Alumni Awards
Forest Ridge alumni strive to live with purpose and meaning. They inspire and challenge others around them to enrich their communities and the world. They distinguish themselves in many ways, reimagining the limits of their own potential.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Forest Ridge School created the annual Distinguished Alumna Award in 1997 to bestow institutional recognition on an alumna who has distinguished herself in her personal or professional life, in her intellectual pursuits, or in her dedication to service of community, country or society.
The Distinguished Alumna Award serves to inspire the entire Forest Ridge community – students, alumni, faculty and staff – to strive to become their best selves in pursuit of a meaningful life.
To nominate an alumna who meets the following criteria, please fill out the form below:
- Live their lives with purpose and meaning.
- Inspire and challenge others around them to enrich their communities and the world.
- Distinguish themselves in many ways, reimagining the limits of their own potential.
- Embody the core values of Forest Ridge School as laid out in the Goals & Criteria, exhibiting characteristics of intellectual curiosity, integrity and determination in her ‘pursuit of good.’
- Have contributed significantly to the welfare of her community or society and accomplished outstanding professional and personal achievements in her field of endeavor.
- Must be a minimum of 10 years post high school graduation.
Sacred Heart Award
The Sacred Heart Award is given to honor an alumna whose dedication to Forest Ridge School has called her to serve. She embodies the core values of Forest Ridge School as laid out in the Goals & Criteria and has given generously of her time over the course of many years, consistently, or on and off, in support of Forest Ridge. The nominee must be a minimum of 10 years post upper school graduation. To nominate an alum, please fill out the form below.
2024 Distinguished Alumni
Dr. Ann Jarris '90 is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer for Discovery Health MD, a medical services company for remote worksites. She is a Board-Certified Emergency Medicine physician formerly at Swedish Medical Center. Ann has a passion for remote medicine and telemedicine, seeking to integrate innovative technologies into healthcare and to drive health information into the hands of the consumer. She believes medicine is ready for a more proactive approach.
After attending Forest Ridge, Ann earned her undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College where she majored in Drama and Art History. She then attended medical school at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and completed her Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Arizona. She practiced as an Emergency Medicine physician for over 15 years, with experience in rural and remote settings. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and received her Masters of Business Administration at Seattle University.
As a business owner, she guided her company through explosive growth during the COVID pandemic, growing from 8 employees in 2019 to over 300 in 2022. Her company was a pioneer in COVID testing, working with the Pacific Northwest and Alaska seafood industry to develop the initial protocols for occupational testing and COVID response in March 2020. This work led to the development of a platform for COVID travel testing and for employers to manage workforces. Through partnerships with the Port of Seattle, SEA airport, and the Washington Department of Health, Discovery Health MD operated 8 sites for community testing and vaccination statewide and 7 travel testing sites in the Puget Sound area in addition to mobile teams assisting with COVID vaccination, testing, and treatment for vulnerable communities.
Ann’s passion for remote medicine and travel has led her to sail as expedition physician with trips to Antarctica and the Arctic. She served as a physician for Oceangate Expeditions on their manned submersible dives to the Titanic for the past three years and just completed a five-month sailboat journey through the Northwest Passage on a 60-foot steel schooner.
2023 Distinguished Alumni
2023 Distinguished Alumni, Kaliswa Brewster '01, is an actress, producer, and educator based in New York. On television, Kaliswa has recurred on Showtime’s Billions, ABC’s series Time After Time, and Release. Film credits include Paterno for HBO Films starring Al Pacino and directed by Barry Levinson, the feature film Paint, and The Bit Player for PBS. Guest star and other television credits include NBC’S Law & Order, CBS’ Blue Bloods, & Netflix’s Daredevil. Her Voiceover work includes audiobooks such as Disney’s “Almost There” which is a reimagination of the Princess Tiana story, spots for dozens of TV shows including Netflix’s hit Wednesday, Gossip Girl, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Kaliswa has also worked on several audio projects with Marvel.
Pagliacci, a short film that Kaliswa starred in and produced, explores the internal conflicts that can occur inside a black woman wrestling with race and politics. Pagliacci was an official selection of the 2022 Micheaux Film Festival.
Kaliswa serves on the board of Molière in the Park, a theater company committed to providing free, Broadway quality theater to New York based on the belief that theater has the power to unite and heal diverse communities. Kaliswa has both produced and acted in MIP productions alongside stars from the entertainment world such as Samira Riley and Raul Esparza.
As an activist, Kaliswa has worked closely alongside Rev. Dr Jacqui Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church in NYC. Kaliswa helped Middle and Jacqui devise Anti-Racism workshops and produced a star-packed special for Juneteenth including names such as Jenifer Lewis, Nicole Ari Parker, and Bebe Winans.
Kaliswa is a Lecturer at Brooklyn College where she teaches The Business of Acting to the graduating Masters of Fine Arts Program. She has been hired by dozens of colleges across the country to facilitate community building, acceptance, and authenticity amongst their student bodies.
Kaliswa holds a BA from Whitman College in Theater, and Masters of Fine Arts from American Conservatory Theater and a Certificate in Classical Theater from LAMDA in London.
When not working, Kaliswa enjoys travel & fitness. A cancer survivor and a person living with an autoimmune disorder, Kaliswa ran the 2021 New York Marathon to celebrate her return to health.
2022 Distinguished Alumni
2022 Distinguished Alumni, Alexia Vernon ’98 was branded a “Moxie Maven” by President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement for her unique and effective approach to empowering women’s professional success. Alexia is also the author of Step into Your Moxie: Amplify Your Voice Visibility, and Influence in the World.
