Women's Symposium

Blair Academy Women’s Symposium
was held on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Exploring the call to “Be Bold,” Blair’s third annual Women’s Symposium last Saturday consisted of conversations and panel discussions on the topics of boldness, strength, values and financial health as they apply to women’s personal and professional lives. 

2023 Panelists:
Agnes Chapski P’25 
Emily Cherenack ’08
Carolyn Conforti-Browse ’79
Raleigh Dierlam ’09
Melissa Levinson ’15
Anita (Ricketts) Sarate ’88 
Maria Vinci Savettiere P’17

2023 Women's Symposium Speakers

Agnes Chapski P’25
Agnes Chapski is the founder of Agnes Chapski Consulting, serving clients in the media, beauty, fashion and wellness industries. She is also the founder and chief operating officer of Eat It Productions, which recently launched the WTFork.com platform based on the best-selling book by Stefanie Sacks titled What the Fork Are You Eating?. Prior to that, she served as the senior vice president and group publisher at Meredith overseeing InStyle, Shape and Health from 2019 to 2022. Before joining Meredith, Ms. Chapski was president of NewBeauty, overseeing the brand’s development and creating a new company named Beauty Engine. She has spent a total of 18 years at Condé Nast in roles such as publisher and chief revenue officer of Allure, as well as associate publisher at Vanity Fair and Lucky since the publication’s launch in 2000. Before her distinguished career at Condé Nast, Ms. Chapski worked at Weider Publications, overseeing and launching all their women’s titles (Shape, Shape Cooks, Living Fit and Jump), serving as their vice president and publisher. In addition to her professional success, Ms. Chapski has been involved in numerous philanthropic initiatives, serving on the CEW Foundation board and as a Board of Trustees member to the Emma Willard School, a nationally recognized boarding and day school for girls. Ms. Chapski is a graduate of Smith College and resides in New York City with her husband and two children, including Chase ’25.

Emily Cherenack ’08
A postdoctoral scholar at the University of Miami with a background in clinical health psychology, Dr. Emily Cherenack examines the biobehavioral mechanisms through which stress and stigma impact the immune system. Through her research, Dr. Cherenack investigates how resilient coping improves health in the context of social marginalization. She is currently completing a National Institutes of Health-funded Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award on mental health, the microbiome and mucosal inflammation involved in HIV acquisition. She is also overseeing multiple pilot studies exploring how stigma and prosocial coping impact health behaviors, chronic inflammation and cellular aging among sexual and gender-minority individuals. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Cherenack completed her undergraduate studies at Barnard College of Columbia University and earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University. She completed her clinical internship in behavioral medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. 

Carolyn Conforti-Browse ’79
As Blair’s Dean of Campus Life and Director of Leadership Programs, Carolyn Conforti-Browse partners with faculty, staff and students to develop and nurture Blair’s community, specifically by supporting the School’s advising, residential and student leadership programs. In addition to teaching English, she also administers the prefect program, directs Blair’s first-year seminar, and collaborates closely with the Blue and White Key Society and team captains. Ms. Conforti-Browse completed her undergraduate work at Colgate University in 1983 and earned her MA in 1995 from Wesleyan University. In addition to her responsibilities at Blair, she is director of academic curriculum for the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy in New Jersey, Illinois and California, and co-director of the Rookie Teacher Seminar, which trains new boarding school teachers at Blair each August. Ms. Conforti-Browse lives on campus with her husband, math teacher R. Latta Browse, and they have two children,Tyler ’08 and Annelies ’13. 

Raleigh Dierlam ’09
Ms. Dierlam serves as a partnership advisor for Stand Together Ventures, a philanthropic community that works with more than 700 business leaders and philanthropists to empower people to realize their unique potential and help every person rise. Stand Together’s comprehensive approach to addressing the country’s biggest challenges includes support for more than 1,000 professors at over 300 universities, tens of thousands of K-12 teachers, more than 300 community-based organizations addressing persistent poverty and millions of grassroots activists working to improve public policy. Previously, Ms. Dierlam served as the resource development manager for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, focused on growing relationships with national trustees, major donors and midlevel supporters. Before that, she served as a major gift officer at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Ms. Dierlam also supported political fundraising efforts, working at No Labels and the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, respectively. She graduated from Kenyon College and currently resides outside of Washington, D.C., with her husband and infant twin sons.

Melissa Levinson ’15
A graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, Melissa Levinson double majored in digital journalism and public relations and strategic communications while interning for Shark Tank’s Daymond John for over two years at The Shark Group. Having recently earned her master’s degree in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies, Ms. Levinson now serves as a public relations coordinator at Hearst Magazines, working closely on public-relations efforts across Esquire, Delish, Hearst Autos, the Enthusiast Group brands, Food Network Magazine, HGTV Magazine and The Pioneer Woman.

Anita (Ricketts) Sarate ’88 
Anita Ricketts serves as the head of strategic partnerships for DiversityInc, joining the company in 2013 as vice president of major accounts. In her current role, she serves as a consultant, advisor and coach to DiversityInc’s corporate partners and oversees the company’s philanthropic partnerships. Prior to joining DiversityInc, Ms. Ricketts worked with IEEE, a global nonprofit that advances technological innovation for the benefit of humankind. She served as IEEE’s first international regulatory compliance officer, directing the compliance programs and policies that sustain the organization’s operations in over 100 countries. Ms. Ricketts holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University and a master’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University.

Maria Vinci Savettiere P’17
Maria Vinci Savettiere graduated from American University in 1984 with a BA in international relations and from American University’s Washington College of Law in 1987 with her JD. In 2003, she became the executive director of Deirdre’s House in Morristown, New Jersey. Established in 1994, Deirdre’s House is a center for victims of child abuse and/or neglect and for children who have witnessed violence. It is the only site in Morris County where a child victim can be interviewed and digitally recorded by law enforcement, medically examined and treated by a pediatric abuse specialist, prepared for trial and clinically counseled in English or Spanish. As a nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center (CAC), Deirdre’s House provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary team response to allegations of child abuse in a dedicated, safe, secure, child-friendly setting. Prior to Deirdre’s House, Mrs. Savettiere worked as a senior staff attorney for Hughes Network Systems, Inc., where she was responsible for international contract negotiations. She also served as assistant vice president and counsel to New York Life Worldwide Holdings for a brief period in 1994, before working as an independent legal and business advisor to multiple well-known clients, including TGI Fridays Restaurants, Telecom Applications Corporation and GTE Spacenet. Mrs. Savettiere serves on the board of Preschool Advantage and was appointed by former Governor Christie to serve on the New Jersey State Child Advocacy Center/Multidisciplinary Advisory Board. Mrs. Savettiere and her husband, Greg, reside in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and their son, Michael, is a member of the Class of 2017. She was electedto the Blair Board of Trustees in January 2015 and now serves as Board Chair.