Alumnae/i Awards and Hall of Fame

Alumnae/i Awards

Each year at Reunion, it is our tradition to honor members of our community who have distinguished themselves through service to the School, to its students, and to the world outside Masters. Award recipients are honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Banquet Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

Award Recipients

The Richmond Bowl

Created to honor Nell Angle Richmond ’34 and Tom Richmond, this award is presented each year by the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association to alumnae/i whose exceptional support of and service to The Masters School reflects the same outstanding quality of creative leadership demonstrated by the Richmond family.

Because this is an Alumnae/i Association award for leadership, it traditionally goes to alumnae/i who have worked as volunteers in a number of different jobs over a period of years, showing leadership and dedication in not just one but many areas of service. It recognizes a kind of selfless dedication and willingness to serve, and has gone to alumnae/i who have always been willing to go the extra mile in their service to the School. Staying power as an active leader — long-term service as opposed to intense short-term service — is recognized by means of awarding The Richmond Bowl.

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  • Richmond Bowl Recipients

    2024 Natasha Bansgopaul ’04
    2023 Edith C. Chapin ’83
    2022 Betsy Hamill Bramsen ’63
    2021 Dibbie Spurr Appleton ’56
    2020 Lucy Doolittle Kourides ’70
    2019 Libbie Payne* ’69
    2018 Sally Nolan ’68
    2017 Louise Millholland Cecil* ’57
    2016 Diana Davis Spencer ’56, P’84
    2015 Susan “Spark” Cremin ’65
    2014 Christine Grim Neikirk ’84
    2013 Norene Ginsburg Peck ’73
    2012 Elise Funke Griffin* ’47
    2011 Priscilla Franklin Hindley ’66
    2010 Eleanor Bissell Bochner ’65
    2009 Carolyn “Lyn” Orr Mattoon ’59
    2008 Ann Ebbert Sullivan ’58
    2007 Susan Follett Morris ’57
    2006 Susan Madden Samson* ’57
    2005 Eleanor Merrick Bissell* ’33
    2004 Ann Atkins Clark* ’44
    2003 Margaret Leyman McHenry ’63
    2002 Louisa Garnsey Lambert* ’57
    2001 Margaret Kies Dietterich ’65
    2000 Lynn Pilzer Sobel ’71
    1999 Nell Fisher Grim* ’53
    1998 Susie Marckwald Mackay ’58
    1997 Susan Smith Collinson ’62
    1996 Elizabeth Edwards Ledyard* ’26
    1995 Leslie May Marra* ’67
    1994 Ruth Mitchell Freeman ’51
    1993 Betty Ann Drake Shook* ’45
    1992 Betsy Thorndike Wilson ’58
    1991 Judith Sperry MacEwan ’56
    1990 Vesta Tittmann McLean* ’40
    1989 Ann Thorndike Cover* ’53
    1988 Cynthia Ferris Evans ’52
    1987 Jeannette Sanford Fowlkes ’58
    1986 Phyllis Hoelzel Evans* ’36
    1985 Eugenia Merrill Seamans* ’40
    1984 Margaret Detmer Rossi* ’50
    1983 Pamela Daly Vose* ’47
    1982 Jane Lightner Meads* ’42
    1981 Penelope Spurr Marshall* ’45
    1980 Marianne Prescott Mead ’41
    1979 Lilian Hall Fisher* ’37
    1978 Dorothy March Halsey* ’12
    1977 Joan Malloch Lord* ’42
    1976 Allie Burchenal Ault* ’21
     
    *Deceased

The Eliza Bailey Masters Fellowship Award

The Eliza Bailey Masters Fellowship Award is given to honor alumnae/i who exemplify Miss Masters’ philosophy through outstanding service to their community. While this award recognizes alumnae/i who exemplify Miss Masters’ ideal of service in the world beyond Dobbs, potential candidates should also have maintained their ties to and affection for our alma mater.

