Alumni Shield Award

A California native, Greta Lundeberg '97 quickly established herself as a leader in her form. She took part in the school's African exchange program, served as both a chapel and school prefect, and graduated Cum Laude.

Lundeberg went on to Vassar College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in political science and spent a semester abroad in India. In 2001, she earned a master's degree in history of international relations from the London School of Economics. For two years following, she served as an executive office intern in the Council of Foreign Relations. During the 2004 Kerry-Edwards campaign, Lundeberg was special assistant to the campaign's national security advisor.

Lundeberg then managed Asia Society's 2005 Private Sector Summit on Post-Tsunami Reconstruction with former presidents Bush and Clinton. She moved on to be a presidential management fellow and India desk officer at the Department of State, a congressional fellow to U.S. Senator Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, and a special assistant in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. From 2008 to 2010, she served as foreign policy adviser for Florida's U.S. Senator Bill Nelson.

Lundeberg recently was promoted from a senior policy and congressional advisor to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke to Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Legislative Affairs at the White House National Security Council, where she advocates for the President's national security agenda with Congress.

Just last year, she received the National Security Council's Outstanding Service Award and the U.S. Department of State's Superior Honor Awards, in recognition of her extraordinary achievements.

 

Amy Harmon’s resume of development projects, including upscale residential and mixed-use complexes, is designed to advance the city of Denver. Her properties support the goal of improving downtown living, working and visiting, and reinforce Denver initiatives such as sustainable development and promoting bike- and pedestrian-friendly lifestyles.

Over the years, Harmon has managed and produced more than 500,000 square feet of development. She’s successfully delivered 200 million dollars worth of mixed-use condominium development projects while employing hundreds of contract laborers and consultants. In 2009, Harmon was featured as a young professional making an impact on their industries in the Denver Business Journal.

While here at Brooks, Harmon was a three-sport athlete, participating in field hockey, ice hockey and crew. She served as both a school prefect and chapel prefect, and was involved in many activities from the Lawrence Project to the Exchange Program. Harmon capped off her outstanding Brooks career by receiving the Allen Ashburn Prize.

Harmon moved on to the University of Texas in Austin, where she was accepted into the Plan II Honors Program, a notably selective interdisciplinary program offering exposure to both arts and business. She earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities with concentrations in art history, business and political science in 1995.

After working in New York for a few years, Harmon moved home to Denver and embarked on a real estate development partnership with her stepfather, Steve Owen. Then three years ago, she founded her own development firm, Urban Market Partners, with the goal of combining her interests in real estate, art and community building.

Harmon’s contributions to Denver go beyond real estate and development. She is actively involved with a number of community organizations including the Ballpark Neighborhood Association, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Community Coordinating District and the City Parks Alliance based in Washington, D.C. She is the former President and ongoing Board Member of the Metro Denver Executive Club 60th Anniversary and is currently serving as Interim Director of the Denver Biennial of the Americas.

 

Jeep MacNichol '85, also known as Mr. Anonymous, started his music career as founding member and drummer of the Colorado based pop/jam band, The Samples. This 10-year musical journey featured six national album releases, national touring for nine months every year in every venue imaginable in every state, sharing the stage with Sting, Dave Mathews, Steel Pulse, Flaming Lips, The Wailers, Sonic Youth and Blues Traveler.

After a decade with The Samples, MacNichol decided it was time to follow new creative endeavors and dove into his love of Jamaican dancehall and reggae music. Armed with an acoustic guitar, echo Box and megaphone, MacNichols set up shop in Kingston, Jamaica, to produce his debut solo alubum, Mr. Anonymous, in 2003.

Four years later, MacNichol produced Mr. Anonymous 2, a meeting of Dancehall Machine-Gunfire, Dub, Electro, Robotic, and Guitar Psychadelia.

 

Folwell Dunbar '84 grew up wrestling alligators in the bayous of Slidell, Louisiana.

He was perhaps the smallest player on the Brooks football field, yet one of the most feared hitters that backed down to no one despite his size or strength. Despite having dyslexia, Dunbar ended up a Latin and history scholar at Brooks and perhaps one of the few, if not only, unicycle riding jugglers in the history of the school.

Dunbar committed more than two years of his life to the Peace Corps after graduating from Duke University, helping poor families in the rural areas of Ecuador to make a better life for themselves by teaching them to build fish farms and other agricultural skills.

He subsequently returned to New Orleans and joined the faculty at Louise S. McGehee School. Dunbar was involved in all facets of school life, all the while pursuing his masters at Tulane and juggling on Decatur Street.

