The Webster University Alumni Association seeks nominations for its annual Alumni Awards year round. All members of the community are invited to nominate deserving Webster alumni for the following awards: Distinguished Alumni Award, Loretto Service Award, The Mary Elizabeth Newell Award and Young Alumni Award.
2022 Distinguished Alumni recipient Val Demings with Dean Simone Cummings
2022 Mary Elizabeth Newell Loyalty Award recipient Roslyn Grant
2022 Loretto Award recipient Courtney Stewart with Dean Eric Rothenbuhler
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest alumni award given. The Webster University Alumni Association annually recognizes an alumna or alumnus who has made specific, meritorious contributions to society through their profession and involvement in civic, cultural or charitable activities. This award recognizes high achievement that reflects credit upon the individual and Webster University. As part of the selection process, the Alumni Board Awards Committee considers the influence and impact the individual has had beyond their local community (regionally, nationally, internationally) in their profession or service, and whether or not the alum has been the “first” to accomplish something.
Sarah Christman, MAT ’15
Co-Founder, The Soulard School
Sarah Christman is an innovative educator and social entrepreneur with nearly 25 years of experience in early childhood and elementary education. She created a thriving community model that supports students of all backgrounds. Christman earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Human Development and Family Studies and her master’s degree in Early Childhood from Webster University.
Christman co-founded The Soulard School in 2005 at the age of 26, where she has proudly made a positive impact on the lives of nearly 1,000 children who have passed through the school’s doors over the past two decades. Her unique understanding of the foundational years of development for children enabled Christman to create an expansive program that became a top-ranked Missouri charter elementary school in St. Louis City. By prioritizing social-emotional learning, along with academic achievement, her students garner deeper academic success and empowerment to advocate for their needs and those of their community.
- Jacqueline Dace, BS ’05 (2023)
- Val Demings, MA ’96 (2022)
- Awele, BFA ’82 (2021)
- Michelle Esswein, MBA ’93 (2020)
- Nancy Hightshoe, MA ’77 (2019)
- Manal Fakhoury, MBA ’12 (2018)
- Alan O. Freeman, MBA ’93 (2017)
- Maarten de Boer, BA ’00 (2016)
- Nancy Hernreich Bowen, BA ’68 (2014)
- Kathleen Mazzarella, MBA ’02 (2013)
- General Lloyd J. Austin III, MA ’89 (2012)
- Nelda K. Lee, MA ’99 (2011)
- General Carroll H. Chandler, MA ’78 (2010)
- Leyna Nguyen, BA ’92 (2009)
- Jane Robert, BA ’69 (2008)
- Barbara Krzewinski, MA ’81 (2007)
- Nancy Edmonds Paull, BA ’80 (2006)
- Mike Jackson, MA ’81 (2005)
- Mary Pat Seurkamp, BA ’68 (2004)
- Jane Hodges, MA ’97 (2003)
- Mary Ann Wyrsch, BA ’65 (2002)
- Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, BA ’63 (2001)
- Eileen Collins, MA ’89 (2000)
- Norma Lee Speckhard, MAT ’79 (1999)
- Terri Williams, BA ’85 (1998)
- Marsha Mason, BA ’64 (1996)
- Marilyn Morheuser, BA ’46* (1995)
- Ann Manganaro S.L., BA ’69* (1994)
- Pearline Motley, MA ’89* (1994)
- Franz Pruller, BA ’86 (1994)
- James A. Barnes, MA ’82 (1993)
- Elizabeth Donegan, BA ’68 (1992)
- Clarence Harmon, MA ’79 (1991)
- Mary Clare Geerling, BA ’47 (1990)
- Joseph Noelker, BA ’74 (1989)
- Jean Crowley Antonmattei, BS ’39* (1988)
- David Morton, BA ’76* (1987)
- Jan Greenberg, MAT ’73 (1986)
- Jacqueline Grennan Wexler, BA ’48* (1985)
- Eva Kirkpatrick, MA ’70* (1984)
- Lynn Rubright, MAT ’71 (1983)
- Betty Espinosa, BA ’37* (1982)
- Mary Mangan S.L., BA ’35* (1981)
- John Doglione, MA ’77 (1980)
* deceased
Loretto Award
The Loretto Award is presented annually to an alumna or alumnus who has given significantly of themselves in service to humanity and social justice. The Award is intended to continue the recognition of the community service and social justice values of the Sisters of Loretto who founded Webster College in 1915. The Alumni Board Awards Committee makes the selection of this recipient.
