Newcomb Alumnae Association Outstanding Alumna
Alyssa Dausman, Ph.D., NC '9

Alyssa Dausman, Ph.D. is Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist at The Water Institute, an independent non-profit applied research organization helping communities make better decisions about some of the world's most complex water and environmental challenges. For over 25 years, Dr. Dausman has worked at the intersection of science, public policy, and real-world decision making. Her career has taken her from mapping groundwater resources in Haiti to leading restoration science for the Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, advising federal and state leaders on ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, and water management. Today, she oversees the Institute's scientific research, helping governments, communities, and businesses, translate science into practical decisions that protect people, economies, and ecosystems. 

Dr. Dausman has taught and collaborated with scientists around the world and has spoken internationally on water management, restoration, and structured decision making, including the United Nations Groundwater Summit. Recognized by her peers in academia, she received the 2026 Tulane University Science and Engineering Outstanding Alumna Award.

A supporter of advancing educational opportunities and networking, Alyssa is a Director on the Board for the Newcomb Alumnae Association. An avid yoga practitioner, Alyssa also volunteered for over 10 years teaching yoga to active military in the Gulf Coast with the Warriors at Ease program, for which she was recognized with the Commemorative Service Award in 2020 by Naval Special Warfare.

Through her work, Dr. Dausman continues to explore a question with growing urgency: How can science inform good decisions when the future is uncertain? Drawing on experiences from disasters, restoration, and decades of applied science, she continues to research why better outcomes depend not simply on better science, but on connecting evidence, values, conflicting interests, and people to make informed and actionable decisions.
 

Newcomb Alumnae Association Young Alumna of the Year Award
Malorie Holmes, MD, B '11, M '20

Malorie B. Holmes is a proud alumna of Tulane University, class of 2011. After completion of her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing at Tulane, she earned her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at Meharry Medical College. She then went on to complete her Internal Medicine residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and pursued specialty training through a fellowship in Nephrology at Stanford University. Dr. Holmes is now a practicing Nephrologist in Atlanta, GA and is the founder of Kidney Beans, Inc, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing free kidney screenings to underserved communities. Dr.Holmes has provided testing in communities surrounding Atlanta as well as in Mississippi, to identify early signs of kidney disease. By identifying patients with signs of kidney disease, Dr. Holmes aims to prevent progression and prevent the need for dialysis through medical management and education. Alongside her efforts through Kidney Beans, Dr. Holmes serves as the Vice Chair of the EMBARK steering committee, a committee dedicated to providing screenings to identify and care for patients with APOL-1 mediated kidney disease. She collaborates with Nephrologists across the nation to educate and treat patients who are at risk of developing advanced kidney disease.
 

Newcomb Alumnae Association Live Oak Award
Beth Sundstrom, Ph.D., M.P.H., NC '05

Beth Sundstrom graduated summa cum laude with Honors and Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb College where she earned the Randolph Reed Memorial Scholarship Award and the Tulane 34 Award. She is currently full professor of health communication at the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC where she serves as the Founding Director of the Women’s Health Research Team (WHRT). The WHRT conducts innovative, interdisciplinary research in collaboration with community partners, and advocates to improve health. Dr. Sundstrom is a Fulbright Scholar and leading expert on health communication and reproductive health. She has won numerous awards for her research, mentoring, and advocacy, including the 2024 Social Sciences Faculty Excellence in Mentoring of Undergraduate Research Award from the national Council on Undergraduate Research and the 2018 William V. Moore Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Award. Dr. Sundstrom conducts applied research that informs the development of community-centered public health interventions and nationally recognized communication campaigns. She studies communication ecosystems with an emphasis on addressing misinformation, building resilience against misleading and false information, and rebuilding public trust in science in the United States and globally. Dr. Sundstrom is the author of Reproductive Justice and Women’s Voices: Health Communication across the Lifespan (2015) and co-author of Birth Control: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2020), Catching Fire: Women’s Health Activism in Ireland and the Global Movement for Reproductive Justice (Oxford University Press, 2023), and It’s Not Just: Myths, Misinformation, and Media Messages from Menstruation to Menopause (Oxford University Press, 2028), along with more than 85 peer-reviewed publications in such outlets as Social Science & Medicine, Contraception, and Journal of Health Communication. Dr. Sundstrom also contributes to mainstream media outlets, including the Huffington Post. She is active in the community and has received numerous awards for her leadership, including the 2022 SC Immunization Champion Innovation Award.

