Joan Taufenback Haskell
Class of 1947; 2008 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Known to her friends as “Joanie” or “Tauf,” Joan was a class representative for sixty-one years. Her dedication to the class of ’47 and her sense of building and keeping the fabric of community alive and well was legendary. The entire class of ‘47 knew her for her enthusiasm, her creativity and her ceaseless hard work and positive energy for all things Westridge.

Bonnie Dean
Class of 1975; 2009 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

International businesswoman and director of several public and private organizations in the United Kingdom, Bonnie is a tireless advocate and mentor to women in business. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from Stanford University and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University. Bonnie is an avid traveler and has an abiding interest in Asian cultures, which she acquired while doing a study abroad program in Thailand while at Westridge. She credits Westridge School for her lifelong success.

“Westridge is the finest school I have ever attended. The Westridge standards are the highest I’ve ever experienced, but were combined with a mature and considered level of support.”

Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Class of 1958; 2010 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Elizabeth is professor emerita at Occidental College and author of several books, including the award-winning, Women’s Work: The First 20,00 Years, named one of the “100 Best Science Books of the Century” by Sigma Xi and her most recent, When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth. She is the pre-eminent authority on prehistoric textiles and acclaimed in the fields of linguistics and archeology. “Betchen,” as she is known, received her Bachelor’s Degree in Archeology and Greek from Bryn Mawr College and her doctorate in Linguistics from Yale University.

Nan Elliot Hale
Class of 1969; 2011 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Award-winning writer and filmmaker, Nan is an independent spirit with a commitment to the environment and a deep caring for her community. Her joy of storytelling has led her to write numerous books about her home state of Alaska. As a filmmaker, photographer and adventurer, Nan has traveled 1,200 miles by dog sled across America along the Iditarod race trail, directed film crews on board Japanese fishing boats in the Bering Sea , descended into the coal mines of Appalachia and traveled to the Himalayas to tell the story of a legendary Alaskan climber who died beneath Mt. Everest.

“By profession, I am a writer and filmmaker. By nature, I am an adventurer.”

Alissa Arp
Class of 1972; 2012 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Renowned scientist, researcher, professor and author, Alissa has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Oregon University. She is world renowned for her expertise in the physiology of animals living in challenging environments and has been on eight deep-sea submarine dives and twenty-two oceanographic expeditions. Her discoveries have been recognized in internationally distinguished scientific journals and by the national media. Alissa, a natural leader and student body president at Westridge, earned her Bachelors Degree in Biology from Sonoma State University and her Masters and Doctorate in Biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Joni Moisant Weyl
Class of 1972; 2013 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Owner and operator of one of New York City’s finest galleries, Joni earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Stanford University. She began her career in the arts with the renowned Los Angeles artists’ workshop and print publisher, Gemini G.E.L (Graphics Editions Limited) where she served as director of sales. She opened her own gallery, now in its 28^th year, aptly named Gemini G.E.L at Joni Moisant Weyl. She shares her life’s passion for the visual arts and her globetrotting involvement in the international art world with her husband and Gemini Co-founder, Sidney Felsen.

Mary Lowther Ranney
Westridge Founder; 2014 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

During the Centennial year, we honored Mary Lowther Ranney, founder of Westridge School. She chose her own path of commitment to lifelong learning and set and example through habits of heart, mind, and action to inspire and empower generations of girls and women and all who belong to the Westridge community.

Nancy (Ophelia) Ennis Follett
2015 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Nancy, known as Ophelia in England, where she has lived for nearly 50 years, credits Westridge for her lifelong passion for intellectual and physical exploration. Since graduating from Westridge, Nancy has maintained an unwavering quest for knowledge and deep appreciation for literature, archaeology, art and architecture, education, travel and adventure. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in English from Northwestern in 1962 and her master’s in comparative literature from Columbia in 1963, Nancy completed a second MA in 1968 from Claremont Graduate School, all while raising her first child, Daena, teaching, and pursuing her passion for drama.

In 1968, Nancy made a life-changing decision to obtain her PhD in classics at Kings College, London, unaware that she would never return to the U.S. By the time her son, Saul, arrived in 1972, she had founded The Dolphin School, a K-8 English preparatory school, and her ties to the UK were solidified. As Head of Dolphin, initially also teaching English, History, Latin, Greek and Classics, she is credited with making it one of the most successful schools in the UK.