Dunbar moved to North Carolina in 1996 to work at Cary Academy, which opened the following year with a mission committed to integrating the best of traditional education with new and emerging technologies. But after two years in North Carolina, Dunbar was drawn back to the New Orleans, where he set out on his quest for comprehensive whole-school reform.

Dunbar is currently responsible for overseeing the curriculum of the entire Charter School System in Louisiana, a state that has more charter schools than any other state in the country. The charter school system in New Orleans is at the core of a new educational landscape post-Katrina – a radical experiment in reform. More than half of the city’s public-school students are now being educated in charter schools.

Dunbar is also an artist who uses many mediums and all his senses to create simple and intricate works of art. He is a caring person who through his book, A Color Inside, effectively teaches equality and learning to accept others for who they are on the inside, and not what they look like on the outside.

 

 

CFA Douglas Burden '83 is a vice president at Fiduciary Trust Company in Boston. Prior to joining the company in 1997, he was a member of the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team from 1988 to 1996 and was employed by the Student Loan Marketing Association from 1991 to 1993.

“Here, indeed, is a quiet, unassuming gentleman who has his priorities well balanced," former advisor Jake Dunnell said. "One could diminish the world’s supply of superlatives when talking about Doug.”

Burden’s significant life accomplishments undoubtedly are rooted in the people and the values that are hallmarks of Brooks School: perseverance, dedication and humility. While he was at Brooks, Dusty Richard and David Swift became key mentors as they encouraged Burden's talent for athletics.

With their support, he discovered his passion for rowing, quickly earned a seat in the first boat in both his fifth and sixth form years and never looked back. He went on to join Princeton University’s prestigious crew, serving as captain in 1988.

After receiving his B.A. from Princeton University, Burden received his M.B.A. from IESE in Barcelona, Spain.

With his quiet, lead-by-example style, Burden earned a stellar reputation in the rowing community. He spent eight years on the U.S. national team and won two world championships, one in which he helped power his team to a Gold Medal world record time.

In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Burden won a bronze medal in rowing and four years later in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he won a silver medal. After a hiatus from the sport, he earned a seat in the men’s eight for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where his boat finished fifth.

Burden is one of only a handful of U.S. rowers to win medals twice in Olympic rowing. He was inducted into the National Rowing Hall of Fame in 1998.

Burden still rows twice a week, coaches his daughter’s soccer team and chairs the fundraising committee for Roxbury Youthworks Ride for Kids, an organization that helps at-risk children.

 

Peter Dunn '82 is currently the executive vice chair and the executive medical director for the operating rooms at Mass. General Hospital. He is the youngest person to have achieved the latter position, and only the second anesthesiologist to ever have held this position. He also is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

Dunn graduated from the George Washington University School of Medicine in 1990. He was selected for a fellowship in surgical research at Children’s National Medical Center. After furthering his research at the National Institutes of Health, he completed his residency in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dunn was the first ever to serve in the roles of chief resident of anesthesiology and clinical fellow in critical care at Mass. General Hospital, simultaneously. And after only three years on the staff at Mass General, Dunn was appointed the first ever clinical director for the department of anesthesia and critical care, where he oversaw all clinical operations in one of the largest academic anesthesiology departments in the nation.

"Peter reminds me a lot of Nick Evangelos in his manner: quiet, humble, honest, straightforward, warm, expecting a lot from himself and those he works with and always with a ready grin and a good sense of humor,” said former teacher Maureen Perkins.

Dunn and his wife, Deirdre, also a graduate of the class of 1982, are the first alumni married couple to have a child attend Brooks.

 

Michael Weatherly ’86 is a working actor, currently on the prime-time television show, NCIS.

After studying at the American University of Paris, Weatherly entered the professional world of acting. Michael’s single-focus, tenacity and hard work finally paid off with several successful projects, after years of student films, off-Broadway plays and pounding the pavement.

His first notable job came in 1991, when he played Theo Huxtable's roomate on an episode of The Cosby Show. But more recently, he has maintained including recurring television roles in the series Dark Angel and NCIS.

"He arrived at Brooks with no clear path in mind," former Head of School Lawrence Becker said. "An engaging personality with a bright and creative mind, he struggled initially with academics and searched for his place in athletics. It is difficult to quantify the effect that Brooks has had on Michael's professional evolution, but it is undeniable that his success stems from values instilled at Brooks: perseverance, dedication, and commitment to one's craft. He still possesses the same good humor, intelligence and grace that he exhibited while at Brooks."

 

Samuel Meacham '85 has taken the road less traveled.

Growing up in Austin, Texas, Meacham developed a vivid imagination, a strong sense of curiosity, a love of adventure and a deep appreciation for the outdoors. On the recommendation of longtime teacher Mark Shovan, Meacham took a year in-between graduating from Brooks and enrolling at the University of Vermont to spend a semester with NOLS in Kenya.

