Photo by Richard Howard

When the 2018 Faculty-Staff Service Award was announced by WCAA Executive Director Missy Siner Shea ’89 at a gathering of the College’s administrative staff, there was a lot of hooting and hollering, particularly from the workers in Library and Technology Services. Rachael Coombes and Tony DiPesa, both of LTS, were honored this year for their “excellence and dedication in serving the alumnae of the College.”

The two developed an alumnae data visualization system called WENDY that has been a huge asset for the WCAA staff. Need to find class officers who live in Texas? Or all the alumnae in Washington, D.C., who sang in the Wellesley College Choir? WENDY can do it. It also provides a wealth of alumnae demographics that were never available to the staff before—slicing and dicing data in new ways and showing the results with charts, graphs, and maps.

“Rachael and Tony have demonstrated a tireless effort to help resolve any issues with WENDY, and they have been receptive to all of our feedback,” said Shea in presenting the award. Another WCAA staff member joined the praise: “Rachael and Tony have come to our office many times to go over the system with us, and each time we have appreciated their patience, kindness, and can-do attitude. They clearly want to be the best partners possible.”