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  • Eliza Bailey Masters Fellowship Award Recipients

    2024 Sharon Nechis Castillo ’84
    2023 Ann Atkins Clark* '44
    2020 Marne Kies Dietterich ’65
    2019 Marin Alsop ’73 
    2018 Mirna Valerio ’93
    2017 Dr. Joanne Liegner ’73
    2016 Claudia Boettcher Merthan ’51
    2015 Barbara Congdon Van Dusen ’45
    2010 Sydney Shafroth Macy ’70
    2009 Betsy Flower Gotbaum ’56
    2008 Jean Wheeler Hoffman ’52
    2007 Alison M. Jones ’67
    2006 Laura Lee Brown ’59
    2000 Alice Probasco Lupton* ’45
    1997 Kathryn S. Fuller ’64
    1995 Penelope Spurr Marshall* ’45
    1991 Allie Burchenal Ault* ’21
    1986 Joan Sitt McMenamin* ’42
    1982 Louise Riker Edmonds* ’46
    1977 Helen Kirkpatrick Milbank* ’27
     
    *Deceased

The Anna Howe Faculty Award

The Anna Howe Faculty Award is an award recognizing former or current faculty members who have helped shape and change the lives of their students. The award is presented to teachers who have not only excelled in the classroom, but who, through guidance, encouragement, and support have made a meaningful difference to their students.

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  • Anna Howe Faculty Award Recipients

    2024 Cheryl Hajjar
    2023 Matt Ives
    2022 Michele Dennis 
    2020 Lisa Berrol
    2019 Colleen Roche
    2018 Ellen Cowhey
    2017 Dr. Eileen "Lee" Dieck
    2016 Everett "Doc" Wilson
    2015 Cecilia Nauck
    2014 Chris Goulian
    2013 Jane Baron Rechtman*
    2012 Mary Wood*
    2011 Louise Riker Edmonds* ’46
    2010 Ginger O’Shea
    2009 M.A. Haskin
    2008 Dr. Nancy Theeman
    2007 Patricia Bayliss
    2006 John “Jack” Pierpont*
    2005 Larry Blizard
    2004 Lenore Laupheimer*
    2003 Julie Davidson*
    2002 Barbara Jones*

    *Deceased

The Maureen Fonseca Young Alumnae/i Award

Created in 2015 to honor former Head of School Maureen Fonseca, the Young Alumnae/i Award recognizes alumnae/i under the age of 30 who embody the values and mission of The Masters School — to learn, to strive, to dare, to do and to be a power for good in the world — and who maintain a deep connection to Masters and to fellow alumnae/i through volunteerism and active involvement in the life of the School.

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Athletics Hall of Fame

The Masters School Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 2018 by the Athletics Department, the Dobbs Athletic Association and the Dobbs Alumnae/i Association to honor outstanding athletes, teams and coaches for their athletic performance, leadership, and program contributions while at Masters and after graduating.

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  • 2023: 1993 Volleyball Team

    The 1993 volleyball team served up quite a number of wins during the 1992-1993 season, capping it off by winning the Fairchester Athletic Association championship.

  • 2020: The 2000 Boys Varsity Basketball Team

    The 2000 varsity boys basketball team was the School’s first boys team to win a championship. The team defied the odds and won the Fairchester League title and tournament just three years after the team's inaugural season.

  • 2018: Carol Ebbert Hackett ’65

    Carol Ebbert Hackett ’65 was a member of the Dobbs Athletic Association (DAA) and a proud Delta. At Dobbs, Carol played field hockey, volleyball, tennis, softball, basketball and one season of lacrosse. After graduating in 1965, she continued playing volleyball for the next 12 years.

    Carol joined the staff of the Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut in 1973 where she coached varsity volleyball and girls varsity tennis and taught physical education for 35 years. After serving as the assistant athletic director, coordinating girl’s athletics, Carol became the first female athletic director for a co-ed school in the New England Prep School Athletic Association. As Title IV was just beginning to be implemented nationwide, Carol had to fight to provide her female student athletes the same number of competitive teams, uniforms and equipment. Carol’s goal during her tenure at Wooster was to make sure that all the students—especially the girls—felt good about themselves and felt comfortable doing some type of physical activity while displaying good sportsmanship.
     