Andre Alexander, MBA ’05
Pastor, The Tabernacle
Andre Alexander, a pastor, engineer, author and family man, is committed to the development and growth of people across generations in a way that is unsurpassed. His passion and dedication to meeting the needs of individuals where they are is seen in his professional and personal life.
After studying electrical engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Alexander completed his MBA from Webster University and his Master of Theological Studies at Covenant Theological Seminary. Alexander’s social services background extends across the age spectrum, as well as various backgrounds to include serving at-risk teens as a Lead Residential Counselor at Boys Hope Girls Hope Inc., and as a Supportive Services Veterans Families Housing Specialist for Employment Connection.
In 2011, Alexander led a launch team to organize The Tabernacle, a church started in 2012, where he serves as the lead pastor with a passion to develop and inspire all to reach their full potential. Alexander works on community revitalization in the Jeff Vanderlou, The Ville and Greater Ville neighborhoods by creating quality affordable-housing options, while reducing vacancies.
- Carlita Vasser, MA ’15 (2023)
- Courtney Stewart, MA ’05 (2022)
- Kim Bouldin-Jones, BA ’87 (2021)
- Terry Gorski, MA ’74* (2020)
- Jane Peckham Stoever, BA ’66 (2019)
- Joan Marie Godoy Liere, MA ’12 (2018)
- Tracey Jeffries, MA ’10 (2017)
- Mary Ann Wyrsch, BA ’65 (2016)
- Eileen Schneider Edelman, BA ’85 (2014)
- Jane Ellen Ibur, BA ’73 (2013)
- Amy Lorenz-Moser, BA ’97 (2011)
- Maureen McCormack S.L., BA ’54 (2010)
- Grace Akumu Adhiambo, BA ’86 (2009)
- Roswitha Weinrich, BA ’85 (2008)
- Magdalen Seaman, BA ’47* (2007)
- Wilhelmina Matern, MA ’01 (2006)
- Kwan li Kladstrup, BA ’94 (2005)
- James L. Rhodes, MA ’81 (2004)
- Mary Ann McGivern S.L., BA ’64 (2003)
* deceased
The Mary Elizabeth Newell Loyalty Award
The Mary Elizabeth Newell Loyalty Award is presented to an alumna or alumnus who has demonstrated a high degree of loyalty, commitment and concern for Webster University over a span of many years. This award is presented in memory of Mary Newell, a graduate from the class of 1926, who was a loyal supporter of Webster and dedicated member of the Alumni Association. The Alumni Board Awards Committee makes the selection of this recipient.
Amanda Gioia, MA ’97
Vice President of Risk Partnerships and Enablement, Mastercard
Global Co-Lead and St. Louis Chapter Lead, ADAPTability
Amanda Gioia has spent more than 23 years with Mastercard, now serving as its Vice President of Risk Partnerships and Enablement. She is the global co-lead for ADAPTability, the company’s resource group focused on supporting people with disabilities, as well as the St. Louis Chapter lead.
Gioia earned a Master of Arts degree in Media Communications from Webster University in 1997, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Truman State University. Gioia is a 12-year member of Webster’s School of Communications (SOC) Advisory Board, serving as the lead for the last two years. She sponsored a scholarship for undergraduate students in communications with disabilities and regularly contributed to the school, along with the Dean’s fund, in support of its initiatives. Gioia was SOC’s honorary Commencement speaker in 2013 and was named the 2013 Outstanding Alum by Webster University’s School of Communications.
In addition to a loyal alumna, Gioia is a board president for the St. Louis Area Foodbank and a board member of the Truman State Foundation Board and Autism Speaks. She was named a Most Influential Businesswoman by the St. Louis Business Journal and received the CEO Force for Good Award at Mastercard for her leadership and support in community organizations.
