Concord AcademyConcord, Massachusetts

The

J OAN SHAW HERMAN Distinguished Service Award2014

Christmastide, 1960

Front cover: Christmastide was painted by Joan Shaw Herman ’46 and copied from a color photo taken by Elizabeth Wheeler. It was painted with the brush held in herteeth and was begun March 1959 and finished October 1960.

I can do all things in Him who strengthens me(PHILIPPIANS 4:13).

A plaque with the names of each Joan Shaw Herman Award recipienthangs in the Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel under Joan’s painting.

JOAN SHAW HERMAN graduated from Concord Academy in the spring of 1946. She planned to start herstudies at Wellesley College in the fall and to work hard at theAmerican Friends Service Committee Camp over the summer.That summer she threw herself wholeheart edly into her work,getting up early to dig ditches and cut down trees. Neverwanting to waste a minute of living on sleep, Joan stayed uplate each night, talking with her fellow workers, and, unfortu -nately, swimming in a contaminated river. She learned quicklythat youth and energy do not grant one immunity fromdisease, and by the end of the summer, polio left Joan ShawHerman paralyzed from the neck down.

Joan never did attend Wellesley; after checking into NewBritain Memorial Hospital for the Chronically Ill inConnecticut, she was rarely able to leave. Perilously close torespiratory failure, she was often confined to her bed by aniron lung. Writing and painting, two of her greatest talents,became frustrated passions as her arms lay limp at her sides. In many ways, it seemed that Joan’s promising life was over.

Joan believed, however, that “selfishness and self-indul genceare our only true limitations and prisons.” She did not seeherself as imprisoned by her physical weakness and the ironlung, but rather, she viewed the world and its opportunitiesfrom a new perspective. Deeply religious, Joan used herconfinement to study the Bible extensively, finding wisdom

2

and strength in its words. She once wrote to ConcordAcademy classmate Phyllis Clark Nininger:

Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the God-givenstrength to face what we have to face and do what we haveto do whether we are afraid or not, remembering Christ’swords, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength ismade perfect in weakness” (II CORINTHIANS 12:9).

Joan lived by those words and refused to submit to self-pity.Her spirit and attitude were not inhibited by her physicallimitations.

Joan’s accomplishments would be impressive regardless of herphysical condition. From her hospital bed, she took acorrespondence course in “Journalism and Creative Writ ing”and in her later years was assistant clinical instructor of nursingin a hospital in Georgia. She dictated letters to friends andtyped essays and poetry on her electric type writer using a stickheld between her teeth. Concord Academy published herpoems in its bulletins and maga zines on several occasions. Allof her writing, including essays entitled “Quiet Places” and“We Must Look Around Us in Aware ness,” reflect her peace ofmind and insightful thoughts.

Most lasting of all Joan’s accomplishments was her work forthe improvement of the lives of handicapped persons. In 1955Joan founded New Horizons, a Fellowship Dedicated toAdventuresome Living by the Physically Handicapped. Latershe would become Vice President of the Board and Editor ofPublications. Joan and her disabled colleagues planned andexecuted a program designed to aid handicapped persons in leading challeng ing, productive, and dynamic lives. Coop -erative work and artistic pursuits eventually led to a virtually

3

independent living community managed and run mostly by disabled people. New Horizons continues to flourish,thanks in large part to Joan’s organization, persistence, andhard work.

Joan, and New Horizons, maintained a mutually inspiringcorrespondence with Concord Academy. Joan wrote to invitethe CA girls to visit Memorial Hospital, hoping they wouldlearn about her cause. Headmistress Elizabeth B. Hall was oneof the principal benefactors of the program, donating bothfrom her own pocket and from the Sunday Vespers collection.Mrs. Hall encouraged Joan’s efforts, but was cautious abouther girls’ roles in Joan’s project; she did not want them to feeloverwhelmed by volunteer responsibility at such a young ageand over such a long distance. Still, she wrote to request Joan’s compositions for CA publications and hoped that non-working visits from “the girls” would keep Joan in contactwith other young people and the school. She did keep intouch until her death in 1975, at which point Joan’s family andfriends were not sure how best to grieve and honor thisinspiring woman.

A year later, the Executive Committee of the Alumnae/i Association found a way for Joan to continue to be a part ofthe CA community. They created an award to be given to analumna or alumnus in recognition of service to others andnamed Joan the first recipient. The original citation states thatthe Committee “. . . has agreed that in order to establish thecriteria for the giving of this Award, it will, hereafter, beknown as the Joan Shaw Herman Distinguished ServiceAward.” A later description further details that “the Committeedelib erately refrained from defining the distinguished serviceexcept to agree that this was not an award for service toConcord Academy. Thus the awardee could be anyone, of

4

any age…” The criteria for the Award were otherwise leftundefined.

