Wellesley College Announces 2014 Alumnae Achievement Award Winners; Public Reception 2/27

Wellesley College today announced the recipients of the 2014 Alumnae Achievement Awards. The 2014 Wellesley College Alumnae Achievement Award recipients are: Eva Sommaripa ’63, an organic farmer and champion of sustainable living; and C. Tracy Orleans ’70, behavioral scientist and public health advocate.

A ceremony celebrating the accomplishments of these incredible women will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2014, at 5:30 PM in Wellesley’s Diana Chapman Walsh Alumnae Hall (106 Central Street, Wellesley). A reception will immediately follow in the Alumnae Hall ballroom. The award ceremony and reception are free and open to the public.

The Achievement Awards, which have been presented annually since 1970, are the highest honor given to Wellesley alumnae. Recipients are chosen for achievement and distinction in their fields, and as an inspiration to current students. 

“A Wellesley education has never been more relevant for today’s world, and it is a pleasure to celebrate this year’s Alumnae Achievement Award recipients for their important contributions to our global society,” said Wellesley President H. Kim Bottomly. “C. Tracy Orleans and Eva Sommaripa exemplify Wellesley’s mission and values, and their work to make this world a better place—as a public health advocate and organic farmer, respectively—serves as an inspiration to us all.”

Sommaripa, a pioneer in the food world as a purveyor of healthy organic greens and an early leader of sustainable lifestyles, has been supplying New England chefs with fresh herbs and greens from her organic herb garden, Eva’s Garden, for more than 40 years. Orleans, a senior program officer and senior scientist at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is a nationally recognized expert and leader in behavioral medicine who has tackled public health issues ranging from tobacco control to the prevention of childhood obesity.

Read about the 2014 Recipients.