Susan Wagner Lacy ’70 brought talent and experience in documentary biographies to her most recent project – Spielberg for HBO. But even to agree to make a movie about one of the world’s best-known directors, she also had to summon her nerve. “I tried really hard not to think about it,” she told The New York Times. “I would have been absolutely frozen.” The Times featured Lacy as the director behind the film, which premiered on HBO in early October. The paper wrote of Lacy, “She’s owned the field of documentary biography for more than 30 years, beginning at PBS – where she created the series American Masters, winning 28 Emmy and 11 Peabody Awards.” Lacy moved to HBO in 2013 with a promise from Spielberg to cooperate with her on the project. Spielberg sat with Lacy for 30 hours of interviews that resulted in the 2½-hour film. His parents and sisters participated, as did A-list Hollywood directors and actors including Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin … [Read more...]

Winners of the 2017 Alumni Awards were announced during Reunion Weekend, June 2-4. John Anstey ’93 of the Anstey Hodge advertising and design firm in Roanoke, Virginia, earned the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Anstey is a marketing and communications expert, a member of the Public Relations Society of America, and the founding chair of UMW’s College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board. He has contributed pro bono work for numerous nonprofit organizations in the Roanoke area. Tara Corrigall ’82 received the Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award for her tireless work for Mary Washington and its alumni. A former member of the Board of Visitors, Corrigall has served as an Alumni Association board member, a regional network leader, and a class agent. She was on the advisory committee responsible for hiring UMW President Troy D. Paino. Virginia Atkinson ’03 was named Outstanding Young Alumnus for her work in disability rights and civic engagement. She is senior access and … [Read more...]

Angela Mills ’01 was named director of alumni relations for the Virginia Tech College of Engineering in December 2016. In that role, she is a liaison among development, departments in the school of engineering, and nearly 70,000 living VT engineering alumni. Mills joined Virginia Tech in 2013 as director of alumni relations for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, overseeing the college’s alumni program, the student ambassador program, and numerous college events.  Mills studied business administration with an emphasis in marketing and theater at Mary Washington. Today she serves as president of the UMW Alumni Association. She began her professional career in development working with the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Mills earned a master of public administration degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and worked for UT in many capacities in alumni relations and development. She is an … [Read more...]

The Executive Women of the Palm Beaches awarded Nellie King ’92 its 2017 Women in Leadership Award for the private sector. The award honors women who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements and leadership in the Palm Beach, Florida, community. A noted criminal defense lawyer, King has held local, state, and national roles in legal organizations. She has been president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and worked with President Barack Obama’s Clemency Project. The clemency initiative focused on minimum-mandatory sentencing policies, which had resulted in the incarceration of thousands of Americans for nonviolent drug offenses. King is a past president of the Palm Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is on the boards of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Boys Town South Florida, and the Criminal Justice Commission. … [Read more...]