Always true to her Westridge roots and spirit of Surgere, Nancy has remained steadfast in her belief that girls should have the same opportunities as boys. At a time when most heads of school were male, Nancy wasn’t intimidated; she was simply unwilling to accept the unequal playing field for women. She developed a unique cross-curricular field trip program that has been copied world-wide, became a trained Mountain Leader, devising a pioneering mountain walking program for Dolphin and teaching adult classes in subjects ranging from Renaissance art to medieval castles. Though technically retired, she serves as Chair of Governors, Editor of the Delphic Oracle, organizer of the Old Delphinians, and leader of the art and architecture trip to Italy for which she wrote the handbook, in addition to supporting numerous philanthropic and community endeavors.

Travelling extensively during the past 25 years, Nancy has documented her treks in far-flung places, sharing stories (via her blog http://threepenguins.wordpress.com/zanskar/) about being stranded in the Sahara, discovering untouched Buddhist cave art in remotest western China, dodging avalanches at Annapurna base camp, and visiting the 2000 year old civilization of Zanskar while traversing the Himalaya at 18,000’+, literally striving to rise. Westridge applauds Nancy’s adventurous spirit and values the many contributions she has made as an educator.

Elizabeth (Tizzie) Oldknow-Huttinger
2016 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

When Tizzie Oldknow was living in London with her family in the 1990s she co-founded a non-profit whose mission was to provide assistance in health and education in the new countries of the former Soviet Union. Her work quickly shifted to Bosnia, its recovery from civil war, and the politics of “sustainable” development. Through this work she collaborated with the U.S. State Department’s USAID and United Nations groups. These collaborations led to her becoming an expert resource in community health for both the U.S. government and the United Nations Global Fund, and eventually UNAIDS.

Flash forward to 2004. Tizzie heard of an idea for a cure for human schistosomiasis, a water parasite disease that infects 250 million people a year with 790 million at risk. Schisto is a chronic disease that makes it hard for children to grow healthily or to complete school. A UCSB marine scientist had discovered that freshwater shrimp eat the snails that harbor the schistosomiasis parasite. The goal of his research was a scientific paper. But Tizzie decided to translate that research into a cure. It took three years to get funding, but finally she was awarded two grants from the very highly regarded “Grand Challenges in Global Health” of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a program seeking out-of-the-box ideas for cures for global diseases. She identified the most affected place in the world, Senegal, West Africa, and went there to test her idea of river shrimp farming as a cure that, once established, could be sustainable without ongoing donor support.

In the process of getting started, she discovered that before schistosomiasis, there had been freshwater shrimp in the River Senegal, so her project took on the aspect of restoring an indigenous species of shrimp—to solve a human health problem. Five years later, she had conducted two studies, launched shrimp aquaculture, and local village populations that had shrimp in their water points along the river had 60% fewer cases of schisto than control villages. She adds the results can be improved when shrimp are restored and ubiquitous.

Heather Pidcoke
2017 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Heather Pidcoke, M.D., Ph.D. graduated from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, followed by internship and residency at the University of Texas, Houston School of Medicine, and the University of Texas, Health Science Center, San Antonio, where she earned a master's in Clinical Investigation and a Ph.D. in Physiology. She served as Research Physiologist and Deputy Task Area Manager for Coagulation and Blood Research at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio, Texas and as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas, Health Science Center, San Antonio.

As a noted researcher in the field of trauma medicine and transfusion support of bleeding patients, Dr. Pidcoke is internationally recognized as a leader in transfusion medicine and surgical critical care research. Her work was used by the U.S. Military in setting policy and future research agendas, and her work on platelet storage led to a product development effort chosen as a U.S. Government Science and Technology Objective. The project is reviewed and supervised by the highest levels of the U.S. Army, and briefed to the President of the United States. She has been recognized by the U.S. military with a Commander's Award for Civilian Service, and received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in May 2016, coordinated by the Officer of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of President Barack Obama.

Dr. Pidcoke now serves as Director, Global Clinical Safety & Pathogen Reduction Technology Scientific Affairs for Terumo BCT, producer of the Mirasol device. The Mirasol is an investigational product being evaluated as a method to reduce pathogens and white blood cells in blood components, potentially making them safer. Her medical and research experience, including critical care, blood products, and trauma surgery, provides a unique understanding of the device, including its effect on platelets. She provides analysis of health hazards and risk assessments for all Terumo BCT products, and with training in Clinical Investigation, she is uniquely qualified to answer questions regarding Mirasol safety and efficacy. She has been instrumental in obtaining regulatory approval for the Mirasol device and disposables in India.

Dr. Pidcoke was also recently named Colorado State University's first chief medical research officer and Translational Medicine Institute associate director of research. In this role, she oversees the translational medical activities, ensuring that clinical solutions are broadly tested and shared between animal and human researchers.

