The Alumnae Association created the Sed Ministrare Volunteer Award to honor and celebrate outstanding volunteer service to Wellesley College.
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The nominee has made significant or innovative contributions and/or shown superior performance and leadership in service to the complementary missions of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association and Wellesley College.
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The nominee must be an alum of Wellesley College.
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Current members of the WCAA Board of Directors or Trustees of the College along with current employees of the WCAA and the College are excluded from award eligibility.


Azizah Yasin ’94 has a passion for making connections with alums, students, and prospective students in her work with the Shared Identity Group Wellesley Alumnae of African Descent (WAAD),and as an Admission volunteer. To fill a vacancy she eagerly became the WAAD New England regional representative and in 2021 began serving as the vice president of programming. As regional representative for the geographical area that included the College, she also spent time cultivating the next generation of WAAD and Wellesley alums by fostering relationships with the students of Harambee House. Azizah has embraced the goal of expanding the reach of WAAD as the vice president of programming, hoping to connect with alums of African descent outside of the US, while also organizing monthly WAAD programs and building relationships with other SIGs. Once an admission interviewer, she has enthusiastically stepped into the new roles Admission has created as a volunteer for the online forums and panels. Azizah is now the president of the Pioneer Valley Wellesley Club, having been their Alumnae Admissions Liaison in 2021-22. As her fellow volunteers have said, Azizah has “continually given of herself - her time and her heart - to our beloved Wellesley, its students, and her fellow alumnae.”
Anne Kelly Byerly ’82 is described as having “infectious enthusiasm for the College and our club” by her fellow board members of the Santa Barbara Wellesley Club. Having previously served on the board of the Washington Wellesley Club, Anne eagerly volunteered to be secretary of her new club when she moved to California in 2014. She followed that with her current role as president of the club, having held the position since 2018. As president, Anne has injected new energy into the club and has grown engagement in particular by conducting individual outreach to new members who have moved to the area. She continued to keep her club connected during the COVID pandemic with book club events, cooking classes, and a Holiday party with live music, all done virtually. Anne is also a member of the Wellesley Business Leadership Council and serves as the membership chair. Anne has served twice as her class’s Reunion Chair, most recently in 2022 for their 40th Reunion when she was also elected as the class vice president for the next five years. Through each of these roles, Anne has shown her extraordinary commitment to Wellesley.
Sed Ministrare Volunteer Award - Past Recipients
2021 |
Pamela Boulet '87 Denny Donovan '79 Anne Kennedy '66 Michele Leonard '77 |
2020 |
Jane Helmchen '61 Mei-Mei Tuan '88 Francine Miltenberger '78 and Mana Uchino '88 |
2019 |
Erin Corcoran '13 Lauren Young Durbin '99 Julia Griffith '71 |
2018 |
Teresita Ramos '93 Erika Spitzer '06 Jody Strakosch '79 |
2017 |
Susan Harmon '67 Erin Flannery Keith '05 Lisa Torreano '90 |
2016 |
Brooke Bryant '03 Sally Katz '78 Pamela McNeil '82 |
2015 |
Jane Dean '56 Bridget O'Connor Garsh '04 Charlotte LaRue Isaacs '68 Margaret Elizabeth Barr Wang '54 |
2014 |
Whitney Shaffer Ackerman '03 Martha Reardon Bewick '62 Charlotte Hayes '75 Helen Kriz Marshall '77 |