Distinguished Alumni Awards

The Catlin Gabel Alumni Council recognizes distinguished alumni through an annual awards program, honoring three distinguished alumni each year. 

Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students for significant accomplishments in business or professional life.

Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students for extraordinary service to their community, state, nation, or the world.

Distinguished Younger Alumni Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students who have achieved much in the arena of professional accomplishments or social service before the age of 40.

Nominations are open through March 30!

Submit a Nomination Here

Ryan Wiser, Alix Meier Goodman, and Bianca Bosker

2024 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award - Ryan Wiser '90

Ryan Wiser, a Catlin Gabel ‘lifer’ and son of a former Catlin history teacher, has dedicated his career to supporting a clean energy transition. After studying at Stanford and receiving a PhD from U.C. Berkeley, he joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to lead research on wind and solar electricity. Beginning in the 1990s, Ryan worked with many states in the development of their first policies to support clean electricity deployment. He similarly advised the Chinese government on its policies and grid integration needs, for over two decades. Ryan has led countless policy- and market-oriented research projects as a Senior Scientist and Department head at Berkeley Lab. He has given invited testimony to the U.S. Senate and served as a lead author on two reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Most recently, Ryan has been working with the U.S. Congress, White House, and Department of the Treasury on the design and subsequent implementation of the clean energy provisions in the ill-named “Inflation Reduction Act”—which, despite the name, is the most consequential piece of climate legislation in U.S. history.

Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award - Alix Meier Goodman '71

Alix Meier Goodman is a fifth generation Oregonian, now splits time between Oregon and Palm Desert. She has been married to Tom, retired MD, for 40 years. Alix attended Catlin Gabel for high school, a place that provided lifelong friends and inspiring experiences. Her boys, Andrew ’09 and Reid ’11, attended 6th – 12th.

She was an Art History & French major at Mt. Holyoke College (where Schauff’s mother & sister went), junior year at Columbia Paris/Sorbonne. After graduation, she lived in NYC, was a buyer at Bloomingdales and then Pendleton Woolen Mills. Subsequently, she returned to Oregon as Pendleton’s Womenswear Manager until retiring to raise her two boys and become an active volunteer.

Alix is currently Board Chair of the Portland Art Museum, also co-chairing the $140M Rothko Pavilion campaign for a complete downtown campus transformation including a new glass entry. Named after seminal artist, Mark Rothko, who grew up in Portland and still has family in town, some of whom attended Catlin Gabel. Over 90+% raised so fundraising homestretch of $9M to go.

Over the years she has led many initiatives, primarily arts and education focused, including Portland Regional Arts & Culture Council and Portland Schools Foundation grant panels, Ainsworth School Foundation & Site Council and Claremont McKenna Parents Council. Alix served as Catlin Board Chair 2007-2010, so was privileged to hand her older son his diploma. She still sits on Catlin Gabel’s Endowment Committee. She was also the recipient of the Joey Day Pope ‘54 Volunteer Award in 2012.

(PS from Alix: my father, Roger Meier ’43, received Catlin Gabel’s distinguished alumni award in 2000. Kinda fun to follow him.)

Distinguished Younger Alumni Award - Bianca Bosker '04

Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. She is the author of Get the Picture, Cork Dork, and Original Copies. A contributing writer at The Atlantic, she has also written for publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Her work has been recognized with awards from the New York Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and more, and has been included in The Best American Travel Writing. She attended Princeton University after graduating from Catlin Gabel and now lives in New York City. 

2023 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Marley Brown '65 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Traci Rossi '83 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Alex Bellos '02 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2022 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Gus Van Sant ’71 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Tamara Chang ’99 MD - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Casey Michel ’06 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2021 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Gil Kelley ’71 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Katie Sharff ’98 MD - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Sprinavasa Brown ’02 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2020 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Judge John H. Chun ’87 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Washington State Court of Appeals Judge
  • Ted Kaye ’73 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award, national leader in vexillology
  • Kevin Esvelt ’00 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, leader in evolutionary and ecological engineering

2019 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Rukaiyah Adams ’91 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Chief Investment Officer at Meyer Memorial Trust
  • Curt Ellis ’98 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award, leading voice in America’s food movement
  • Nadya Okamoto ’16 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, Founder and Executive Director of PERIOD

2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Mary Beebe ’58 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, arts administration
  • Liza Gadsby ’76 & Peter Jenkins ’70 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award, wildlife conservation: biology, ecology, social activism
  • Peter Chaille ’98 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, environmental education

2017 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Cynthia Johnson Haryuama ’77- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Se-ah-dom Edmo ’94- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • David Recordon ’04- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2016 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Margot Voorhies Thompson ’66- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Lyla J. Andrews Bashan ’98- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Andrew McCartor ’98- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2015 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • J Mary Taylor ’48- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Robin Schauffler ’68- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Nkenge Harmon Johnson ’93- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2014 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Dr. Phillip Starr ’79- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Dr. Derrick Butler ’86- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Amelia Templeton ’02- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2013 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Gretchen Corbett ’63- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Willard Rowland ’62- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Amani Reed ’93- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2012 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Philip Hult ’88- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Pippa Arend ’90- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Michael Manidberg ’91- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2011 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • David Shipley ’81- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Roz Nelson Babener ’68- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Dr. Angel Foster ’91- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2010 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Henry Dick ’65 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, marine geologist
  • Sally Bachman ’75 - Distinguished Alumni Service Award, child labor advocate
  • Rachel Cohen ’90 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, global health advocate

2008 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Charlotte Coe Murray ’47 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, architect and historic preservationist, Vancouver, B.C.
  • Jordan D. Schnitzer ’69 - Distinguished Alumni Service Award, president and CEO, Harsch Investment Properties, Portland; longtime civic leader and philanthropist
  • Phil Buchanan ’88 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, president, Center for Effective Philanthropy, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Past Distinguished Alumni Award recipients (before the award restructure)

  • 2007 - George Wolfe Ettelson ’42, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2006 - Alfred Aya ’43, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2005 - Kate Rogers McCarthy ’35, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2004 - Spencer Ehrman ’35*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2003 - David Lawrence ’58, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2002 - David Bragdon ’77, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2001 - Barbara Farrow Walker ’53, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2000 - Roger Meier ’43*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1999 - Nancy Neighbor Russell ’49*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1998 - Phyllis Cantrell Reynolds ’47, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1997 - Marian Wood Kolisch ’37*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1996 - Philip Hawley ’43, Distinguished Alumni Award

*deceased