Current Board Bios
President and AAVC Trustee
Margaret Venecek Johnson ’84, Pennsylvania
Volunteer Experience
AAVC, Awards Committee, 2001–present, committee chair, 2002–present, director-at-large, 2002–present, Nominating Committee 1997–2000; Annual Fund Advisory Committee, 2005–present; Philadelphia Vassar Club, 1988–present, vice president for the Scholarship Benefit, 2005–present, Nominating Committee chair, 1999–2005, newsletter editor, 1989–2003, president, 1995–99, vice president for prospective students, 1990–92, young alumnae/i chair, 1988–90; Philadelphia Vassar Show House, 1986–present, Publicity Committee member, 1990–present, designers committee co-chair, 2002–present, program advertising chair, 1986–88
Professional Experience
Advertising copywriter/broadcast producer, 1984–91; freelance writer, 1991–95; Philadelphia Department of Public Health maternal, child health, immunization initiatives, marketing consultant, 1989–91; Partners Program, board member, 1999–2002; Philadelphia Futures, mentor for college-bound student, 1998–2002; Gladwyne Elementary Home and School Association, president, 2001–02; Lower Merion Township Inter-School Council, vice president for facilities, 2002–03; Inter-School Council, president, 2003–05; 1787 Society of the National Constitution Center, board member, 2003–05
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Director for Board Governance
Eric Ort ’86, Connecticut
Volunteer Experience
AAVC Nominating Committee, chair, 2003–04; LAGAVC, member, 1996–present; Club Admission Committee, 1995–2002; AAVC Nominating Committee, 2000–02; Vassar Club of Hartford, vice president, 1999–2002; Annual Fund Advisory Committee, 1998–2002; class correspondent, 1986–2001; 10th Reunion Gift Committee; 21st Century Committee (Boston and D.C.), 1988 and 1992; Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra, board member, 1997–present
Professional Experience
Miss Porter’s School, associate director of development, 1994–present; Mercersburg Academy, assistant campaign director, 1991–94; Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, executive assistant to the president, 1986–89
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Director for Strategic Planning
Tanya Odom '92, New York
Volunteer Experience
Class correspondent, 1992–97; 5th year reunion chair, 1997; admissions interviewer 2000–present; class president, 1997–2002; director-at-large, AAVC Board of Directors, 2006–present
Professional Experience
Global diversity and inclusion consultant, 2001–present; Towers Perrin, change management consultant, 1999–2001; co-author “Evaluation in the Field of Education for Democracy, Human Rights and Tolerance,” 2004; Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, consultant, 2003–present; Anti-Defamation League A World of Difference Institute, assistant project director and coordinator of programs and special projects, 1994–99; Bertelsmann Foundation’s International Tolerance Network 1999–2003; World Conference Against Racism, delegate, 2001; assistant to the director of Children’s Services and Consultant, 1994–96; Fundacion de Apoyo Infantil in Mexico and La Posada del Buen Samaritano in the Dominican Republic, volunteer, 1992–93; Grand Street Settlement drop-out prevention program, case manager, 1993–94; Dutchess County Red Cross, board member, 1990–92; Townsend Harris Alumni Association, president, 2004–present; International Organization of Adolescents, board member, 2002–04; CampAmerikids, advisory board member, 2003–present
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Secretary
Ufasaha Matthews Yarish ’94, New York
Volunteer Experience
African-American Alumnae/i of Vassar College, co-chair, 2000–03, treasurer, 1997–99; class treasurer, 1999–2004; Vassar Office of Career Development, career reference volunteer, 1994–present; The Chocolate Factory Condominium, board of directors, treasurer, 2004–present; Covenant House, volunteer, 2002–present; icouldbe.org, mentor, 1999–present, business committee chair, 1999–2001; small business consultant, 1999–2000
Professional Experience
American Express, 1998–present, consumer travel network, senior manager of membership rewards marketing, 2004–present, consumer travel network, senior manager of travel office marketing & strategy, 2002–04, consumer card services group, manager of card usage strategy, 2000–02; establishment services finance, manager of business analysis, 1998–2000; Financial Institutions Consulting, Inc., consultant, 1996–98; First Investors Management Company, trader, 1994–96
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Financial Adviser
Steven Mangle Williams ’94, Virginia
Volunteer Experience
Class treasurer, 1993–99; VSA treasurer, 1992–93