Nevertheless, Concord Academy’s Alumnae/i Association haschosen many outstanding recipients since the inception of the Joan Shaw Herman Award. Over time, the accom plish - ments, energy, courage, and service of each recipient havethemselves become informal criteria in considering newnominations. Also, the manner in which recipients of the Joan Shaw Herman award have been able to offer service hasbeen shifting. Ruth Brooks Drinker ’31 mentioned in heraccept ance speech in 1979 that volun teers are an endangeredspecies. There are, however, more professional careers todaythan ever before whose goals are to improve the lives ofpeople, whether on an emotional, physical, or socioeconomiclevel. Therefore, one’s profes sional work can be a vehicle foroffering service to others, in the same way as many of the early recipients of the Joan Shaw Herman Award served othersin a volunteer capacity.

The existence of the Joan Shaw Herman Award, in a com-munity that does not bestow any other award, is testa ment toa common value shared by the Concord Academy community.The list of alumnae/i who have received this award for serviceto others inspires each of us to lead productive lives ascommitted citizens.

—Rachel McColl ’91

5

The Award

The first Joan Shaw Herman Distinguished Service Award was bestowed posthumously to Joan Shaw Herman herself in 1976.Although there was a break in granting the Award between theyears of 1989 and 1994, nominations currently are solicited eachyear from all classes. All nominations are then added to a databaseof alumnae/i to be considered during the nominating process eachyear. Many times the Joan Shaw Herman Committee of theAlumnae/i Council solicits further information from the classmate,friend, or relative who has nominated an alumna/us for theaward, and special consideration is given to alumnae/i who arecelebrating major reunions, so that their classmates can be presentwhen they receive the award and speak about their work duringReunion Weekend. On occasion the Joan Shaw Herman recipienthas returned to Concord Academy to speak to the students, therebyshowcasing the power of service.

6

Elizabeth Monroe Boggs ’31 andMargaret Lincoln Marshall ’31received the Joan Shaw HermanAward together in 1978, the first todo so after Joan Shaw Herman herself. Both devoted their skills tobetter the lives of America’s men-tally retarded. Elizabeth Boggs wasa member of the National Councilfor the Handicapped, working toestablish policies for the NationalInstitute of Handicapped Research.She served on the Board of theNational Association for RetardedCitizens and on the New JerseyDisability Council. Her extensiveresearch earned her a position onthe Technical Consultant Panel for the National Center for HealthStatistics. Elizabeth was the firstwoman ever to sit as President of the National Association forRetarded Children, from 1958 to1960. In 1971 she was awardedthe prestigious Kennedy Interna-tional Award for Outstanding Leadership in Mental Retardation.Elizabeth wrote and spoke exten-sively on the necessity for moreresearch on mental retardation to spread awareness and educatethe public.

Margaret Marshall worked toestablish the Mothers’ Mutual Pro-gram to support families like herown with retarded members. She

was incorporator of Cheyenne Village, a community for retardedand seriously handicapped people.Appointed to the Governor’s State-Wide Planning Study Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation andthe Colorado State Board of SocialServices, she used her positions to improve the lives of mentallydeficient people like her son, whowas institutionalized with severeretardation. Margaret spoke exten-sively—including at a CA assemblyin 1979—on the need for the mentally sufficient majority toappreciate the abilities of theretarded, to realize that many have“unused talents” and an “unrecog-nized capacity for helping them-selves and others.” She argued that giving the retarded moreresponsibility and training could prepare many to lead more fulfill-ing, independent lives.

Ruth Brooks Drinker ’31 receivedthe Joan Shaw Herman Award in 1979 for her work to provide education for children and adultsalike, and to improve the well-beingof women and the poor. A teacherat the Brooks School for eighteenyears, she found time outside ofher job and family to be an activevolunteer. When she was notteaching, she led a Girl Scout

The Recipients

7

troop. During World War II, shestarted a Planned Parenthood officein Englewood, New Jersey. Sheestablished a daycare center to aidpoor, black working mothers in the same neighborhood. She wasone of the founders of the NashobaBrooks School of Concord andserved on the boards of trustees ofConcord Academy, Brooks School,and Nashoba Brooks. In Concordshe sat on the Human Rights Council and organized the EmersonHospital Rummage Sale for threeyears. Ruth was Secretary and then Chairman of Concord-CarlisleAdult and Continuing Education fortwelve years.