 

Newcomb Alumnae Association Community Service Award
Yolanda Tai Becker, MD, FACS, FAST, CTBS, NC '86

Yolanda T. Becker, MD, FACS is an internationally recognized transplant surgeon, physician executive, and community leader whose career spans more than three decades of clinical excellence, academic leadership, and transformative service in organ donation and transplantation.
Dr. Becker currently serves as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer and Director of Tissue Banking at LifeGift Organ Transplant Center, where she provides strategic medical leadership across organ and tissue donation, quality oversight, and system innovation. She is also a Professor of Surgery and Medical Education at the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University.

Previously, Dr. Becker was Professor of Surgery and Director of Adult and Pediatric Kidney Transplantation at the University of Chicago Medicine, where she led one of the nation’s premier transplant programs until her retirement from clinical surgery in 2021. Earlier in her career, she held progressive academic appointments at the University of Wisconsin.

A distinguished national leader, Dr. Becker has served at the highest levels of transplant governance, including as President of the OPTN Board of Directors, UNOS Region 7 Councilor, and Chair of multiple OPTN policy and regulatory committees. She has played a central role in shaping U.S. organ allocation policy, transplant quality standards, and ethical frameworks for equitable organ access. Her expertise has been sought by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she served as a contributing author to Realizing the Promise of Equity in the Organ Transplantation System.

Dr. Becker’s leadership extends globally through her work with The Transplantation Society, where she currently serves as Co-Chair of Women in Transplantation, and nationally through the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, American Society of Transplantation, and American Association of Tissue Banking. Her recent work focuses on recovery surgeon credentialing, tissue banking standards, and federal quality metrics for organ donation and transplantation.

Deeply committed to community engagement, Dr. Becker serves on the boards of Enduring Hearts and Student Organ Donor Advocates (SODA) and has long supported patient advocacy, youth engagement, and public education around donation and transplant equity. She enjoys many hobbies including running half marathons, taking care of her many pets and helping her kids navigate their early career development.
 

The Newcomb Alumnae Association Trailblazer Award in Celebration of the Newcomb Institute's 20th Anniversary
Catherine Edwards, NC '72

Catherine Hagaman Edwards grew up in Jackson Mississippi, and graduated from Newcomb College in 1972, with a BA in Latin and Greek. She was a member of Chi Omega fraternity, a member of the Tulane Newcomb A Capella Choir and an Army ROTC sponsor. After graduation, she worked in Washington D.C. for two years and then married David F Edwards (A&S ’71, JD ’72) and moved to New Orleans. They have three grown children and five grandchildren. Mrs. Edwards was an active member of the Junior League of New Orleans and held several board positions. She volunteered with New Orleans Hospice as a respite visitor and served on the board and was an officer of the New Orleans Council on Aging. She served for ten years on the Poydras Home Board of Managers and as its president. She served on the boards of the Isidore Newman Parents Group and as President of the Benjamin Franklin Parents Association. She and Mr. Edwards served on the Parents Council of Washington and Lee University. At Tulane, Mrs. Edwards served in various positions on the board of the Newcomb Alumnae Association and as its president. She has been a member of the Newcomb Foundation Board and chairman of the Newcomb College Institute’s Director’s Advisory Council.  She currently serves on the Tulane President’s Council, the Newcomb Art Museum Advisory Board and is co-chairman of the project to renovate Josephine Louise Hall. She is a member of the Friday Afternoon Club, the Orleans Club, and Le Petit Salon, and she is a member and former Elder of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Edwards enjoys her grandchildren, traveling, gardening, and sewing.
 

The Newcomb Alumnae Association Awards are presented annually during the Homecoming celebration in the Fall. The following are requirements for the nominations:

• 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. 

Nominations for 2026 are now open.

Completed nomination packets include the Nomination Form, Statement(s) of Support, and a current CV or resume. Please submit the completed packet to us at newcombalumnae@tulane.edu

NOMINATION FORM

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

Outstanding Alumna
2025 Nghana Lewis, PhD (NC ’94) 
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 
2025 Franziska Trautmann (SSE ’20)
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 
2025 Dr. Abby Spencer, MD (NC ’98)
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 
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 

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 Alumnae Association Live Oak Award
2025 Andrea Ricards Lapsley (NC ’72)

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