Professional/Community Experience
Program director, Corporate Executive Board, 2000–present; economist, Federal Reserve Board, 1998–2000; teaching assistant, economics department, University of Wisconsin, 1997–98; health care policy research assistant, Laguna Research Associates, 1994–96; co-chair, Habitat for Humanity, San Francisco, 1994–96; Vassar Hunger Action, 1990–93
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AAVC Trustee
Brooke Duncan III ’74, Louisiana
Volunteer Experience
Student representative, Board of Trustees Master Planning Committee; active member (and occasional officer) of Louisiana Vassar Club, 1974–present; Development Leadership Council, 1993–2000; vice president, class of 1974, 2004–present; AAVC director-at-large, 2001–05; AAVC treasurer 2003–04
Professional/Community Experience
Labor lawyer since 1986; previously managed a manufacturing concern in New Orleans; narcotics detective with the New Orleans Police Department, receiving several awards for outstanding duty; chair, Louisiana State Police Commission; Louisiana Children’s Museum; Louisiana Civil Service League; Metropolitan Area Committee; Louisiana Nature and Science Center; Community Service Center; Tulane University Provost’s Council; Housing Authority of New Orleans Scholarship Committee; United Cerebral Palsy of Greater New Orleans; United Way; Each One Save One
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AAVC Trustee
Diane Downing ’77, Ohio
Volunteer Experience
President, 2003–05, program chair, 2001–03, Vassar Club of Cleveland
Professional Experience
Vice president, Cleveland Browns, 2005–present; director of stadium operations, Cleveland Browns, 2000–05; new Cleveland Browns stadium project manager, 1996–99; assistant executive director, Ohio Lottery Commission, 1995–96; executive assistant for service, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White, 1990–95; executive assistant to Mayor George V. Voinovich, 1985–89; deputy director, Department of Community Development, Cleveland Mayor George V. Voinovich, 1980–85; assistant to Cuyahoga County Commissioner Seth Taft, 1977–79; board member of United Way of Greater Cleveland, Leadership Cleveland, the Diversity Center of Cleveland, and the Bond Accountability Commission of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District
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AAVC Trustee
Judith Axenzow Lewittes ’63, New York
Volunteer Experience
Class fund chair; class reunion fund chair; reunion gift committee; mini-reunion organizing committee; member, Poughkeepsie Area Vassar Club and Vassar Club of New York; board member, Friends of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Professional/Community Experience
Consultant, nonprofit fundraising and board development, 1991–present; regional advisory board, Barclay’s Bank of New York; special assistant to the president for fundraising, 1991–92; chief fundraising officer, 1981–91; director, AAVC Fund (later Vassar College Annual Fund), 1975–81, Vassar College; board member, Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill; Healthcare Chaplaincy; American Lyme Disease Foundation; Vassar Brothers Hospital; Planned Parenthood of Dutchess-Ulster; Family Counseling Services of Dutchess County; Poughkeepsie Area Fund
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AAVC Trustee
Jean Bronson Mahoney ’52, Florida
Volunteer Experience
Friends of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, director, present; Friends of the Vassar Art Gallery, director, 1976–79; AAVC, director, 1968–71; 40th Reunion, annual fund/special gifts, chair; Smithsonian National Board, former chair and honorary member; Smithsonian American Art Museum, commissioner, present, Institute of International Education in New York, former executive board member
Professional Experience
The New Yorker magazine, former member of advertising staff; First National Bank of Dayton, OH, former director; Sun Bank/South Florida N.A., former director; Leisure Dynamics, former board member
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AAVC Trustee
Jean McKee ’51, Connecticut
Volunteer Experience
Class Nominating Committee, chair, present; 50th Reunion, co-chair; 45th Reunion, Saturday evening dinner chair; 35th and 40th Reunions, Annual Fund/Special Gifts chair; 35th Reunion, parade chair; fundraising phoner/note writer; Annual Fund Advisory Committee, 1992–96; Vassar Club of Washington, DC, book sale volunteer; Vassar Club of Brooklyn, board of directors, member; National Association of Olmsted Parks, board member, present; New England Historic Genealogical Society, board member, present; Executive Women in Government, chair; National Women’s Education Fund, board member; Junior League of Brooklyn, board member; New York State Association of Young Republican Clubs, first woman president, 1962–64
