The Newcomb Alumnae Association Awards are presented annually during the Homecoming celebration in the Fall:

• Outstanding Alumna - The recipient of this award must reflect Newcomb’s tradition of excellence and should exhibit prominence in a business or professional field and in her contributions to the well being of national, state, or community life. The recipient’s accomplishments and contributions should have been sustained over a long period of time. Optimally, the recipient should have achieved some measure of recognition on the national or international level.
• Young Alumna - This award is given to a Newcomb/Tulane alum who has exhibited ongoing contributions or achievements. Nominees who have not yet attained the age of 40 are eligible for fifteen years beyond graduation.
• Community Service - The recipient of this award will be recognized for a significant, long-term commitment to community service.
• The Live Oak Award - This award honors an alum whose teaching, advocacy, or organizing efforts have increased educational opportunities within their community, their region, the nation, or internationally. The Live Oak Award recipient’s work should enhance equity and equality, have been recognized and respected by others, and inspire future generations from all backgrounds and abilities.

Anyone who completed undergraduate coursework at Newcomb College or Tulane University is eligible to be nominated for the Newcomb Alumnae Association Awards. Nominations are good for three years. The nomination period for 2025 has closed and winners will be announced in August 2025. The next nomination period will open in early 2026.

The nomination period for 2025 has closed. The next nomination period will open in early 2026.

Successful nominations demonstrate why the nominee is deserving of the award. The more detailed the nomination, the more the Awards Committee can see the nominee through the nominator’s lens.

For all awards, it is helpful to include as much relevant information as possible to show how the nominee was involved with Newcomb or Tulane as a student and how the nominee has engaged with Newcomb College/Institute since graduation.

Articles, publications, speaking engagements, media coverage, as well as additional letters of support from other members of the community also add to a compelling nomination. If the nominee does not have a CV or resume, please provide information about relevant work, service, and scholarship that would otherwise be found on a resume or CV.

All four awards will be presented during Homecoming (Wave Weekend). Nominees not selected in the first year of nomination will be considered for up to three years. Award winners must be able to be physically present at the Annual Meeting to receive their award.

Thank you for your continued support of Newcomb’s legacy by honoring our outstanding graduates. 

Guide to Statements of Support

Newcomb Alumnae Association Outstanding Alumna

Nghana Lewis, PhD (NC ’94) 
Nghana Lewis graduated magna cum laude from Newcomb College with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1994. She is currently a professor of English and Africana Studies, faculty affiliate of the School of Law, and adjunct professor with the Department of Psychology at Tulane. She also serves as a state district judge with Louisiana’s 40th Judicial District Court.

Dr. Lewis’s cross-sectional research and teaching interests include black literary & cultural studies, black women's health, and juvenile justice. She is the author of Entitled to the Pedestal: Place, Race, and Progress in White Southern Women’s Writing, 1920-1945 (2009) and Black Women’s Health in the Age of Hip Hop & HIV/AIDS: A Narrative Remix (2025); she is also a founder and co-organizer of the Black Women’s Health Conference Task Force at Tulane University, which biennially convenes the Black Women’s Health Conference.

In 2021, Dr. Lewis launched The Literacy Clinic, a court-based prevention-intervention program that supports literacy education for adults and youth involved in Louisiana’s criminal and juvenile legal systems and for families with children enrolled in Louisiana’s resource-challenged elementary public schools. With funding from The Murphy Institute, she established the Political Economy and Access to Justice Judicial Education Seminar (PEAJJES) in 2022, to provide judges an academic framework for examining and formulating best practices for strengthening America’s justice system.

A proud native of Lafayette and current resident of St. John the Baptist Parish, Dr. Lewis has devoted her professional life to the State of Louisiana through sustained advocacy, community-based research, and program development. She has mentored and guided the career developments of hundreds of students, who are now educators, lawyers, doctors, and public servants. For her leadership and contributions to her community, Dr. Lewis has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Roddy Richard Lifetime Achievement Award, the Pro Bono Hero Award, an NAACP Award for Education and Representation, and the Community Award from the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane.