Cynthia Creelman Hill ’50received the Joan Shaw HermanAward in 1980 for a most unusualline of work. In 1979, Mrs. Hillbecame Mayor of Inuvik, an eco-nomically depressed town in theCanadian Arctic. She worked toimprove the quality of life in thisInuit Eskimo, Native American, andwhite community by “educatingthe Northerners and helping themparticipate in the changes causedby rapid growth, and also being aspokesperson for them within andoutside of the area” (citation forJSH Award). She helped to fightelevated prices and alcoholism. As Inuvik’s Supervisor of Continu-ing Education from 1967, sheimproved adult education in thearea. In addition, Cynthia served asRegional Vice President and laterExecutive Vice President of theNorthwest Territories Public ServiceAlliance. Her work to claim the eco-nomic benefits of oil and gas

recently found in the area earnedher a position in the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements.

Doreen Young was the secondrecipient after Joan herself toreceive the award posthumously, in 1982, and is the only one whowas not a graduate of ConcordAcademy. She was, however, amost beloved teacher of Englishand art history for seventeen yearsand Academic Assistant Head-mistress for much of that time.Elizabeth Hall’s close friend, shediscovered the New Hampshirechurch that was to become the CA Chapel and later followed Mrs. Hall to help found Simon’sRock College. During World War II,Doreen worked for the Red Cross,first on a hospital ship off the coast of Normandy, and then as aclubmobiler traveling with General Patton’s 20th Corps to Czechoslo-vakia. She served on the CarlisleSchool Committee, where sheplayed a significant role in estab-lishing the Carlisle schools andConcord-Carlisle Regional HighSchool. She served as a docent andlecturer at both the National Galleryof Fine Arts in Washington DCand the Museum of Fine Arts inBoston.

Helen Whiting Livingston ’41received the Joan Shaw HermanAward in 1984 for her work in fighting Alzheimer’s disease. Herhusband, Putnam, was diagnosedwith the disease in 1977. While“constantly coaching” her hus-

8

band, stimulating his memory andhelping him to maintain high expec-tations for himself, she started two groups in New Hampshire tosupport families who are dealingwith the emotions of having a family member with Alzheimer’s.Helen served as President in 1972of the Union County VoluntaryAction Center, as a United WayBoard Member and Vice President,and as Trustee of the MonadnockCommunity Day care Center. Shepursued Congress and the Houseand Senate Com mittee on Aging to increase the rights of victims ofthe disease, who were at the timeexcluded from Medicare or privateinsurance coverage for treatment.

Rosemary Baldwin Coffin ’40received the award in 1985, threeyears after being named the NewHampshire Citizen of the Year bythe New Hampshire Association ofSocial Workers. An active partici-pant in many organizations, Rose-mary was President of the localPTA and the Town Players andhelped to develop Child and FamilyServices. Rosemary founded NewHampshire’s Seacoast Hospice in1979, a constructive reaction to herown father’s struggle with cancer.The state’s first facility devoted tocaring not only for the chronically ill but the emotional needs of thepatients’ families, it led to theestablishment of the Hospice Affili-ates of New Hampshire, whichbuilt a series of similar facilities.When she was given the award in1985, Rosemary had been workingfor ten years to build a “life carefacility for elderly who want to be

independent yet in a community. . . where their needs will be takencare of.”

Ann McKinstry Micou ’48received the Joan Shaw HermanAward in 1988 for her work towardimproving education in poor andoppressed communities. For manyyears she worked for World Educa-tion, pursuing educational opportu-nities for low-income adults. Annworked for a small agency thatencouraged “functional educationand family life planning for poorand illiterate adults,” as she wroteto Concord Academy in 1974. Latershe was Director of Communica-tions for the United States Councilfor International Business. At thetime she received the award, Annwas Director of the InformationExchange, South African Programs.She spent three months of eachyear in South Africa, visiting univer-sities and homelands, working togather information on South Africaneducation in order to assist itsdevelopment.

Betsy Atwood Nelson ’55received the award in 1994 for hercommitment to community servicefocusing on education, social work,and urban issues. She has workedon behalf of private and publicschools, serving as a trustee ofConcord Academy, the FennSchool, Nashoba Brooks School,the Landmark School, and BostonChildren’s Services. As Presidentof the Board of Trustees ofNashoba Country Day School, shemanaged the merger with the

9

Brooks School of Concord. Herinvolvement with the Boston publicschools included heading up theSchool Volunteer Program, nowcalled School Partners in Education.Betsy served as president of thenational board of School Partners in Education and as a member ofthe international board. She helpeddevelop a direct partnershipbetween business and schools, creating innovative mentoringopportunities for students, adminis-trators, and business leaders.

