus.

Chair (2025-2028)

Nancy Rosoff ’78

Members

• Nancy Rosoff ’78
• Olivia Velez ’98