This year we set out with a lofty goal of raising $56,000 for our 56th anniversary.  At this point we are almost half way there but need your help to make it a reality.  We are so grateful for every dime that has been given so far and know that this impressive amount is helping us fulfill our goals and give back to others, and for that we say thank you!  

Many of you probably used the scholarships you won through the program to help you achieve your educational goals or launch you onto your career path.  What better way to show gratitude and to ensure that other young women have the same opportunities than to give a gift to Distinguished Young Women?   We accept donations through PayPal or a check mailed to the National Office. 

We love hearing from you and being updated on your life!  This is just a small sample of the great things your fellow alumnae are up to:

• Viki Pace-Smith (1977 North Carolina) sells residential real estate in her beloved town of Chapel Hill after working in media/advertising for ten years. Viki and her husband of over 30 years, Roland, have two daughters.
• Susan Beckett Childers (1978 Pennsylvania) is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Counseling Program at Caim University. 
• Sharon Lawrence (1979 Raleigh, NC) is a multiple Emmy nominated actress from TV, film, and stage: NYPD Blue, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Monk, Law & Order: SVU, Curb Your Enthusiasm, One Tree Hill, Drop Dead Diva, Community, The Mentalist, & Boston Legal, among others. She earned her BA in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Dr. Thomas Apostle.
• Elayne Wells Harmer (1983 Utah) is a Stanford graduate and attorney who specialized in employment litigation at a Salt Lake City law firm, and served as legislative counsel to Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) in Washington, D.C.  Elayne is a Senior Executive and Managing Editor at Remember My Service Military Productions and lives with her husband, David, and four children in Bountiful, Utah.
• Susan Parillo (1984 Rhode Island) is an elementary Health and PE teacher as well as a practicum educator at Rhode Island College.   She is a dedicated co-chair of the Rhode Island Distinguished Young Women program. Susan and her husband will soon celebrate their 25 year wedding anniversary and have two children, Brandon & Tiffani.
• Jodi Miller Holen (1986 Nebraska) graduated magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is currently a Regional Director in the Multiple Sclerosis division of Biogen Idec. She continues to volunteer with Distinguished Young Women and, with her husband of 22 years Brad, has two daughters.
• Michelle Tolson (1991 New Hampshire) tours the country as a master teacher, adjudicator and director for various dance competitions and also teaches at dance studios throughout New York and New Jersey. After performing with the Radio City Rockettes for six years, she is also the choreographer and Producer for the Distinguished Young Women of New Hampshire Program.
• Aditi Roy (1992 California contestant) was recently promoted within ABC News as a Los Angeles based correspondent after anchoring the morning and evening newscasts for NBC10 in Philadelphia in recent years. 
• Joy Blanchard (1995 Louisiana) is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Florida International University. She earned her PhD from the University of Georgia in 2008.
• Christal Brown (1997 Kinston, NC) is the Founding Artistic/Executive Director of INSPIRIT, founder of Project: BECOMING, creator of the Liquid Strength training module for dance, the mother of Gabriel and the Chair of the Dance Program at Middlebury College. She received her BFA in Dance and minor in Business from the University of NC at Greensboro and her MFA in New Media Art and Performance from Long Island University.
• Aimee Parker (1999 Delaware) recently became a partner with Sussex Eye Center, a private optometric practice in Delaware, and continues to serve as co-chairman for the Distinguished Young Women of Delaware program.
• Jesika Henderson Harmon (2000 America's Junior Miss- Utah) and her husband Robbie welcomed their fourth child on August 12, 2013.  Quinn Marie Harmon was 7 pounds 10 ounces and joins big sister Bree and big brothers Gabe and McKay.  
• Pamela Pyfer Daines (2001 North Orange County, CA) founded Piano Pam, a piano studio teaching private and group piano lessons, and currently resides in Des Moines, IA with her husband and four children.
• Elizabeth Shirk Howsare (2002 South Carolina) got married December 22, 2012 to Matthew and is currently working as a Management & Program Analyst for the FBI in Washington, DC. 
• Ashlee Baracy (2003 Michigan) is a traffic and general assignment reporter at WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit and is also studying for a certification in Broadcast Meteorology. 
• Virginia Duke (2004 Montana) completed her second year as a Teach For America corps member, teaching 8th grade math in rural Alabama this past May and then was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Nepal which she began in July and will teach English there for a year.
• Jakara Sachiko Mato (2006 Hawaii) graduated cum laude from Yale University in 2010 and will soon complete a Masters in Public Affairs program at Princeton University on a full scholarship. She looks forward to pursuing a career creating multicultural education policies both internationally and in her home state of Hawaii.
• Heather Badeaux Brantley (2007 Louisiana) is in Dental School at LSU with plans to specialize in orthodontics. 
• Lauren Gessner Walker (2008 Ohio) was married on June 15, 2013 to Mr. Jake Walker. They met at the University of South Alabama, where they recently graduated, and good friends Twila Tschan (2008 Oregon) and Hannah Yeats (2008 Idaho) were bridesmaids in their wedding. 
• Twila Tschan (2008 Oregon) graduated Summa Cum Laude in December from the University of South Alabama with a B.A. in International Studies. She is now living in Portland after completing an internship with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley. 
• Chelsea Fenton (2009 Mobile County, AL) is a recent Highest Honors Graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi with a B.A. in Spanish with teaching licensure and will be going back in the Fall to get her Master of the Arts in Teaching Languages. Chelsea enjoys volunteering for Distinguished Young Women at the local and national level and was on the Has Beens Committee this summer for National Finals.
• Caroline Hooks (2010 Milledgeville, GA) joined the National Guard, graduated basic training and graduated her Advanced Individual Training. In addition to being engaged to active duty soldier James Atkinson, she will be going on a deployment within the next year.
• Allii Fontaine (2011 Rhode Island) is entering her junior year at Elmira College where she is studying nursing. She stays busy being an RA, a tour guide on campus, working 2-3 days at the hospital, and singing in the all female acapella group.
• Chrissy Houle (2012 Michigan) just completed her first year at Yale on a full scholarship. She is their first feature twirler for the band and this summer she interned in Washington DC with senators from Michigan. 

 Stay tuned for our next newsletter with more updates!  Have you gotten married, had a baby, graduated from school, started a new job, or had anything exciting happen in your life lately?  Please submit an update and include a picture if you would like, to Erin@DistinguishedYW.org.