Tempestuous weather was unable to drown out the vibrant green glow on Martha’s Vineyard when more than 168 alumni, guests, and friends attended the 2024 Dartmouth Martha’s Vineyard event with Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA) at the Martha’s Vineyard (MV) Museum in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. The occasion allowed alumni and attendees to connect with old friends and befriend new ones. Representing the ’83s were Liz Cahill Lempres, chair of the Dartmouth board of trustees; Bruce Danziger, a member of the Alumni Council; Deborah Hayden; and yours truly, Shanta Sullivan. The BADA leadership included Maria Cole ’84, president, and David Cumberbatch ’84, Alumni Council representative. Among the many trustees present were Shonda Rhimes ’91, David Grain, Tu’89 (and a board member of the MV Museum), Ellie Loughlin ’89, and chair emeritus Laurel Richie ’81. The gathering featured an address by President Sian Beilock, who affirmed Dartmouth’s commitments to embracing diversity as a strength; prioritizing mental health and wellness; expanding housing for students, faculty, and staff; and the College’s work on climate initiatives. She cited some of the College’s outreach intentions for inclusion, such as the Dartmouth Bound Program, founded by Gary Love ’76, created to give rising high school seniors from underrepresented backgrounds and communities across the country an extended campus visit each summer. President Beilock acknowledged the presence of Dr. Estevan Garcia, Dartmouth’s inaugural chief health and wellness officer, who oversees health services, the student wellness center, and employee wellness. She shared recent news of the purchase of four properties on West Wheelock—part of her pledge to add 1,000 beds during the next decade. As for long-range goals, our president pointed out the Dartmouth Climate Collaborative’s plan to invest $500 million toward 100-percent decarbonization of the campus by 2050.

Sam Reckford reports that he and his family went to Paris to watch daughter Molly ’15 compete in the Olympic lightweight women’s double sculls rowing events, not to mention the final. She had a respectable finish to a remarkably surprising post-collegiate rowing career. “Never in a million years would I have expected any of my children to make an Olympic team. And she did it twice.”

We’re proud to report that Arvo Q. Mikkanen, the president of the Oklahoma Indian Bar Association and an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, was honored with the National Native American Bar Association’s inaugural Advocacy Warrior Award, which celebrates excellence in legal practice advocating for Native American justice, rights, and tribal sovereignty.

Let’s cheer for Liz Neisloss, a news reporter at GBH,who recently won a Boston-New England Emmy Award for a Serious Feature: Priced Out. “Grateful to Judith for sharing her story, which reveals the economic fragility of older women.”

Before closing, I want to give a rouse and a heartfelt thank you to Elliot Stultz, my wonderful co-secretary, for his undying enthusiasm, reliability, and commitment to our class during the past six years!

—Shanta Sullivan, 1541 North Sierra Bonita Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; shantaesullivan@gmail.com