The 2024 recipients of the Alumnae Achievement Award are Claire Parkinson ’70, climate change scientist and social justice advocate; Joanne Berger-Sweeney ’79, college president and professor of neuroscience; and Amy Weaver ’89, business leader and champion of equality.

Eyes on the Arctic

Claire Parkinson ’70
 

A minor regret Claire Parkinson ’70 has from her time at Wellesley is that she waited until her senior year to take the class that ended up exciting her the most: astronomy. A climatologist for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for more than four decades, she says her first experiences in the Whitin Observatory were amazing.

“We got the keys and could go in the middle of the night—we’d go figure out where to point the telescope to see what we wanted to look at,” she says. She remembers being awestruck while viewing a globular cluster, a conglomeration of stars held together by gravity, up close. (“One little point of light in the sky becomes thousands on thousands,” she says.) The rings of Saturn looked just like a picture postcard, and the mountains on the moon suddenly became three-dimensional.

“The fact that here on Earth we can look at the sun and figure out what its chemical composition is, that was amazing to me,” she says. “[That we had a] means of being able to understand what chemicals are in the sun even though there was no possibility of going there—that really opened my mind to science.”

Neither of Parkinson’s parents had attended a four-year college, so she says she didn’t know what to expect from Wellesley. She was interested in math, loving the power and precision of it, but she was also attentive to the surrounding social issues of the late 1960s; she was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and was critical of the Vietnam War.

“By the time I was a senior at Wellesley, I realized I can’t just go into theoretical math as a career, I can’t go into some ivy tower and spend my life with abstract symbols not knowing what some mathematical theory might be used for,” she says. Although she remained a math major, she shifted her focus to science, to the slight disappointment of the legendary Alice Schafer, Helen Day Gould Professor of Mathematics.

Parkinson’s passion for science and understanding the broader world became a lifelong pursuit. At Goddard, which she joined in 1978, she became one of the world’s leading climatologists, pioneering how polar ice is monitored from satellites and helping develop computer models and analysis techniques that illustrate why it is essential to the Earth’s climate system and also reveal the changes occurring within it.

But she might not have made those discoveries if she hadn’t first gotten on the boat. After Wellesley, Parkinson went back home to Vermont. She had trouble finding permanent full-time work, and while she pondered what to do next she started to focus on the continent of Antarctica. The Antarctic Treaty had been signed when she was in grade school, preserving the entire continent for peaceful purposes and scientific research only. Parkinson went to her local library to research how she was going to manifest her vision of traveling there (she notes that she has always liked cold weather), and she learned about the Institute of Polar Studies at Ohio State University. She wrote to the center asking to join an Antarctica expedition, and she managed to get aboard as a graduate student.

Parkinson says she had not realized just how rare it was for women to be allowed on Antarctic expeditions.

“I was the only female on the ship going down and the only female on the island,” she says. “None of that bothered me, though the captain of the ship was horrified when we arrived.” While on Deception Island, just off the Antarctic mainland, she measured the flow of ice into a volcanic crater that had erupted a few years earlier.

She then spent a preliminary summer followed by two years at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., where she developed a sea ice model, which became her dissertation work. She was presenting her results at a conference in Seattle when she met a scientist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who asked if she had a job lined up. “NASA was so iconic,” she says. “I just knew that was immediately my top choice.”

At the time, NASA was still in the early stages of using data from satellites to observe Earth and its climate. Parkinson and her group analyzed data from these early satellites for information about sea ice in order both to develop techniques for analyzing it and to create atlases of the ice coverage—the beginnings of an effort that is now a cornerstone of climate science.

As satellite data and capabilities improved, she and her colleagues showed prominent long-term decreases in Arctic sea ice and that after decades of gradual increases and fluctuations, Antarctic sea ice also began to decrease. The research became fundamental to scientists’ understanding of climate science and climate change. In 2020, Parkinson was awarded NASA’s distinguished service medal, its highest honor, for outstanding research on global sea ice cover and climate change as well as for serving as project scientist on the Aqua satellite mission. Launched in 2002, Aqua transmits ocean, land, ice, and atmospheric data that are widely used by scientists around the world. (After an unexpectedly long life, the satellite will go dark sometime in the next several years.)

Parkinson marvels at the increasing awareness of climate science and how much easier it is to collect and analyze data than when she started in the 1970s. “None of us had computers at our desks,” she says. “We had to get information over to the main computers, and get plots drafted by draftsmen. Everything was slower and more tedious than [it is] now.

“Almost nobody was interested in Arctic sea ice or Antarctica sea ice. This ended up being great for me—I’m basically a shy person, and I was way, way, way more shy back then.”

By the late 1990s, she says, it became clear to her and her colleagues that Arctic sea ice was decreasing. She was the lead author of a 1999 paper that used satellite data to show decreases in the Arctic from the late 1970s to the late 1990s. She has since been a leading voice helping the public better understand what’s happening with the Earth’s climate and why we must be smart about finding solutions, which she explains in her 2010 book, Coming Climate Crisis?: Consider the Past, Beware the Big Fix.

