Alumni Awards

Each year the Founders’ Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to the Community is given to an alum who has helped to fulfill the vision of the founders of the Ransom and Everglades Schools. It is awarded to individuals who have been deeply concerned about their communities and have demonstrated honor, courage and leadership. Through their loyal attitude, inspired spirit and unselfish action, they have fulfilled the mission of the Ransom Everglades School.

Ransom Everglades bestowed its most prestigious alumni award for public service on Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber ’85, who has established herself as a pioneer, global leader and outspoken advocate in the field of suicide prevention.

The founder and director of The Columbia Lighthouse Project at Columbia University, Posner Gerstenhaber developed a scientific approach to suicide deterrence that has inspired local, national and international policy changes and helped achieve reductions in suicides across all sectors of society and on six continents. She received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service in 2018.

“It’s with great humility and honor that I accept this award for work that truly embodies Paul Ransom’s founding words," she said after receiving a plaque from Head of School Penny Townsend on Nov. 6, 2019. “Among the recognitions that I have received, this one is particularly meaningful."

The Head of School’s Award recognizes alumni whose commitment and service to the school serve as an inspiration, and who have lived out the Ransom Everglades mission. Recipients must have demonstrated commitment to the school’s mission by fostering a sense of “community, personal integrity and values,” and following Paul C. Ransom’s belief that people are “in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it.”

Head of School Penny Townsend named Lili Krech Neale '69 the 2019 recipient of the Head of School's Award during the Class of 1969 50-year reunion luncheon on April 12. Townsend thanked Neale for her leadership and decades of devotion and service to Ransom Everglades.

Neale volunteered to help organize her 50-year reunion, stepping up as she so often has since departing the Everglades School for Girls in 1969. Her passion and participation have been fueled by a long and proud connection to RE. She grew up under an educator father who worked at the Ransom School and Everglades School for Girls. She married an alum, sent her son to RE and has been an active alumna since she graduated.

"Lili is a kind and unassuming person who delights in elevating others," Townsend said. "She brings good cheer, enthusiasm and great competence to every undertaking. It is truly a privilege to recognize her for her years of joyful dedication to Ransom Everglades."