Wendy Arnold ’65 received theJoan Shaw Herman Award in 1995.She cares deeply about the healthof youth all over the world and hasworked tirelessly on their behalf.She is the director and founder ofthe Peer Education Program of Los Angeles (PEP/LA), a nonprofitorganization devoted to AIDS prevention in adolescents. Theorganization is founded on the prin-ciple that the best way to reachteens is to have other teens talk to them. She is deeply committedto stopping the spread of AIDSamong teens and educating teen -agers about AIDS. PEP/LA trainsteen peer educators, who providean opportunity for other teens tocommunicate with them about sen-sitive issues and receive accurateinformation about sex and AIDS.Wendy’s educational outreachincluded organizing a peer educa-tion program at Concord Academy.

Sarah Foss ’41 received the awardin 1996 for her courage in recogniz-ing the need to help children with

learning disabilities in her homestate of Vermont. Through her personal goals of acting to improve conditions of those less fortunateand of bringing compassion andchange to the status quo, sheworked to establish an appropriateeducational program for childrenwith learning disabilities. Sally also spent two years in the CzechRepublic, as the country was struggling to develop its own government and services, helpingto teach English to young people.Through personal contact with aCzech refugee she learned of the need for someone to teachEnglish, and she responded withher boundless energy and adven-turesome spirit.

Marten A. Poole ’58 received the award posthumously in 1997after dying of cancer. She spentthe last thirteen years of her life at the Denver Children’s Hospital,working with pediatric oncologypatients. Two of those years shewas dying yet she continued tovisit the children and show themthat “their friend Marty was just like them.” She worked onseveral cancer research projects,includ ing new catheters to makethe frequent injections more bear-able for children. Like Joan ShawHerman, she was not dominatedby her illness, transforming thelives of others through her remark-able personal outreach andwarmth. She also raised funds and donated personally to pediatriconcology research at Denver Children’s Hospital.

10

Adelaide Eicks Comegys ’48earned the award in 1998 for herwork helping children with disabili-ties realize their full potential. Her love and commitment to herseriously handicapped youngerdaughter Kate was the impetus forAddie’s desire to provide these children with options other thanbeing institutionalized. Her leader-ship in making a life for Kate, and thereby advocating for andidentifying ways for other familiesto meet the needs of their handi-capped children, has been felt atthe local, state, and national level.She was the first parent elected to serve on the Board of Directors of TASH, The Association for Persons with Severe Disabilities,and co-founded the New EnglandChapter of TASH. She has been a pioneer in promoting the con-cepts of inclusion, mainstreaming,and supported employment for disabled individuals.

Her Majesty Queen Noor ’69received the Joan Shaw HermanAward in 1999 in recognition of Her Majesty’s dedication to human-itarian efforts around the world,especially for women and children.Under her leadership, the Noor Al Hussein Foundation seeks topreserve and enrich Jordan’sunique cultural identity and values.Queen Noor has championed inter-nationally successful projects bystressing self-reliance and commu-nity involvement in five areas: fam-ily and community development,mother and child welfare, enhance-ment of culture and heritage, andadvancement of education. She

continues to promote environ-mental awareness and is a tirelessadvocate for the international fightto ban land mines.

Deborah Ham ’55 received theaward posthumously in 2000.Before becoming a lawyer, Debo-rah was an English teacher and aVista (Volunteers in Service toAmerica) volunteer, assigned to thePima County Legal Aid Society inTucson, Arizona. After opening herown law practice in 1980, shespent her entire professional careerhelping the under privileged andthose who without her help couldnot seek justice. Globe, a smallmining town of 9,000 in the moun-tains east of Phoenix, and Russell’sGulch, where she lived withoutbenefit of electricity or runningwater, were the center of Debo-rah’s world. In the early 1990s sheagreed to represent a small groupof citizens who were challengingthe Carlotta Mining Company’sefforts to develop a copper mine atPinto Creek, in a nearby mountainrange. She represented them with-out fee right up to the very hour ofher sudden death on May 18, 1998.

Corinne Benson Johnson ’46 wasthe 2001 recipient of the JoanShaw Herman Award. For close to forty-five years, Corinne worked for the American Friends ServiceCommittee (AFSC), whose work isbased on the Quaker belief in theworth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcomeviolence and injustice. Corinne wasinvolved in programs involving

11

relief, development, training, edu-cation, and reconciliation in morethan thirty countries around theworld. She was responsible for allof the organization’s family plan-ning and population education pro-grams in Latin America. In 1973she became the Director of LatinAmerican programs, and from thelate 1970s to the mid-1990sCorinne provided extraordinaryleadership to the international workof AFSC as their Director of Inter-national Programs. She promotedfresh approaches to small-scaleeconomic development with afocus on strengthening capacitieswithin local communities, leadingto the building of peaceful, civilsocieties.

