Alumnae Turbo Talks

Class of 1985 Class of 1985 Black at Brearley Working Group. We came together in summer 2020 over a shared desire to hold a conversation with former classmates around the racism experienced at Brearley by Black students, and to explore all of our roles in that history and beyond. In the past nine months we have met often to develop ways to implement this mission, and have initiated three meetings open to all members of our class. For this Turbo Talk, the group wanted to share this work with the wider Brearley community and to talk about how we see it contributing toward accountability, action and ally-ship. We are: Caroline Bicks, Lisa Downing, Janet Reich Elsbach, Alison Green, Victoria Guest, Monica Lengyel Karlson, Marie Elizabeth Mali, Dawn Simmons and Penny Wilson.

Carolyn Bernstein ’86, EVP, Scripted Content and Documentary Films at the National Geographic Channel Carolyn Bernstein is EVP, Scripted Content and Documentary Films at the National Geographic Channel. Under Carolyn’s leadership, Nat Geo premiered its first-ever scripted anthology series, Genius, which garnered 17 Emmy nominations in its first two seasons, and The Hot Zone starring Julianna Margulies, Nat Geo’s highest- rated scripted series in channel history. Carolyn also oversaw The Right Stuff on Disney+, based on Tom Wolfe’s eponymous best-selling book, and Genius: Aretha, the most recent installment of the Genius franchise starring Tony, Emmy and Grammy award-winning and 2020 multi-Oscar nominee, Cynthia Erivo.

After the success of Oscar and multi-Emmy Award-winning Free Solo in 2019 and Oscar- nominated and Emmy-winning The Cave, National Geographic’s current doc films slate includes Fauci, from Oscar-winning producer Dan Cogan, Cousteau, from Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus and Thai Cave Rescue, from Free Solo directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Carolyn is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University and resides in with her husband and two children.

Kathy Braddock ’75, Managing Director & Real Estate Broker, William Raveis Kathy Mayer Braddock is an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. She delights in the opportunity to bring innovative real estate businesses to life, particularly ones that fill unanswered needs and to helping them achieve market dominance.

As both managing director at William Raveis and co- founder of Braddock + Purcell, a residential real estate consulting firm, she has continued that mission. A 35-year industry veteran with a passion for working closely with brokers, Braddock uses her business acumen to understand what it takes to get a deal done. Braddock is no stranger to success. During her venerable career in real estate, she helped form and build some of New York's most distinguished real estate firms. She co-founded Rutenberg Realty and was formerly executive managing director at Douglas Elliman. Prior to joining DE in 2000, Braddock turned Intrepid New Yorker, which she founded in 1982, into 's premier destination services company. She co-authored two books about living in New York and navigating daily life in the area.

Her wealth of industry knowledge has made Braddock a sought-after source by the media. She is regularly quoted in The New York Times, , The Real Deal, and is seen on-air as a guest commentator on NY1 News and Fox News. Braddock is a New York City native, educated at Hunter and Brearley. She received a BA from Vassar College.

Ann Carmel ’61, Financial Advisor and Chair of The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy Ann Erdmann Carmel retired in March 2020 from a 50+ year career in finance. She continues to consult for D.C. Capital Advisors, a small private investment firm. Ann also manages money for a small group of investors—FOA Partners—friends of Ann. She spent most of her career in risk arbitrage at two successful Wall Street firms before starting a firm and then joining DC Capital. . Ann has served for decades on the board and as Chair of Ramapo for Children, an organization that runs a residential facility in Rhinebeck, NY, and provides training to teachers, caretakers and others in dealing with children with special needs. She has also served on the board and as Chair of the Adirondack Council, an organization that advocates for the protection of the Adirondacks and for vibrant communities within the Adirondack Park. Ann is currently the chair of the board of The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy in Yonkers.

Ann’s greatest joy is spending time with her three grown sons, their wives and seven grandchildren ages 10 to 14, all of whom live in NYC or close by. They spend much of our time together at their family farm in Brant Lake, NY and, in fact, retreated there for 10 months during Covid-19 along with two horses, three goats and 18 chickens. Ann is married to Daniel Wolk, a retired Rabbi.

Ondine Cohane ’90, Travel Writer and Editor Ondine Cohane published National Geographic’s Always Italy with Frances Mayes in March of 2020 which received the Robert Lowell award for guidebook of the year as well as the North American Travel Journalists Gold medal. She is a Contributing Editor at Conde Nast Traveler, and a frequent writer for the New York Times travel section, as well as the Telegraph newspaper and other international publications. In 2006 she moved to Pienza in Southern Tuscany and with her ex-husband designed and opened two boutique hotels, La Bandita Countryhouse and La Bandita Townhouse, which includes a destination restaurant. She has been on camera with the PBS Conde Nast Traveler’s Insider Guide as well Good Morning America and the Today Show, and is now working on a memoir. She lives with her son Jacopo in the UNESCO protected Val d’ Orcia, and travels all over the world for articles (in normal times).

