Alums Leading the Way
Mount Holyoke alums have been opening doors, breaking barriers and launching into the world as leaders since the founding of the College. Our graduates are leading the way — in the boardroom and in the classroom, in the lab and in public service, in the field and on the runway. Every day alums are lifting up others, calling out injustices and advocating for change.
Made Here
In a newly-launched Presidential conversation series, President Holley engages with members of our community — revolutionaries, explorers, storytellers, artists, activists, changemakers — who credit Mount Holyoke with helping to shape their success.
Forged in dissent in 1837, Mount Holyoke is home to changemakers and visionaries looking to challenge the status quo. From our founding charter to our most recent campus initiatives, we remain a model for how higher education can prepare bold leaders and boundless learners to make a better world.
The College’s MHC Forward Strategic Plan maps an audacious vision for MHC’s next decade and beyond. As we imagine what remarkable accomplishments could be on our horizon, it is important to reflect on how we got to this point.
With this series, President Holley explores timely topics with alums from around the world, in varied industries and across generations. Though each journey to — and from — Mount Holyoke is different, the skills, experiences and relationships forged within the gates have an indelible impact in shaping the trajectory of someone's life.
Join us as this series continues to celebrate the journeys that begin here and the impact that extends far beyond.
Revolutionaries are Made Here: Suchi Saria ’04
AI expert and innovator working to cure sepsis
Suchi Saria ’04 is a renowned scholar and scientist whose exceptional creativity, expertise and passion have helped introduce major medical advancements in domestic and global healthcare.
Space explorers are Made Here: Lina Rivero Cashin ’88
2019 Aerospace Woman of the Year and leader in safe spaceflight and exploration
Colonel Lina Rivero Cashin ’88 is a senior project engineer at The Aerospace Corporation. A 28-year expert on space operations and policy, she provides technical analysis on the operation and future acquisition of Global Positioning System and communication satellites at Aerospace.
Our alum network, by the numbers
Best alum network
In the 2023 “Best 388 Colleges,” the Princeton Review ranked Mount Holyoke College #9 among private colleges for “Best Alumni Networks.”
Global alum network
Our network of alums around the world share their time, insight and connections — these of course being code words for power. Alums of women’s colleges arguably constitute the most influential professional-women’s networks on the globe.
Current alum volunteers
Keeping Mount Holyoke’s global community vibrant and engaged is dependent on the efforts of thousands of alums, parents and friends of the College who volunteer their time, talent, and resources.
Artists are made here
Chmba Ellen Chilemba
Class of 2017
Producer-DJ artist, named in Forbes Africa 30 Under 30
Candy Alexandra González
Class of 2014
Multidisciplinary visual artist, poet, activist and trauma-informed educator
Chloé Zhao
Class of 2005
The first woman of color to win an Academy Award for best director
Suzan-Lori Parks
Class of 1985
First Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Susan Kare
Class of 1975
Pioneer of pixel art and graphical computer interface
Activists/Advocates are made here
Ruth Muskrat Bronson
Class of 1925
Cherokee poet, educator and indigenous rights activist
Umama Zillur
Class of 2018
Co-founder and leader of Kotha, an organization dedicated to ending the culture of gender-based violence in Bangladesh
Barbara Smith
Class of 1969
Co-founder of the Combahee River Collective and co-author of the Combahee River Collective Statement
Changemakers are made here
Addison Beaux
Class of 1999
“Affirming my gender really gave me confidence to trust myself,” Beaux said. “I believe when we love ourselves, it makes it a lot easier to love and understand other people, and how we treat others is a reflection of what goes on in our own inner world.”
Aimée Eubanks Davis
Class of 1995
Founder of Braven
Rumbi Bwerinofa-Petrozzello
Class of 1994
The first woman of color to serve as president of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants
Mona Sutphen
Class of 1989
Partner and Head of Investment Strategies, The Vistria Group
Problemsolvers are made here
Florence Sophie Schorske Wald
Class of 1938
former dean of Yale School of Nursing, credited as “the mother of the American hospice movement”
Kira Banks
Class of 2000
Psychology professor, St. Louis University and Co-founder of St. Louis University’s Institute for Healing Justice and Equity
Alison Rogers Cove
Class of 2012
Founder of USEFULL
Kaneka Turner
Class of 2016
Founder of educational consulting company ReImage
Sheila Lirio Marcelo
Class of 1993
Entrepreneur and founder of Care.com
Frances Perkins
Class of 1902
First woman Cabinet member, U.S. Secretary of Labor and creator of Social Security
STEM leaders are made here
Charisse Pickron
Class of 2008
Assistant professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Director of the Child Brain and Perception Lab, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Veronika Kivenson
Class of 2013
Postdoctoral fellow at Oregon State University and recipient of the Tory Burch Fellowship from the Innovative Genomics Institute
Natasha Mohanty
Class of 2003
Head of engineering for checkout experiences at Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform
Jean Sammet
Class of 1948
Co-developer of the computer programming language COBOL
Storytellers are made here
Lan Cao
Class of 1983
Author of “Monkey Bridge” and “The Lotus and the Storm”
Tahmima Anam
Class of 1997
Award-winning novelist
Debra Martin Chase
Class of 1977
Tony Award-winning producer
Tara Roberts
Class of 1991
2022 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year
Deborah Harkness, Ph.D.
Class of 1986
Best-selling fiction author, TV producer and professor of history
Wendy Wasserstein
Class of 1971
Tony-winning playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner
Trailblazers are made here
Esther Howland
Class of 1847
Created the United States Valentine’s Day card industry.
Gabi Gregg
Class of 2008
Fashion blogger and designer and advocate for the representation of plus-size Black women in fashion spaces
Holly Metcalf
Class of 1981
Top crew coach and champion in expanding access to the sport of rowing
Emily Dickinson
Class of 1849
One of the greatest and most original poets of all time, literary rebel and author of “‘Hope’” Is the Thing with Feathers”
Launching Leadership
In celebration of the achievements of our alums and to highlight the many ways Mount Holyoke prepares its graduates to lead in the world, Interim President Beverly Daniel Tatum held a series of conversations with a diverse group of graduates. These alums exemplify an intellectually adventurous Mount Holyoke education in action.
Addison Beaux ’99
The final Launching Leadership conversation for 2022 was with Addison Beaux ’99, the founder and CEO of Beaux & Arrow. The wide-ranging conversation touched on student activism, gender affirmations and self-love.
Suzan-Lori Parks ’85 and Debra Martin Chase ’77
Love, work and the importance of connection were the overarching themes of a Launching Leadership discussion with Mount Holyoke alums Suzan-Lori Parks ’85 and Debra Martin Chase ’77 after an electrifying performance of Parks’ play “Topdog/Underdog.”
Tara Roberts ’91
Tara Roberts ’91 is the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year and the inaugural Launching Leadership interviewee at Mount Holyoke College.
Alums in the News
Demonstrating leadership
Celebrating Connie Converse ’46
Mount Holyoke College alum Connie Converse ’46 was a trailblazing composer and singer-songwriter. MHC is hosting an event that celebrates her life and legacy.
Nita Lowey ’59, 1937–2025
Influential and trailblazing Congresswoman Nita Lowey ’59 has passed away at the age of 87.
Coffee chat with Rebecca Brenner Graham ’15
The author of “Dear Miss Perkins” had coffee at Frances Perk and discussed the book’s start as a suggestion from Perkins’ biographer and the narrative’s first iteration as Graham’s Mount Holyoke senior thesis.