Alumni/Alumnae Council

Greetings from the Council Chairperson

Dear fellow graduates,

I am honored to serve as the chairperson of the HDS Alumni/Alumnae Council for the 2011-12 year. The Council exists to promote a mutually beneficial relationship between Harvard Divinity School and its graduates, and between HDS graduates and the Harvard Alumni Association. The members of the Council are the elected volunteer leaders of the School's community of graduates. As such, we are always seeking new means of building community among graduates and finding ways of leveraging our volunteer efforts to help advance HDS today.

I want to be in conversation with you during my year as chairperson. Your thoughts, questions, and ideas are always welcome and may be sent to my attention by emailing alums@hds.harvard.edu. I hope that you will read more about the work of the Council and find ways to be involved.

Ruth B. Purtilo, MTS '75, PhD '79

Council Mission

The HDS Alumnae/Alumni Council's mission shall be to connect graduates with each other, with the Divinity School, the larger Harvard community to enhance the lives of its members and support them in their ongoing search for meaning, mission, and value.

To those ends, the Council shall strive:

• To be models for present and future alumni in their pursuit of justice, compassionate leadership, and service, and to recognize alumni for excellence in their achievement and contributions toward these ends;
• To be available to HDS administration in matters of student recruitment and admissions, alumni giving and development, and about such other matters as to which the Dean or Dean's designees seek its advice; and
• To create and participate in the Harvard Alumni Association and other appropriate forums for the exchange and expression of alumni views and insights, and

2011-12 Council

Terms ending on June 30, 2012:

Rebecca L. Neumann, MTS '05 (Arlington, Va.)
Craig A. Phillips, MDiv '79 (Arlington, Va.)
Sheila F. Winborne, MTS '93, AM '99, PhD '05 (Revere, Mass.)

Terms ending on June 30, 2013:

Richie L. Butler, MTS '96 (Dallas, Tex.)
Sabrina Knox Cleary, ALB '92, MTS '97 (New York, N.Y.)
Casely B. Essamuah, MDiv '95 (Crofton, Md.)

Terms ending on June 30, 2014:

Sarah Taylor Peck, MDiv '07 (Memphis, Tenn.)
S. Josh Thomas, MTS '02 (Maplewood, N.J.)
Julia Whitcavitch-DeVoy, MTS '94 (Newton, Mass.)

School-Appointed Directors to the HAA

Matthew M. Shakespeare, MTS '90 (Brookline, Mass.)
Serving an HAA term through June 30, 2013

D. Douglas Shipman, MTS '01, MPP '01 (Atlanta, Ga.)
Serving an HAA term through June 30, 2014

Community Representative

Maritza S. Hernandez, EdM '05
Associate Dean for Enrollment and Student Services

Staff Director

Michael E. Goetz
Associate Director of Development, Annual Giving, and Alumni Relations