Screenshots from our Uncommon Alums, Uncommon Paths event and our Eggnog & Speculaas cookies cookalong 

Dear fellow alums,

Happy New Year! We made it to 2021, after quite a grueling year. Between navigating a global pandemic, the raging wildfires, working from home and distance learning, along with many personal and professional hurdles, we have all struggled with so much in 2020. And yet. Despite the many challenges we faced, the Board is happy to have been able to connect with many of you. Since March, we have hosted 24 virtual events! We have gathered via Zoom with alums from all over the Bay Area and beyond–a definite bonus of online events. We are looking forward to turning the page on the year and have a fantastic slate of virtual events planned for 2021. 

You can look forward to the continuation of our book club where we read books by BIPOC authors to a cookalong for Lunar New Year to our Annual Mary Lyon Tea, to a special Black History Month Alums of Color Dinner (at home!), to a virtual Zumba (Zoom-ba!) class, to M&Cs for resume building, small business networking, and connecting with current students. Keep your eyes peeled for lots of chances to be in community with NorCal alums in the coming year. 

Join the Board

For those interested in being more involved, please consider joining our board! The next term begins in July 2021. Peruse the board descriptions and let us know if any positions spark your interest by reaching out to us by email. We are always looking for fresh perspectives and look forward to hearing from you. We hope to see you all, in one way or another, in 2021! 

Lifetime Members 

Special thanks to these local alums who recently became our newest Lifetime Members: Rhonda Bennon ’73, Helen Sirica ’73, Verity Chegar ’00, and Margaret Wagner ’81. 

Verity Chegar ’00 has lived in Northern California since graduating from Mount Holyoke. She works in sustainable investing, and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. She lives in Mill Valley with her husband and daughter, and is grateful for clean air, public libraries, and loving family and friends. Verity was also a longtime NorCal Board officer. We are so grateful for her service and for her donation! Margaret Wagner ’81 is a writer, dancer, and artist who has written articles for World Screen and won three Travelers’ Tales Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing. Margaret is the founder of WRITE IN THE BEATTM, workshops that pair mindful movement with written poetry and visual art. Save the date for a special virtual writing workshop Margaret will be offering our club members on March 21–more details to come. 

Thank you for your generous donations, and for your continued support of the NorCal Club! If any other alums would like to become Lifetime Members, we’d love to have you. Additionally, if your company offers corporate matching or incentives for volunteering or being a part of a non-profit organization, we are happy to work with them to find ways to financially support our club!   

In Memoriam

The NorCal club would like to acknowledge two Northern California members who recently passed away: Anne Read Chalfant ’71 of Walnut Creek and Demaris E. Doherty (née Johnson) ’49 of San Francisco. Our sincerest condolences to their families and friends.  

This past July, we shared that former Board member and longtime Club supporter Nancy Kenyon ’56 had passed away. We wanted to let fellow alums and friends of Nancy know that her family invites you to a virtual celebration of her life on Sunday, January 17th at 1pm PST on Zoom. From her family: “Given the duration of the pandemic, we have decided to celebrate virtually. We know we don’t have all of her contacts so please help us by inviting others. If you’d like to be a speaker contact Blythe Perryn at mail@sandybar.com. We encourage folks to share their stories!”

Get in touch!

As we continue virtual planning for 2021, please let us know what types of virtual events, programs, and resources may best support you at this time or any which you may wish to offer. 

• What events or programming would you like to see? 

• Have a talent you’d like to share? A group you want to start? A community you’d like to nourish? Host one of our monthly M&Cs or another virtual event! Email us or fill out this form to get started. 

• We want you to share your story with our membership! We’d love to feature uncommon alums in our network in another installment of our “Uncommon Alums, Uncommon Paths” event series. (See event details below and register for our second event on January 24!) Please get in touch if this sounds like something you’d like to participate in.  

We’re also still welcoming any recommendations of alums who have founded, work for, or volunteer at local Northern California organizations doing anti-racist work or fundraising and will include them in upcoming newsletters. Please send any recommendations to the Board at mountholyoke@gmail.com.

To hear the latest about our programming in-between our monthly newsletters, we encourage you to follow the Club on Facebook and Instagram. We also invite you to share resources, your virtual events, and more, directly in the Facebook Group.

Our very best wishes for the New Year,

– The Board 

Virtual Programming from the Alum Association

The College is offering a range of virtual programming and opportunities to connect. Learn more on the AA Events page.

If you’re interested in joining any of these virtual events but unsure about using Zoom, check out this resource and reach out to the Club with any questions.