- Richard Fox, BA ’76* (2023)
- Roslyn Grant, MA ’97 (2022)
- Vanessa Davis, MA ’04, DMGT ’15 (2021)
- Darrell Yates, MA ’00 (2020)
- V. Diane McGee, MBA ’98 (2019)
- Eve Coulson, BA ’73 (2018)
- Dr. Ann Harbeson, MA ’03 (2017)
- Stefano Cantini, BA ’92, MA ’94 (2016)
- John Nickel, BA ’75 (2014)
- Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, BA ’63 (2013)
- Doris Federhofer, BA ’38* (2013)
- Timothy Noelker, BA ’73 (2012)
- Dr. Karen M. Luebbert, BA ’64 (2011)
- Shirley Broz, MA ’93 (2010)
- Irma Jacobs Tirro, MA ’94 (2009)
- Keith Lanier, BA ’91 (2008)
- David P. Weiss, BA ’75 (2007)
- Jackie Hellman Sontag, BA ’50* (2006)
- Peggy Jostedt Czufin, BA ’47* (2005)
- Emil Mezgolits, MA ’82 (2004)
- Ilissa Staadeker, BA ’77 (2003)
- Ellen Livingston, MA ’75 (2002)
- Ann Washle O’Connell, BA ’60 (2001)
- Christopher A. Thomas, BA ’84 (2000)
- Bette Rae Karst Wilbers, BA ’60 (1999)
- Betty Compton Mueller, BA ’52, MAT ’83 (1998)
- Adelyn Reinheimer Cline, BA ’49* (1997)
- Barbara Luechtefeld Fraser, BA ’48* (1996)
- Marianne Dickhaus Knaup, BA ’66* (1995)
- Mary Lois Flippin Hall, MAT ’73 (1994)
- Gabriel Mary Hoare S.L., MA ’83 (1993)
- Mary Clare Kline Heller, BA ’36* (1992)
- Clare Heyne, BA ’59* (1991)
- Ione Vatterott Berry, BA ’47 (1990)
- Carol Colligan, BA ’70, MA ’77 (1989)
- Mary Mangan S.L., BA ’35* (1988)
- Mary Louise Hyde, BA ’40* (1987)
- Ceil Golden Reh, BA ’35* (1986)
- Marie Vlatkovich Markowski, BA ’45* (1985)
- Elizabeth Halpin, BA ’36* (1984)
- Margaret Bihss, BA ’33* (1983)
- Audrey Effinger Dietrich, BA ’45* (1982)
* deceased
Young Alumni Award
The Young Alumni Award recognizes an alum who promotes the values and elevates the profile of Webster University through leadership in their profession, contributions to society through public service, and ongoing support of the University. This person must be an alumna/alumnus of Webster University who received their undergraduate degree within the last 10 years of being nominated and is 35 years of age or younger. The Alumni Board Awards Committee makes the selection of this recipient.
Hafsa S. Mansoor, BA ’17
Associate, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP
Hafsa S. Mansoor is an associate at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, a civil rights law firm, further dedicating her career to actualizing civil and human rights and reforming the criminal legal system.
Mansoor graduated summa cum laude from Webster University with a degree in International Human Rights and Political Science in 2017. She then became valedictorian at Seton Hall University School of Law in 2020. While in law school, Mansoor served as a Center for Social Justice Scholar and as a Postgraduate Fellow for Detained Immigrant Defense at the Seton Hall Law Immigrants’ Rights/International Human Rights Clinic, where she represented detained immigrants in removal proceedings and co-authored a report on the impact of immigration bond practices on the surge of COVID-19 infections in ICE detention facilities. She also interned in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and co-founded an online resource guide for first generation law students.
Mansoor joined White & Case LLP in 2021, where she served as a lead associate on multiple plaintiff-side class actions and represented corporate and individual commercial clients in litigation, mediation, arbitration and out-of-court disputes. She maintained an active pro bono practice and represented a class of impoverished debtors who sued the City of Ferguson, Missouri, for its wealth-based detention practices; challenged deplorable solitary confinement conditions in Virginia prisons; and petitioned for resentencing under the New York Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act. Mansoor also served as counsel to nonprofits looking to reform the criminal system by reviewing draft good time credit legislation and by submitting a petition before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on felony disenfranchisement.
- Elliot Laurence, BA ’21 (2023)
- Kevin Miles, BFA ’12 (2022)
- Leah Latham, BA ’10 (2021)
- Cody Renard Richard BFA ’10 (2020)
- Kayla Thompson, BA ’13 (2019)
- Chris Whitmore, BA ’14 (2018)
- Loren Rahman, BA ’12, MA ’12 & Wakeel Rahman, BA ’13 (2017)
- Kacey Hampton, BA ’11 (2016)
- Ricardo Falla, BA ’09, MA ’11 (2014)
- Jessica Butler, BA ’04 (2013)
- Taran Hercules, BA ’03 (2012)
- Kathleen Sullivan, BFA ’02 (2011)
- Eric Madkins, MA ’05, MA ’08 (2010)
- Khiang-Kay Soe, BA ’03, MA ’06 (2009)
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