In 2011, Parkinson led a “Women of Goddard” outreach effort that resulted in the book Women of Goddard: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and she has also written a book on the history of Western science.

In 2004, Parkinson became the first female recipient of the Goldthwait Polar Medal from the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at Ohio State University for her outstanding contributions to polar research—the same university she had joined on her first Antarctic expedition.

Parkinson’s colleagues say her research is a key reason the public is now engaged in global climate change.

“She was a pathfinder, looking at the ice as a reflection of how we are living our lives on this planet,” James Garvin, chief scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center, told the Partnership for Public Service when Parkinson was a finalist for a 2020 Service to America medal. “The impact of her work is hard to put into words. It’s planetary. It’s critical and paradigm shifting.”

A Pioneering Scientist and College President

Joanne Berger-Sweeney ’79
 

When Joanne Berger-Sweeney ’79, president of Trinity College in Connecticut, applied to college in 1975, the Ivy League had finally started opening its doors to women, and much of her family had proudly gone to historically black colleges and universities. But her mother had a different vision for her.

“I was this little Black kid growing up in L.A., and my mother just thought going to one of the Seven Sisters would be the most incredible thing for her daughter,” Berger-Sweeney recalls. Her mother understood that as a West Coaster and a Black woman, Berger-Sweeney would have come to any elite East Coast college as a bit of an outsider. Her advice: “Why don’t you take one of those things off the table?”

A young, dynamic Wellesley alumna in Los Angeles interviewed Berger-Sweeney, and that sealed the deal. (The College’s proximity to a favorite sports team—the Boston Celtics—didn’t hurt, either.)

She still remembers the day she arrived at Wellesley, sight unseen, and was greeted by a sophomore who said “Hello, Joanne! Welcome from Los Angeles.”

“I thought, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be,’” she says.

Berger-Sweeney earned her Ph.D. in neurotoxicology at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and went on to become an accomplished neuroscientist, then a transformational leader in higher education. As a scientist, she worked on a drug that is still widely used to treat Alzheimer’s, has authored more than 60 papers, and holds several patents. In 1991, she returned to Wellesley, eventually becoming the College’s first female African American to rise through the ranks to become a full professor. She served Wellesley for nearly 20 years as director of the neuroscience program and as associate dean before leaving to become dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University. For the past decade, she has served as president of Trinity, the first woman and first African American to do so.

Berger-Sweeney has received several awards for her scientific work, leadership, and mentoring, including the Lifetime Mentoring Award from the Society for Neuroscience and a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society.

She acknowledges that her journey didn’t follow a straight line, and that her success didn’t come without some setbacks. In November of her first year at Wellesley, for example, her mother died suddenly of an aneurysm; Berger-Sweeney rushed back home to Los Angeles. But the tragedy didn’t derail her Wellesley trajectory—instead, she says, Wellesley is what got her through.

“I don’t ever remember for a second not thinking I would come back to Wellesley,” she says. “When I got back, it was as though the whole campus surrounded me like a mother. The professors wrote me notes saying, ‘We’re going to help you—what do you need from us?’”

Berger-Sweeney had come from an inner-city school, and she struggled to keep up with her classwork and to feel confident that she belonged at Wellesley. But she says forming her own deep bonds at the College helped, and attending a liberal arts college was both a mind-expanding and nurturing experience. When she left, she was often the first one to speak up about certain things—such as how few women taught at other universities, like Johns Hopkins.

Berger-Sweeney has continued to notice what could be improved and to take action. She brought that drive with her to Trinity, a close-knit, small liberal arts college.

“I’m not sure I would have had the same energy to break barriers like this had it not been for my sensitivity around issues,” she says. Her Wellesley experience “gave me a sense of confidence at the time when I needed it.”

One of her first tasks in her role as president was to ensure Trinity was responding equitably and promptly to all reports of sexual misconduct and fostering a safer environment for all its students.

She also quickly determined that Trinity had fewer female full professors than any of its peers. She tackled that problem as well, and the split is now 50/50, Berger-Sweeney says. During her tenure she has greatly increased the number of tenure-track faculty of color, and the college has increased financial aid for its students by 50%. She completed an ambitious strategic plan, created a mentoring program for first-years, and reimagined the schools’ liberal arts program for the 21st century. Retention rates have gone up and post-graduation career outcomes for Trinity alumni have improved.

Berger-Sweeney says throughout her career, she has always loved her work. She loved being a scientist, conducting experiments in the lab. And she moved into administration because she wanted to be able to reach a wider range of students. “If you truly love what you’re doing, you’re going to be better at it. If you don’t like it, it’s probably a sign it’s not a perfect match,” she says.

“You’re going to most likely have to work very hard to get ahead,” she says. “There aren’t super-easy paths; I absolutely paid my dues.” And there is always value in holding true to who you are and why you’re doing the work, and in respecting the work of others. “Don’t treat people like trash on the way up, because it’s going to come back to you,” she says.

