Golden Outstanding Alumna

Kim Kalagher Mazzarella ’76 received her Bachelor of Arts degree In Political Science from Georgetown University and a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. She is an experienced foreign language teacher who has enriched the lives of students through foreign language arts for over 20 years. Kim has taught and served as a student advisor in independent schools throughout the DC and Boston areas. Since 2013, she has taught Spanish and developed a specialized reading program for students at St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School in Washington, DC. Kim is passionate about breaking down barriers and promoting inclusion through the study of foreign language and culture, which is evident in the various extra-curricular initiatives she spearheads. She co-founded the Spanish Heritage Speakers program, a program for students that strives to provide native speakers with a deep appreciation for the literature and culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Additionally, as part of this program, she launched Café de Poetas, a poetry recitation for heritage speakers to bring Spanish speaking culture to life through live poetry readings.

Kim brings a unique perspective to her work as someone who grew up in Potomac, MD, spent a summer in Honduras while at Stone Ridge, and moved with her young family to Buenos Aires for seven years where she perfected her language skills and developed a love of South American culture.

Brenda Crawley ’78 is currently the Head of School at Plymouth Meeting Friends School in Plymouth Meeting, PA. She began her career as a music teacher, music department chair and Diversity Coordinator at McLean School of Maryland in Potomac, MD. Brenda served as McLean’s Head of Lower School for seven years and then accepted the Head of Lower School position at Sandy Springs Friends School in Sandy Spring, MD. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education/Piano from Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY and a Master of Science in Organization Development and Human Resources from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School.
 
Brenda was a faculty member for the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative Summer Institute on Diversity and Multicultural Education; a trainer for the National Coalition Building Institute; and the Beginning Teacher Institute Leader for the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington. She continues to facilitate collaborative work sessions with educators on issues around learning differences, classroom management and teaching conflict resolution to young children. She is a regular presenter on subjects relating to early childhood education, parenting, and issues related to diversity/equity/belonging and the disruption of implicit bias.

Brenda is on the Board of Trustees of Friends Council on Education, a national organization that supports Quaker schools and organizations; she is a trustee of United Friends School in Quakertown, PA; and she is on the Board of Directors of Schooling for Hope, a non-profit organization focused on supporting schools that serve primarily students of color.

Outstanding Alumna

Jacqueline Fangonil Walsh ’86 earned her JD from the New England School of Law at Boston College. She is a qualified lawyer in Hong Kong and the United States with over 26 years of experience in complex insolvency assignments, probate and matrimonial disputes, court appointments, formal and informal corporate restructuring, private receiverships, financial investigations and directorship appointments. In the US, Jacqueline represented Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcy trustees, creditors committees, and corporate debtors.

During her 20 years in Asia, Jacqueline’s restructuring and insolvency experience has spanned a range of industries, including retail, forestry, e-automobiles, property investment and development, aircraft, cold storage warehousing, trade, and manufacturing. This experience includes restructuring of listed companies in Hong Kong by way of court appointment or as a director of the company, operational restructuring of private corporations, appointed as a receiver of shares to secure and realize assets, and investigatory assignments including the pursuit of legal claims. Many of these assignments have a cross-border focus including work in Hong Kong, PRC, Singapore, USA, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Italy, Nigeria, Russia, and Cyprus.

In 2019, she was awarded the IWIRC Woman of the Year in Restructuring (Asia) Award for her outstanding contributions to the profession in the region. She has been a member and presenter within INSOL International and active with her charity work and as a board member of Equal Justice in Hong Kong.

Alice Felker ’16 is being recognized for her passion for disability rights and inclusion through the Social Action Program. Alice served as Senior Class President, President of the Best Buddies club, and as a Social Action Leader for the Disability unit. This past May, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Psychology and Applied Mathematics. While at Notre Dame, she was the Vice President of the Best Buddies club, coordinating events for Notre Dame students and adults with disabilities in the South Bend area. She also volunteered weekly at a respite center in South Bend for adults with disabilities. In her junior year, she studied abroad in Copenhagen to learn about Nordic special education policy and disability inclusion. Throughout her time at Notre Dame, Alice spent time researching disability rights issues relating to the national shortage of direct support professionals, day support services and inclusive employment opportunities, and best practices for inclusive mathematics education. She received two grants from Notre Dame to complete her research and was the 2020 recipient of the John F. Santos Award for Distinctive Achievement in Psychology. While at Notre Dame, she also served as a Resident Assistant, University Writing Center tutor, and research assistant in the Cognition, Learning, and Development Lab (CLAD Lab).

Alice now works as a House Leader at L’Arche Greater Washington DC (GWDC), a non-profit organization that works to make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities. L’Arche GWDC is part of an international federation of communities that provides lifelong homes and inclusive support for people with disabilities globally. Alice is the Home Life Leader at 6th Street House. Her primary responsibility is to facilitate core member leadership of the home. Alice also oversees 6th Street's budget and works with other L’Arche leaders to ensure core members are supported competently and compassionately. She assists with advocacy and outreach projects  and recently created inclusion training for medical professionals. Her experience at Stone Ridge, specifically her experience in the Social Action program, inspired her passion for disability advocacy.