    We honor Carol for her commitment to athletics and the strides that she has made in advancing opportunities for women and girls to pursue their athletic interests.

  • 2018: Margaret “Suzie” Paxton ’88

    Suzanne Paxton ’88 is a Masters fencing alumna, member of the 1996 Olympic Team, five-time Emmy award-winning producer and founder of Point Studio. A member of the 1996 United States Olympic Team, Paxton was a top nationally and internationally ranked fencer in women’s foil individual and team competition.

    She was first introduced to fencing at The Masters School with fencing Master, Francisco “Patxi” Martin. Her accolades include: competing in two national championships at Penn State; member of the U.S. National Team where she competed and won medals at World Cup competitions, Pan American Fencing Championships, World University Games and other international events; member of the team which won the first gold medal ever by a U.S. team in a World Cup in Cuba, 1992; represented the United States at the 1996 Olympic Games in individual and team competition; member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team in individual and team competition; Fencing Analyst for NBC Sports Olympic Games  Broadcast, Athens 2004; honored as an Olympic torchbearer in Amfilochia, Greece, helping to carry the torch toward the Athens Olympic Games; served as an Olympic Ambassador for the U.S. Olympic Committee, helping to prepare Olympians for international and Olympic competition.
     
    We honor Suzie for her achievements in fencing.

  • 2018: Lois Miller Waterman 1901

    Lois Miller Waterman 1901 is the founding member of the Dobbs Athletic Association (DAA), which was founded to promote an athletic spirit and to develop sports and exercise at Masters in a lasting way. DAA benefited the community and brought pleasure to every member of the School.

    Lois’s legacy not only includes the Dobbs Athletics Association, which is still active on campus today, but also her daughter, Mary Waterman Farwell ’23, and granddaughter, Katherine Farwell Williamson ’54 as well as her niece Lindley Reed Hunter ’37.

Arts Hall of Fame

The Masters School Arts Hall of Fame was established in 2019 to celebrate the contributions of individuals who, through their personal accomplishments and involvement in the arts, have helped to enrich, advance, and serve as an ambassador for The Masters School’s long-standing tradition of excellence in the performing and visual arts.

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  • 2023: Kara DioGuardi '88

    The inimitable Kara DioGuardi is an 11-time Grammy-nominated songwriter, co-CEO and founder of Arthouse Entertainment Publishing & Records, and CEO and founder of briidge, a free platform that connects music creators based on their skill set, location and personality. Kara’s songs have appeared on more than 160 million records, and she has received 23 BMI Awards, the 2007 BMI Songwriter of the Year Award, the 2009 NMPA Songwriter Icon Award, and the 2011 NAMM Music for Life Award.

    A trailblazer for women in the male-dominated field of music publishing, Kara co-founded Arthouse Entertainment two decades ago. The company serves as a home for long-term artist development in the songwriting/recording space, building careers for three-time Grammy-nominated artist/songwriter Ingrid Andress, GAYLE, Jason Derulo, and acclaimed songwriter/artist Jon Bellion (Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Halsey, Maroon 5), to name a few.

  • 2022: Nia DaCosta '07

    Nia DaCosta is an award-winning filmmaker and director. She won the Tribeca Film Festival’s Nora Ephron Award in 2018 for her film “Little Woods.” She also directed the horror film “Candyman,” which debuted in 2021. She is currently directing “The Marvels,” making her the youngest filmmaker to direct a Marvel movie. 

  • 2019: Marin Alsop '73

    Marin Alsop '73 is the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She is the only conductor to have received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and was the first woman to be awarded the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize from the Tanglewood Music Center. She has many achievements in the world of music, from breaking barriers as the first female conductor of a major orchestra to creating musical programming in Baltimore for at-risk youth.

The Masters School

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