A sought-after speaker, coach, consultant and media contributor, Alexia is the creator and leader of multiple speaker training programs and has delivered transformational keynotes and corporate trainings for Fortune 500 companies and professional associations, spoken at the United Nations, delivered a TEDx talk on the future of feminism, and been featured by media including CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., and Women’s Health.
To learn more about Alexia, visit her website.
2021 Distinguished Alumni
2021 Distinguished Alumni Lori Dauphiny is in her 24th year as the head coach of women’s open crew for Princeton University. She arrived to Princeton in 1989 from Columbia University and was promoted to Head Coach in 1996, the first female head coach in women’s open crews’ 41 year history.
Twice she has been named National Coach of the Year and has led the Princeton Tigers to an unprecedented era of success over her career. Under Lori’s leadership, Princeton has won two V8+ NCAA Championships and 10 Ivy League crowns.
Lori was inducted into the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 2019. She also has spent summers since 1997 working with the U.S. national team and coached the pair and lightweight double at the 2004 Olympics. Lori likes to spend her free time with friends and family and enjoys hiking, running and watching her 14 year old son play soccer.
2020 Distinguished Alumni
2020 Distinguished Alumni Julie Peterson Genjac built her career in financial services and is currently a Managing Director at the Hartford Funds. In 2019, Julie was named one of Financial Planning Magazine’s Top Women in Asset Management. She is also a Certified Wealth Strategist, Accredited Asset Management Specialist and Registered Corporate Coach.
Julie lives in Kirkland with her husband, Nedim, and in her spare time, loves to boat, engage in home renovations and cook gourmet meals. Julie truly values the foundation that Forest Ridge gave her in life and is delighted to be able to give back to the Forest Ridge community having joined the Alumnae Board this Fall.
2020 Sacred Heart Award
Sacred Heart Award Recipient Mud McHugh ’70 has always been loyal to Forest Ridge. Mud’s devotion to the Sacred Heart runs deep. Her mother, aunts, sisters and many cousins attended Forest Ridge too. Mud credits the RSCJ’s with giving her and her family a solid foundation based on love and faith.
Mud has given generously of her time over the years. She served on the Alumnae Board and the Board of Trustees in the 90’s and continued to stay involved by helping with many school fundraising events and reunions until COVID closed down our campus. One recent example is that Mud was the creative mind behind a 2019 Silent Auction item of Who Wants to Take On the Irish Shark at Pool, where she donated a watch party at T.S. McHugh’s Irish Pub for the highest bidder to compete against Sr. O’Dea, aka “The Irish Shark.” Her fun-loving spirit and generosity brought alums together and created community spirit. Its many acts like that over the years that makes it an honor to confer this award on Mud.
2020 Honorary Alumni
Sue Magan has a devoted following among Forest Ridge alumni. For 39 years, until her retirement in 2002, Sue taught music and drama and even started a catering operation, Ed-U-Caterers, to provide lunch options for the students who otherwise left campus for lunch. Because of her strong presence in our community and devotion to Sacred Heart values, the Alumni Board and the Alumni Office voted to make Sue an Honorary Alumni of Forest Ridge School.
Read more about Sue's impact on Forest Ridge in this Mes Amis article.
Past Recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award
2021
Lori Dauphiny '81
2020
Julie Peterson Genjac ’99
2019
Amy Stone ’84
2018
Joan Blanchette Broderick ’83
Tom Manion, Honorary
2017
Maureen Pleas Brotherton ’72
2016
Elizabeth Gray ‘91, MD
2015
Carla Elbert Lewis ’75
2014
Cora Edmonds Crean ‘83
2013
Cristina Mendoza ‘82
Audrey Threlkeld, Honorary
2012
Sue Heffernan ’72
2011
Jenny Durkan ‘76
Rhoady and Jeanne Marie Lee, Honorary
2010
Judy Pigott ’67
Julie Lundgren, Honorary
2009
Sandy Robison Kemper ’72
Janet Graeber, Honorary
2008
Mary Magnano Smith ’61
Alycia Long Allen ’69 (posthumously)
John Fenoli, Honorary
2007
JoAnne Clampitt, Honorary
2006
Christa Gadola ’98
Sharon Carey LeeMaster ’53
2005
Alix Furness ’86
Jan Chalupny ’80
Marcia O’Dea, RSCJ ’56, Broadway
2004
Peggy Taylor ’69
Soleil Leilabadi ’98
Dean Shoemaker, Honorary
2003
Yvonne Pometti, RSCJ ’37
Atherton Eileen Brown Geller ’78
Katie Tierney McKay, Honorary
2002
Kathleen McGonigle Murtha ’50
June Rogers Kennedy ’54
Britt Glomset, Honorary
2001
Genevieve Albers ’27
Mary B. Flaherty, RSCJ ’49
Jan Adair Eichler ’55
2000
Ann Cronin, RSCJ ’37
Virginia McMonagle, RSCJ ’39
I. Marie Bone '70
1998
Harriet Berens Barrett ’28
Dorothy Miller Pickel ’32
Clair Rogers Jenkins ’46
Susanna McPherson Lane ’48
Linda Haydock, SNJM ’73
1997
Dorothy White Hanscom ’27
Gege Purdy Brennan ’35
Lee Peabody Evoy ’40
Mary Helen Strout Heffernan ’42
Julie Carvalho Impett ’56
Linda Zeman Gadola ’66
Mud McHugh ’70
Kim Ackerley Cleworth ’82
Kendee Yamaguchi ’95
