Alumna Service Award: Ellen Todd Drew C’81
The Alumna Service Award recognizes a Salem alumna’s outstanding service to Salem through leadership, student recruitment, alumnae club leadership, internship opportunities, or other beneficial activities. For her continued service to Salem, Ellen Todd Drew C’81, is the Alumna Service Award recipient for 2021. In the years since graduation, Ellen worked in the development offices at Peabody Essex Museum and the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, as well as working as an administrator at the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services in New York City.
Her service to Salem has been profound as she currently serves as the Chair of the Development Committee for the Academy and College’s Board of Trustees, in addition to previous roles as a class officer for the class of 1981, an Alumnae Admissions Representative, and in 2019, she hosted a luncheon in her Los Altos Hills, CA home to introduce President Doran to women in the technology sector.
Ellen notably served as Co-Chair for the Step Up for Salem Campaign, which raised more than $13 million in cash in one year, and she was recognized as a Trailblazer at the close of the campaign. In addition to her service to Salem, Ellen is deeply committed to, and involved in, her local community where she has served as a member of the PTA of her children’s school, Girl Scouts, Junior League, Second Harvest Silicon Valley, and Part the Cloud Steering Committee for Alzheimer’s research.
Distinguished Alumna Award: Lucy Rose C’76
The Distinguished Alumna Award recognizes a Salem alumna’s achievements in volunteer service and/or her professional distinctions. The 2021 Distinguished Alumna Award recipient is Lucy Rose C’76. Lucy owns and operates Lucy Rose & Associates, a firm that works with pharmaceutical and medical companies and related agencies to provide regulatory promotional strategy support.
Before launching her own company, Lucy served in various roles at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the Food and Drug Administration and at Mead Johnson Pharmaceuticals. Throughout her professional career, Lucy has been honored many times nationally and internationally for her impact as a global health leader. In addition to her many professional accomplishments, Lucy holds a BS in Biology from Salem, an MBA from Averett College, and she also graduated from the Wake Forest University Physician Assistant Program as a board-certified Physician Assistant.
While at Salem, Lucy served as the President of the Student Government Association, and still maintains connections with SGA presidents past and present. A former Alumnae Board member, a driving force behind the Salem Academy and College Club in New York City, the host of the Salem Voices video series, and the Vice-Chair of Salem’s Board of Trustees are just a few marks of her service to Salem. Lucy has been instrumental to the development and execution of Salem’s Health Leadership pivot and has a long history of partnering with the Institutional Advancement Office to connect Salem to funding opportunities. Most recently, Lucy cultivated and solicited a donor which resulted in the recent $5 million gift to Health Leadership, which marks the largest gift in Salem’s history.
Young Alumna Award: Jaimie Barber Palmer C’06
The Young Alumna Award recognizes a Salem alumna who within 15 years of her graduation exemplifies outstanding leadership qualities through professional and/or volunteer service. Jaimie Barber Palmer C’06 has been selected as the Young Alumna Award winner for 2021. Jaimie serves as the Division Manager for Allen Marine Tours in Ketchikan, Alaska, in addition to owning a boutique and candle company. A wife and mom of two, Jaimie is a proud 2006 graduate with degrees in Sociology and Communications.
Aside from her career in tourism in Southeastern Alaska, Jaimie is a member of multiple boards: Ketchikan Visitor’s Bureau, the Alaska Travel Industry Association, and Women in Safe Homes. In the past few years, she has been recognized for her community outreach efforts, and was named the “Heart of the Community” through the Ketchikan Visitor’s Bureau and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce. Recently, she secured a $50,000 donation from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to support Women in Safe Homes. This donation completed funding for a new safe shelter. Jaimie also recently became one of 1,000 female entrepreneurs to be granted the Red Backpack Fund from SPANX through the Global Giving Foundation.
Distinguished Service Award: Ella Ann Lee Holding C’56
The Distinguished Service Award is awarded at the discretion of the Alumnae Board and Salem College to alumnae who go above and beyond in both their service to Salem and lifetime achievements. Last awarded in 2012, the Distinguished Service Award has only been granted a few times to extraordinary alumnae. For her everlasting commitment and generosity to Salem, Ella Ann Lee Holding C’56 is awarded the Distinguished Service Award. Ella Ann’s devotion to Salem is limitless; over the years, she has hosted multiple alumnae gatherings at her home in Smithfield, NC and has served on the Reunion giving committee for her class. In the mid-90s, Ella Ann’s service was recognized when she was awarded the Alumna Service Award and in 2005, she and her late husband, Frank, established the Frank and Ella Ann Holding Scholarship Fund for Salem College students.
During the Step Up for Salem Campaign, she penned compelling letters to her classmates and sister classes encouraging donations during a critical moment in Salem’s history. She was later recognized as a Step Up for Salem Campaign Trailblazer. As Ella Ann celebrates her 65th Reunion at Salem, the Alumnae Board was determined to recognize her loyalty, dedication, and service to the Salem community and wanted to extend this award to our extraordinary alumna. An accomplished pianist, Ella Ann graduated with a BA in Music and holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Yale University School of Music. She spent time at Juilliard, was a Fulbright Scholar at the Royal Academy of Music in London and served as Campbell University’s first Artist-in-Residence for over twelve years.
Her performances are many; most notably performing with orchestras including the Yale Symphony, Raleigh Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. With that being said, it should come as no surprise that Ella Ann is a longtime Friend of the School of Music. In 2018, she travelled to New York City to attend an event honoring Margaret Sandresky as the North Carolina Society of New York’s Person of the Year.