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Past Recipients
1990 Gloria Felice '54
1990 Kirsten Nelson Bedford '56
1991 Jane Howard Goodfellow '56
1991 Margaret Rosenberg
Duflock '59
1992 Jinx Hack Ring '60
1992 Mary Ellen Mahoney ' 66
1993 Natalie Stewart '63
1994 France de Sugney Bark '59
1994 Kathleen Brown '63
1995 Barbara Grant Armor '62
1995 Helena Eversole '70
1996 Nonie Bechtel Ramsay '71
1996 Dana Turner Witmer '72
1997 Mary Foley Bitterman '62
1997 Cynthia Fulstone
Degenhardt '72
1998 Laurie Angel
McGuinness '53
1998 Beatrice Leyden Moore ' 53
1998 Susan Gazlay '63
1999 Laurie Watson Raymond '69
1999 Justine Schmidt
Bloomingdale '73
2000 Suzanne Saunders
Shaw '70
2000 Sally Hansen Green '72
2001 Leigh Curran '61
2001 Katherine Finnegan
Darnell '72
2001 Laura Knoop Pfaff '72
2002 Sister Carlotta
2003 Judith Oates '63
2003 Jane Turner Hart '68
2004 Patricia Bondesen-Smith '54
2004 Carol Speegle Lannon '55
2005 Joan Goodfellow
Knetemann '80
2005 Elizabeth Leach '75
2004 Carolyn Hartwell O'Brian '74
2005 Nancy Woolf Roberts '70
2006 Chloe O'Gara '66
2006 Laura Lyon '81
2007 Francisca Brackenridge Neumann '57
2007 Joan Seamster '67
2008 Terry Durkin Wilkinson'68
Distinguished Alumna 2008
Terry Durkin Wilkinson ’68
For service and dedication in professional or community endeavors an alumna is recognized for her dedication to lifelong growth and learning, her service to humanity, her caring commitment to her profession or community above and beyond standard expectations, and her habits of heart, mind, and action, which are examples and inspiration to the Santa Catalina community. The Alumnae Association recognizes Terry Durkin Wilkinson ’68 for her extraordinary personal achievement in service to her profession and community.
 After Santa Catalina, Terry graduated from Mt. Vernon Junior College in Washington, D. C., then returned to Texas and enrolled at Trinity University in San Antonio where she graduated with a degree in Education of the Deaf in 1973. From 1976 to 1979, Terry lived in New York City and received her MBA from New York University. This was a very turbulent time in New York when the city was bankrupt, and Terry helped fellow stranded passengers leave a subway tunnel during the worst electric power failure in city history.
A Move to Midland
While working in commercial real estate in Houston, Terry met her husband, Jack Wilkinson, and moved to Midland, Texas. In the early years of their marriage, Terry volunteered for various charities, serving on the boards of the local museum, YMCA, Junior League, Hospice, and Church Vestry, among others. When her youngest of three daughters entered first grade, Terry went back to school and received her nursing degree in 1996.
In 1999, then Governor George Bush appointed her to the Texas Department of Human Services Board (DHS). This six-member board set all of the human services policies for the state. The DHS agency oversaw such areas as: Medicaid rules and eligibility, nursing home regulation and oversight, Home Health Agencies regulation and oversight, Hospice rules and accreditation, federal refugee programs in the state, emergency services, and all of the federal Medicaid (CMS) services for the state. Rules for these areas would come from the federal or state governments and the DHS board would set the policies to implement these rules.
Promoting Independence
During this time, Terry was also asked to be the DHS representative on the newly formed Promoting Independence (PI) Advisory Board. This board was established to implement the state’s policy to comply with the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision (June 1999). The Supreme Court case was filed in Georgia, on behalf of two individuals with mental and cognitive disabilities living in state operated institutions. They claimed a right to care in an integrated setting based on the guarantees of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
The Texas PI Advisory Board developed the concept that an individual can effectively use the money the state would have paid an institution for nursing home care, to ascertain services in the community using home health aides, attendant services, etc.“The aged or disabled person was able to stay at home longer, which everyone preferred, rather than having to be placed in an institution. This program saved the state money by avoiding costly nursing home stays by providing services, often for less money, in the family home. This innovative program, called ‘The Money Follows the Person,’ (MFP) won a national award and is being copied in other states.”