Newcomb Alumnae Association Community Service Award

Dr. Abby Spencer, MD (NC ’98)
Dr. Abby Spencer serves as Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Medicine and as Director of the Academy of Educators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Spencer graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BS in behavioral neuroscience from Tulane University and received her MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She completed her primary care internal medicine residency at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical Center and subsequently completed a fellowship in general internal medicine with a concentration in women’s health and earned a master's degree in medical education from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Spencer enjoys caring for patients in the inpatient and primary care setting with a particular interest in women’s health.

Dr. Spencer has dedicated her career to developing curriculum, building teams, mentoring, coaching, leading educational programs, and developing others in medical education. She has delivered over 200 invited faculty development/educational courses and workshops locally, regionally and nationally. She has won numerous national awards for her teaching, educational scholarship, mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership including the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) National Brancati Leadership and Mentorship Award, SGIM National Scholarship in Education Award, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) inspire award, the inaugural Washington University Advancing Women in Academic Medicine LEAD award and the national APDIM Dema C Daley Founders award for leadership and innovation in medical education. In 2025, Dr. Spencer was recognized as a Fellow in AMWA for her advocacy and community service in supporting women in medicine. She completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) fellowship in 2022, serves on the editorial board for the Journal of General Internal Medicine and the AMWA Board of Directors. Dr. Spencer has held leadership positions in many national organizations across academic internal medicine including founding SGIM TEACH faculty, councilor for the Association for Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) and currently serves as Association of Chiefs and Leaders of General Internal Medicine (ACLGIM) LEAD course director and on the ACGME Internal Medicine Review Committee as Vice-Chair. Her greatest professional joys are mentoring, teaching, sponsoring, and developing others.

Newcomb Alumnae Association Young Alumna Award

Franziska Trautmann (SSE ’20)
Over 10 million more pounds of glass would be in landfills if not for Franziska and her team at Glass Half Full. Started in the backyard of a college fraternity house in New Orleans, Glass Half Full recycles glass into sand for coastal restoration, disaster relief, new glass bottles, and more. Fran, a Carencro, Louisiana native, graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Tulane University. This gave her the skills necessary to help lead a research team backed by the National Science Foundation, conducting novel research on the use of recycled glass sand for coastal restoration. They have completed five coastal restoration projects, restoring thousands of meters of coastline and counting. In her spare time, Franziska makes educational TikToks ranging from recycling to climate change to wastewater treatment. Her page has garnered over 300,000 followers and millions of views.

Newcomb Alumnae Association Live Oak Award

Andrea Ricards Lapsley (NC ’72)
Andrea Ricards Lapsley (NC ’72) has dedicated her career to expanding access to literacy and public education through libraries, both locally and globally. From early on, she learned the value of philanthropy and community from her parents. Giving of time and treasure has always been part of her life. The importance and value of education and literacy have always been forefront. A former banking and nonprofit executive, she led development and programming for the Houston Public Library for over two decades, where her award-winning initiatives, like the Power Card Challenge, brought over 300,000 new patrons to the system.

She currently serves as the President of the Texas Library and Archives Foundation (TxLAF) supporting the Texas State Library and Archives. She has been on the board since 2016 and president since 2018. Skilled in marketing, PR and fundraising, she has increased the Foundation’s membership and development opportunities. She currently is a board of United for Libraries, a division of ALA where she serves on their executive board and is their division councilor to ALA Council, the governing body of the 46,000 member American Library Association. She has been a member of ALA since 1989 and has held several positions including president of the Library Leadership and Management Association. She has served on multiple unit and ALA committees, award juries and presidential task forces.

