{"id":2828,"date":"2013-05-15T05:09:14","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T09:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/?p=2828"},"modified":"2013-05-15T07:12:02","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T11:12:02","slug":"alumnae-connections-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/alumnae-connections-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnae connections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Danielle<\/a>

Credit: John Aquino; WWD, October 2012<\/p><\/div>\n

Women\u2019s Wear Daily<\/em> (10\/5\/12) reported on a festive gathering in New York City last October at Saks Fifth Avenue to celebrate the publication of Soiree: Entertaining With Style<\/em>, by Danielle Deaton Rollins \u201990<\/strong>. The first book for Rollins, it\u2019s a how-to guide to throwing parties at home, complete with invitation suggestions, table setting ideas, and recipes. The only thing to avoid, Rollins told WWD<\/em>, is \u201cboring people and bad attitudes\u2014that\u2019s pretty much it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Renee<\/a><\/p>\n

Renee Robinson M.F.A. \u201912<\/strong>, a principal dancer with New York\u2019s renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), was one of four artists to receive the 2012 Dance Magazine<\/em> Award.<\/p>\n

Robinson was honored at a ceremony December 3 in New York City, along with Julie Kent, senior ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre; New York Times<\/em> dance critic Anna Kisselgoff (who was a guest lecturer in Hollins\u2019 M.F.A. program, 2006-08); and tap dancer Dianne Walker.<\/p>\n

Robinson joined the AAADT in 1981 and holds the longest tenure of any female member. In addition to Ailey, she has worked with such acclaimed choreographers as Lar Lubovitch, Jerome Robbins, Bill T. Jones, and Judith Jamison, who presented the award to Robinson at the event. Her televised performances include President Bill Clinton\u2019s first inauguration, the Kennedy Center Awards, and the PBS special \u201cA Hymn for Alvin Ailey.\u201d In 2003 she performed at a White House State Dinner honoring President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, and in 2008 she appeared in the first dance event hosted in the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama.<\/p>\n

Robinson is perhaps best known as \u201cthe woman with the umbrella\u201d in Revelations<\/em>, described as Ailey\u2019s \u201csignature work\u201d by The Washington Post <\/em>in a February 2012 article. \u201cIt is among the most popular and most performed works of modern dance,\u201d the Post <\/em>explains, \u201cand millions of ballet fans around the world regard the woman with the umbrella with particular reverence.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Kristin Ward Vines \u201982<\/strong>, a varsity fencer while at Hollins, not only coaches the sport at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but she also competes at an international level. According to Timesfreepress.com (10\/19\/12), she finished sixth in the Ladies Foil 50-59 age group at the Veteran Fencing World Championships in Krems, Austria, last October. \u201cVines, a Latin teacher, was seeded 29th for the competition but moved up to 10th after the first round and progressed through two elimination rounds before losing to the eventual gold medalist.\u201d Competition included athletes from 10 countries, including Italy, Germany, China, and Canada.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Elva Fields, the jewelry line by Emily Wheat Maynard \u201900<\/strong>, is creating quite a buzz. Her work was lauded in O, The Oprah Magazine<\/em> last September, and just two months later she was one of Country Living<\/em>\u2019s \u201c10 Women Entrepreneurs to Meet.\u201d Hollins<\/em> magazine got the jump on both publications by featuring Maynard\u2019s work in its first alumnae products contest (summer 2011).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

