Table for Eight: Dine with Davidson Women
We’re delighted to introduce Table for Eight: Dine with Davidson Women, a series of alumnae-hosted dinners designed to bring Davidson women together for conversation, connection and community building.
Table for Eight brings together Davidson women across generations for a shared meal and meaningful dialogue around personal experiences, mentorship, career journeys and life within and beyond our Davidson connections.
Eight women. One table. Countless insights.
Opportunities to participate will be posted on this webpage and pushed out via email to alums in each event’s respective area.
Upcoming Events
Nashville, TN – Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026
Columbia, SC – Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026
Greenville, SC – Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026
Fort Mill, SC – Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026
Wilmington, NC – Thursday, Feb. 18, 2027
San Francisco, CA – Thursday, March 11, 2027
Houston, TX – Wednesday, April 14, 2027
Northern Virginia / Washington, DC – Wednesday, May 5, 2027
“Table for Eight provides a warm and welcoming opportunity to create connections across generations of Davidson women.” Here's what others had to say:
“There is something about Davidson that attracts genuine, thoughtful and compassionate people. I loved hearing inter-generational stories of other women's experiences while attending Davidson and felt immediately connected to my group. This type of intimate gathering is so special ... and so needed right now!”
“I felt so much synergy and warmth from just women sharing space. Even through our varied life paths, we still found so much connection, shared experiences and shared laughs about our time at Davidson and life after. I am so honored I got to attend and the experience will stay with me forever.”
“I really enjoyed getting to connect with Davidson women across multiple generations. It was fun to hear about everyone's Davidson experience and talk about life phases, careers paths, family, and more. A wonderful experience!”
“Eight women gathered around a shared table… By the end, there was a sense of something both new and familiar taking shape… an unmistakable feeling that this connection was worth tending, that friendships could grow here, and that the conversation was only just beginning.”
“This was my first time engaging so deeply with women from Davidson who I hadn't been in school with, and it was clear that there was a real common ground and shared experience at the table. I was able to share things and absorb things so fully in a way that I rarely get to. It makes me feel extremely lucky to have gone to Davidson and want to connect more with fellow women.”
“Joining Davidson women of all ages through the Table for Eight program was such a treasure. It provided the opportunity to step back and reflect upon the value of my Davidson experience… I left the dinner excited to reconnect further with Davidson and so thankful for the opportunity to connect with other Davidson women in the Hampton Roads community.”
“Remember those conversations with your girlfriends sitting in the hallway of Belk or over the dinner table at Rusk? The ones that laid the foundation for what would become group chats and wedding parties and the relationships you treasure to this day… Table for Eight is the best grown up version of that — with the added benefit of collective decades of wisdom and stories and generosity (and better wine).”
“This was a wonderful opportunity and all of the women were extremely welcoming and vulnerable which made for a very meaningful connection and conversation.”
Want to Host?
If you are interested in hosting a Table for Eight event in your area, please email Deidra Smith, senior director of alumni & family engagement, at desmith1@davidson.edu or Marya Howell ’91, senior major gifts officer, women’s philanthropy, at mahowell@davidson.edu.
Please note: Due to the intimate, small size of each dinner, attendees will be selected at random from all who express interest. This process helps us ensure a rich mix of class years and backgrounds is represented at the table. Everyone who expresses interest will be notified of their selection status.
The Table for Eight series is co-hosted by the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement and Women ACT.
Past Events
- Lake Norman, NC (Davidson): Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, one hosted by Eleanor Cross Young ’01 and another hosted by Ginny Newell ’78.
- San Francisco, CA: Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, hosted by Alison Hall Mauze ’84
and Olivia Ware ’79. - Washington, D.C.: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, hosted by Elizabeth Franklin Keeler ’89
and Annabelle Ross ’24. - Charlotte, NC: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, one hosted by Ameesha Pandya Kansupada ’89 and Mary Margaret Cochrane Porter ’98 and one hosted by Berkeley Harris Gardner '91.
- Atlanta, GA: Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, one hosted by Judy Harris ’80 and Allie Hay '24 and one hosted by Patti Phillips Clark '77.
- Norfolk, VA: Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, hosted by Gigi Cooke Tysinger ’91 and Mary Chester Wasko ’79.
- Medina, WA: Thursday, May 7, hosted by Beth McCaw ‘92
- Denver, CO: Wednesday, May 20, hosted by Yvette Pita Frampton ‘95.
- Washington, D.C. (DMV): Wednesday, May 27, one hosted by Frederique Campagne Irwin ’96 and another hosted by Ann Tutwiler ’80.
- New York, NY: Thursday, June 11 - one hosted by Cary Umhau ’82 and another hosted by Sallie Permar ’97
- Durham, NC: Wednesday, June 24, hosted by Whit Wampler Trumbill ’82, P’10
- Chapel Hill: Wednesday, June 24, hosted by Linda Jones Kopel ’77
- Raleigh, NC: Thursday, June 25, hosted by Jenny McDonald Willard ’91