Since then, Meacham has traveled the globe. He's sailed down the coast of Mexico, worked as a ranch hand in Costa Rica, gone to the Yucatan to become certified as a diving instructor. Meacham learned about the Ox Bel Ha cave system while in the Yucatan, igniting a love for large-scale cave exploration.

At the time of his award, Meacham was working with the Grupo de Exploracion Ox Bel Ha, an international team of divers, to map the world's longest underground river, and unravel the mysteries of the fragile ecosystem that is in danger of being destroyed before it is fully understood. Meacham is fully committed to the preservation, conservation and the raising of public awareness of these unique and beautiful cave systems.

Meacham is also the founder and director of CINDAQ (Centro de Investigacion del Sistema Acuifero de Quintana Roo) a non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration and protection of freshwater resources in the Yucatan.

"Sam has truly followed his passions to a career that has had an enormous impact on the planet he loves so much," classmate Craig Ziady '85 said. "Today Sam has new experiences each day, from finding archeological and paleontological sites in which discoveries could be made that would rewrite the history books, to working to educate officials in Mexico about the importance of protecting the freshwater resource found in the caves.

Sam has committed his life to exploring this cave system and the freshwater source within it. Armed with surveying equipment, a hard hat and gas tanks, and led by a flashlight, Sam is tackling the important issue of dwindling freshwater reserves head on and opening the eyes of untold numbers of people to the importance of protecting our freshwater reserves for future generations."

 

Joel Bishoff '79 is best known for directing more than 15 productions of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change... around the world.

While at Brooks, Bishoff directed several theatrical productions, most notably his senior project, Dracula. He wrote, directed and acted in plays featuring both students and faculty. He also maintained an excellent academic record, participated in sports and was senior prefect. Bishoff graduated from Tufts University in 1983. He subsequently received his M.F.A. from Columbia University in 1986. He currently is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

His directing credits include Over the River and Through the Woods, The Kiss at City Hall, a Japanese-language production of Annie in in Japan, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife and Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera. Bishoff also did the musical staging for the national tour of The Sound of Music starring Marie Osmond as well as the New York City Opera production starring Debby Boone.

 

Molly Bingham '86 is a photojournalist and documentary director originally from Kentucky. Her father, a local newspaper editor, also attended Brooks.

After graduating from Harvard College in 1990, Bingham began working as a photojournalist in earnest in 1994, traveling to Rwanda in the wake of the genocide. She spent a good amount of her energies for the following four years focused on the regional fallout of that event.

Back in the U.S., Bingham worked as the official photographer to the Office of the Vice President of the United States from 1998 through 2001.

At the time of her award, Bingham had completed two special projects for Human Rights Watch: one on Burundi and another on small arms trafficking in Central Africa. More recently, she served as director of a documentary, Meeting Resistance, about the Iraqi insurgency.

"When she was in Kabul, she sent me some writing excellently revealing a chaotic world," said Bingham's former teacher, William Dunnell. "She generously allowed me to give a copy to the postmaster in my minute town, whose son was a marine in Kabul. What Molly wrote brought her the missing nearness and clarity of view, and she was so pleased. I wish that Molly could have seen the happiness and understanding that her work wrought.

Creating a revelation for others is a great accomplishment for any person, especially for one who has an innate uncertainty. Her success results from overcoming herself and believing that she can bring understanding and intimacy to disparate parts of the world family. Her photography finds both entities and continues the outward look that she brought with her to Brooks near twenty years ago. She was good and compassionate then and remains so to this day. We need only to look upon her work to know."

 

William Perocchi '85 is currently the CEO of the Pebble Beach consortium. Before he was asked to join Californian group, he had retired from his position with Doubletree Inns to spend more time with his children and wife.

"Many people who have attained this level of accomplishment forget those they have left behind," longtime Brooks administrator, coach and teacher Bill Poirot said. "Not only have Bill's core values not been affected by his extraordinary success, they are encouraging him to return to and support those organizations that molded him.

I first met Bill in September 1972, when he arrived at Brooks for early football, a scholarship kid from Lawrence. His uncle Steve was the head football coach and was the force behind bringing Bill to Brooks. After practice I introduced myself and told him that I was his advisor. I gave him a brief description of the role I played and he seemed surprised that a faculty member would spend time with him. Coming from Lawrence High School, he was not used to individual attention.