Jody Heymann ’77 was the 2002recipient of the award. Both pro -fessionally and as a volunteer, Jodyhas dedicated herself to helpingothers. After graduating from YaleUniversity, she served as a PeaceCorps volunteer in Tanzania and,after completing Harvard MedicalSchool, was a volunteer in Gabon.She is the author of one of the ear-liest studies forecasting the impactof the AIDS epidemic in Africa andwas one of the first to suggest“tiered pricing” in order to makeAIDS medications available todeveloping nations.

The first book Jody published,Equal Partners: a Physician’s Callfor a New Spirit of Medicine, drawson her own experience as apatient. She advocates changes inthe practice of modern medicine to foster cooperation and understand-

ing between physicians andpatients. She argues that “medicalstudents and doctors must learnfrom patients not only how thebody hurts, but also how one’sfamily, one’s income, one’s abilityto work, drive or walk, one’s very soul can hurt and then whatdoctors and caregivers must do to relieve that pain.”

Angela Middleton Wilkins ’48received the Joan Shaw HermanAward in 2003 for her lifelong dedi-cation to the teaching of childrenwith dyslexia and other learningchallenges. Over the course ofthirty years, she developed teach-ing methods and curricula to trainclassroom teachers, as well as specialists, in the Orton-Gillinghamapproach. In addition, she was theFounding Director (in 1974) of theCarroll School’s own Garside Institute for Teacher Training, anoutreach program which hastrained thousands of public and private school teachers. Angie alsohas served as Vice President of theBoard of Directors of The LearningDisabilities Network, has beeninvolved with the National DyslexiaAssociation for over ten years, and has been an adjunct facultymember at Lesley College.

Angie has presented at various conferences around the globe formore than fifteen years, includingboth the Hawaii and the New York branches of the OrtonDyslexia Society, the BermudaConference on Learning Differ-ences, and the British DyslexiaSociety at Oxford, England. She

12

was the 1992 recipient of the Alice Garside Award from the NewEngland Branch of the OrtonDyslexia Society.

Bronwen Jenney Anders ’59 wasthe 2004 recipient of the award.Bron’s impressive credentials as a pediatrician demonstrate hercommitment to community healthcare in medically underserved populations, including Native Amer-icans and pediatric tuberculosispatients. In 2003, the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics (AAP) hon-ored her with a national award forher services. The AAP cited that,“Bronwen demonstrated the ulti-mate in the blending of pediatricskill, concern for patients and community, and delivery of serviceto the under-served.” In 1983, she began a clinic for communityhealth care. This effort expanded to three sites. As Clinical Professorat the University of California SanDiego School of Medicine, sheincorporated clinical training atthese sites for the resident doc-tors. Her passion to serveextended to mentoring others toserve.The summer before her sen-ior year at CA, Bron was a courierfor Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky, where she decided tobecome a doctor for indigent popu-lations. Even then she saw thegreat need for doctors to listen toand empathize with patients. Later,as a physician, she worked withrural outpatients in Malaysia, andserved as a Peace Corps physicianin Paraguay. Among numeroushonors and awards, the AAP’sCATCH program (Community

Access to Child Health) awardedher grants for pediatric tuberculosisresearch. She was appointedCATCH Facilitator for the entirestate of California. The Center forDisease Control awarded her and colleagues a $1 million grant for pediatric TB research. Over the years, Bron also continued tovolunteer her services in Ghana,Mexico City, and on Indian reservations.

Nellie Davidson ’55 was thefourth recipient after Joan herselfto receive the award posthu-mously. She received the JoanShaw Herman Award in 2005 inrecognition of her passion for helping others. As a registerednurse, she provided medical care,support, and referral services forthousands of homeless individualsin the Pittsburgh area for overthirty-five years. In 1992, shehelped start an outreach programfor Pittsburgh’s transient andhomeless population, organizingfourteen teams of formerly home-less people and clinical volunteersto perform medical rounds on thecity’s streets, seeking people out in abandoned buildings and drugdens. In 1995 she won the Pitts-burgh Mercy Health System’s SamBrunette Award for a lifetime ofservice to the poor, homeless, anddisadvantaged.

Annie Wilson ’75 also receivedthe Joan Shaw Herman Award in2005. As Executive Vice Presidentof the Lutheran Immigration andRefugee Service (LIRS), Annie has

13

been a leader in a national agency committed to “service and justicefor the most vulnerable of new-comers” to the United States.Annie was honored for her morethan twenty years of experiencehelping refugees and immigrants,including her work overseeing thedomestic refugee resettlement network of the Church World Service Immigration and RefugeeProgram, and eight years directingthe Asylum Concerns Program forLIRS. Annie played a leadershiprole in establishing and coordinat-ing a national service and advocacycoalition, the Detention Watch Network, now over 100 organiza-tions strong.