Juanita Dugdale ’70, Dugdale Projects

Juanita Dugdale is a consulting editor, writer and art director. After serving as a founding partner of the public information design firm Two Twelve in New York, she formed Dugdale Projects to research articles and advise on books about art, design and private histories. Sister of Shirley Dugdale ‘66, Juanita attended Brearley from first grade until graduation in 1970. At Wesleyan University (BA 1974) her portrait photography was presented as the first one-person student show at the new arts complex. Her public sector positions included a stint at the Smithsonian’s Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife before work at a NYC branding and naming firm. At Yale University (MFA 1980) she became immersed in typography and the emerging field of information design, later serving on a search that recommended the School of Art’s first female program director. As a contributor to design magazines, she covered subjects ranging from wayfinding to architectural inscription and emigre designers. During the pandemic she wrote Art Called: The Sculpture of Don Justin Meserve, a tribute to her late husband, a master stoneworker in Maine. She is a member of the Brearley Alumnae Board.

Rozella Kennedy ’81, Founder & Owner, Brave Sis Project

Rozella (Rozie) Kennedy is the Founder and owner of Brave Sis Project, which she describes as a “message and a movement of wellness and intercultural sxsterhood.” Over the years, Rozella has worked across the nonprofit spectrum, holding executive and fundraising roles in , environmental, and social service sectors. In her early career in media, she worked for magazines ranging from Passion to Illustrated, Mothering, and Oxygen.com.

A first-gen collegian and a Woman of Color, Rozie is as comfortable in community spaces as in the C-Suite. She has always striven for results, whether in starting a new venture; coaching or training others; introducing new people into circles of allyship and partnership; or serving as a thought- leader, consensus-builder, and when necessary, passionate catalyst for understanding, mutuality, and growth. She is also a published essayist, ghost writer, and copyeditor. When she is not attending to Brave Sis, she works to build philanthropic partnerships at the intersection of climate innovation and equity with Elemental Excelerator.

A proud graduate of NYC’s Brearley School, Rozie earned a double degree in English and French from Tufts University, and completed her M.A. in French Caribbean Women's Literature at the Université de Paris, Sorbonne. She is a devoted friend, colleague, life partner to her husband, composer/conductor John Kennedy, and mother to two young adult daughters, and one adored Caribbean Potcake Dog, Pippa.

Aska Langman ’06, Director, Aska's Animals

Aska has spent most of her life working with and caring for animals. While getting her B.S in Animal Science from The University of Vermont, she spent a year in South Africa working with a wildlife veterinarian caring for injured wildlife. After college, she moved to Victor, ID and traded in working with lions and elephants for cats and dogs. Aska has been involved with the local animal welfare groups and participates in the Animal Adoption Center’s Spay/Neuter program on the Wind River Reservation as well as trapping feral cats for PAWS of JH. In order to spend more time caring for all the rescue animals, Aska started her own dog boarding business, which allows her to stay at home with all the animals and with her son, Leo. Aska’s husband Will has accepted that his life now revolves around the animals and you can find him building and fixing anything and everything here at the farm.

Hope Moeller ’91, Teacher and Director, Middle School Theater at The Ensworth School

Hope (Stearns) Moeller ’91 received her B.A. from Kenyon College as a Drama Major. She was chosen to direct a play in celebration of the 25th anniversary of women at Kenyon her senior year. After college, Hope got her M. S. Ed in Elementary Education at Bank Street College in New York. She has worked in private and public schools in New York, Iowa, Connecticut, and Tennessee over the past 25 years. She is currently teaching second grade at The Ensworth School in Nashville, Tennessee where she is also the director of the Middle School theater program and serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.

Hope lives in Nashville with her husband, Paul, and two of their sons, Sam and Owen. Their oldest son, Max, attends Northeastern University .

Jenny Osman ’10, Director of FRESH and Food Policy, Assistant Vice President, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)

Jenny Osman graduated from the Brearley school in 2010 and from Kenyon College in 2014 After several different jobs within the food sector in New York City, including work with an accelerator for mission-driven food businesses, Jenny joined the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in 2018. Since then Jenny has managed the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program which supports the retention and development of supermarkets in New York City's under- invested neighborhoods. In January 2020 Jenny started a hybrid Master's of Public Health program at Johns Hopkins University that allows her to continue the work she enjoys while broadening her knowledge of public health policy and communications. In June 2020 Jenny was named a "Rising Star in NYC Food Policy" by the Food Policy Center. She's looking forward to spending some time on campus this summer or fall if COVID-19 restrictions allow.

