Ashley Hall Alumnae Association Annual Awards | Charleston, SC

2023 Ashley Hall Alumnae Association Awards

The Ashley Hall Alumnae Association is pleased to announce the 2023 Alumnae Association Award Winners including the Dewar Gordon Holmes ’26 Distinguished Alumna Award. Please join us in congratulating these alumnae who embody the mission of Ashley Hall both professionally and personally.

2023 Alumnae Award Winners

Given to an Ashley Hall alumna who exhibits outstanding volunteer and community service, this award honors Fern Karesh Hurst, Class of 1964. 

LAURIE ARNOLD HOST ’73

After graduation from Ashley Hall, Laurie graduated from Emory University in 1977 and University of Virginia Law School 1980. Upon law school graduation, Laurie and her husband found their home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Greenwich is a better place because of Laurie’s many and varied volunteer works. Her focus with Family Centers, a nonprofit organization offering education, health, and human services to children, adults, and families in Fairfield County, earned her the Helen Grantz Rockefeller Outstanding Volunteerism Award, the highest honor of volunteer work from the organization. In addition, Ashley Hall has been fortunate enough to have Laurie serve on the Board of Trustees for the past 10 years. Her commitment to all the organizations she volunteers with is a testament to Laurie’s compassion and resilience.  

Given to an Ashley Hall alumna who exhibits outstanding achievement in her chosen profession, this award honors Crandall Close Bowles, Class of 1965. 

JEANNIE GRIFFIN HILL, M.D. ’78

Jeanne is a professor of radiology and pediatrics, division director of pediatric radiology, and director of medical student education for the Department of Radiology and Radiologic Science at the Medical University of South Carolina. She has been published extensively and has been named among the Best Doctors in America, 2001 through 2015, one of America’s Top Radiologists, and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Additionally, Dr. Hill is very active in the local community where she works to mentor middle and high school students interested in medical careers. 

Given to an Ashley Hall alumna who has been recognized by her peers for outstanding work in the performing or visual arts, this award honors Mrs. Martha Rivers Ingram, Class of 1953.

ELIZABETH JOHNSON SHEEHAN ’83

Elizabeth attended Rhode Island School of Design and upon completion of her degree, began a career in graphic design. She began her career in Boston, later moving to Atlanta where she and her husband have raised two children. In addition to working in the profession, Elizabeth has been very generous over the years donating her design time and talents to many charitable efforts. Elizabeth is a wonderful example of a professional career in the arts along with setting a fine example for service to others through her charitable works.

Given to an Ashley Hall alumna, 35 years old or younger, who personally and professionally exhibits the mission of the School, this award honors the memory of Tonisha Bell Alston, Class of 1999 whose life and independent spirit embodied the key pillars of the Ashley Hall mission. 

BESS ROSEN ’07 

After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 2011, Bess worked for two years as a technician in the Ikonomou lab at Boston University Med and for the following two years in Mriganka Sur’s lab at MIT. Having pulled herself away from Boston, she joined the BCMB program at Weill Cornell in 2015. She is particularly interested in the regulation of pluripotency and signaling in pre-implantation human development (in layman’s terms, her work is focused on stem cells). Though she might not say this about herself, the research she is contributing to has the potential to change the way we understand medicine and genetics.  

The Dewar Gordon Holmes award honors an alumna who has demonstrated dedicated time, insight, talents and volunteer service to Ashley Hall.

RHETT RAMSAY OUTTEN ’82

Rhett is a fixture in the Charleston community and one of Ashley Hall’s most dedicated cheerleaders. Always promoting her city and alma mater, she has served in many volunteer roles with the School. Whether it was while hosting reunion gatherings as a class agent, serving as a member of the Alumnae Association Board, and acting as member of the Board of Trustees, Rhett has and continues to put her heart and soul into Ashley Hall.

View All Past Alumnae Award Recipients

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Ashley Hall is a K-12 independent school for girls, with a co-ed preschool, committed to a talented and diverse student population. We consider for admission students of any race, color, religion, and national or ethnic origin.
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