Victoria Post Ranney ’56 receivedthe award in 2006. Vicky has exem-plified a life of commitment to service. From her early years’ workteaching in a village in Uganda toher commitment to the civil rightsmovement, her involvement in integration, and her dedication toenvironmental issues, the breadthand depth of Vicky’s social con-sciousness and contributions areadmirable. Most recently, Vicky’seffort to create a development inthe Chicago area that encom-passes her ideals has been phe-nomenally successful. Togetherwith her husband, she has devel-oped a planned community, PrairieCrossing in Grayslake, Illinois, thatactively promotes the principles of environmental protection,energy conservation, and racial and economic diversity.

Prairie Crossing has won accolades

from media across the country for its innovative design and devo-tion to the ideals that Vicky holdsso dear. She has been instrumentalin guiding the development, whichincludes an organic farm, a charterschool, and architecture thatreflects the history of the area. It has been noted for the sense of “Americana” and community it exudes.

Katharine Muller Bullitt ’42 wasthe 2007 recipient of the award forher lifelong dedication to socialactivism. In her work as a volunteerand a board member, she hasaddressed issues from civil rights,quality integrated education,women’s rights, and environmentalprotection to peace and interna-tional understanding. An early advocate of public education anddesegregation, Kay organized a voluntary racial-transfer programbetween elementary schools inSeattle in 1968. Seattle has sincebeen described as the largest cityin the United States to voluntarilydesegregate its school system.Throughout the 1960s and 1970s,Kay either founded or served onthe steering committees of multi-ple organizations working on behalf of civil rights and women’s rights.In 1976, at a time when it was difficult for individual women tosecure a loan, Kay helped found awomen’s bank, the Sound Savingsand Loan, where she was a direc-tor for ten years. Concerned withinternational relations, Kay hasserved on many boards and com-mittees working for peace through-out the world.

14

As a trustee of the Bullitt Founda-tion, Kay also has worked to pro-mote environmental protection of the Pacific Northwest. She hassupported the arts in Seattle aschair of the executive committeefor the Seattle Arts Festival andthrough her work on the board of the Northwest Chamber Orches-tra. Kay remains committed toleadership development for under-privileged children and is involvedwith OneWorldNow!, a programthat promotes tolerance and giveseconomically disadvantaged youngpeople the opportunity to learn language and leadership skills andto increase their understanding ofother cultures.

Phyllis Rothschild Farley ’42received the award in 2007 for her efforts pioneering programsthat offer choice, comfort, and carefor those entering and departingthis world. Phyllis progressed fromher role as a volunteer teachinglabor preparation to Chairman ofthe Board of the Maternity CenterAssociation (MCA) in New YorkCity. In her work there, she insti-tuted the Childbearing Center, thefirst of its kind to offer midwife-assisted births in a non-hospitalsetting. Her fearless conviction thatthis model of maternity care couldreturn the process of birth to families had a revolutionary impacton maternity care in and out ofhospitals, and opened the door forthe many childbirth options that we now take for granted.

Through her work with mothers-to-be, Phyllis was introduced to

the use of doulas, advocates whoattend the birth and help with newborn care. Phyllis imagined thatthe doula model could be equallyhelpful in easing end-of-life issuesby bringing “empathy, compassion,common sense, a sense of humor,and an ability to advocate.” Shedeveloped a syllabus and trainingprogram called “Doula to Accom-pany and Comfort,” which is usedto train volunteers throughout theUnited States. Phyllis continues to work as a doula herself, provid-ing the individual care that sheadvocates to the larger medicalcommunity.

Phyllis has also been consistent inher support of education through-out her life: not only is she pastChairman of the Board of SarahLawrence College, but she was onthe Board of the U.S. Commissionfor United World Colleges (UWC), agroup of international high schoolsfounded during the Cold War topromote mutual understandingamong young people of differentethnic backgrounds and religions.

Anne Gaud Tinker ’63 was recog-nized in 2008, shortly after retiringas director of the Saving NewbornLives Initiative, for her tireless work over three decades towardimproving health care for womenand children in the poorest coun-tries around the world. Anne beganher career in a staff position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then became divisionchief at USAID, and lead healthspecialist for the World Bank. Inthe Saving Newborn Lives Initia-

15

tive, jointly developed by Save theChildren and the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation, Anne continuedher life work through advocacy,action research, and field programsto reduce newborn and maternalmortality in eighteen developingcountries. She continues to lendher expertise part-time as a senior advisor at Save the Children and amember of the Board of Directorsof the global Partnership for Mater-nal Newborn and Child Health,hosted by the World Health Organi-zation. Anne’s many admirable personal traits—inner strength, confidence, commitment, and aself-effacing manner—are qualitiesthat the Joan Shaw Herman Awardwas created to celebrate.

