Dear Alumnae,

I hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. I want to take a moment to ask you to join me in a 2010 resolution. Generally speaking I am not a huge fan of resolutions because of my consistent failure to maintain them (admittedly they are usually diet/exercise related). But this one is easy: I want you to help Emma Willard get the kind of exposure it deserves. In September 2010, Emma Willard will welcome the Class of 2014—the bicentennial class! We alumnae can ensure that, after nearly 200 years as the leader in girls’ education, Emma Willard is the household name that it should be. If we start talking, people will listen.

A few simple ways you can help:

-Wear your Emma ring and strike up one conversation with someone who notices.
-Put Emma Willard on your resume.
-Carry your groceries in an Emma Willard tote bag.
- Find ways to bring Emma Willard into conversations (Good: “When I was at Emma Willard...” Not as good: “When I was in high school…”).
- Wear an Emma t-shirt on occasion.
-Bad hair day? Wear an Emma cap. Golfing? Playing tennis? Wear an Emma visor.
-Celebrate Emma Willard’s birthday and talk about it on Facebook—wear an Emma Willard t-shirt in your Facebook profile photo.
-Tell your friends with or without daughters about Emma Willard.
-Imagine partnerships for Emma that you or your company could make possible.
-Use your network to connect Emma Willard to a guest lecturer.
-Recycle your Emma magazine by finding a prospective student or friend to share it with.
-Set up a Google alert for Emma Willard School. When it pops up and there is a chance to reply, jump into the conversation.
-Email the alumnae office with a suggestion of your own to add to this list.

If you are already doing these things, or a subset of these things, thank you! We are the best ambassadors; we are “Emmasaries.” Join me in making certain that Emma Willard is the first school people think of when they think of excellent education for girls.

With best wishes for a peaceful, healthy, and happy 2010,

Linda J. Passaretti '84
Director of Alumnae Relations

We are pleased to welcome Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, co-authors of Half the Sky, to Troy on February 23, 2010.

The New York Times bestseller Half the Sky documents the global need to educate girls and women to ensure a healthier world community. Together, Kristof and WuDunn won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China and have written two previous books about Asia: Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia and China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power. Additionally, Mr. Kristof is a columnist for The New York Times.

Kristof and WuDunn will deliver morning remarks at RPI’s internationally acclaimed EMPAC in Troy, NY. Click HERE to register online.

At the International Museum of Women’s speaker series event in San Francisco, Nicholas Kristof was interviewed by president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Northern California Jane Wales ’66. Click HERE to watch the interview. 
  

Emma Willard’s bicentennial is on the horizon! Please join Head of School Trudy Hall for a provocative conversation about Emma Willard in its third century and a chance to connect with fellow EWS alumnae and friends in three cities.

You can RSVP for this event with Jill Smith at jsmith@emmawillard.org, by calling toll free 866-833-1814, or by registering online here.

San Francisco—Friday, February 26, 6:00–8:00 p.m., The Bay School of San Francisco, 35 Keyes Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94129

Los Angeles—Saturday, March 6, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., location TBD

Invitations will be mailed in January, but you may also RSVP with Jill Smith at jsmith@emmawillard.org or by calling toll free 866-833-1814.

This year’s Revels was featured in an article in the Times-Union newspaper. Photos are available for viewing and purchase here.

Please join Boston area alumnae for the opening of Sandi Haber Fifield’s ’74 exhibition of photographs from her book Walking through the World, published by Charta. The opening reception will be held on Friday, February 5th from 5:30-8:00pm at Gallery Kayafas, 450 Harrison Avenue, Boston. The show will run from January 22nd to February 27th. After the opening, there are a number of places for EWS alumnae to informally gather near the gallery—including Gaslight Bistro. Be on the lookout for EWS alumnae at the event to arrange a post-event meet up location. 

Congratulations to Julie Pyle Nicholson ’46 of Nicholson Yacht Charters who was recently named “No.1 Yacht Charter Broker” by the Caribbean Yacht Brokers Association. If the winter blues are dragging you down, Julie and her team will be happy to work with you to arrange a charter on a fully crewed yacht anywhere in the world. For more details on scores of yachts for all tastes and all budgets please call Julie at 800-662-6066 or email nikyacht@comcast.net.