Focus on SCS Alumnae
Santa Catalina Alumnae are known for their accomplishments, generosity, and compassion. Their ability to support and help others with whom they come in contact has, for each of them, become an opportunity to make this world a better place. As part of an ongoing series, we will be profiling a number of alumnae on this page.
Check out three Santa Catalina alumnae who have recently appeared in national publications and on the Web!
Bri Slama '08
Bri was chosen to be one of Seventeen magazine's "Freshmen 15" for her first year in college. She is among 15 freshmen who post regular videos documenting their first year at college on the Seventeen web site. Bri is also currently appearing in the April 08 isse of Seventeen. Her article, "Why College is Better Sober," is on page 120. View Bri's "Freshmen 15" videos.
Eloise Harper '98
Many of you may have read the recent The New York Times' article "Putting Candidates Under the Videoscope" (2/8/2008). Eloise was photographed and quoted in the article about the newest career in news: "off-air reporter." But did you know that Eloise, an off-air reporter for ABC News, also has a regular blog documenting her journey with Hillary Clinton's campaign? You can read Eloise's blog here.
Mary Baumgartner Reid '58
The March issue of Martha Stewart Living is the annual garden issue and this year the cover and main story featured Mary's Northern California garden. With her husband, Mary has created a truly magnificent garden and it was the perfect choice for the cover of this international magazine. (One can't help wondering if the gardens at Santa Catalina were an inspiration!)
Wendy Clark Duffy ’69
Wendy Clark Duffy is a woman of superlatives: first woman to be appointed to the Superior Court in Monterey County (1999), first woman to be appointed to the Municipal Court in Monterey County (1989), recipient of Distinguished Woman Award from the Carmel Bay Soroptomists, and named as one of Monterey County’s Ten Outstanding Women by the Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women. In 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar appointed her Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District. However, one of Wendy’s most important accomplishments is her founding of the Monterey County Drug Treatment Court, in collaboration with the Monterey County Departments of Health and Probation.
After graduating from Santa Catalina in 1969, Wendy went to Pitzer College, eventually transferring to the University of California at Berkeley. There she earned an A.B. in English Literature, awarded with Distinction in General Scholarship in 1974. In 1977 she graduated from the Boalt Hall School of Law (University of California at Berkeley) with her J.D. degree, and became a Deputy District Attorney in Monterey County.
Wendy is married to Thomas Duffy, and together they have two adult children, Cameron ’00, and Robin ’03.
Teresa Barger ’73
Teresa Barger is currently the Director of Corporate Governance and Capital Markets Advisory for the World Bank and International Finance Corporation in Washington, DC. Prior to her current appointment, she headed up the Private Equity and Investment Funds Department of IFC, which manages one of the largest portfolios of emerging markets investment funds in the world and has pioneered the creation of the first benchmarks for emerging markets private equity. Teresa was a founder of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA) and has been at IFC since 1986, working in nearly every region of the emerging markets. She spent many years with the Capital Markets Department helping to create new financial institutions in virtually every financial subsector (banking, leasing, insurance, housing finance, etc.) and to develop local capital markets in many markets.
Before joining IFC, Teresa was with McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm. She was a member of the Financial Institutions Group there and participated in assignments in US housing finance, Japanese banking, worldwide trade finance and US investment banking.
After graduating from Santa Catalina in 1973, Teresa received her A.B. from Harvard University (Magna Cum Laude), her M.B.A. from Yale University, and attended the American University in Cairo on a post-graduate fellowship. Teresa is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is on the boards of the Pacific Pension Institute, and the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, and is also on the advisory board of the Institutional Real Estate Investor family of publications.
Teresa lives in Washington, DC, with her husband Travis Brown, and two daughters.
Ninive Clements Calegari ’89
As one of the co-founders of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing center for kids in San Francisco’s Mission district, Ninive Calegari has clearly demonstrated her passion for helping students in one-on-one learning situations. Clearly enough, it seems, to be a recipient of the “Daring Dozen 2007” award from George Lucas’ educational foundation’s publication, Edutopia Magazine.
After graduating from Santa Catalina in 1989, and receiving her B.A. from Middlebury and M.Ed. from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Ninive spent a decade as a teacher in the public and private school systems of Massachusetts and California. This experience (particularly her time in a charter high school for disadvantaged young people) led her to believe that while teachers desperately wanted to provide each of their students with the one-on-one support that was so critical to their growth as writers, the sheer numbers of students dictated a low rate of success. Fortuitously, Ninive was coming to this realization just as she was offered an exciting opportunity by the husband of her best friend, author Dave Eggers. Mr. Eggers needed a committed, focused, and passionate bilingual educator to direct his inner-city writing/tutoring center, 826 Valencia. Thus was born a great partnership.
826 Valencia (now with chapters in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle) provides students ages 6-18 with a myriad of free services and programs. The center in San Francisco supports over 1200 volunteers helping to direct a multitude of projects oriented towards teaching both basic writing skills and more advanced workshops on student newspapers, plays, college admissions essays, ‘zines, and book publishing. Centers also provide drop-in tutoring, after-school care, and English-language-learning resources (at selected locations), and volunteers regularly go out into the educational community to help teachers where they can.
Ninive is co-author (with Eggers and Daniel Moulthrop) of Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers (NewPress, 2005), and lives with her husband, Jean-Claude Calegari, and daughter in San Francisco.
Megan MacDonald ’98
After graduating from Chapman University in 2002 with a degree in Sociology, and working for the County of Orange in the fields of community relations, health policy and mental health, Megan realized that her many years of volunteer work and traveling had helped to guide her in one unique direction, towards “(a) commitment to working in a world where we recognize our global connections and strive to enhance the lives of people throughout the world, not just in our own country.” This commitment has taken Megan from Orange County, California, to South Africa – where she led an outreach team concerned with gender and human rights training as a means of HIV/AIDS prevention. Megan lived in a children’s center with children who lost parents to AIDS, or who did not have a family member capable of managing their treatment. Here, as a volunteer and board member of The Africa Project (www.theafricaproject.org), Megan began researching the development of a program to allow for income generation for women who are homebound and have no means to support their families. Megan left Africa in March, and is now focusing on exploring avenues for returning to the village of Nkandla, perhaps in combination with graduate school.
Previous to her work in Africa, Megan prepared the first ever spending plan for Orange County's Mental Health Services Act, totaling $25-28 million in yearly funding, and received State approval in record time; helped research, gain approval for and launch Orange County's "Sex Offender Pin Map" as a staff member for Supervisor Tom Wilson in partnership with the Orange County Sheriff's Department; organized a countywide symposium among local health care providers, politicians and leaders to address universal healthcare coverage for children in Orange County while serving as the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Health Care Agency; helped organize and lead focus groups with residents throughout Orange County to inform the planning process for the Orange County Great Park; and, served as a member of the Public Policy committee for the Aids Services Foundation and ensured the Orange County Health Indicators yearly publication accurately reflected the state of HIV/AIDS rates and cases in Orange County.
Megan has traveled to 18 countries, including Kenya, Russia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, and Estonia, reinforcing her global citizen identity. She is a past Executive Board Member of 2020 Democrats, a national organization committed to bringing young people together to identify a clear vision for the future of the county. Currently, along with The Africa Project, she serves on the board of Ripple Kids (www.ripplekids.com), which encourages young people to get involved in community service by recognizing children who identify problems in their community or beyond, and who take the initiative to solve them. Megan keeps a journal of her experiences in Africa at http://www.theafricaproject.com/megansjournal.htm.
