Notable Graduates

Beginning with our first graduating class more than 150 years ago, Mills alumnae have been making major contributions throughout the world in every decade. These are just a sample of graduates who have made a difference in fields ranging from computer science to music to politics:

Andrea Plesnarski, MA 2001 – Award-winning musician; principal oboe, Oakland East Bay Symphony

Katherine Eltrich, BA 1999 – Position in the Office of Management and Budget for the Clinton Administration; staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations

Heather Blonkenfeld, BA 1999 – Editor-in-chief of Moxie, an online women’s publication

Yvonne Harrison Solow, MFA 1997 – Award-winning writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; author of the University of California Press' bestseller, Gene Roddenberry: The Last Conversation.

Amanda Bernard, BA 1996 – NBC reporter in London

Yesceni Guadalupe Ramirez, BA 1994 – “Woman of the Year” (granted by the California State Assembly); coordinator of the City of Pasadena’s Commission on the Status of Women

Lara Stemple, BA 1994 – Graduate of Harvard Law School with a focus on intellectual property, refugee and asylum law, and international women’s rights; former legal fellow for Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (New York)

Ariel Duryea Gore, BA 1994 – Founder and publisher of Hip Mama parenting zine; author of The Hip Mama Survival Guide and Mother Trip

Rebecca “Becky” Steckler, BA 1992 – Statewide coordinator of California’s Coastal Cleanup Day and the Adopt-a-Beach program; position at the California Coastal Commission

Kelly Cole Zerzan, BA 1992 – Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, handling telecommunications, Internet, and antitrust issues

Meredith Tromble, BA 1991 – Commentator on art for public radio; former editor-in-chief of Artweek magazine; veteran of three online art magazines

Meredith May, BA 1991 – Award-winning journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle

Laurel Colton, BA 1991 – Psychology professor, Western New England College; coordinator of and participant in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the Myositis Association of America (2002)

Lisa Michaels, BA 1990 -- Well-received author of Grand Ambition and Split: A Counterculture Childhood; contributing editor at The Threepenny Review

May Lee, BA 1989 – Host of STAR TV's The May Lee Show; former host of Pure Oxygen on cable television; former CNN correspondent and anchor for Asia's Wall Street Journal

Dorianne Laux, BA 1989 – Poet; professor of creative writing at University of Oregon; recipient of the Pushcart Prize for poetry, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an NEA grant; former judge for National Book Award in poetry

Gitte Larsen, BA 1987 – Pediatric critical care specialist who travels to third world countries to repair cleft lips and cleft-palated children

Mimi Binns, BA 1985 – Manager, Marie Stopes International clinic programs for sexual and reproductive health in Burma, Cambodia, Philippines, and Vietnam

Aerial Gilbert, BA 1984 – Torchbearer for 2002 Winter Olympics; outreach manager at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, CA

Sakae Roberson Manning, BA 1983 – Vice president of international marketing at Paramount Pictures (Home Entertainment Division)

Jennifer Basye Sander, BA 1981 – Bestselling author; owner of Big City Books; USA Today Online columnist focusing on self-employment

​Renel Brooks-Moon, BA 1981 – First African American woman announcer in sports history; voice of the San Francisco Giants

Linda Wenker-Boutin, BA 1979 – Assistant vice president for Merrill Lynch and coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Investing for Women

Anna Rainville, BA 1978 –  Veteran kindergarten teacher ranked number one in California in 2002 (by the California Kindergarten Association)

Tina Walls, BA 1977 – Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Miller Brewing Company

Tweet Coleman, BA 1976 – Pilot and captain of a Learjet; FAA aviation safety inspector; surgical nurse

Judith McGee, BA 1976 – Former flight surgeon in the Air Force; first female assigned to combat squadron, highly decorated

​Molissa Fenley, BA 1975 – Internationally renowned dancer/choreographer; recipient of numerous NEA choreography fellowships; 2008 Guggenheim Fellow

Liz Holzman, BA 1975 – Emmy Award-winning producer/director of Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs and Women's Image Network Award winner for The Zeta Project 

Deborah Lynn Jacobs, BA 1974 – City librarian of Seattle; “Public Official of the Year” (named by Governing magazine in 2001)

​Bonnie Guiton Hill, BA 1974 – First African American woman to direct U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs; former vice president and CEO of Times Mirror Foundation

​Barbara Lee, BA 1973 – Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Oakland’s Congressional District in Washington, D.C. ,with focus on issues such as AIDS funding, welfare reform, and child care