Berger-Sweeney recently announced that she will retire in June 2025, after 11 years at the helm of Trinity. “You want to go when people still want you to stay,” she says.

After having an impact on so many students throughout her career, her retirement dream is to return to the classroom herself—she plans to take some college writing courses in the hopes of writing fiction.

Leading with Kindness

Amy Weaver ’89
 

When Amy Weaver ’89 was offered the role of chief financial officer and president of Salesforce in 2020, her first reaction was shock. “I immediately thought it was ridiculous,” she says. She knew there would be a lot to learn, and she knew she would be catapulted into the public eye as a leader of the leading customer relationship management software and application company. She already knew Salesforce well: She joined it in 2013 as senior vice president and general counsel, was promoted to president in 2017 and chief legal officer in 2020. She built its global legal and corporate affairs organizations. Still, it was unheard of for a Fortune 500 CLO to transition from that role to CFO and president.

“I thought of all the times I’ve mentored young women in their careers,” she says. “I thought, what would I say to them if I told them I’d turned down the most extraordinary opportunity because I was afraid?”

Her first year was a blur, she says, but she quickly began to hone the skills she felt were most important to success: working with Wall Street and investors, and getting comfortable with earnings calls. “I promised myself I would never be afraid to ask questions, I was never going to pretend that I was a CPA or an accountant, so I could constantly be learning,” she says.

Weaver became one of only about 65 female CFOs of major companies. She focused on keeping Salesforce efficient while looking out for its future and growth investments. In fiscal year 2024, Salesforce boasted revenue of $34.9 billion, up 11% year over year. She also helped elevate it 50 spots in the Fortune 500 to No. 137 and led the company’s investments in artificial intelligence integration across all of its products. And she gained immense respect from the Wall Street community, driving alignment across Salesforce’s leadership team to achieve shareholder outcomes that some investors felt were unachievable.

Weaver is known as a leader who leans into kindness. That’s not a word often thrown around to describe Fortune 500 companies or Wall Street, but it is core to who Weaver is. “It’s one of the most basic things we can do as leaders,” she says. “We need to insist on better behavior, kindness, and civility.” The person who “comes in with a lot of swagger” may get established more quickly, she says, but the person who earns the trust of the room will have more staying power.

Weaver recalls a COO who asked her for a reference for a job applicant. He wondered if the candidate was too nice for the job. “I wanted to pound my head against a wall,” Weaver says. “People will mistake niceness or kindness for weakness. That’s absolutely the wrong thing.” Her kindness, in Weaver’s mind, was exactly what had made the candidate successful.

Weaver has been outspoken on women’s rights at home and globally as sponsor of the Salesforce Women’s Network and part of the UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign. A few years ago, she hosted a dinner for women, all leaders in their fields, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They all talked about the challenge of getting their voices heard, a moment that made Weaver feel lucky to have had four years at Wellesley. “I just wish it for every woman, that they could have that experience,” she says.

Wellesley, Weaver says, showed her the power of having a strong network of women backing her at every step of her career. “When I talk to people, especially young women, I remind them that at Wellesley, you’re not making a four-year decision, you’re making a lifetime decision about what network you want to be part of,” she says. “This incredible, powerful group of women who will have your back your entire life. I’ve found that so powerful.”

After Wellesley, Weaver followed in the footsteps of her father, grandfather, and most of her extended family and became a lawyer. She graduated from Harvard Law School, clerked for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, then moved to Hong Kong to work for a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council as part of the Luce Scholars Program. She stayed in Hong Kong as she entered private practice—an experience she found challenging, but one that also gave her enormous confidence. She went on to become executive vice president and senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Expedia and general counsel of Univar Solutions before joining Salesforce.

Among her many accolades, Weaver has received the Anti-Defamation League’s 2019 Distinguished Jurisprudence Award and an Award for Professional Excellence by Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, and she was named to the Financial Times’ Global GC 25 List and as one of Business Enquirer’s Top 10 Global CFOs.

Throughout her career, she says, she has pursued challenging opportunities even though they never seemed to come at what she considered “a good time.” “If you keep waiting for the stars to align, you will stay exactly where you are for the rest of your life,” she says. When she got the call to join Salesforce in 2013, for example, she had three boys in school and wasn’t looking to move her family from Seattle to San Francisco. But they convinced her to interview, and she was impressed by how values-based they were.

She shares a quote from civil rights activist and minister William Sloane Coffin that she first heard 20 years ago. “I love the recklessness of faith. First you leap, and then you grow wings.”

It’s advice that has continued to remain relevant in her life. In August 2024, after reporting robust second-quarter results, Weaver announced that she would step down from the CFO role once a successor was in place. She said after more than a decade with Salesforce, she was eager to challenge herself with new adventures.

“You’re going to have to take the jump and be confident those wings are going to come,” she says.