Nancy Read Coville ’49 receivedthe 2009 award in honor of herabiding passion to educate andenrich the lives of children in Tam-worth, New Hampshire. As a charter member of the Tamworth Arts Council, Nancy served on the committee that founded a summerday camp in the 1960s called theSummer Enrichment Program,where Nancy's “tireless energyand enthusiasm infected adults andchildren alike.” The program is stillactive under the Tamworth Recre-ation Department and funded bythe town, providing residents withsummertime memories of climbingmountains, playing sports, puttingon plays, and making friends.

A few years after starting the Sum-mer Enrichment Program, Nancyestablished the Bearcamp ValleySchool and Childcare Center (BVS

& CC), where she continues todayoffering innovative programs forchildren. BVS & CC is currently the only licensed full-time childcare center in Tamworth, opentwelve hours a day, five days aweek, all year round. In the ruralarea of Tamworth, many familiesneed assistance for this kind ofcare. Nancy raises money to sup-port her school and tries to make it possible for any child to be ableto attend. Since founding theschool, she has been a committedadministrator, fund-raiser, and itsheart and soul. One of Nancy’snominators noted that Nancy“made a tremendous differencelocally over a lifetime in her area”and is continuing to work in her“quiet but wonderful way.”

Paul Santomenna ‘85 receivedthe award in 2010, in recognition of his commitment to addressingsocietal challenges through the creative use of media. Early in hiscareer, Paul made a purposefuldecision to apply his talents in serv-ice to others. After receiving anMFA degree in film from CalArts in1994, he moved to Arizona to workwith adolescent members of theWhite Mountain Apache Tribe. Paul and his students producedradio and television public serviceannouncements for the Tribe’s sub-stance abuse prevention initiative.In 1997, he became director ofMedia Programs at Johns HopkinsUniversity’s Center for AmericanIndian Health, producing social mar-keting campaigns to support publichealth initiatives on Indian Reserva-tions around the country. The Open

16

Society Institute-Baltimoreawarded Paul a fellowship in 2002to establish Megaphone Project, a nonprofit that produces low-costadvocacy films for social justicecampaigns in Maryland. In creatingMegphone Project, Paul shiftedfrom helping institutions changeindividual behavior to helping indi-viduals change institutional behav-ior. In 2008, Paul moved to Maineto be closer to family. He serves as executive director of MainePhysicians for Social Responsibilityand is establishing a new entitythat will produce films in supportof the U.S.’s most marginalizedpopulations.

Nancy Jaicks Alexander ’51 wasa member of Elisabeth Kubler-RossM.D.’s international teaching andworkshop staff in 1985 when Dr.Ross, the founder of the hospicemovement, asked her to providevolunteer counseling services toprison inmates who had been diag-nosed with AIDS. Nancy acceptedthis challenge, undeterred by thepervasive fear and paranoia sur-rounding this deadly disease anddespite the fact that little wasknown about how it was transmit-ted. Together with her husband, aretired architect, she made thefifty-mile trip weekly to volunteerat the California Medical Facility atVacaville, counseling prisoninmates who faced virtual isolationand certain death after their diag-noses.

After several years providing volun-teer counseling to inmates, andputting into action the belief that

“no man should die alone inprison,” Nancy was instrumental inco-founding the first prison hospicein the world in 1991, traininginmate volunteers in hospice coun-seling. The prison hospice facility,now with seventeen beds and fullyaccredited with forty inmate volun-teers, is named for Nancy’s latehusband, Robert Evans Alexander,who died in 1992 and was herpartner in establishing the pro-gram. When she retired in 2010,after volunteering for 25 years, shealso left as a legacy plans for aprison hospice garden, planned atno cost to the state of California,and awaiting private funding to beinstalled. Her courage and commit-ment have helped to create, in her own words, “an island of com-passion in a sea of violence, fear,and paranoia.”

Ellen Smith Harde ’62 was arecipient of the award in 2012, recognizing her commitment andmany contributions to her localcommunity. Since moving to West-ford, Massachusetts in 1967, Ellenhas helped to found a number ofWestford institutions, including the local League of Women Voters,the Roudenbush Community Cen-ter, and the Westford Directory.She also held town governmentpositions: the first woman select-man, chair of the Westford Recy-cling Commission, and member ofthe Westford Land PreservationFoundation. She has volunteeredto restore the town common, and, with the publication of threebooks, is an unofficial town historian.