Cora Tellez, BA 1971 – Former CEO of HealthNet, California’s second largest health insurance company

Stephanie Lee, BA 1971 – Worker at Sri Ram Ashram, an orphanage in India

Cristine Russell, BA 1971 – Award-winning special health correspondent at the Washington Post; medical/science reporter at The Washington Star; former president of the National Association of Science Writers

Jill Fabricant, BA 1971 – Former senior research assistant for American and Soviet scientists working through NASA; founder and CEO of Vasix Corporation

Susan Kai, BA 1971 – One of the first Asian American newscasters on television, nominated for two Emmy Awards for documentaries on Chinese American issues

Tanya Neiman, BA 1970 – Builder and developer of one of the most innovative legal service programs in the country, Legal Employment Action Program, a national model for legal services groups

MiMi Dye, BA 1970 – Internationally known viola soloist and successful recording artist who has played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and toured with Barbra Streisand

Janus (Jill) Adams, MA 1970 – Award-winning journalist, author, and creator of children’s books

Susan Perrine, MD, BA 1970 – Developer of the treatment for sickle cell disease

Stephanie Mills, BA 1969 – Ecological activist and respected author of Whatever Happened to Ecology? and In Service of the Wild: Restoring and Reinhabiting Damaged Land

Elizabeth Smith Crow, BA 1968 – Editorial director of Rodale’s Women’s Health Division; executive vice president and editorial director of PRIMEDIA’s 150-plus network of major magazines, including New York and Seventeen

Caroline Herrick, BA 1968 – Magazine editor of Persimmon: Asian Literature, Arts, and Culture

​Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, BA 1966 – Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations; executive director of the United Nations Population Fund

Marilyn Schuster, BA 1965 – Professor of women’s studies at Smith College

Barbara Russell Chesser, MA 1965 – Author of Keeping Christmas: Stories to Warm Your Heart Throughout the Year

Alexandra Moses, BA 1964 – Founder of Color Age Software and Hardware Company, creator of color printers

​Elizabeth Murray, MFA 1964 – MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient and widely acclaimed artist who incorporates everyday objects into abstract art

Patti Alter Fisher, BA 1963 – Director of Fisher Forensic Document Laboratory, Inc. and a certified forensic document examiner and fraud specialist who has provided testimony in more than 160 court proceedings

Steven Reich, MA 1963 – Well-known composer and Grammy Award recipient

Shirley Hooton Kelly, BA 1963 – President of the College of San Mateo

Elizabeth Livingston Hogan, BA 1963 – Former managing editor at Sunset Books

​Jennifer Losch Bartlett, BA 1963 – Internationally renowned artist displaying a distinctly postmodern sensibility combined with dazzling technical facility

April Glaspie, BA 1963 – Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq during the Persian Gulf War; first woman ambassador in the Middle East

Kit Carey Sloane, BA 1962 – Fiction editor for Futures magazine; mystery novelist

Jill J. Hawkins Gaylor, BA 1962 – Researcher of nutrition, cancer, and birth defects for the National Center for Toxicological Research; recipient of numerous grants from the American Cancer Society

Marjorie “Jorie” Lueloff Friedman, BA 1962 – ABC news anchor in Chicago; former employee of the CIA

Elinor Armer, BA 1961 – Well-known composer with work performed by the Women’s Philharmonic; co-collaborator with writer Ursula K. LeGuin on a two-part CD of music and words

Pia Lindstrom, BA 1960 – Daughter of Ingrid Bergman who starred with Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek; news reporter for many television stations

Lois Brandwynne, BA 1958 – Acclaimed pianist who has performed with the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Darius Milhaud

Loretta Shine, BA 1958 – Successful entrepreneur who turned homemade desserts into the major food catalog, Miss Grace’s Lemon Cakes

Harriet Isom, BA 1958 – Former ambassador to Cameroon (Central Africa), Benin (West Africa), Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, and Djakarta

​Trisha Brown, BA 1958 – Internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and founder of Trisha Brown Dance Company; first woman awarded the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in choreography

Sheila Ballantyne, BA 1958 – Author of numerous books including Imaginary Crimes, Norma Jean and the Termite Queen; recipient of the O’Henry Award (1977) and a Guggenheim Fellowship

Edith Conn, MA 1957 – English professor and activist for the disabled who developed the Adaptive Dance Program at Ventura College and received an Excellence in Education Award from the California Community Colleges Board of Governors (1990)

Susan Long, BA 1956 – Highly respected artist of oil, charcoal, pastel, and gouache works collected in galleries worldwide

