Young Alumna Award
Cindy Similien-Johnson '07
Cindy Similien-Johnson is a writer, advocate for women, and promoter of Haitian culture. Her books include Let’s Speak Haitian Food: Stories from the Haitian Diaspora on Cuisine, Community, and Culture and How to Stay Motivated: Inspiration and Advice for Everyday Living. After several years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she founded Goal Chic, an initiative whose mission is to educate, engage, and empower women and girls and equip them with the tools they need to succeed in their careers, personal finances, health and wellness, and relationships. In 2016, Similien-Johnson was invited as a change-maker to the first United State of Women Summit convened by First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House.
Woman of Achievement
Sesae Felicity Mpuchane '72
A native of Africa, Sesae Felicity Mpuchane has lived there since receiving her Barnard degree and graduate degrees in microbiology from Ohio University and the University of Surrey. In 1974, she joined the University of Botswana’s Department of Biological Sciences and helped to grow it into a graduate level program. She was also involved in the creation of the Botswana International University of Science and Technology. Her contributions to higher education in Botswana have been critical to the nation’s development, and she is one of its most respected academics. A staunch supporter of science education for women and girls, she was the coordinator of the University of Botswana “Women in Science” project, which encouraged girls to pursue science careers.
The Millicent Carey McIntosh Award for Feminism
Aruna Rao ’77
Aruna Rao is a leading international expert on gender equality, development, and human rights who has combined advocacy and cutting-edge research on gender equality and institutional change with leadership and management. She is the co-founder and executive director of Gender at Work, a transnational feminist network committed to ending discrimination against women in the workplace and advancing cultures of equality. In the last 30 years, she has worked in Asia and Africa. Her writing has addressed gender equality and institutional change, governance, civil service reform, gender mainstreaming, and social inclusion. Her publications include Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations, Gender Analysis, and Development Planning, and Women’s Studies International: Nairobi and Beyond.
Distinguished Alumna Award
Joan F. Hamburg ’57
Joan Hamburg began a remarkable career in radio broadcasting with small segments on bargain shopping. After three decades on the radio, she was known as the First Lady of New York Radio, hosting a daily two-hour show that had grown from consumer advice to include every imaginable subject of national and local interest. While still at Barnard, she wrote New York on $5 a Day, the forerunner of a series of hugely successful travel guides. Later publications include City Weddings, The New York Lunch Book, and Our Little Black Book of Shopping Secrets. In 2015, she received what many consider the ultimate Broadway accolade: Her portrait was hung in Sardi’s.
Award for Service to Barnard
Nancy Kung Wong ’62
For the last 45 years, Nancy Kung Wong has served in numerous roles at Barnard, including alumna trustee and vice president of the Alumnae Association as well as president, vice president, and fund chair for her class. Wong and her husband have also endowed three scholarships at Barnard. She has devoted herself to work with families as the chair of the board of directors of Family Services of Westchester and as a member of the executive committee of the Westchester Fund for Women and Girls and of the board of Girl Scouts of Westchester-Putnam. Before retiring, she was president and managing director of Wordware Ltd., a women-owned ceramic giftware and serveware company.
Distinguished Alumna Award
Carol Stock Kranowitz ’67
During her 25-year career as a preschool teacher, Carol Stock Kranowitz observed many children with sensory processing disorder and mild autism. She began to study their behavior and introduced the theory behind sensory processing disorder to parents, educators, and early childhood professionals through her groundbreaking book series, The Out-of-Sync Child. The book presents a drug-free approach that offers hope to parents as they help their children. This first book in the series has sold over one million copies and has been selected by Brain, Child magazine as one of the top 10 books about children with disabilities. Her most recent publication is The Out-of-Sync Child Grows Up: Coping with SPD in the Adolescent and Young Adult Years.
Award for Service to Barnard
Jan L. Vinokour ’72
As a founding member of Project Continuum—Barnard’s innovative effort to renew and strengthen ties with women who have been alumnae for 30 or more years—Vinokour planned numerous activities that created a foundation for the group’s continued success. She began her service to Barnard as a student, when she was class vice president and a member of the McIntosh Activities Council (McAc), and she is happily remembered for introducing Ice Cream Nights as president of McAc. A decade ago, she established the Jan Vinokour Internship Fund to provide stipends to Barnard students with unpaid internships. She has enjoyed a long career as an attorney and U.S. general counsel at British Telecom.
Award for Service to Barnard
Mary Ann LoFrumento ’77
Mary Ann LoFrumento has had several extraordinary careers as a pediatrician, filmmaker, educator, and volunteer in the field of global health. At the same time she has been tireless in her support for Barnard. She served her class as president for several terms and was also vice president and class correspondent.
She joined the Leadership Assembly Committee of the Alumnae Association, served as AABC vice president and president, and from 2011 to 2015 was an alumna trustee. She also mentors Barnard students and alumnae who are considering medical school. LoFrumento is a pediatric hospitalist and associate program director for the pediatric residency at the Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, N.J.
— Photographs by Samuel Stuart
