Alumni of the Year

Since 1963, the Hawken School Alumni Association has recognized and celebrated the accomplishments of exceptional Hawken alumni. The annual award honors alumni for making a “significant positive impact on Hawken, their communities, society, or the world”.

This year we will honor the two exceptional alumni on Friday, May 17 with a special cocktail reception at the Gates Mills Campus.

- Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan ’84

- Lyndsey McMillon-Brown ’08

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Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan ’84
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A star litigator with decades of experience, Robbie has been described as “a modern-day legal giant. A towering intellect and a genius in court, with the instincts of a street fighter.” Robbie left Paul, Weiss after 25 years in order to build Kaplan Hecker & Fink, a “new fashioned, old fashioned” law firm that combines a cutting-edge commercial litigation practice with a deep commitment to serving the public interest.

The first lawsuit filed by Kaplan Hecker was against twenty-four leaders and white supremacist entities responsible for organizing the violence in Charlottesville in 2017, which secured a landmark $26 million verdict. More recently, Robbie was chosen to conduct a groundbreaking investigation into gender equity issues involving the NCAA Division I Championships. Robbie also currently represents writer E. Jean Carroll in her sexual battery and defamation lawsuits against Donald Trump, securing a $5 million jury verdict in one case and $83.3 million in the other.

Earlier in her career, Robbie successfully challenged a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on behalf of her client Edith Windsor in the landmark case United States v. Windsor. Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School has observed that he could not “think of any Supreme Court decision in history that has ever created so rapid and broad a lower-court groundswell in a single direction as Windsor.” She recently sued various state officials challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s notorious “Don’t Say Gay” law.

The Washington Post has described Robbie as “a brash and original strategist, with neither a gift for patience nor silence, a crusader for underdogs who has won almost every legal accolade imaginable.” The honors Robbie has received include “Attorney of the Year” and “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the New York Law Journal, “Litigator of the Year” by The American Lawyer, “Lawyer of the Year” by Above the Law, and “Most Innovative Lawyer of the Year” by The Financial Times.

Robbie is the author of the book Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA (W.W. Norton). She received an A.B. from Harvard College, magna cum laude, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she teaches a class on advanced civil procedure. She holds honorary doctorates from several institutions including Johns Hopkins University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.

While at Hawken, Robbie was inducted into the Cum Laude Society and was a member of the field hockey, basketball, softball, and speech and debate teams. As an alumna, she has also volunteered to speak with current students about justice and law. Robbie is a former Hawken Visiting Committee member of the Board of Trustees. She has also engaged with faculty and students through various courses and programs.

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Lyndsey McMillon-Brown ’08
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Dr. Lyndsey McMillon-Brown is a research electrical engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center. She is the lead investigator of an effort to develop solar cells that can be manufactured in space and on the moon and a separate initiative to remove greenhouse gases from the air in our atmosphere. In 2022, Lyndsey was awarded the NASA Space Flight Awareness Trailblazer Award, an early career award in recognition of her dedication to excellence and commitment to ensuring safety and mission success in support of NASA’s human space flight programs. She is also the recipient of the NASA agency early career achievement medal.

Outside of the lab, Lyndsey is dedicated to increasing opportunities for underrepresented individuals in STEM fields and facilitating cultural changes that generate more inclusive environments. She is founder of the Photovoltaic Specialists Conference “Minority Carriers” diversity initiative and has published several articles on steps organizations can take to attract and retain people from minoritized groups. Lyndsey is a member of the Women’s Advisory Committee for the College of Engineering and Computing at Miami University.

Prior to joining NASA, Lyndsey earned her Ph.D. and master’s in chemical engineering at Yale in 2019 and 2015 respectively, where she researched novel materials and nano-patterns for advanced light trapping in solar cells. Lyndsey earned her bachelor’s in mechanical and manufacturing engineering from Miami University in 2013.

While at Hawken, Lyndsey was a member of the volleyball, softball, golf, and basketball teams. As an alumna, she has also been a volunteer judge for the Robert Maciunas STEMM Symposium.

