First presented in 1978, the Scripps College Distinguished Alumna Award was established to celebrate the notable achievements of Scripps alumnae and to focus attention on Scripps’ role in the education of women. The award is presented each year during Reunion Weekend.
Latest Recipient: Sara Kim ’86
Sara Kim ’86 was born in Chicago, raised in Seoul, Korea, and returned to the United States as a young adult. After majoring in international relations at Scripps, she pursued a master’s degree in international affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Her studies led to an eight-year journey at the World Bank as a researcher in the population, health, and nutrition sector. Teaching researchers the value of the dawning World Wide Web sparked a passion in education. Sara subsequently earned a PhD in education at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. Her dissertation focused on how medical students acquired complex concepts, which led to a faculty position at the UW School of Medicine. Apart from a two-year period when she led the Instructional Design and Technology Unit at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Sara has dedicated her career to UW as a medical educator. She currently serves as associate dean for Educational Quality Improvement, overseeing the medical school’s accreditation. As the George G. B. Bilsten Endowed Professor in the Art of Communication with Peers and Patients in the UW Department of Surgery, Sara has developed and delivered training in resolving interpersonal conflict in healthcare settings. She has taken her training as far as Hungary and Saudi Arabia, and publishes her collaborative work in leading academic journals. She also volunteers as a mediator at the Dispute Resolution Center of King County in Washington. Sara comes from a Claremont legacy family including graduates of Scripps, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pomona, and Claremont Graduate University. She credits Scripps and the late ProfessorJim Gould, her advisor at Scripps, for instilling the passion for lifelong learning. She also thanks her parents, Sun Ha and Kui Nam Kim, for their loving support. Sara is an avid hiker and a novice tai chi practitioner.
Past Recipients
| Year | Alumna | Position |
| 2021 | Connie de la Vega ’75 | International human rights professor at University of San Francisco School of Law |
| 2020 | Anne Maltman Campbell ’70 | San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools, co-founder of Every Kid, Every School |
| 2019 | Barbara Brooks Tomblin ’66 | Historian and Author |
| 2018 | Michelle Cleveland ’00 | Middle School Principal |
| 2017 | Carolyn Sheets Owen-Towle ’57 | Minister, Author, Speaker |
| 2016 | Gayle Pope Morrison ’71 | International Volunteer, Oral Historian |
| 2015 | Dwandalyn R. Reece ’85 | Curator of Music and Performing Arts at the Smithsonian’s newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture |
| 2014 | Margo Leonetti O’Connell ’64 | Trustee, California Science Center |
| 2013 | Sally Reeves Osberg ’73 | CEO, Skoll Foundation |
| 2012 | Maxine Borowsky Junge ’59 | Artist/art therapist/writer/educator/social activist |
| 2011 | Virginia Stibbs Anami ’66 | Educator/Writer/Scholar |
| 2010 | Gaye Burpee ’69 | Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Catholic Relief Services |
| 2009 | Cynthia “Pae” White ’85 | Artist |
| 2008 | Connie Butler ’84 | The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, New York |
| 2007 | Louise Langlois Francesconi ’75 | President, Raytheon Missile Systems |
| 2006 | Dr. Kathleen Brogan Schwarz ’64 | Pediatric gastroenterologist |
| 2005 | Dede Allen ’45 | Film Editor |
| 2004 | Barbara Cook Wormser ’59 | Founder and President, Inland Harvest |
| 2003 | Alison Saar ’78 | Artist |
| 2002 | Pamela Corey-Archer ’62 | Minister-Counselor, Madrid, Spain |
| 2001 | Hannah-Beth Jackson ’71 | Assemblymember, 35th District |
| 2000 | Beth Nolan ’73 | Counsel, President of the United States |
| 1999 | Marsha Genesky ’80 | Performer and Recording Artist |
| 1998 | Susan Fallows Tierney ’73 | Economic and Public Policy Analyst |
| 1997 | Barbara Arnwine ’73 | Civil Rights Attorney |
| 1996 | Elizabeth Arnold Stone ’71 | Veterinarian |
| 1995 | Marjorie Merryman ’72 | Composer |
| 1994 | Nancy Neighbor Russell ’53 | Environmental Activist |
| 1993 | Pamela Bowren Vandiver ’67 | Research Scientist in Ceramics |
| 1992 | Idelle Feinberg Weber ’54 | Artist/Educator |
| 1991 | Ruth Ashton Taylor ’43 | Television and Radio Journalist |
| 1990 | Jil Harris Stark ’58 | Volunteer/Educator |
| 1989 | Ruth Markowitz Owades ’66 | Businesswoman/Entrepreneur |
| 1988 | Jean Bixby Smith ’59 | Businesswoman/Community Volunteer |
| 1987 | Suzanne Muchnic ’62 | Art Critic/Journalist |
| 1986 | Tanya Cherry Tull ’64 | Community Service |
| 1985 | Susan Lautmann Hertel ’52 | Artist |
| 1984 | Nancy Cook Aldrich ’66 | Physicist/Engineer |
| 1983 | Rosemary Radford Ruether ’58 | Theologian |
| 1982 | Judith Nelsen Keep ’66 | Federal Court Judge |
| 1981 | Ruth Churchill ’54 | Marketing Director |
| 1980 | Laura Thurston Gutman ’57 | Pediatrician |
| 1979 | Maryanne McNellis ’68 | Journalist |
| 1978 | Ellen Hutchinson Ellis ’39 | Community Service |