Health Care Services
In 2004, the Texas Legislature decided to consolidate the 15-state health and human service agencies into five big agencies. They consolidated all of the services for the aged and disabled, including the mentally retarded, into the Texas Department on Aging and Disability Services (DADS), and Terry was appointed the first chairman of the advisory committee by Governor Rick Perry. The DADS agency has over 3,000 employees and a yearly budget of $2 billion. “It is a real challenge providing health care services in a state the size of Texas, which is larger than most countries. In addition to the usual urban settings, it has the vast rural areas where one home health agency may have a 300-square mile service area. There are also the border areas called ‘The Colonials’ in which there are very few doctors and seem almost like a third world area.”
 Recently Terry served as chairman of a 14-member advisory committee charged with developing a non-capitated enhanced primary care case management system of Medicaid managed care referred to as the integrated care management (ICM) model for the Medicaid Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) population. No other state has done this before, and they are planning a pilot program for the Dallas/Ft.Worth metropolitan area.
Distinguished Alumnae 2007
Francisca Brackenridge Neumann ’57
Service to the Community
 For service and dedication in professional or community endeavors an alumna is recognized for her dedication to lifelong growth and learning, her service to humanity, her caring commitment to her profession or community above and beyond standard expectations, and her habits of heart, mind, and action, which are examples and inspiration to the Santa Catalina community. The Alumnae Association recognizes Francisca Brackenridge Neumann ’57 for her extraordinary personal achievement in service to her profession and community.
Following graduation from Santa Catalina School, Fran received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, Virginia. She earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from California State University, Los Angeles.
In her nomination of Francisca Brackenridge Neumann ’57 for the Distinguished Alumnae Award, Nancy Gregg Hatch ’57 wrote: “Having known Fran since we became fifth grade classmates and friends in Pasadena and migrated together to Santa Catalina School for our Junior and Senior years, I can attest that she has always been a natural leader. And even when young, I used to marvel at the aptness that her name commemorated Francis of Assisi, for she loved animals and had a natural affinity for them, an intuitive understanding of their needs.
As Fran matured, that affinity evolved to include those in our communities whose voices we don’t always hear, whose needs we too readily ignore. For Fran is possessed of a strong conscience; a clear eye for discerning social injustice, inequity, hypocrisy; and the tenacity and resourcefulness to provide amelioration.
Over the years, she has dedicated herself to the well-being of disabled students at all educational levels; of young people and adults incapacitated by or vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse; of men and women trapped in economic hardship, unsupported living situations, unproductive habits of mind and body, spiritual vacuity. She has provided help person-to-person and through community groups she has joined or created. She knows how to leverage the power at hand among friends and colleagues from a broad range of social and economic levels; she knows how to speak so that others will listen and understand.
When she received the Pasadena Human Relations Commission’s Harry Sheldon Award in 2000, Fran was introduced with these words, ‘Fran Neumann makes people become more than they ever imagined they can be. In her many years of service to our community, she never flinched, never found a challenge she couldn’t conquer. Her accomplishments are beyond imagining. As the founder of Day One, she empowered diverse communities and enabled them to fight the corrosive effects of drugs, problem retail outlets, gangs, and other issues that were plaguing our community; a tireless worker, Fran has had a profound impact on quality of life for the diverse communities that create the city of Pasadena."
Joan Seamster ’67
Service to School
 For dedication and service to school an alumna is recognized for her dedication and devotion in service to Santa Catalina School and its mission, her sustained interest in support of the school and Alumnae Association, and her actions as a role model for alumnae, current students, and future graduates of Santa Catalina School. The Alumnae Association recognizes Joan Seamster ’67 for her extraordinary service to Santa Catalina School.
Following graduation from Santa Catalina in 1967, Joan Seamster undertook studies in Political Science at both University of California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Joan started her career in marketing research, serving as a jack-of-all trades at a social science research company affiliated with UC Berkeley. From there, she discovered the quick tempo field of marketing research, joining Drossler Research, a marketing research spawning ground in San Francisco. Her next positions got her closer to the source of the marketing questions that she had been providing answers to through her marketing research. She spent time on the client side as International Marketing Research Manager at Levi Strauss, exploring people’s attitudes and needs toward apparel and brands. Her work took her to other countries and the challenge of interpreting marketing insights from other cultures. As Director of Strategic Planning at Disney’s Buena Vista Home Video, she spent time with mothers, exploring their needs around parenting and how brands could support their effort. She also exercised her interest in the creative challenges of new product development by working at JD Power and her own consulting company in Los Angeles, where her clients included American Medical International, Neutrogena, Dole, The Design Company, Wells Fargo and Princess Cruises.
Joan has conducted or been in attendance at hundreds of consumer sessions and groups, over a thousand one-on-one indepth interviews, supervised in-home interviews both in North and South America and considers herself a continuing student of human behavior.
For her own business, Customer Insights, she focuses on consumers, their needs and their personal aspirations. Her repositioning clients include Boston-area universities, a Maine-based bank, a vacation airline, retail businesses and women’s nutritional products.
