b'A L U M N ILETTER FROM THE ALUMNI DIRECTOR ALUMNI BOARD MEMBER NOMINATIONS ARE NOW Our Alumni Program is all about connections. We continue to fuel the pride and passion that we know you have for thisBEING ACCEPTED. great school. While Ive missed seeing our alumni in person, I hope to continue connecting with you all virtually, as much as we can! Do you want to help strengthen What a year 2020 was. I watched our community staythe GDS Alumni Association? Do strong. We were resilient in so many ways. you want to help make important decisions that decide the direction As the movement around racial justice swept theour alumni association is going? country, our alumni called out for action. We hostedMaybe you want to help plan a July conversation with our Black Alumni, and wealumni events or recruit alumni continue to listen to all of our alumni to keep the lines ofvolunteers? We are now accepting communication open around diversity, equity, and inclusion.nominations for new Alumni Board Dr. Ayesha Swinton, Director of Inclusion and GlobalMembers. This board is open to all GDS alumni. Please email Michael Engagement, is hard at work leading this effort. Dr. Swinton led a Pop-up LearningSumner 04 at michaelsumner@session on Racial Justice, and we were fortunate to have Noni Thomas Lopez 90,greensboroday.org with your Danette Morton, former Director of Admission, and Justin Plummer 04 join Traciename and interest in participating Catlett, Head of School for this event. See p. 48 for the rest of the story: Where are theyon the board. If you know someone now? who you believe would be an asset to our board, please email their Despite all of the challenges we are faced with in the world today, you continue toname to us and tell us why you think amaze me with your generosity. We are grateful for our alumni who are committed tothey would be a good addition to supporting the long term sustainability of GDS through endowment giving. Last spring,our board. we sadly said goodbye to one of our alumna, Mekia Valentine 06. GDS is grateful for Leslie Valentine 92, who recently established the Mekia S. Valentine 06 Endowment Award in her memory. (See p. 36 for details: GDS Announces Newly Endowed Award.) We also appreciate Lillian Evans 11 who is leading the effort to create the Equity and Inclusion Endowment, which will support diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at GDS. As alumni, we are counting on you to remain engaged in the work we are doing at GDS and communicate topics you are passionate about with us. We welcome your feedback and request your partnership as we continue to move GDS forward. Are you receiving The Since many of our in-person connections have been made difficult or impossible, I hope that our alumni will stay connected to the school, as well as each other, in every wayAlumni Update Monthly possible.We need each other now, more than ever!e-Newsletter?It includes alumni news and Once A Bengal, Always A Bengal! announcements as well as event reminders. If you are not receiving the e-newsletter, Michael Sumner 04email us at alumni@Director of Alumni Programs greensboroday.org with your name and preferred email address to ensure you receive the next update!GDS Magazine | 47'