I let him settle in before arranging a meeting with him. We talked about how he was doing and he said that it was difficult. I tried to give him some pointers and let it go until the first set of grades came out. Not surprisingly, his grades were rather poor. I asked him how much time he was spending on his homework and he said that it was difficult to study at home so I told him he could stay later at school. He said that he had no way to get home and I said I would arrange something. I also asked him if he was getting extra help from his teachers and he said no. I informed him that they would all be willing to help and that he should not be reluctant to go to them. I went on to say that he had a great opportunity at Brooks and that he should take advantage of all the resources at his disposal.

After this talk, things began to improve slowly and by the end of the year, his grades were respectable. Over the course of the next two years there was continued improvement and by his senior year, he had grades that were good enough to get him accepted to the University of New Hampshire, where he thrived. From this point on, the work ethic which had its birth at Brooks took him to heights that were unimaginable for someone from the projects of Lawrence. His is the prototype rags-to-riches story.

Bill is an excellent candidate for the Alumni Shield Award for all he has achieved, but more importantly because he has not forgotten his roots. Someone who has reached the corporate heights he has could easily have put his past behind him and lived the rest of his life in the "fast lane." This is not Bill's modus operandi.

He returned to this area last summer after many years out of contact and asked if I could put him in contact with someone in the Brooks development office because he wanted to do something to repay Brooks for all it had done for him. He has done the same thing at the Lawrence Boys & Girls Club, where he spent a great deal of time when he was young. He is genuinely interested in being involved in these organizations on an ongoing basis with the ultimate goal of supporting those who helped him."

 

Currently the director of Global Medical Affairs and Education at Monogram Biosciences in San Francisco, Charles Walworth '78 was managing patients with HIV and other infectious diseases at Pacific Oaks Medical Group in Newport Beach, California, at the time of his award.

Walworth received his B.S. in 1982, followed by a master's degree in physiology in 1984 and his M.D. in 1988, all from Georgetown University. This was followed by a year of residency at University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital in the department of surgery, and three years at Georgetown University Hospital in the department of medicine. Walworth served as a medical stall fellow in infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland, from 1993 to 1996. He has worked around the globe, as a consultant and instructor in Health Care in Guatemala and as a medical volunteer in Thailand.

Walworth served as a researcher at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., studying bone regeneration and at the department of neurology. He has also served as a researcher at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Mass. General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, doing in situ hybridization studies with laboratory animals.

The recipient of the Outstanding Resident Physician Award at Georgetown's department of internal medicine in 1993, Walworth also won the Distinguished Service Award from the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University in 1992. He also was awarded a summer research fellowship at Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Mass. General Hospital in 1984.

"I first met Chuck in 1974," former biology teacher Nick Evangelos said. "He was a scholarship day student from Lawrence, Mass. After he survived my beagle Biology course, he decided he wanted more Biology, so he signed up for my A.P. Bio course a few years later. Little did he realize what he was getting himself in for.

One of the highlights of my course was that students got a chance to attend operations with local doctors who were also Brooks parents. One of those doctors was Dr. Rudolph Muto, father of Brooks graduates Mike and Mark Muto. Dr. Muto was a thoracic surgeon who operates at Lawrence General Hospital. I remember the day that Chuck and Dan Juba (who is now a doctor) returned to school after attending chest surgery with Dr. Muto.

This experience was to have very lasting effects. When they arrived in my classroom they both enthusiastically announced that they were going to become doctors. Now I thought they were just kidding, and that their enthusiasm was mainly due to the fact that Dr. Muto treated them to a lunch at Bishop's Restaurant, but such was not the case. They were truly turned on and interested in going on to a medical career."

 

Trevor Potter is a partner at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington, D.C., working for the law firm both before and after his five-year service as commissioner and chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

President George H. W. Bush appointed Potter to the Federal Election Commission in 1991, where he served as vice chairman in 1993 and chairman from 1994 to 1996. Potter's previously worked for the government in the early 1980s as a department of justice official and as assistant general counsel to the Federal Communications Commission.

Potter found himself back in the classroom during the mid-1990s. He taught a course on campaign finance law at the University Of Virginia School Of Law during the 1996-1997 academic year, as well as a few seminars in comparative election law and political science at Oxford University in the fall of 1995.

Potter is an editor and author of various publications on election law and campaign finance questions, in addition to appearing as an election law expert on radio and television.

He served as an official observer in foreign elections, chairing the United States Delegation in the Trilateral Conference on Election Law in 1994. He also chaired the Conference on Election Law and Lobbying Regulation held by Glasser LegalWorks in 1996, and a year later co-chaired the Conference on Campaign Finance Reform, sponsored by the White House Weekly.

Potter is currently a member of the council of the ABA Administration Law and Regulatory Practice Section, liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law, and has chaired the Election Law Committee of the ABA's Section on Administrative Law. After graduating from Brooks, Potter received degrees from both Harvard College and the University Of Virginia School Of Law.