Julie Frantz
Class of 1967; 2018 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Julie Frantz ’67, a Westridge ‘lifer’, graduated from Stanford University, followed by law school in Oregon where she was one of five women in her class. She has been a trailblazer, visionary leader and mentor in all realms of her life. Dedicated to strong advocacy for the indigent, she became the first woman to head the Portland office of the Metropolitan Public Defender, and subsequently the first woman partner in the civil litigation firm of Schulte, Anderson et al. She led the Oregon Law Foundation which provides funding to organizations that support access to justice and civic education. In 1992, Julie was elected the first woman President of the Oregon State Bar in its 57 year history. She was appointed to the Multnomah County Circuit Court in 1994, where she became one of its presiding chiefs, and elected President of the Oregon Circuit Judges Association by her statewide colleagues.

In 2014, Julie was named President of the National Association of Woman Judges, the first from Oregon, an organization whose mission is to ensure access to and equal treatment in our courts, protect individual rights under the rule of law, and promote the advancement of women and minorities in the legal profession. Human trafficking, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and the importance of a independent judiciary are among the key issues addressed. Last spring, Judge Frantz was the recipient of the Justice Betty Roberts Award by Oregon Women Lawyers for her pioneering efforts, mentoring of women, and service to the community. On a different note, Julie was the first State of Oregon women’s racquetball champion in 1977.

In recognition of her dedicated service and collaborative leadership, Julie has received the Oregon Women’s Political Caucus ‘Hero’ award, the Distinguished Graduate Award from her law school, her county’s bar association Award of Merit, the Fred A. Stickel Public Sector Award, and Oregon Episcopal School’s award for trustee excellence for her leadership as board chair during a time of transition.

Julie has been a passionate community volunteer, serving on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, I Have a Dream Foundation, Meals on Wheels and her children’s school. She has actively engaged in delivering meals to seniors for two decades, building houses locally and internationally in Ethiopia and El Salvador, coaching high school mock trial teams, and annually organizing Take Your Child to Work mock trials for hundreds of kids from diverse backgrounds and through NAWJ’s Color of Justice program. To celebrate her 60th birthday, Julie invited 35 women friends to help build a Habitat house in Portland.

Julie, who recently retired from the bench, lives with her husband in Oregon where she enjoys outdoor adventures, theater, bicycling, kayaking, travel and time with her grown children and her broad family of friends. She continues with her volunteer activities as well as an active mediation practice. As part of her ‘rewirement,’ as she refers to it, Julie is preparing for a Habitat build in India.

Sigrid Burton
Class of 1969; 2019 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Sigrid Burton ’69 is an artist known for her paintings, mixed media works on paper, and use of color. She credits Westridge with instilling a lifelong love of learning and travel. The opportunity to study with teachers who were also practitioners prepared her for a life in the arts. Sigrid tutored at Head Start and was a counselor at Open Future, programs instituted by Libby Herrick that inspired a deep commitment to social justice and community.

Since the mid-1970s, Sigrid’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 1977 she received the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, given to a young artist of distinction who has not had due recognition. Her works are in numerous public and corporate collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and at Westridge.

After graduating from Bennington College in 1973, Sigrid moved to New York to work as a studio assistant to Helen Frankenthaler, and Jules Olitski. Travel has always informed her work, and in 1985 Sigrid received a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Study Center fellowship in Italy. A 1990 trip to India fueled an interest in Indian art forms and aesthetic theory; in 1994, she received an Indo-American Senior Fulbright Research Fellowship.

Sigrid has been a visiting artist at Delhi College of Art, UC Santa Barbara, University of Arkansas, and Virginia Tech. She worked for LEAP, Learning through an Expanded Arts Program, teaching in the New York City school system, and serving on LEAP’s Board of Directors.

During the late 1980s AIDS crisis, Sigrid volunteered for AIDS service organizations, and wrote The Caregivers Companion: A Guide for Those Caring for Persons with AIDS. As a community activist, she was appointed to Manhattan Community Board 2 from 2007-2012.

In 2013 Sigrid returned to Pasadena with husband, Max Brennan, and their dog, Jasper. Her upcoming exhibitions include a one person show in early 2020 at Tufenkian Fine Arts in Glendale and Out of the Blue at LAX. She is involved in numerous organizations and is furthering her devotion to Westridge by serving on the Board of Trustees. Sigrid has worked tirelessly with classmates to start The Forever Fund, a fundraising initiative for financial aid, ensuring that future generations of qualified students have the opportunity to attend Westridge.