Maysoon Pachachi 65’, Director/Producer, Oxymoron Films Ltd

Maysoon is a London-based filmmaker of Iraqi origin. After gaining an BA Hons degree in Philosophy at University College London (BA Hons) and an MA at the London Film School, she worked for many years as a documentary, TV drama and feature film editor in the UK and in 1993 set up an independent film production company, Oxymoron Films.Among her documentary films are: Iranian Journey, Bitter Water, Return to the Land of Wonders, and Our Feelings Took the Pictures: Open Shutters Irag. Her most recent film is a fiction feature, Our River…Our Sky, shot in Iraq in 2019, now completed and awaiting distribution.

Maysoon has taught film directing and editing in Britain and Palestine. In 2004, she co-founded Independent Film & Television College, a free-of-charge film-training center in Baghdad, which closed in 2012. Its students produced short documentary films, which were shown internationally and received 14 festival prizes.

Simonetta Costanzo Pittaluga ’71, Retired Public Relations professional and skills teacher, INGO Board Member, Yoga Teacher + Meditation Trainer

South African born, USA raised, Italian nationality, immigrant to Spain and based for the last 45 years. Simonetta worked in Public Relations all her life, but went on to teach the topic and apply it to all her other interests: Yoga teaching and INGO work. Today, Simonetta is retired but extremely involved in social innovation, thru volunteer work for the last 20 years. Specifically, as trainer in Yoga meditation and as Board member and Chair of INGOs that work with Nonviolent action to transform conflicts.

Susan Pollack ’60, Lawyer/Volunteer/Wife/Mother/Grandmother/Gardener Susan First Pollack is an experienced banking, domestic and cross-border finance and corporate attorney. She has been at three different New York law firms, where she counseled financial institutions and corporations in connection with the financing, operating and regulatory aspects of their businesses. In between her stints in private practice, she also served as the General Counsel of the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (in the early 1970's) and as General Counsel to three different businesses at Citibank (1976-1996). One of her last matters before retirement had her working on issues arising out of the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy.

Balancing her legal career, Susan has maintained an on-going involvement in civic issues, beginning with the civil rights movement in the 1960's. She has served on the Brearley Alumnae Board, the Brearley Board of Trustees, the Visiting Committee at Harvard Law School, as well as Citizens Union Research Foundation and Girls Incorporated. She volunteers with the New York Central Park Conservancy and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Susan is a graduate of Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School, where she was one of 25 women in a class of 525. She is a mother of two children and grandmother of five. In her spare time, she is an enthusiastic gardener and maker of stained glass windows.

Olivia Howard Sabine ’96, Managing Director, Industrial Vertical & Portfolio Group, Bain Capital

Olivia Howard joined Bain Capital Private Equity in 2006. She is a Managing Director in the Industrial Vertical & Portfolio Group and a member of the North American Private Equity team. Olivia plays a lead role advancing the firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts as well as a lead role within the Portfolio Group’s Recruiting & Development efforts. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of FXI, US LBM and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Olivia also serves on the advisory board of the fast growing ecommerce brand Kondi. Previously, she served on the Boards of Clear Channel Outdoor, Innocor, and Concord Academy. She started her working life as an assistant at the Williamstown Theatre Festival before working at McKinsey & Company. Olivia has a BA in History from , where she graduated magna cum laude. She resides in with her partner, Greg Griffith, a painter & musician, and their blended family of 4 children – ages 2 to 16.

Katherine Heyman Saunders, MD ’01, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine; Co- Founder and Senior Medical Officer, Intellihealth

