Williams people make a difference in their communities every day, and their remarkable civic contributions merit recognition. Many members of the Williams community are familiar with the ways that Williams currently recognizes Ephs for volunteer service to the college and for their personal and professional accomplishments, such as Bicentennial Medals and reunion awards. Through these structures, the college currently recognizes 10-12 alumni a year, far fewer than the number worthy of celebration.

We want to honor and recognize those who are making a substantial impact in their communities across the world. The leaders of Williams Regional Associations, with support from the college, will review nominations and select honorees in their regions. The success of this program will ultimately depend on your engagement—starting with your nominations, which will feed the pipeline of Ephs considered for recognition. Think about those members of the Williams family who are making a difference, whether it’s in their personal or professional lives, and share their achievements by nominating them for an award.

Criteria and Eligibility for Recognition

We seek to honor members of the Eph family whose contributions and influence are:

• Meaningful within the confines of a small community or on a national or international scale
• Professionally based or volunteer driven
• An extension of the values taught and learned during all aspects of the Williams undergraduate experience and reflect positively on the Williams family as a whole

While alumni will be the primary nominees and recipients, parents or other members of the Williams community are eligible for consideration. All nominations will be received by the Alumni Relations Office and distributed to the appropriate Regional Association teams.  

Communications and Solicitation of Nominees

We invite you to nominate a fellow Eph using this online nomination form. The nomination will include basic contact information for you and the person you are nominating, as well as a brief nomination statement indicating why you chose to nominate that individual. A sample nomination statement appears below:

Ephelia Smith ’87

Hartford, CT

Professional Experience – JD ’92, Attorney in West Hartford, CT for last 15 years

Volunteer Experience – Volunteer with Big Brothers, Big Sisters in DC ’89-94 and Boise ’95-‘96. Served on the national board and as secretary from ’00-’05. Continued to serve on New England board and leadership team. In 2005 founded The Mentor Network , a mentorship program for high school and community college students in Hartford interested in going on to professional school and continues to sit on board. Currently the program has 150 students matched with mentors throughout the state.

Selecting Recipients

Regional Association leadership teams have been charged with oversight of selection process.  After receiving all relevant nominations, Regional Association leaders and their committees will be responsible for selecting recipients based on the criteria outlined above. The number of annual honorees should be consistent with size of alumni and parent base: larger regional associations, such as New York and Boston, plan to honor up to three people a year. Smaller associations may honor fewer, but all regional associations will celebrate at least one fellow Eph a year through this program.

Resources to guide Regional Association leadership teams are available here.

Additionally, a committee of leaders from the Society of Alumni and Williams staff will select honorees from areas without an existing Regional Association structure.

Society of Alumni Oversight

We are grateful for the support of the following people in the creation and implementation of the Regional Recognition Program. All members of this committee continue to welcome your input and feedback on the program. Please contact Rob Swann with any questions and comments.

From Society of Alumni Leadership         

• Jordan Hampton ’87, President of the Society of Alumni, former Boston Regional President
• Leila Jere ’91, President of SoA (2014-2016), former NorCal Regional President
• Cat Vielma ’10, current member of the Executive Committee, former Chicago Regional President

From Purple with Purpose Leadership Committee

• Drew Newman ’04, Purple with Purpose Chair, current member of the Executive Committee, former DC Regional President
• Jane Garvey ’78, former member of the Executive Committee, current Cincinnati Regional President

From Regional Association Leadership

• Ryan Ford ’09, former Boston Regional President
• Vladimir Andonov ’05 NorCal Regional Co-President

From Williams Staff

• Brooks Foehl ’88, Director of Alumni Relations
• Rob Swann ’90, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Director of Off-Campus Programs

Purple with Purpose Regional Award Recipients

Vivian Dorsel ’80, Berkshire Association
Michael Wynn ’93, Berkshire Association
Bill Clendaniel ’67, Boston Association
Susan Collings ’76, Boston Association
Bart Mitchell ’80, Boston Association
Jose Valenzuela ’07, Boston Association
Michael Yogman ’68, Boston Association
Greg Zaff ’84, Boston Association
Oren Pollock ’49, Chicago Association
Brewster Rhoads ’74, Cincinnati Association
Lib Stone ’82, Cincinnati Association
Becky ’95 and Bobby Walker ’95, Fairfield County (CT) Association
Ted May ’70, Hartford Association
Robert Embry, Jr. ’59, Maryland Association
Guillermo Fernandez ’92, New York Metropolitan Association
Lynette Guastaferro ’92, New York Metropolitan Association
Anna Waring ’78, Northern California Association
Melissa Congdon ’80, Northern California Association
Steven Zlotowski ’84, Northern California Association
Chris Satullo ’75, Philadelphia Association
Spencer Beebe ’68, Portland Association
Maureen Edman ’93, San Diego Association
Sarah Altschuller ’97, Washington DC Association