O, The Oprah Magazine<\/em> featured another alumna, Valer Clark Austin \u201962<\/strong>, in its September 2012 issue. A lengthy article detailed the painstaking work Austin and her husband, Josiah, have done to bring water back to numerous ranches they own in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The couple have been using two techniques to keep rainwater from washing away from parched land that had been overgrazed and drained for decades. They do not permit their cattle to overgraze, and they\u2019ve built thousands of large and small rock dams that trap rainwater, allowing silt to build up and encouraging plant growth\u2014which in turn slows down rainwater run-off and attracts wildlife. As the magazine\u2019s writer observed, \u201cThe Austins\u2019 aim is not to resurrect a past landscape but to create a variety of habitats, so as many native species as possible can benefit. A Garden of Eden, in miniature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin received the Distinguished Alumnae Award at her reunion in 2012.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Cornel West, LeBron James, and Barack Obama topped Ebony<\/em> magazine\u2019s 2012 \u201cPower 100\u201d list\u2014but keep reading. At #23 is Cynthia Hale \u201975<\/strong>, founder and senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia, and a member of Hollins\u2019 Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Emma by the River<\/em>, by Betty Branch \u201979, M.A.L.S. \u201987<\/strong>, was one of dozens of sculptures selected for SculptureWalk, an outdoor exhibition in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota, last May-September. According to Examiner.com (12\/31\/12), \u201cArtists gain exposure, Sioux Falls gets a great attraction, and citizens enjoy the art.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Niam Itani M.F.A. \u201911<\/strong> was one of 10 finalists\u2014and the only woman\u2014whose films were shown at the Venice Film Festival last September. Itani\u2019s film, Super.Full<\/em>, was selected from more than 15,000 entries.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Mary Terrell Joseph \u201966<\/strong> was named by Best Lawyers in America<\/em> as the Baton Rouge Banking and Finance Lawyer of the Year for 2013. She is a member in McGlinchey Stafford\u2019s Baton Rouge office and has more than 40 years of experience in the area of collections and creditors\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Republican Heather Dawes Fitzenhagen \u201982<\/strong> won the election last November for the Florida House of Representatives, District 78. Fitzenhagen is marketing director for the Condo & HOA Law Group with offices in Fort Myers and Naples.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Erin Ganaway M.F.A. \u201908<\/strong> is included in Best New Poets 2012<\/em>, an annual anthology that consists of poems selected by a guest editor from work by new writers. Ganaway\u2019s poem, \u201cMeds,\u201d originally appeared in Third Coast.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

David Huddle M.A. \u201969 <\/strong>was one of the finalists for the Library of Virginia\u2019s 15th<\/sup> annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards for his novel Nothing Can Make Me Do This. <\/em>Huddle was a recent distinguished professor of creative writing at Hollins.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Force of nature<\/h3>\n

Wannamaker honored for environmental advocacy<\/h4>\n

\"Catherine<\/a>Environmental lawyer Catherine Moore Wannamaker \u201996<\/strong> received the Distinguished Young Alumna Award during the annual 1842 Society weekend in Atlanta last November. She was set to receive the award during her reunion in 2011, but a scheduling conflict delayed the presentation. Her award citation calls her \u201ca force of and for nature\u201d and concludes, \u201cYou have devoted your professional life to fiercely protecting and preserving the \u2018rich web of life upon which so many depend.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Wannamaker majored in biology under professors Renee Godard and Harriet Gray. She earned her master\u2019s degree in biology from North Carolina State University and in 2003 received her law degree from Stanford University. After clerking for the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, she drew upon her background in biology and served three years as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division.<\/p>\n

Since 2008, Wannamaker has been a senior attorney and lead litigator at the Southern Environmental Law Center in Atlanta. She has been a principal spokesperson on behalf of environmental groups seeking to sue the energy company BP under the Endangered Species Act for the unlawful harm or killing of endangered and threatened wildlife caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident. In addition, she has led litigation on a number of nationally prominent cases, including challenging the U.S. Navy\u2019s creation of a training range in right whale breeding grounds, saving wetlands along Georgia\u2019s fragile coastal region, and leading efforts to end unfettered industry control of offshore drilling.<\/p>\n

The Distinguished Young Alumnae Award honors alumnae of the 5th, 10th, or 15th reunion classes who have brought distinction to themselves and to Hollins through outstanding career performance that demonstrates the value of a liberal arts education and\/or participation in community, national, or world affairs in which she has significantly bettered and strengthened our society. To nominate an alumna or to learn about previous winners, visit www.hollins.edu\/alumnae and click on the link under \u201cAlumnae Accomplishments.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Tinker<\/a><\/p>\n

The Richmond alumnae chapter celebrated Tinker Day on October 24 with an alumnae party. As chapter cochair Savon Shelton Sampson \u201904 said, \u201cThe weather was perfect, the Krispy Kreme doughnuts were delicious, the fried chicken was crispy, and the Tinker Cake was sweet!\u201d Alumnae in Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Hampton Roads, Virginia, also celebrated the Hollins tradition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Anna<\/a>Last fall the external relations office welcomed two alumnae back to Hollins: Anna Moncure \u201907 (left) joined the staff as associate director of alumnae engagement, and Kerry Kinnison \u201912 as assistant director of the Hollins Fund.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Department of corrections<\/h4>\n

In the summer 2012 issue of Hollins<\/em> magazine, we used the wrong name for Isabel Henderson\u2019s [\u201913] mother (\u201cHollins: Pass it on,\u201d p. 9). Her correct name is Katherine \u201cKathy\u201d Phillips Henderson \u201973.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Danielle Deaton Rollins ’90 publishes her first book, Soiree: Entertaining With Style<\/em>, a how-to guide to throwing parties at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-2828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumnae_connections","tag-winter-2013"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2828"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3655,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions\/3655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}