Professional Experience
Five U.S. Presidential Appointments: Clinton Administration, National Partnership Council, member, 1993–94; Bush Administration, Federal Labor Relations Authority, chair, 1989–94; Reagan Administration, Federal Labor Relations Authority, member, 1986–89; Carter Administration, U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, member, 1983–86; Ford Administration, American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, deputy and acting administrator, 1975–77; Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, executive director, 1983–86, U.S. Senator Jacob K. Javits (R-NY), chief of staff, 1973–75, special assistant, 1967–73; Governor Rockefeller (R-NY), New York State Bingo Control Commission, 1965–72; General Mills Restaurant Group, director of government relations, 1980–83; Interamerica Life Insurance Co., board member, 1980–86; Consensus, Inc., partner, 1962–67
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Fund Advisory Chair
Josephine (Nicky) Benz Carpenter '57, Minnesota
Volunteer Experience
Alumnae/i admission volunteer, Minnesota-Dakotas Vassar Club
Professional/Community Experience
Educational consultant, 1977–present; guidance counselor, 1971–73; associate dean of admissions, 1967–70, Pembroke College; assistant director of admissions, 1962–67, Barnard College; regent and member, capital campaign committee, Saint John’s University; current adviser, campaign committee, MacPhail Center for the Arts; current adviser, campaign committee, Minnesota Public Radio; chair and board member, Hill Museum and Manuscript Library of Saint John’s University, 1994–2004; past president, Independent Educational Consultants Association; member, National Association of College Admissions Counselors; board of trustees member, Macalester College; chairman, Minnesota Public Radio; board of directors chair, Minnesota Orchestral Association
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Alumnae House Committee Chair
Karen Strain Smythe ’82, New York
Volunteer Experience
Member, AAVC House Committee, 2003–present; phoner/notewriter, Annual Fund, 2001–03
Professional Experience
Vice president, C.B. Strain & Son, 1998–present, a mechanical contracting firm started by Smythe’s great-grandfather in the early 1900s; vice president for marketing, Dannon Company, 1997–98; vice president for marketing, Delisle Company, 1993–97; product manager, Dannon Company, 1991–93; associate product manager, Best Foods, 1988–91; assistant product manager, Frito-Lay, 1987–88; soccer coach, AYSO in Tarrytown, NY, and Town of LaGrange Soccer League; Sunday School teacher, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church; choir member, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church; class parent, Dutchess Day School; trustee and secretary, board of The HealthCare Chaplaincy, New York City; board member, The Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum; trustee and secretary, board of The Bardavon 1869 Opera House
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Nominating Committee Chair
Ellen McPhillips Baumann ’63, New York
Volunteer Experience
Member of AAVC Nominating Committee, 2004–07; board member, serving in various positions, including secretary, chair of nominating committee, member of scholarship committee, Vassar Club of New York, 1968–99; Vassar College Capital Campaign; member of 25th, 35th, and 40th reunion gift committees
Professional Experience
Attorney, Reed Smith LLP, 1999–present; senior associate, Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, 1986–99; associate, Carro, Spanbock, Fass, Geller, Kaster & Cuiffo, 1983–86; associate, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, 1979–83; member and chair of English department, Garden School, Jackson Heights, New York, 1964–76; member of English department, Regina High School, College Park, Maryland, 1963–64; member, Board of Trustees, 1982–present, Garden School; president, Board of Trustees, 1991–2007, Garden School
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Admissions Adviser
Karen Dowd ’84, New York
Volunteer Experience
25th Reunion committee, present; Long Island Vassar Club, executive committee member, 1992–present, admissions co-chair for college fairs, 2003–present, admissions chair, 1993–2003, secretary, 1992; class president, 1989–94; AAVC Admission Advisory Committee, member, 1999–2001; Women’s Bar Association, member, 2002–present; executive committee, 2004–present; Nassau County Bar Association Pro Bono Legal Clinic, 2002–present, co-chair, 2004–present; New York State Field Hockey Officials’ Association, member, 1998–present, current secretary, president, 2003–04; St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish, coordinating committee for Thanksgiving to Christmas, member, 2004–present, buildings and ground committee, member, 2000–present