View Prior Award Honorees

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Carl N. Holmes Award Honorees
View Honoree List
1963 Harvey Brooks ’32-I*
1965 Charles B. Bolton ’27*
1979 David R. Weil ’27*
1981 Morris Everett ’27*
1983 Meacham Hitchcock ’42*
1985 Dr. Scott R. Inkley ’36
1986 Frank E. Taplin, Jr. ’31-II*
1987 James D. Ireland ’32-I*
1988 Willard W. Brown ’32-I*
1990 Lincoln Reavis ’48*
1991 David S. Ingalls, Jr. ’49*
1992 John Sherwin, Jr. ’53
1993 Timothy L. Towell ’50
1994 Asa Shiverick, Jr. ’33*
1995 John B. Calfee ’31-I*
1996 Robert D. Gries ’44
1997 Dr. Francis Silver ’30*
1998 Dr. A. Benedict Schneider ’30*
1999 William C. McCoy, Jr. ’38
2000 John R. Chandler, Jr. ’49
2001 Whitney Evans ’51
2002 Peter A. Horvitz ’72
2003 Alexander McAfee ’42
2004 G. Russell Lincoln ’64
2005 Dr. Gordon C. Weir ’55
2006 Morris Everett, Jr. ’56
2007 Charles P. Bolton ’57 &
George M. Humphrey, II ’57*
2008 Robert T. Page ’49
2009 Henri Pell Junod, Jr. ’59
2010 Richard H. Bole ’60
2011 Vincent Fiordalis II ’57
2012 Dr. Alexander W. Kennedy ’67*
2013 Dr. Randy F. Rizor ’70
2014 K.P. Horsburgh, Jr. ’65
2015 Paul C. Shiverick ’71
2016 Steven M. Ross '84
2017 Lauren R. Pacini '59
2018 Sarah Smith '92
2019 Alfred M. Rankin, Jr. ’56
2021 Kathy Ko Chin '76
2022 Dr. Ann C. Miller ’86
Richard W. Day Award Honorees
View Honoree List
1990 Jeffrey M. Biggar ’68
1992 Dr. William E. Bruner ’67
1993 Harvey P. Oppmann ’64
1994 Dudley S. Humphrey, Jr. ’68
1995 Lisa Bercu Levine ’85
1996 J. Albert Klauss ’66
1997 Kathryn L. Kaesberg ’77
1998 Dr. Lora C. Sherman ’84
1999 Dr. Steven H. Biel ’79
2000 Dr. Michael A. Weiss ’75
2001 Angela Payne James ’88
2002 Ellen Stirn Mavec ’76
2003 Dr. Barron H. Lerner ’78
2004 Michael R. Weil ’85
2005 Kirk J. Nahra ’80
2006 Eleanor Hitchcock Anderson ’79
2007 Robert J. Anslow ’77
2008 Douglas A. Katz ’88
2009 Martin C. Schulz ’82
2010 Steven M. Dettelbach ’84
2011 Andrew K. Rayburn ’73
2012 Alayne L. Reitman ’82
2013 Susan Yarus Meisel ’78
2014 Hamilton F. Biggar III ’66*
2015 Natalie L. Hawwa ’00
2016 Ann Esgar Conkle '78
2017 Andrew B. Rothman ’94
2018 Shari Loveman Goldberg '79
2019 Dr. Bernard D. Perla ’80
2021 Dr. David A. Geller '81
2022 Dr. Brooke Buckley ’94
Fair Play Award Honorees
View Honoree List
1998    Otis James McDuffie ’88
1999     Malcolm B. “Frat” Vilas, Jr.’33 *
2001     Robert York White’36*
2003     Clark Evans Bruner ’28*
2004     Alan L. MacCracken, Jr. ’54
2005    Timothy M. George ’70
2006    William J. Miltz ’66*
2008    Christopher L. Fusco ’68
2009    Blair K. Haas ’72
2010    Anthoni Visconsi II ’71
2011    Marla Esgar Robbins ’75
2012    Robert W. Bruml ’72
2013    Charles A. Fitz-Gerald III ’65
2014    Peter G. Jacobson ’81
2015    Lynne Marcus Cohen ’82
2016 David A. Gillespie, Jr. ’89
2017   Donald R. Allman ’70
2018 Brooke C. Stoddard ’65
2021 Matthew A. Salerno '92
2022 Brinton C. Lincoln ’94
Honorary Alumni

Alumni status is a privilege bestowed upon a select, few members of the Hawken School faculty and staff on an annual basis who exemplify the true spirit of dedicated service to the Hawken community. These role models have served with a strong desire to make a difference as caring mentors and colleagues and knowledgeable and enthusiastic educators above and beyond the call of duty. Each has dedicated more than twenty years of faithful service to the School. By their personal example and through interaction with colleagues and students, each honorary alumnus has faithfully lived up to the School motto, “That the better self shall prevail and each generation introduce its successor to a higher plane of life.”
View Honoree List
1992
Jerry Holtrey

1993
Frank P. Brandt
Thomas B. Bryan
James A. Snavely*
Constance L. Palmer*
Clara Pawlikowski*
David A. Rosenzweig

1994
Lawrence E. Nelson*
Virginia K. Petrie
George A. Roby*

1995
Mary S. Eaton*
Charles A. Poutasse*

1996
LaVelle Pelton Esgar*
Suzanne K. Kent

1997
Larry H. Banks*

1998
James D. Gross

1999
James P. Bresnicky*

2000
Peter F. Scott
Betty Steimle

2001
Helen C. Hochstetler*
Clifford T. Walton

2002
Nadja M. Deighan
John L. Tottenham

2003
Leonard R. Carey*
Zoann L. Dusenbury*
Barbara J. Perry

2004
Kathleen M. Carr*
Anne Smith Wombwell deConingh
Lorimer Robey*

2005
Susan McNamee
Isabella Salvo

2006
David Armington
Martha K. Brown
Liane N. Beier
Genevieve B. Swan*
Robert A.Timoteo

2007
David Coad*
Michael J. Iorio*

2008
Robert H. Hawkes
Sally M. Zarney

2010
John G. Breisch
Douglas L. Smith

2011
Robert J. Kachurek
Robert H. Shurtz

2012
Barbara B. Dlugosz
Randall R. Dlugosz
Saeng Kamsingh

2013
Sandra L. Kahn
Joaquin Soldevilla

2014
Gail M. Holtz
Gary A. Moses

2015
Anthony G. Wanner

2016
Clarence E. Bonner
Frank Bucceri

2017
Vonceil E. Strobel

2018
Kenneth A. Clark

2019
Denise Buckley
Charles Sekerak

2022
Peter Thomas
Hank Skladandowski

2023
Kathleen Guzzi
Michelle Harris

2024
Kay Dasher
Cris Harris

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Early Childhood, Lower, and Middle Schools, 5000 Clubside Rd, Lyndhurst, OH 44124
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Alumni of the Year

Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan ’84

Lyndsey McMillon-Brown ’08

List of 1 items.

Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan ’84

List of 1 items.

Lyndsey McMillon-Brown ’08

View Prior Award Honorees

List of 4 items.

Carl N. Holmes Award Honorees

Richard W. Day Award Honorees

Fair Play Award Honorees

Honorary Alumni