Katherine H. Saunders, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Saunders specializes in the care of patients with overweight/obesity and weight-related medical complications. . Dr. Saunders received her undergraduate degree Phi Beta Kappa/Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth College with a BA in Religion and Engineering. She received her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College, where she became a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Saunders went on to complete her internship and residency training in Internal Medicine (Primary Care) at NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. She served as Ambulatory Chief Resident of Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates. . Dr. Saunders was the first Clinical Fellow in Obesity Medicine at the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, where she trained under Louis J. Aronne, MD. Dr. Saunders is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She has published many peer-reviewed articles and gives lectures around the country on obesity medicine and weight management. . In 2018, Dr. Saunders co-founded Intellihealth with Dr. Aronne and her husband, Sloan Saunders. The company’s mission is to use technology to scale and democratize access to obesity treatment. Intellihealth is working with many large hospital systems (including NewYork-Presbyterian, Geisinger, Mass General, Brigham and Women's, Hospital Corporation of America, Indian Health Services), self-insured organizations, payers and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Saunders recently won the Amplifyher Ventures + BioVenture eLab Weill Women Innovators investment competition. . Dr. Saunders received her undergraduate degree Phi Beta Kappa/Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth College with a BA in Religion and Engineering. She received her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College, where she became a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Saunders went on to complete her internship and residency training in Internal Medicine (Primary Care) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. She served as Ambulatory Chief Resident of Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates. . Dr. Saunders was the first Clinical Fellow in Obesity Medicine at the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, where she trained under Louis J. Aronne, MD. Dr. Saunders is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She has published many peer-reviewed articles and gives lectures around the country on obesity medicine and weight management. . In 2018, Dr. Saunders co-founded Intellihealth with Dr. Aronne and her husband, Sloan Saunders. The company’s mission is to use technology to scale and democratize access to obesity treatment. Intellihealth is working with many large hospital systems (including NewYork-Presbyterian, Geisinger, Mass General, Brigham and Women's, Hospital Corporation of America, Indian Health Services), self-insured organizations, payers and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Saunders recently won the Amplifyher Ventures + BioVenture eLab Weill Women Innovators investment competition.

Jane Schapiro ’76, Latin teacher, The Nightingale-Bamford School; Comedian; Storyteller

Jane Schapiro teaches Latin at Nightingale-Bamford, and she is also a learning specialist and a private tutor. She has developed innovative approaches to Latin pedagogy, and she frequently presents workshops on creative teaching techniques at Latin teacher conferences. In addition, under the stage name "Jane Golden," she performs as a storyteller and a comedian. She does stand-up at clubs around New York City, and she was a runner-up for the title of "Funniest Jewish Comedian." She appears in storytelling shows across the East Coast, and she is a six-time MOTH storyslam winner. Before the pandemic, she started producing her own storytelling shows, and she hopes to continue with this in the future. After graduating from Brearley, she received her BA from Barnard College and her MA from Teachers College. She also studied improvisation at Second City in , and this training has been tremendously helpful for both her teaching and performing careers. Jane has found that teaching and performing go together beautifully, and she loves being “Ms. Schapiro” in the classroom and “Jane Golden” on stage.

Hon. Megan Tallmer ’70, Retired Acting Bronx Supreme Court Judge

Following her graduation from Brearley in 1970, Judge Megan Tallmer attended Vassar College and graduated from Cornell Law School in 1976. Her first legal job was with a mid-size firm. After having her first child, Judge Tallmer decided that employment in the private sector was incompatible with working reasonable hours. From 1980 to 1983, she worked for the Criminal Appeals Division of the Legal Aid Society, during which time she had her second child. Judge Tallmer had her third child while serving as Deputy Counsel to the state agency that administers the courts.

In 1989, Judge Tallmer was appointed to the New York City Criminal Court by Mayor Koch and subsequently reappointed by Mayors Dinkins, Giuliani and Bloomberg. Her fourth child was born in 1991. Judge Tallmer was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2000, where she presided over felony trials. Before retiring from the bench in 2013, Judge Tallmer spent three years presiding over the Child and Sexual Abuse Part of the Bronx Supreme Court and also was responsible for making determinations of defendants’ sex offender status under New York’s version of Megan’s Law.

Since retiring and relocating to Connecticut, Judge Tallmer volunteered as a Counselor for the Crisis Text Line. She now serves as pro bono counsel on criminal appeals and in December 2019, appeared in court as a lawyer for the first time in 35 years. Judge Tallmer met her husband, Rick Kastellec, the first day of freshman year at Vassar College. They have enjoyed their retirement, traveling extensively and helping out with their three grandchildren.

Penelope Tang ’00, Interior Designer, Penelope August

Since establishing her eponymous design studio, in 2014, Penelope August has developed a reputation for creating elegant, custom interiors which focus on expressing their owners personalities through unique furniture and finishes. Her work has been published by Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Dwell, Remodelista and Curbed.

Before founding her own studio, she worked for 10 years at Selldorf Architects, where she was the Senior Interior Designer. She also managed Vica, the firm's line of custom furnishings and hardware. Penelope's interior design experience includes museums, libraries, restaurants and retail stores, as well as high end residences in New York, Colorado, Central America and Europe. She received a Bachelor of Arts in , and a Certificate in Visual Arts, focusing on ceramics, from Princeton University.