Professional Experience
Dowd & Dowd, practicing law in areas of real estate, elder law, trusts and estates, 2001–present
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Alumnae/i Recognition Chair
Joseph A. Heissan Jr. ’87, New York
Volunteer Experience
AAVC Board, nominating committee, 2005–07; Class Annual Fund co-chair, 2007–present, president, 2003–07, chair, 15-year reunion; New York Vassar Club, admission interviewer, 1999–present; phoner/notewriter, 2003–present
Professional Experience
New York School of Interior Design, development and alumni relations officer, 2003–present; City College of New York, graduate teaching fellow, 2006–present; New York Academy of Art, director of development, 1997–2002; The Chatham Group, executive recruiter, 1993–97; AmeriCares; Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts
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Communications Adviser
Leslie D. Granston ’88, New York
Volunteer Experience
Vassar Quarterly Advisory Committee, 1995–present; Annual Fund volunteer, 2006
Professional Experience
Time Inc., associate director of human resources, 2003-present; Vanguarde Media, editor, (freelance and staff), 2000–03; freelance writer and editor, 1998–2002; George magazine, associate editor, 1997–98; Mademoiselle magazine, associate editor, 1993–97; Seventeen magazine, senior writer, 1992–93; Vogue magazine, features assistant, 1991–92; Mademoiselle magazine, articles assistant, 1990–91; Random House, editorial assistant, 1989–90; Sullivan & Cromwell, legal assistant, 1988–89; Brooklyn Public Library, adult literacy instructor, 1993–95; Student/Sponsor Partners, mentor, 1996–2000; member, Contemporary Friends of the Studio Museum in Harlem, 2004–05; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
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Director-at-Large
Jason Baumgarten ’98, Washington
Volunteer Experience
Board member, Vassar Club of New York; alumnae/i interviewer in New York and California and interview coordinator in Washington State
Professional/Community Experience
Engagement manager, McKinsey & Company, 2004–present; program manager, Microsoft, 2003; executive search consultant, Spencer Stuart, 1997–2001
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Director-at-Large
Lise Nussbaum O’Haire ’79, Georgia
Volunteer Experience
Vassar Club of Atlanta, admission interviewer, 1996–98, 2004–present, vice president, 1996; Vassar in Atlanta, 1993
Professional Experience
LiseDesigns, owner, 2003–present; Sincerely Yours stationery company, 1998-2001; TravelMates, author, 1997, Hey Mom I’m Bored!, author, 2000; Pace Academy: Booster Club, president, 2003-05, vice president, 2002-03, membership chair, 2000–02, service learning volunteer coordinator, 2000–04; The Lovett School, 10th grade level representative, 2002–03; Trinity School, parent association president, 1997–98, vice president, 1996–97, parent representative program committee, 1997–98, senior parent representative, committee to build new playground, 1993–94, 4th grade level representative, 1995–96, Sally Foster chair gift-wrap, 1992–93; Tophat Soccer Club, manager 08 (select soccer) team, 2002–05, 2006–present, manager 06 (select soccer) team, 1996–2005; Egleston Children’s Hospital, volunteer, 1991–92
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Director-at-Large
Mary Holl Oldshue ’73, Oregon
Volunteer Experience
Class treasurer, 2003–present; Vassar Club of Oregon, president, 1991–93, member and admission interviewer, 1978–present; AAVC Nominating Committee, 1987–89; Vassar Club of New York, admission interviewer, 1976–77
Professional Experience
Metro One, director, 2006-present; HomeStreet Bank, director, 2007- present; Arras Advisory Associates, principal, 1994-2005; Pacific Development Inc., vice president, development and finance, CFO, 1987–93; NERCO Inc., treasurer, 1980–87; QUALICO, director of finance, 1979; First Interstate Bank, assistant vice president, 1978–79; Chemical Bank, assistant manager, 1973–78; Marylhurst University Board Trustee, 1998–present; Center for Ethics in Healthcare Advisory Community Council, Oregon Health & Sciences University, 1989–present; Columbia Regional Program Advisory Council, 2002–2006; Financial Executives International, Portland Chapter Board 1991–96; Metropolitan Family Service Foundation Board, president, 1990–92