Alumnae

Distinguished Alumnae

The Alumnae Award

Description

The Alumnae Award was established in 1967 to honor Rosamond Cross on her 25th anniversary as Head of School. It is given annually to an alumna who has distinguished herself in her field of endeavor and whose life reflects a dedication to the principles of The Baldwin School.

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2023 Winner: Florencia Greer Polite ’93

Dr. Florencia Greer Polite is a Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology who serves as Chief of the Division of General OBGYN at Penn Medicine and Vice Chair of Clinical Operations. Dr. Polite graduated with honors from Harvard College and received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at New York University (NYU) and Bellevue hospitals, and then joined the faculty at NYU upon graduation. In 2010, Dr. Polite and her family moved to New Orleans, her husband’s hometown, where she practiced at Louisiana State University serving as the Residency Director and Division Chief for General OBGYN. In 2018, Dr. Polite was recruited back to Penn Medicine to serve as Chief of the Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology. In this capacity, Dr. Polite supervises the largest division in the department of OBGYN. In January 2022, she was appointed as the Vice Chair of Clinical Operations in the Department of OBGYN.
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In her four years while at Penn Medicine, Dr. Polite has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at addressing systemic racism and decreasing racial disparities. Dr. Polite addressed healthcare workers in the June 2020 White Coats for Black Lives kneel at Franklin Field and has served as a member of the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania (CPUP) Anti-racism Committee.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Polite created and operationalized Operation-CAVEAT: COVID-19 Acceptance: Vaccine Education and Adoption Taskforce, an intervention designed to address vaccine hesitancy among staff at Penn Medicine, specifically people of color. For this effort, she was named one of Philadelphia’s citizens of the year and was also named to City and State’s Above and Beyond list honoring distinguished Women in Pennsylvania. She was recently named an ACOG Vaccine Champion, a commendation from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology given to only six physicians.

Dr. Polite credits her success to her amazingly supportive family. She has two wonderful daughters, one of whom attends college in California. Dr. Polite lives in Philadelphia with her husband, her youngest daughter and her mother, Gloria Greer. Dr. Polite has remained an active Baldwin alumna, coming every spring to meet with Baldwin’s senior class to discuss contraception, sexual assault and consent. She was chosen by the 2021 graduating class to be the Baldwin Commencement Speaker.

Distinguished Young Alumna Award

Description

The Distinguished Young Alumna Award was established in 1991. It is given to an alumna who has graduated within the last 25 years and has made significant contributions in her profession, avocation or volunteer services.

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2023 Winner: Ricki Weisberg ’98

Ricki Weisberg is a Nonprofit Publicist and CEO of Bird Hill PR. She is passionate about making the world a better and more equitable place and has spent over two decades developing and implementing communications strategies and building brands in the nonprofit and private sectors.

Ricki started her career as an activist in Washington, DC, working for nonprofit organizations, Women for Women International, The Landmine Survivors Network and Green for All, focused on global women's rights, disability rights and building a more equitable green economy.
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When Ricki first learned about the power of the press to make a difference in the world was in the early 2000s and The Oprah Winfrey Show sent her to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with their video camera to interview women survivors of war. When the show aired, thousands of women in the United States signed up to support women in the DRC through Women for Women International.

In 2019 Ricki launched her boutique PR agency, Bird Hill PR, to help nonprofit organizations increase visibility by securing consistent press. Her clients range from the preeminent global disaster relief organization, International Medical Corps, to Philadelphia’s Oshun Family Center, fighting for Black maternal and mental health. 2023 year-to-date press efforts for Bird Hill PR’s nonprofit clients have reached over 1.5 billion people.

As an alumna, Ricki has been an active volunteer. Since 2012, she has been an active member of the Alumnae Association Executive Board, serving as President from 2018-2021, planning Philadelphia area alumnae events and volunteering for reunion. She has supported Baldwin students over the years as a Career Day panelist and a mock interviewee for the Germination Project interviews.

She has recently been dubbed as the “Terrible Sandwich Mom” after a TikTok of her son, Abe Ndege, telling her “terrible sandwich, by the way” after his first day of school, went viral. The video gained global attention, with over 50 million views, and landed Ricki and Abe on national news broadcasts such as Good Morning America and The Today Show. Always a Baldwin girl, Ricki used the spotlight to highlight the fight against childhood hunger and created TerribleSandwich.com merchandise to raise funds for Feeding America.

Ricki graduated from George Washington University with BAs in Women’s Studies and Psychology. She lives in Ardmore, PA, with her husband, Moni Ndege and her son, Abe Ndege.

Alumnae Award for Life Achievement

Description

The Award for Lifetime Achievement was established in 1991. It is given to an alumna who has either demonstrated a lifelong dedication and commitment to helping empower those who have struggled with challenges and societal barriers or who has had a significant impact on an institution or community.

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2023 Winner: Rachel Gerstenhaber Stern ’83

Rachel Gerstenhaber Stern has been a dedicated leader in the Baldwin community. She has served in a variety of volunteer roles − reunion planning volunteer, member and chair of the National Board of Advisors, member and Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Co- Chair of The Future Is Baldwin Campaign Committee and Co-Chair of the Ninth Head of School Search Committee.

In her role as co-chair of The Future Is Baldwin Campaign Committee and Ninth Head of School Search Committee, Rachel has provided leadership and strategic direction to further the School’s mission to educate girls who make lasting changes in the world. The Future Is Baldwin Campaign, the most successful campaign in Baldwin’s 135-year history, raised more than $32 million to support faculty, staff and students ensuring the financial support of generations to come at Baldwin.
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Rachel serves as the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Global Head of Strategic Resources of FactSet (NYSE, NASDAQ: FDS), a leading global financial information services company. She is a member of the Executive Leadership Team. In addition to Legal and Compliance, her mandate includes Enterprise Risk Management, Real Estate Strategy, Facilities Management and Offshore Site Management of Centers of Excellence in India, the Philippines and Latvia. Her operational experience covers M&A, Investor Relations, Human Resources and Data Procurement and Governance. She was the company’s first Executive Sponsor of its Women’s Business Resource Group. Prior to joining FactSet, Rachel was a corporate associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and she clerked for the late Chancellor William Allen of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Rachel earned a B.A. summa cum laude from Yale University, an M.A. with distinction from the University of London and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was an Executive Editor of the Law Review. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Vienna. She is admitted to the bar in New York and Washington, D.C., is House Counsel in Connecticut and is FINRA certified Series 7 and 24.

Rachel is an independent director of Baron Capital Management, Inc., a private asset management company in New York City, and of Morrow Sodali, a leading global shareholder engagement and governance advisory firm. She is a member of the Board of Directors of UJA-Federation of New York.

She has three grown daughters and lives in Westchester County, NY, with her husband and their dog. She is an avid runner, ultramarathoner and novice triathlete.