Over the years she’s volunteered her services to Santa Catalina. Together with Mary Dowson, she designed the first survey sent out to Alumnae. At that time she was a member of the Santa Catalina Committee for Northern California. As relocations took her across the United States, she used those opportunities to get involved with the local Santa Catalina chapters. She joined the Alumnae Board as Boston Chapter Chair in 2000 and is currently serving on that Board’s Executive Committee. Starting in 2003, she worked on a marketing project to gather and distill the many aspects of Santa Catalina School and craft them into a single-minded market position.
Joan is married to Dexter Donham and they have a daughter, Katie, and Dexter has two sons, Matthew and Jacob.
Distinguished Alumnae 2006
Chloe O'Gara '66
Service to the Community
 For service and dedication in professional or community endeavors an alumna is recognized for her: dedication to lifelong growth and learning; service to humanity; caring commitment to her profession or community above and beyond standard expectations; habits of heart, mind and action which are examples and inspiration to the Santa Catalina community. The Alumnae Association recognizes Chloe O'Gara '66 for her extraordinary personal achievement in service to her profession and community.
Chloe earned her B.A. in psychology from Swarthmore College, an Ed.M. in Early Childhood Education, and an Ed.D. in Development, Learning & Instruction from the University of Rochester, NY. Throughout her life she has explored nondegree programs including: Development Studies at American University, D.C.; Supervision; Management with USAID; Rural Rapid Appraisal with the World Bank; Nutrition Research at MIT; and Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, UK
Professionally, Chloe identifies herself as an international education professional with unique multi-sectoral expertise in AIDS, gender, basic education, early childhood development, and nutrition. She has served as a senior manager whose vision is to innovate; initiate, and direct programs, projects, and partnerships that are effective and efficient; to develop staff; and to build an efficient team. She has field experience in more than 50 countries of Africa, Central and South Asia, and Latin America.
Since 2004, Chloe has served as Director of International Education with the Save the Children Federation. This role involves leading the de velopment and implementation of the organization's strategies in the education sector; manage the worldwide education office; and oversee programs in 26 developing countries throughout Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. From 1997 to 2004, she was the Vice President and then Director of the Ready to Learn Center, Global Learning Group. This innovative program required Chloe's senior management and technical leadership in the international basic education group of this large nonprofit organization. She guided strategic planning, management, development, budgets, and staffing. Of particular note, she was a senior technical advisor on AIDS and education.
From 1982-1995 Chloe served in leadership capacities with the USAID Office of Population; Wellstart International; USAID Office of Women in Development; USAID Office of Education; USAID Office of Nutrition; a visiting scholar in food research at Stanford University and a consultant with the Ministerio de Educacion Publica de Hodura.
Laura Lyon '81 Service to School  For dedication and service to school an alumna is recognized for her: dedication and devotion in service to Santa Catalina School and its mission; sustained interest in support of the school and Alumnae Association; actions as a role model for alumnae, current students, and future graduates of Santa Catalina School. The Alumnae Association recognizes Laura Lyon '81 for her extraordinary service to Santa Catalina School.
Laura Lyon graduated from Santa Catalina in 1981. She earned an A.A. from Menlo College in 1983 and completed her B.A. at the University of the Pacific in 1985. That year she began working for Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento. During her 20 years with Lyon Real Estate, Laura has served as Director of Human Resources, Director of Marketing, Director of Relocation, Property Management, and Vice-President for Special Events and Community Relations.
In addition to pursuing her career, Laura has been a devoted volunteer on behalf of Santa Catalina School and within her community. She has been a member of the Santa Catalina Alumnae Board of Directors since 1988 and is the immediate past president. This year she became of member of the Santa Catalina School Board of Trustees. "My relationships with hundreds of alumnae, spanning three generations, have deepened my passion for and commitment to Santa Catalina," she says. "As a member of the Board of Trustees, I will have the opportunity to demonstrate my love of school and my respect for Sister Claire by helping to build upon what the Board already has accomplished. I am honored to be able to give of my time and resources to carry on the legacy of Santa Catalina."
Laura has been a member of the Sacramento Junior League and has served on the governing boards of the Sacramento Symphony, California Musical Theater, University of California-Davis School of Medicine Community Outreach, Child Abuse and Prevention Council, and B Street Theater. Laura also sits on the St. Michael's School Board of Trustees and currently is the development chairperson.
Laura's daughter, Kelley Diepenbrock, 14, has participated in the Summer at Santa Catalina program for seven years. Laura is married to Rob Gaon, and they have a daughter Grace, 2.
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