For Dedicated Service

The Syrena Stackpole Award is given annually at reunion in recognition of a lifetime of dedicated service and exceptional commitment to Wellesley College. It was established in 1982 to honor Syrena Stackpole, class of 1909, an attorney who offered to rewrite the wills of alumnae wishing to leave money to the College, free of charge. She showed her commitment as an alumna by attending 63 consecutive reunions. The recipients of the Syrena Stackpole Award in 2025 were Charlotte Hayes ’75 and Georgia Murphy Johnson ’75.

Hayes majored in history and political science, then earned a law degree from New York University. She had a long career in the federal government, serving as deputy assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Obama administration. Later, as a specialist master at Deloitte, she focused on cybersecurity and risk. Through it all, Hayes has given back to Wellesley as a devoted volunteer: board member of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, board member of the Washington Wellesley Club, volunteer with Career Education, and member of the class of 1975 Durant Committee. With Amy Huang ’99, she is alumnae liaison for the Zoë Sarbanes Pappas ’66 Wellesley-in-Washington Internship Program and the Washington Wintersession program. Hayes maintains and cultivates a matchless network of remarkable connections and is always looking for opportunities to advocate for Wellesley alumnae and students in the nation’s capital. “Wellesley believes that women can do anything,” Hayes told Wellesley magazine. “Because that is conveyed, it welds to already strong DNA. I work with young alums and students all the time, especially in winter and summer. To my great delight, I see it in them.”

Johnson majored in history. She went on to earn an M.B.A. at the University of Chicago and has spent her career in management consulting. Her firm, Johnson & Lawrence, works with nonprofits and small or emerging companies. She has volunteered for Wellesley in many capacities, including as a board member and president of Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston, as a member and chair of the Alumnae Achievement Awards committee, as former president of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, as a Career Education mentor, and as a member of the class of 1975 Durant Committee. She also remains connected to alumnae through the Business Leadership Council. During her leadership of the WCAA board, Johnson served on the presidential search committee that brought President Paula A. Johnson to Wellesley. One of her favorite Wellesley memories is from reunion weekend in 2013, when she was on the Alumnae Association Board of Directors. Her daughter, Katherine “Katie” Johnson ’03, was attending her 10th reunion and her mother, Katherine Barrett Murphy ’53, was celebrating her 60th. On Sunday, all three of them cheered and marched in the Alumnae Parade.