Service Awards

Ann A. Abbott has devoted her distinguished career to advancing social work education and professional practice. After earning her MSS and PhD from Bryn Mawr College’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research (GSSWSR), she held faculty and leadership positions at Rutgers, Widener, and West Chester Universities, teaching clinical practice and human behavior at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

As a faculty fellow with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, she helped develop substance abuse content for social work curricula. At West Chester, where she served as professor and chair of the Graduate Social Work Department from 2001 to 2013, she helped transform a small program into a thriving academic community.

A nationally recognized authority on substance abuse, mental health, and social work ethics, Ann has published extensively and lectured across the country. She served as national president of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) from 1993 to 1995, was honored as an NASW Social Work Pioneer, and received the Association’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Ann’s dedication to Bryn Mawr continues through her longstanding service on the GSSWSR Board of Advisors, including serving as chair. She remains an engaged and valued advocate for the School and its future.

Sally holds an AB from Bryn Mawr College in classics and near eastern archeology and classical studies and an Ed.M. in administration, planning, and social policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Throughout her career, Sally has prioritized establishing and expanding access to strong education options for students and their families. She has held various leadership roles in public education systems and with education-focused nonprofits. Sally is currently the Chief of Staff at the Classical Academies in San Diego and on the California Charter Schools Association board. Most recently Sally was a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution, where she was the executive director of the Hoover Education Futures Council.  

From 2019 to 2021, Sally served as the vice president of Wonderful Education, one of the Wonderful Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sally carried out direct service education, health, and wellness initiatives for children, families, and communities throughout California’s Central Valley.  

Previously, Sally served as assistant commissioner of education for New York State, was senior advisor and vice president at City Year Inc., and worked with Expeditionary Learning Schools. She led two charter school networks as interim superintendent as they each navigated leadership and governance transitions. She started her career in public education with the San Diego Unified School District.  

Sally’s volunteer leadership began with the Boston Club, three terms as a Reunion Class Gift Committee member, a member on the Committee on Leadership Development (CLD), a member of the President’s Advisory Council, as well as most recently as the Alumnae Association President and Board of Trustees member. During Sally’s tenure as president of the Alumnae Association, she led the transformation of the Alumnae Association Executive Board to become the Alumnae/i Leadership Council, with the intention of being more inclusive of alumnae/i of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Sally currently serves on the Bryn Mawr College Board of Trustees.  

Alisha Clark holds an AB in sociology and a minor in health studies from Bryn Mawr College and is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration at Thomas Jefferson University with an anticipated graduation in the summer of 2027. 

While actively pursuing her next academic milestone, Alisha is the Program Director of Research Integrity, Conduct & Compliance at Thomas Jefferson University, where she leads strategic initiatives supporting research integrity, research security, compliance, and institutional risk management. Since joining the University in 2018, she has built a strong record of advancing complex, cross-functional initiatives that strengthen institutional practices while supporting faculty and academic leadership.

Alisha’s volunteer leadership began during her senior year when she joined the Senior Gift Committee, while also serving as the Student Self-Government Association President. As a student and young alumna, Alisha was part of the History Working Group from 2017 to 2019 that resulted in the Art Remediating Campus Histories (ARCH) Project. After graduation, she was a founding member of the revitalized Black Alumnae/i Fund Committee helping the fund grow its donor and philanthropic participation over her four years of service. Throughout her years as a member of GOLD (graduates of the last decade), she has actively served as a GOLD host for programs regionally, participated in Tapestry programs as an alumna leader, and remained active with the Philadelphia Club, including serving in a leadership role as co-president. 

Lydia M. Sanchez is a civil servant and federal policy professional, with more than a decade’s worth of experience advancing legislative, budgetary, and regulatory policy priorities in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Senate, and across federal agencies. Lydia began her career prior to Bryn Mawr as a gap year student with the U.S. Department of State's program the National Security Language Initiative for Youth in Muscat, Oman, studying Arabic and diplomatic relations. While a student at Bryn Mawr, the Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies coursework made available through the Quaker Consortium allowed Lydia to be awarded the State Department’s Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs Boren Scholarship. She was subsequently stationed in Rabat, Morocco training in Modern Standard Arabic and diplomatic affairs. Lydia was also selected as a Mellon Mays Fellow, focusing her research on the post-colonial Arabization period and linguistic aftermath. After earning her BA in political science, Lydia joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency, within the Department of Homeland Security. Serving alongside the head of the agency, the FEMA Administrator, Lydia completed work for the congressionally mandated National Advisory Council as well as Regional Advisory Councils, in addition to advocacy work for tribes and unserved communities. Moreover, for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lydia served as a member of leadership in the National Response Coordination Center.

As a student, Lydia served for three years on the Board of Trustees as the student representative, participating in both board meetings and focus groups on matters including diversity, financial accessibility, and more pragmatic topics such as campus infrastructure improvements. Lydia spoke at Plenary to educate students on what it means for Bryn Mawr to be a non-profit institution, and how giving at any level is important for philanthropic participation. Lydia proudly served on the Senior Gift Committee during her senior year and served as a class challenger to encourage greater participation. Moreover, Lydia became a member of the Taylor Society, which was featured in the Bryn Mawr Magazine in an effort to educate on and promote planned giving.  

Since her graduation, Lydia has been a committed member of the Junior Club of Washington, DC, including serving as Club president. Her work included participating and leading local event programs for DC area alumnae/i. Lydia also joined the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) committee to help further engage recent graduates across the globe.