Fall 2022 Volunteer Conference Welcomes New Alumni Council Members, New Leaders
By Bowdoin NewsThe volunteer leaders of each of these volunteer groups began the weekend by sharing updates with one another and discussed ideas for ongoing collaboration and sharing between the groups.
Nearly thirty Alumni Council members, including seven of the council’s eight new members, returned to campus. Full membership, including new members, can be found here. New members of the Alumni Council span the classes of 1962 to 2020 and come from across the country and beyond, including one member of the foreign service currently stationed in Doha. Awa Diaw ’11, who is based in Paris, chaired her first meeting as Alumni Council president.
Alumni Council (some members were not present for photo). Front row: Chris Yager ’89, Todd Herrmann ’85, Mai Le ’00, Saddie Smith ’75, Ian Yaffe ’09, Callie Curtis ’72, Ana Timoney-Gomez ’18. Second row: Jennifer Ryan ’99, Sally Vallimarescu ’76, Casey Blossom ’13, Becky Stoneman ’14, Noah Buntman ’08. Third row: Praise Hall ’20, Phil Boulter ’62, John Shukie ’99, Selina Asante ’07, Alex McCray ’93, Charlie Micoleau ’63. Back row: Terrence Pleasant ’09, Hope Stockton ’07, Awa Diaw ’11, Greg McQuater ’72, Chris Omachi ’12.
Other new leadership includes Noah Buntman ’08, chair of the Career Committee; Mai Le ’00, chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access committee; and John Shukie ’99, new chair of the Awards Committee. Becky Stoneman ’14 is a returning chair of the Nominations Committee.
The full council had the opportunity to hear from new faculty representative Patricia Jones, assistant professor of biology and director of the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island, and to meet student representatives Jai DuVal ’24, Sela Kay ’22, and Masmo Miyakawa ’24. The council also welcomed new Vice President for Alumni Relations Dan Olds to his first meeting as staff liaison to the group.
Alumni Fund directors welcomed five new members, and Matt Ramos ’12 led his first meetings as the new chair. Over three sessions, the group discussed recruitment, training, and engagement strategies for the Alumni Fund's nearly nine hundred volunteer class agents and identified opportunities to increase alumni participation in annual giving. A full listing of Alumni Fund directors may be found here.
Seven of the ten members of the BRAVO National Advisory Board (BNAB) convened, welcoming Madeleine Livingston ’16 and Dashelle Fabian ’11 to their first meeting.
Over two sessions the group discussed ways to support the seventy-seven regional chairs and more than seven hundred alumni volunteers who help the Office of Admissions with alumni interviews of prospective students.
Discussion also focused on how to update the larger BRAVO membership on campus life and the ongoing work of the College to focus on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, questions that regularly are asked while interviewing prospective students.
In addition to their various meetings, all of the volunteers spent time with Presidential Search Committee cochairs Sydney Asbury ’03 and Bertrand E. Garcia-Moreno ’81, P’17 to learn more about the ongoing search process.
Amid a full schedule, participants on all fronts seemed energized and joyful to be back on campus with each other to discuss the ways they can continue and improve the work they do to support Bowdoin.
Interested in learning more about the Alumni Council, fund directors, and BRAVO volunteer opportunities? Go here to learn more.