TMLA Trailblazers
Alumnae Highlights
For over 88 years, Mary Louis women have been breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings. Explore some of the notable accomplishments within our remarkable community below.
Awards
Here are just a few of the prestigious awards earned by TMLA women.
- American Academy of Nursing Fellow
- British Academy Author Award
- Brown University Science Fellow
- Emmy Award
- F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature
- Forbes: Top 30 Under 30 in Finance
- Fortune: 50 Most Powerful Women in Business
- Fulbright Fellowship
- Guggenheim Fellowship
- Harid Conservatory Lieberman Award
- Kennedy Center Honors
- Lady Grand Cross of the Holy Sepulchre
- March of Dimes Roosevelt Award for Service to Humanity
- Matrix Award
- Miss New York
- National Art League Award
- National Book Award
- National Endowment for the Arts Award
- National Medal of Arts
- National Urban Fellowship
- NCEA Distinguished Graduate Award
- Newbery Medal
- New York Public Library Literary Lion Award
- Official New york State Author
- Peabody Award
- President Bill Clinton Fellowship for Service
- Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
- Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar
- Telly Award
- U.S. Congressional Gold Medal
- U.S. Meritorious Honor Award
- U.S. Presidential Fellow
- U.S. Presidential Meritorious Service Award
- U.S. Supreme Court Fellow
- U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Latina Leader Award
Notable Alumnae
We love celebrating the incredible paths our alumnae take in their lives of boundless choice. Below are some of the remarkable careers pursued by TMLA women.
Aeronautics & Astronautics
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Joan Horvath '77 | Chief Aeronautical Engineer - NASA Jet Propulsion Lab; Chief Engineer - Magellan & TOPEX-Poseidon space missions
Business
- Katherine Chan '04 | Forbes: Top 30 Under 30 in Finance
- Sherrese Clarke-Soares '94 | Managing Director & Head of North American Relationships - Morgan Stanley
- Marisa Matteoni Harney '76 | Vice President & Chief Risk Officer - GE Capital
- Susan James Kropf '66 | President & Chief Operating Officer - AVON
Defense & Armed Forces
- Maureen Koetz, Esq. '78 | Assistant U.S. Secretary of Defense - Air Force
- Melissa Ledwozan Michael '93 | Secretary of Joint Functional Component Command for Space Strike - U.S. Dept. of Defense
Entertainment
- Marie Ciorciari '86 | Vice President - ESPN-ABC Sports
- Susan Leary '75 | Chief Financial Officer - The GRAMMYs
- Diane McInerney '89 | Co-anchor - Inside Edition
Government
- Patricia Ziegelbauer Blair '69 | Chief Calligrapher - The White House
- Helena Kane-Finn, Ph. D. '63 | Assistant U.S. Secretary of State
- Joan McEntee, Esq. '65 | Chief of Staff - Vice President of the United States; U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce
- Deirdre O'Connor, Esq. '75 | Trustee of the United States
- Geraldine Otremba, Ph. D. '63 | Director of Congressional Relations - Library of Congress
- Kerry Stercula Green '91 | Special Agent - U.S. Secret Service
Higher Education
- Linda Bevilacqua OP, Ph. D. '58 | President - Barry University
- Phyllis Bell Lawson '71 | Founder - Black Alumni Association at St. John's University
- Cathryn Miserandino-Gaherty, D. Phil. '67 | Deputy Librarian - Oxford University
Public Health
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Patricia Ryan Recupero, MD, JD '66 | President & CEO - Butler Hospital
-
Patricia Castel Skarulis '62 | Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer - Memorial Sloan Kettering
Publishing
- Diane Salvatore '78 | Editor in Chief - Ladies Home Journal & Consumer Reports
Science
- Mary McGrath Tomlinson, Ph. D. '76 | Scientist - Gilead Sciences
Social Justice
- Kailee Scales '93 | President & CEO - Pencils of Promise
Writing
- Julia Alvarez '67 (Honorary Alumna) | Award-Winning Author - "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents"; Recipient of National Medal of Arts from President Obama
- Judy Blundell '74 | Author - "What I Saw and How I Lied"
- Patricia Reilly Giff, D.A. '53 | Children's Author
TMLA Firsts
We proudly call our alumnae Trailblazers—and for good reason. Below, you'll find some of the remarkable 'firsts' achieved by TMLA women.
Business
- Grace Bonilla, Esq. '93 | First Latina President & CEO of the United Way
- Ann Nowom Goodbody '64 | First Woman Chief Credit Officer of any major U.S. banking instituion (Citibank)
- Susan James Kropf '66 | First Woman President of a FORTUNE 500 Company
Education
- Ann O'Hagan-Cordes '84 | First Laywoman and Alumna to be Principal of The Mary Louis Academy
Entertainment
- Patricia Fili-Krushel '71 | First Woman President of any major television network (ABC)
Government
- Joan McEntee, Esq. '65 | First Woman U.S. Senate Staff Director
Higher Education
- Helen Shields Aparo, MD '63 | First Woman Full Professor at Harvard Medical School
- Jean Thompson Cooper '48 | First Woman Class President of Cornell University
- Ann Pfohl Kirby, Esq. '45 | First Woman Admitted to Harvard Law School
- Francesca Purcell, Ph. D. '85 | First Woman Provost at Massachusetts Bay College
- Pamela Trotman Reid, Ph. D. '63 | First Black President of the University of St. Joseph
Law
- The Honorable Karen Cortes, JD '93 | First Filipina Judge of the New York Family Court
- Patricia Hynes, Esq. '59 | First Woman Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
Medicine
- Alice O'Shaughnessy CSJ, MD '52 | First Catholic Nun to become a Medical Doctor
Publishing
- Stacey Genovese '92 | First Woman Director at Good Housekeeping Institute
Social Justice
- Kailee Scales '93 | First Managing Director of Black Lives Matter Global Action Network
Sports
- Maral Javadifar, D.P.T. '08 | First Woman Strength & Conditioning Coach in the Super Bowl