17

While Ellen has worn many hats,her most visible role is that ofWestford Town Moderator. As inmany New England towns, townmeeting (the legislative branch ofWestford’s government) is open to all registered voters, who havethe right to speak and vote on anannual budget and local statutes.Ellen is effective and respected inthis position, possessing a specialcombination of skills—teacher,mediator, and leader—that haveled to her election without opposi-tion for every term since 1993. The tireless work of volunteerssuch as Ellen ensure that local government is stronger and morevibrant, and make a town such asWestford a special place to live.

Jennifer Moulton ’67 alsoreceived the 2012 award, post-humously honoring her work as the planning director for Denver,Colorado.

“You didn’t know you came tomake a city” reads a quote fromDenver poet Thomas Hornsby Ferril, which is imprinted on amemorial to Jennifer in Denver’smunicipal building. Arriving in Colorado after leaving ConcordAcademy, Jennifer graduated withhonors from Colorado College and earned an architecture degreefrom the University of Colorado inDenver, where she was awardedthe prestigious AIA School Medalfor Excellence in Architecture. In1991 she accepted the position ofDenver’s planning director and leda development renaissance in the

city that would continue over thenext decade.

Jennifer’s persistence, profession-alism, and negotiation skills wereinvaluable in mediating betweencompeting interests and bringingprojects to completion. She took alead role in expanding the DenverArt Museum and Denver Library,redeveloping Lowry Air Force Base,Stapleton Airport, and Saint Luke’sHospital, rebuilding and updating of some of the city’s deterioratingpublic housing projects, and con-struction of the Webb MunicipalBuilding. She was a driving forcebehind Blueprint Denver: An Inte-grated Land Use and TransportationPlan, even as she battled amyloido-sis, a rare blood disease, which led to her untimely death in 2003.Her impact on the city, however, isstill celebrated. In 2011, sculptorJoel Shapiro installed a piece “ForJennifer” in her honor outside theClyfford Still Museum, commis-sioned by the Denver Art Museum.

Tom Lincoln ’78 received the 2013 award for his dedication tocommunity-based healthcare,including coordinated care for incarcerated individuals, one of themost challenging communities inpublic health. For over twodecades, his work as practitioner,teacher, and researcher hasadvanced correctional health careby focusing on the benefits of acoordinated approach betweencommunity health centers and jails.

With specializations in HIV, addic-

tion, and general internal medicine,Tom is highly respected for hiswork demonstrating the success ofcommunity-oriented approaches tocorrectional health care, which hasbeen modeled nationwide. Hisresearch has shown how coordina-tion between medical professionalsassists the incarcerated popula-tion—through treating addiction,preventing the spread of disease,and helping to decrease recidi-vism—and provides benefits to thesurrounding communities throughcost savings, improved publichealth, and increased public safety.

Tom is a respected physician in the Baystate Brightwood Health Center/Centro de Salud and medical director of the Corrections& Community Health Program at Hampden County Correctional Center. He has also won severalteaching awards as assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine andadjunct faculty member at Spring-field College.

Robin Alden ’69 received the 2014award in recognition of her long-standing service to the fishing com-munities of Eastern Maine.Throughout her career, she hassought to preserve and promote acommunity-based approach tocoastal fishery resource manage-ment along a 150-mile region fromthe islands of Penobscot Bay to theCanadian border. She describes herwork as “driven by the observationthat fishing is the perfect meetingof environment and economics: If it

is done right, it can sustain commu-nities forever."

Alden’s leadership spans non-profit,government, and publishing organi-zations. She is currently the execu-tive director of Penobscot EastResource Center, a non-profitorganization she co-founded in2003 to secure a sustainable futurefor fisheries and fishing communi-ties in eastern Maine and beyond.Alden served as Maine Commis-sioner of Marine Resources from1995 to 1997, responsible forMaine's marine and anadromousfishery management and enforce-ment as well as for aquaculture inthe state. For twenty years shewas publisher and editor of Com-mercial Fisheries News, a regionalfishing trade newspaper that shefounded in 1973. Later, Aldenbecame publisher and editor of thecompany's new publication, FishFarming News.

Alden was instrumental in startingthe annual Maine Fishermen'sForum in the mid-1970s and was apublic member of the New EnglandFishery Management Council from1979–1982 and again during hertenure as Commissioner. She wasa member of the National SeaGrant Review Panel from 2000-2009. Her awards include theVisionary Award for the Gulf ofMaine Council on the Marine Envi-ronment (1997) and the Maine Initiatives Social Landscape ArtistAward with her husband, Ted Ames(2007). Alden has a B.A. in Eco-nomics from the University ofMaine, and lives in Stonington.

18

“An equal mixture of good humor

And sensible soft melancholy.”

Photo of Joan Shaw Herman and quotation reprinted from the Concord Academy Yearbook, 1946

Concord Academy166 Main Street

Concord, MA 01742