Andrea has served in leadership roles with the American Library Association and currently leads the Texas Library and Archives Foundation. She began her library career at the Houston Public Library System where she worked for 20 years as the Assistant Director of Marketing and Development overseeing all library programming, development and public relations/communications. She created the One Book One Community program for Houston. She worked extensively with their Friends of the library group and the library board. Prior to her library work, she worked for the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, the Houston Chamber of Commerce, and Fannin Bank. Her advocacy helped secure over $200 million in state funding to support Texas libraries and archives.

Traveling extensively in South African brought her in contact with a rural primary school, Zwelisha, after the end of apartheid. Recognizing the need for books and materials for the students’ success, she raised funds to build a library. The library is stocked with books she had donated or bought. Today the library has more than 25,000 books and is used by the 1,400 students and the community. Now in her 29th year of support, she continues to travel there annually.

Andrea also gives back to the Newcomb community by organizing alumnae book clubs. Through every chapter of her work, Andrea has used the power of books to build stronger, more connected communities.

Outstanding Alumna 
2024 Flora Fenner McConnell Hammond, MD, NC '86, M*90
2023 Alexandra “Ally” Coll, J.D. (NC ’07) 
2022 Pamela A. Geller, Ph.D. NC ’88 
2021 Dr. Mara E. Karlin NC ’01 
2020 Carter Flemming NC ’70 
2019 Marcela Villareal de Panetta NC ’67 
2018 Meria Carstarphen NC '92 
2017 Sally Kittredge Reeves N'65 
2016 Jennifer Brush N '78 
2015 Regina Rogers N '68 
2014 Merri Steinberg Ex N '73 
2013 Margaret Burr Leonard N '63 
2012 Marlene Esking Moses N '72 
2011 Dee Unglaub Silverthon N '70 
2010 Berthe Lathrop Marks Amoss N’46 
2009 Florence Weiland Schornstein N’56 
2008 Carol Lavin Bernick N'74 
2007 Jane Davis Doggett N'52 
2005 Elizabeth A. Weaver N’62 
2004 Cheryl A. Nickerson N'83 
2003 Marsha Sidel Firestone N'65 
1999 Martha Walters Barnett N'69 
1998 May Hyman Lesser N'47 
1997 Susan Gold Willard Schorin N'67 
1995 Eugénie Ricau Rocherolle N'58 
1994 Lois E. DeBakey N'40 
1993 Vivian Gussin Paley N'50 
1992 Deirdre Melessa Phillips, M.D. N'69 
1991 Barbara Y. E. Pyle N'69 
1990 Marion J. Siegman N'54 
1989 Martha Crenshaw N'67 
1988 Rosa Freeman Keller N'32 
1987 Lynda Benglis N'64 
1986 Hilda Arndt N'32 
1985 Betty Stevens Sherrill N'44 
1984 Evalyn Stolaroff Gendel N'43 
1983 Odaline de la Martinez N'72 
1982 Mary Lou Mossy Christovich N'49 
1981 Lanier Allingham Simmons N'50 
1980 Betty Werlein Carter N'31 
1979 Ruth Rogan Benerito N'35 
1978 Ida Rittenberg Kohlmeyer N'33 
1977 E. Lucille Smith N'35 
1976 Corinne Claiborne Boggs N'35 
1975 Bessie Margolin N'29 
1974 Elizabeth Wisner N'14 


Young Alumna 
2024 Rachael Richard SLA '19
2023 Brittney Sheena (SSE ’18) 
2022 Saira A. Mehmood, Ph.D. SLA ’08, SLA '09 
2021 Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa NC '14 
2020 Nicole Hutchinson SLA '07 
2019 Paula Eichenbrenner NC ’04 
2018 Lindsey Childs-Kean NC '04 
2017 Demetria Christo N'06 
2016 Dr. Mara E. Karlin N'01 
2015 Jane Kellum N'01 
2014 Johanna Gilligan N'03 
2013 Elizabeth Bellino N'98 
2012 Karoun Bagamain N'01 
2011 Meaghan K. Callahan N'08 
2010 Theresa Schieber N’95 
2009 Rebekah Dobrasko N’01 
2008 Erica Trani N’06 
2007 Melissa Ekin Kizildemir N’02 
2005 Jennifer Grotz N’93 

