Women of Davidson Alumnae Weekend Schedule

Option A: Women's Stories as a Catalyst for Change: Telling Our Own Stories, Our Own Way

Presenter: Meredith Dean ’80

Session Description:
This interactive breakout invites participants into a powerful conversation about voice, identity and agency. Drawing from her decades of work organizing with women in Appalachia, Meredith will share her personal journey from grappling with belonging at Davidson, to working with women in communities where telling their stories carried real risk, to authentically amplifying those stories as a catalyst for change.

Participants will explore how storytelling has been used as a tool for survival, empowerment and change — particularly for women. The session will highlight lessons learned from grassroots organizing, including how women claimed space to speak, shaped their own narratives and built collective power through shared experience.

Participants will engage in a guided activity designed to help them consider:

• Whose voices they have learned to amplify or silence
• The stories they carry but have not yet told
• How they might tell their own stories with greater clarity, courage, and authenticity

Option B: Conquering Imposter Syndrome (AKA: “I don't think I can do that” and other lies I tell myself.) 

Presenter: Donna Peters ’89 

This session is designed to help women dismantle the mindsets that have us playing small in our personal and professional lives. We’ll dive into why women are highly susceptible to these feelings, and how to bridge the gap between your actual competence and your internal confidence. We'll discuss practical tips for:

• Understanding how and where imposter syndrome shows up
• Silencing the doubt
• Balancing humility with owning your value

Join us to shift the narrative from “I got lucky” to “I earned this.”

Continue exploring a variety of engaging sessions designed to inspire, connect, and support your personal and professional growth. Meet the speakers.

Option A: Your Values, Your Legacy: A Philanthropic Strategy Workshop 

Presenters: Beth McCaw ’92 and Marya Howell ’91 (Class of 2025 parent)

Session Description: 
We know women give differently; we lead with our values. But how do those values translate into a clear philanthropic strategy? This interactive session offers a space to pause and reflect on your personal "why." Through guided "Values Mapping" and peer-to-peer storytelling, we will explore how to align your giving with the causes that move you. Whether you give $20 or $200,000 toward the causes you love, this session will help you navigate your philanthropic journey with greater confidence, clarity and purpose.

Option B: Designing the Next Chapter of Your Life — On Your Terms 

Presenter: Whitney A. White ’08

Session Description: At every stage of life, there comes a moment when the question shifts from “What should I do?” to “What do I actually want next?” In this interactive breakout session, Whitney A. White ’08 will guide participants through a reflective, hands-on experience designed to help them clarify what matters most in the next chapter of their lives — across career, relationships, well-being and personal fulfillment.

Participants will engage in thoughtful conversation at their tables, using a guided reflection tool to surface insights, share perspectives and gently shape a personal vision for what comes next. The experience is intentionally holistic, spacious and welcoming of all life stages — from early career to retirement and everything in between.

Participants will leave with renewed clarity, positive momentum, and a practical roadmap they can continue to leverage as they move forward — grounded in what matters most to them.

Continue exploring a variety of engaging sessions designed to inspire, connect, and support your personal and professional growth. Meet the speakers.

Option A: The Power of Purposeful Action

Presenter: Karin Douglas ’88

Session Description:
Meaningful change does not require a specific title, platform or moment — it begins with personal clarity and intentional action. In this session, Karin invites participants to explore how aligning values, interests and energy can unlock opportunities to influence others and create impact at home, at work and in the wider community.

Drawing from her own experiences and examples of purpose-driven leadership, Karin will share practical and inspiring stories that illustrate how personal alignment serves as a foundation for effective and sustainable action. Participants will reflect on how understanding one’s motivations and season of life can shape the way they engage, lead and contribute.

By the end of the session, participants will be encouraged to consider — and act upon — opportunities for community engagement by reflecting on:

• Where their interests and passions naturally intersect with community needs
• How their available energy and life season inform the type of impact they can make
• Practical next steps for taking purposeful action in ways that feel authentic and sustainable

Option B: The Power of Friendship: Why Our Connections Matter at Every Age

Presenter: Catherine Bagwell

Session Description:
Friendships play a formative role in our lives, shaping who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we navigate both joy and challenge. This session, led by the Virginia Lasater Irvin Professor of Psychology at Davidson College, invites alumnae into a reflective and engaging conversation about the power of connection and the ways friendships support confidence, well-being and resilience across different seasons of life.

Participants will explore how friendships evolve over time, what makes certain relationships feel energizing and sustaining, and why others can become complicated as life circumstances change. Through shared reflection and conversation, the session will consider how women can intentionally nurture belonging and maintain meaningful connections during periods of growth, transition and change.

By the end of the session, participants will be encouraged to reflect on:

• The friendships that have shaped them at different stages of life
• What makes relationships feel supportive, reciprocal, and life-giving
• How they might continue building and sustaining meaningful connections in their current season

Option C: Bridging Divides: Community Engagement in Polarized Times

Presenter: Meredith Dean ’80

Session Description:
In an era marked by deep political and cultural polarization, many people struggle to imagine how meaningful community work can still happen across differences. This breakout offers a grounded, hopeful perspective rooted in decades of organizing in rural Appalachia where ideological divides are real, personal and persistent.

Meredith will share lessons from her work with women-led community organizations and political campaigns in deeply divided regions, including successes, missteps and hard-earned insights. Rather than focusing on winning arguments, this session explores how trust is built, how shared values surface beneath disagreement, and how community organizing can create space for collaboration even in polarized environments.

Participants will be invited into conversation and reflection around:

• How our own perceptions and stereotypes may hinder us
• How working together on local concerns can begin to build trust
• Ideas for action as pathways to collaborative community engagement

This inspiring and candid intergenerational panel brings together alumnae from across decades to reflect on how purpose, priorities and definitions of success evolve over time. Panelists will share honest stories, from planned paths to unexpected turns, about navigating careers, family, transitions and moments of reinvention. Featuring perspectives from early career through legacy-building years, this conversation offers reassurance, insight and inspiration for alumnae at every stage of life.

Moderator: Donna Peters ’89
Panelists: Ann Hayes Browning ’79; Patricia Massey Hoke ’07; Adrienne Simone Miller ’16; Leigh Rawdon ’95

Meet the speakers.

Take the afternoon at your own pace with a variety of optional activities: relax at the spa, join a scheduled social activity, enjoy beachside journaling, schedule a career coaching session or explore any of the other offerings on property.

Gather for a celebratory brunch to close out the weekend. Enjoy food, lively conversation and final moments of connection with fellow alumnae as we say our farewells.