Jinko Gotoh
Class of 1975; 2020 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Jinko Gotoh ’75 is one of the film industry’s most sought-after animation producers and consultants. Her career began on Warner Bros.’ Space Jam, after which she moved to Disney Feature Animation. There, as director of digital production, she oversaw the inevitable move to CGI animation and its extensive application on such features as Dinosaur and Fantasia 2000 and, later, on Pixar’s Finding Nemo for which she served as associate producer. 

She is currently producing Escape from Hat for Netflix. Her other producing screen credits include Klaus, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The Little Prince, The Illusionist, and 9.

Jinko serves as vice president for Women in Animation, which works to advance women and people of diversity in the industry. She is co-president of The Symphonic Jazz Orchestra, bringing musical education to children in under-served areas of LA. She is also a member of the EC, and an A2020 member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, representing diversity. She holds a BS in Applied Math, and an MFA in Film, from Columbia University.

Lauren Yang
Class of 2009; 2020 Inaugural Distinguished Young Alumna Award Winner

Lauren Yang '09 (a Westridge lifer!) has forged an interesting career path, founded a non-profit, and earned her MBA. And she is just getting started.

After graduating from Middlebury College with a degree in environmental science and architecture, Lauren took a job as manager of business development at a small food-manufacturing firm. Wanting to understand the business from all aspects, she started on the assembly line trimming raw chicken. Talking with co-workers she discovered that many of their children were struggling in school and she offered to tutor some of their kids. When the demand became too big, she created a non-profit, the Early Bird Tutoring Center, for first generation college-bound students. Six years later, the center has 41 children, ages 3-19, and seven tutors. One former student is now attending college, with special thanks to past tutors Natalie Shum ’09 and Cameron Marsh ’14.

In 2017, Lauren received her MBA from UCLA Anderson, where she was her class commencement speaker and recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service. There, she was co-president of the Anderson Basketball Club, which had 180 members, just two of whom were women. After business school, Lauren spent a year working at Capital Group with Jill Peterson Dennis ’94.

She is now back in Pasadena running her non-profit, working at the food manufacturing firm and planning to start her own business in the near future.

Jossalyn Turner Emslie
Class of 1983; 2021 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Jossalyn Turner Emslie ’83 is a primary care physician working primarily with underserved and needy populations, intent on providing her patients with the best quality care they don’t have the means to obtain. She volunteers and mentors youth via the League for Crippled Children at Orthopaedic Hospital, a health organization for children from poor, uninsured, or undocumented backgrounds. 

Following Westridge, Jossalyn earned a B.A. in English literature at the University of California, Los Angeles; M.S. in biology with emphasis in California ecology at California State University, Los Angeles; and M.D. at the University of Southern California. Jossalyn holds interests in a myriad of subjects including reading, writing, and language, as well as co-running the Westridge Alumnae Readers' Book Club. She maintains numerous outdoor pursuits, such as hiking, camping, backpacking, orienteering, ecosystems, and preserving nature. Other interests include history, math, science, art, philosophy, antiquity, performing arts, music, museums, handwork crafts, and woodworking. If she’s not learning, she’s making.

With two daughters who attended Westridge, Caitlin ’12 and Maddie ’16, Jossalyn became a valued mentor and influential leader with Girl Scouts for 16 years, and helped develop a high performance rocketry program at Westridge. She remains passionate about women’s issues and empowering girls, and has offered a medical internship shadowing program to Westridge seniors.

Jade McKnight
Class of 2009; 2021 Distinguished Young Alumna Award Winner

Jade McKnight ’09 brings people together by supporting health and wellness, whatever the circumstances. 

Jade received her Bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Amherst College, and moved to Philadelphia to begin her career in non-profit programs. In providing health services, Jade witnessed firsthand the gaps in services that existed in the community. By 2017, the opioid epidemic was nearing a frightening peak in Philadelphia, and the demand for public health services was sky-rocketing. After working as a paralegal at a public interest firm, Jade made a huge shift and took a job at a non-profit public health organization and began graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. Jade was awarded her Master in Public Health degree in December 2019. Jade moved home to Pasadena in May of 2019 and works as a school health program coordinator, managing programs that the school districts may not have resources to provide.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, Jade’s work as a school health program coordinator was quickly pivoted. As an employee at a government funded agency, Jade underwent FEMA Disaster Service Training and worked with LA County first responders to staff one of the first COVID-19 testing sites in the South Bay region of Los Angeles. Nearly a year later, Jade continues these duties as a Disaster Service Worker, working 30 additional hours a week at the test site, in addition to managing school and community-based programs and grants with local mental health providers and school districts in the Beach Cities. 