Sue McClelland, BA 1956 – Vice president of media for Gallo Wineries (its only female VP, named one of the Top Ten Women in Advertising in 1971)

Nancy Winslow Parker, BA 1952 – Author and illustrator of more than 40 children’s books

Pat Newcomb, BA 1952 – Vice president of Motion Picture Production at MGM Studios; the last person to see Marilyn Monroe alive

Jane Rule, BA 1952 – Internationally recognized novelist and essayist; activist on behalf of gay rights, the environment, and community service

Willa Klug Baum, MA 1950 – Former director, Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley; recipient of the University of California Citation of Excellence for pioneering work in oral history

E. Alison Kay, BA 1950 – Professor of zoology, University of Hawaii; graduate with honors as a Fulbright Scholar at Cambridge University

Emma Plank, BA 1947 – Founder of the child life academic discipline, which prepares pediatric specialists to teach chronically hospitalized children

Denise McCluggage, BA 1947 – First woman to race sports cars in the U.S.; former contributing/automotive editor for national magazines (Auto Week, Skiing); publisher of roadrunning.com

​March Fong Eu, BA 1947 – Former U.S. Ambassador to Micronesia; first woman to serve as California’s Secretary of State

​Dave Brubeck, Honorary MFA 1946 – World-renowned musician, composer, and jazz pianist who has written more than 200 compositions and made over 115 recordings

Susan Harnly Peterson, BA 1946 – Recipient of the Binns Award, the highest honor from the American Ceramic Society (1998); author of Working with Clay; ceramics instructor for more than 40 years

Reverend Elspeth Alley, BA 1946 – One of the first women ordained in the Canadian Anglican Church

Martha Tway Mills, BA 1945 – Former deputy director of the League of Women Voters, from whom she received a lifetime achievement award (1989); former worker among Japanese women to help them take advantage of new Constitutional rights (1946-47)

Marcia Gambrell Hovick, BA 1945 – Artistic director of Children’s Experimental Theater since its founding more than 40 years ago; author of more than 40 plays and adaptations

Beate Sirota Gordon, BA 1943 – Wrote the section of the Japanese Constitution that guarantees full and equal rights to women (1945)

Jade Snow Wong, BA 1942 – Ceramicist and acclaimed author of Fifth Chinese Daughter  

Pete Rugolo, MA 1941 – Jazz composer, arranger, and orchestra leader; winner of three Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards who has worked with Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Peggy Lee, and Nat “King” Cole

Moto Uwanto, BA 1939 – One of very few Japanese female diplomats, awarded the Order of the Precious Crown for distinguished service (1985)

Eleanor Hadley, BA 1938 – Individual instrumental in helping to re-establish Japan’s post-World War II economy; author of Antitrust in Japan

Ruth Church Gupta, BA 1938 – First woman elected president of the San Francisco Lawyers’ Association and first woman to head the Bar Conference of Delegates

Dixy Lee Ray, BA 1937, MA 1938 – First woman governor of Washington State (1977-81); former chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; recipient of 21 honorary degrees in fields spanning science, law, and art

Midge McLauren Bolton, BA 1935 – Community activist and volunteer; one of 12 women named to the 12th annual Women’s Hall of Fame (San Mateo)

Margaret Wentworth Owings, BA 1934 – Nationally recognized environmentalist and artist; former commissioner of California Parks

Esther Rosenblatt Landa, BA 1933 – Nationally honored volunteer and former president, National Council of Jewish Women

Rosemary DeCamp Shidler, BA 1932 - Film and television actress; children’s book author including Here, Duke!; recipient of “Mother of Distinction” award

Charlotte Baker Montgomery, BA 1929 – Environmentalist, newspaper columnist, and author of popular children’s novel, The North Trail

Mary Thomas Brooks, BA 1925 – Former director of the U.S. Mint

Kathryn Grove Shipp, BA 1925 – Inventor of an explosive used by NASA for experiments on the moon

Elinor Remick Warren Griffin, BA 1923 – One of the first female composers to gain prominence in the first half of the 20th century

Vaughn DeLeath, BA 1919 – Popular recording artist who developed “crooning” style of singing and who successfully sued Kate Smith over the title “First Lady of Radio”

Hazel Roberts, BA 1911 – California’s first licensed woman optometrist

Ida Meacham Strobridge, 1876 – Celebrated author; one of the first professional female bookbinders

Emma Nevada, 1876 – Internationally renowned opera singer

Fanny Rouse Snell, 1873 - First woman lawyer in New York State