#KnowYourPelicans: Dona Laughlin

Director of Alumni

As the Director of Alumni, what do you do for Packer?

My primary role is to keep our alumni connected to Packer and to each other. Together with the Alumni Board, we host events for alumni here at Packer and around the country. I work with our class correspondents who put together class notes for The Packer Magazine. I also serve as the keeper of Packer's archival materials and work with the Brooklyn Historical Society where they are housed. And, of course, along with our class agents, I help to raise money to support the mission of the School.

Tell us about a specific time you found your job especially rewarding.

The times when I have been able to make connections between alumni. I am often asked to help an alum find a fellow alum in a particular field, and when I can make a connection and the two of them really click, both are better for knowing each other. I love to facilitate those relationships.

What is something that most Packer people wouldn't know about you?

For 10 years I was a court appointed special advocate in the abuse and neglect section of Manhattan Family Court, where I worked to move children out of foster care and into permanent living situations.

What is your favorite space in the building?

Well, I guess I would have to say the Chapel. I have spent more time in the Chapel than any other space in the building except my office. The Tiffany windows are so very beautiful. For our alumni, the Chapel is the heart of the school. Seniors have always been dismissed from Chapel first and I love that we carry on that tradition. It is a special place that is part of every alum's experience at Packer.

Previous Pelicans:

Kindergarten Teacher Anne Montero

Upper School Science Teacher Alice Lurain

World Languages Teacher Su-Ling Huang

Upper School Art Teacher Eric Baylin

Preschool Teacher Lynnette Arthur

Middle School English Teacher Todd Johnson

Physical Education Teacher and Coach Rich Domanico

Food Services Member Ann Martinez

Lower School Librarian Chris Rush

Upper School Computer Science Teacher Louis Minsky '09

Upper School History Teacher Monika Johnston