Vicki Vlachakis von Holzhausen
Class of 1990; 2022 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Vicki von Holzhausen ’90 is an award-winning automotive designer turned entrepreneur bent on creating a market for high-end alternatives to leather. For years, Vicki worked in Europe at the highest levels of automotive design with such brands as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and General Motors. Her work has been displayed at numerous international auto shows as well as the Chicago Museum of Art and earned her a spot in the Automotive Hall of Fame for excellence in leadership.

Upon returning to her native Los Angeles, Vicki married her design and technical expertise with her passion for sustainability. She launched the von Holzhausen brand, a line of accessories made with a 100% animal free and sustainable leather alternative. But the brand’s mission is much bigger than the luxury accessories it sells today–it is to make leather extinct by proving that luxury buyers will purchase products using leather alternative if offered a truly comparable product. To date, the company has been incredibly successful with significant sales; features in The Hollywood Reporter, Vogue, and The New York Times; and a partnership with Apple creating tech accessories available in all Apple stores.

Giving back is an integral part of Vicki’s life and brand. Von Holzhausen is partnered with Hope Gardens, an organization focused on helping women regain independence through long-term rehabilitation programs and support services.

Vicki earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive design from Art Center. She lives in Malibu with her husband and two boys. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the piano, sailing, and creating messy art with her kids.

Bianca Mabute-Louie
Class of 2008; 2022 Distinguished Young Alumna Award Winner

Bianca Mabute-Louie '08 is a researcher, educator, and racial justice consultant. Having worked in schools and community organizations for over 10 years, Bianca has experience facilitating transformative conversations and mobilizing diverse communities for racial justice. She has a master’s in Asian American studies, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D in sociology at Rice University. Bianca has written for Elle Magazine, spoken on ABC7 and Cheddar News, and been featured in Time, CNN, and USA Today, among others for her work on anti-Asian violence and Black-Asian relations. Bianca is currently working on her first book, which centers Asian Americans in the national discourse on race, religion, and politics.

Thembisa Mshaka
Class of 1988; 2023 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Thembisa Mshaka ’88 is an award-winning multi-hyphenate, with experience as a creative executive, author, producer, filmmaker, voice actor, activist, and entertainment branding specialist. An LA native and founder of Mshaka Media, Thembisa’s career includes tenures at BET Networks and Sony Music. Her creative work has supported artists including Beyoncé and her voiceover talent has been tapped for the WNBA and Women of Team USA for NBC’s Peacock. In 2021, she was part of the inaugural Black Muslim TV Screenwriters cohort from the Hollywood Bureau, Muslim Public Affairs Council, and The Blackhouse Foundation. She sits on the advisory boards of the Universal Hip Hop Museum and the nonprofit GiveLyrics.

Sarah Beshir
Class of 2010; 2023 Distinguished Young Alumna Award Winner

Sarah Beshir '10 is a systems engineer at a Top 5 aerospace company, where she leads teams creating satellite system architecture models. She has developed command products and software tools and worked for the test and launch of satellites. In 2020, Sarah founded the social & racial justice working group at her company’s campus to drive awareness and solutions for racial justice by improving employee recruitment, retention, education, and communication. She supports the national nonprofit Eritrean Muslims Council as treasurer, and student STEM conferences in various roles. Sarah holds a bachelor’s in political science and environmental studies from the University of Southern California, and a master’s in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She also holds a certificate in model-based systems engineering from Caltech and was a polymathic fellow at USC.

Debra Suh, Esq.
Class of 1985; 2024 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient

Debra Suh, Esq. ’85 has worked in nonprofit organizations for over three decades to build a safer and more equitable society. For nearly 24 years, she was the executive director of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF), an organization supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence in the immigrant Asian/Pacific Islander community. She currently serves on the boards of the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence and Sequoyah School as well as on the California Office of Emergency Service’s Domestic Violence Advisory Council, and has previously held leadership roles at the California Responsive Domestic Violence Network and the Korean American Bar Association. Her daughter, Nina ’18, is also a proud Westridge alumna.

Isabella Bautista
Class of 2016; 2024 Distinguished Young Alumna Award Winner

Isabella Bautista ’16 has a deep-rooted passion for making a positive impact on the world around her. She is president of the Junior Board of Swirls for Girls, a community-driven nonprofit dedicated to multicultural awareness, personal development, and impactful social projects—a mentorship program she benefited from in her youth. She also works for Straussner • Sherman • Lonné • Treger • Helquist Law Firm. Previously, Isabella was a consultant for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research in Geneva, Switzerland. She studied at UC Santa Barbara where she earned a bachelor’s degree in global studies and a professional writing minor, specializing in multimedia communications.