Newcomb Community Service and Loyalty Award 
2009 Adelaide Wisdom Benjamin N’54 
2008 Eugenie Jones Huger N'53 
2007 Cynthia Roosth Wolf N'68 
2005 Barbara Bartlett Haddad N'53 
2004 Virginia Niehaus Roddy N'60 
2003 Karen Deener Depp N'66 
2002 Patricia Greene N'67 
2001 Helen Schneidau N'67 
2000 Andrée Keil Moss N'59 
1999 Carolyn Robbert Davis N'42 
1997 Regan Alford Forrester N'71 
1995 Harriet Barry Schupp N’59 
1994 Polly Phelps Durham N’52 
1993 Winifred Delery Hills N’75 
1992 Louise Hoehn Hogan N’35 
1990 Carol Downes Cudd N’59 
1989 Nellie Mae " Bartlett Kelleher N’30 
1988 Jane Kelleher Riess N’38 
1987 Sybil Muths Favrot N’56 


Community Service Award 
2024 Hon. Robin M. Giarrusso NC ’74, L *77
2023 Susan Friedlander Keith (NC ’68) 
2022 Amy Gatzemeyer NC ’06 
2021 Isabel González Whitaker NC '94 
2020 Nancy Godecke NC '81 
2019 Lisa Helfman NC ’96 
2018 Millibeth Currie NC '89 
2017 Rhonda Kalifey-Aluise N'92 
2016 Roberta Guillory N'59 
2015 Julie Schwam Harris N'74 
2014 Sylvia Klumok Goodman N'62 
2013 Newcomb Sisters & Friends Build 
2012 Suzy Guichard McDaniel N'83 
2011 Sharon Kozlowski Bourgeois N'69 
2010 Adele Redditt Williamson N’45 


Katrina/Rita Recognition Awards - October 27, 2006 
Pamela Montgomery Bryan N'80 Barbara Gott Bush N'71 Beverly Reese Church N'67 Lea McIntosh Ellison N'69 Mignon Faget N'55 Virginia Saussy N'88 Ruthie Jones Frierson N'62 Patricia Heatherly Gay N'65 Barbara Barry Hammett N'64 Leslie Brupbacher Kramer N'77 Nancy Meyers Marsiglia N'75 Anne McDonald Milling N'62 Marcelle D'Aquin Saussy N'61 Louise Fergusson Saenz N'94 Cynthia Roosth Wolf N'68 

Newcomb Centennial Awards - Awarded October 11, 1986 
Mildred D. Christian N'22, Education/ English 
Lucile Jacoby Blum N'24, Music, Performing, & Visual Art 
Perrine Dixon McCune N'24, Music 
Angela Gregory N'25, Sculpture 
Rena Wilson N'29, Early Childhood Development 
Mary Ethel Dichmann N'35, Education 
Margaret Pace Willson N'43, Art/ Glass Blowing/ Business 
Mary Hanemann Lystad N'49, Social Psychology 
Shirley Ann Grau N'50, Author 
Mignon Faget N'55, Art/ Jewelry Design 
Linda Smith Wilson N'57, Chemistry/EducationalAdministration/Research 
Frances F. Switt N'59, Foreign Service/ Cultural Exchange 
Emily Watts Card N'63, Financial Management 
Shelly Johnson Errington N’66, Anthropology 
Marilyn Thomas Bernard N'68, Music 
Janina R. Gerth Galler N'69, Pediatric Mental Health Alumna of the Year (discontinued) 2005 
Helen Carney Evans N’65 2007 
Ruthie Jones Frierson N’62 2007 
Anne McDonald Milling N’62