Distinguished Alumni Award

After nine years at CRS, Clare went on to attend Milton Academy where she spent her junior year in China becoming fluent in Mandarin and learning to play the guzheng, a Chinese zither. As an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University, she was a double math and physics major. At Johns Hopkins, Clare was President of the Johns Hopkins Society of Physics Students and tutored undergraduate students in physics as an undergraduate.  She won a research grant from the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center for her study of magnetic colloids in liquid crystal.  CRS 7/8 teacher and advisor, Mary Walsh, recalls “Clare was jazzed by the challenges of non-routine problems, and when she was in college she told me that MathCounts had taught her to trust her own thinking. She said, “I don’t want to be doing my physics just like everyone else, it’s better to do it my own way.”

Upon graduating with general and departmental honors, Clare attended Boston University where she earned her Ph.D. in Experimental High-Energy Physics. Much of her research for her doctorate was done at CERN in Switzerland, home of the Hadron Supercollider.  Clare wrote software for the detector and collected and analyzed the resulting data to learn more about the fundamental particles that make up the universe. She shared her research at the International Conference for New Frontiers in Physics, the International Conference on Advanced Technology and Particle Physics, and the American Physics Society annual conference.CRS science teacher, Pam Moor, recalls “the tenacity that Clare approached projects in my classroom, that determination to do her best, was only outdone by that beautiful smile in her achievements.  I’m not surprised by her accomplishments as an adult.  She was always outstanding!”

As an early employee at Tamr, a successful tech start-up, Clare rose to the role of Head of Product and Engineering in just over three years. Currently, she serves as Senior Director and Head of the Data Sciences Platform at the Broad Institute. The Broad, a collaboration between MIT and Harvard, was launched in 2004 to improve human health by using genomics to understand the disease and develop new therapies. It has been instrumental in COVID testing in colleges and schools, like CRS. Clare has continued her volunteerism in science and education, tutoring Boston high school students for Minds Matter.

As Mary Walsh relayed in her graduation remarks, “Clare, some describe you as smart and unusual, and others call you unusually smart; each of these conveys respect for your fresh ideas and the fact that you have a mind of your own.  You are a caring, forgiving person who is generous in sharing her abundant talent with others.  In short, you are an awesome friend who is sure to succeed in everything you do.”

Congratulations Clare for your extraordinary achievements – we could not be prouder to present you with the 2021 CRS Distinguished Alumni Award!

As the co-founder of an augmented reality startup and current Vice President of Vuforia Product Experience at PTC, Sara helps bring computing power into the hands of the world’s 2.5 billion frontline workers—industrial workers who do not sit at a desk—changing how they create, access, and use the knowledge on the job. At the same time, Sara’s personal mission is to advance women and girls in STEM and entrepreneurship through career advocacy and education.

Sara began her entrepreneurship journey at Charles River School, where she pursued the passion for science that she developed as a young child. CRS middle school Science teacher Pamela Moor fondly remembers Sara as a CRS science student. Sara’s passion and curiosity for how the world works and how human impact affects it was always in her forefront. A natural leader, small group work allowed Sara to ignite others working with her, a trait that Sara has evidenced throughout her career. After classes, Sara often drilled Ms. Moor with questions and her desire to dig deeper was evident. Together Sara and Ms. Moor would tease out novel information, and these conversations encouraged Sara to try experiments outside the classroom. Sara willingly shared her collected data and thinking about her discoveries. Projects like her entomology research on an aquatic insect were presented with incredible detail, as well as her anatomically illustrated model. Ms. Moor particularly remembers Sara’s presentation and her ability to engage others and expressed her delight to see Sara’s CRS science background as a foundation for her success today.

Building on her CRS education, Sara’s high school experience at an all-girls school gave Sara confidence in her belief that absolutely nothing divides women from men in learning, experience, and success in the sciences. She continued to follow her passion for science throughout high school and was a Biology major and Digital Arts minor at Dartmouth College, where she won the Neukom Institute “Seeing Science” Competition.

While pursuing a Master of Science degree in Engineering, Integrated Design & Management at MIT, Sara, and her two cofounders launched their augmented reality startup, Waypoint Labs, after winning the MIT Reality, Virtually, Hackathon! in 2016. Waypoint Labs was acquired in March 2018 by PTC, an $8 billion software company, where the Waypoint augmented reality product that Sara and her cofounders developed became the foundation for Vuforia Expert Capture which closed seven customers generating $2.3M within its first 90 days on the market. Sara’s product is an augmented reality solution to help industrial customers streamline operations and efficiency by creating easy-to-use, human-centered products which bring computing to the non-desk workers that the tech revolution left behind.

Earlier this year, Sara shared her entrepreneurship journey with 20 female founders as part of the MIT Rough Draft Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank FoundHers retreat. She has also advised aspiring augmented reality entrepreneurs as part of her role as organizer of the Boston Women in XR group. Most recently, Sara leveraged her own software product to help redesign and repurpose full-face snorkel masks as reusable protective gear for clinicians in direct contact with COVID-19 with MasksOn.

A strong advocate for women and girls in STEM, Sara spoke last summer to an AP computer science class at an all-girls school about forging a non-traditional career path, and she frequently serves on girls-in-STEM or career panels as an alumna of her high school. Sara regularly volunteers with the local science and education nonprofit community; she has been on the Boston Museum of Science’s Innovators’ Leadership Committee for the last five years, where she plans volunteer events and organizes strategic initiatives for the Museum.

Today, Sara is the youngest Vice President at PTC, leading a team of talented designers creating intuitive and contextual computing tools which empower frontline, non-desk workers to make informed decisions.

An associate at Ropes & Grey, LLP, Gavin has been an advocate for civil rights throughout his career. As a result of this work, he was named one of the “Best LGBT Attorneys Under the Age of 40” in 2017, was included on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” list for 2018, and was selected as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s 25 “Up & Coming Lawyers” for 2019.

Gavin graduated phi beta kappa from Wesleyan University and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was recognized for completing more than 1,000 hours of pro bono or public service work while still in law school. Gavin clerked for Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and then joined Ropes & Gray LLP as an associate the firm’s corporate department.

During law school, Gavin was a member of Massachusetts Transgender Legal Advocates and provided pro bono civil legal services to low-income transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. He also assisted a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in researching and drafting the first edition of a treatise on non-tax federal debt collection. Presently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the National LGBT Bar Association and recently completed a two-year term as the co-chair of the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association. Gavin has served on the host committee of Professionals for Transgender Rights since 2019, is a member of the Boston Bar Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Section Steering Committee, and has spoken publicly about mental health issues in the legal profession.

Gavin recently joined the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Equal Justice Fund, and works with the PAIR Project to provide pro bono representation to individuals seeking asylum in the United States due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or political beliefs. Gavin also works with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and a large team at Ropes & Gray providing free legal guidance to transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.

Now in his sixth year at Ropes & Gray, Gavin is a member of the firm’s Special Situations practice group, where he primarily represents private investment funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors in connection with complex transactions often involving non-equity or distressed assets.

Documentary film producer. Emmy Award winner. Advocate for children and education. Visionary. Lisa Schmid Alvord, Class of 1961, has worn many hats and no ONE descriptor could possibly capture all that she has accomplished and done on behalf of others. Following a successful career as a documentary filmmaker and journalist, Lisa has made serving children from low-income families her life’s work. As the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award, we honor her for her tireless devotion to giving at-risk children life skills and a strong foundation for the future.

Lisa spent her elementary school years at CRS. She commuted to CRS from Millis each day with her older brothers, Paul ’55 and Mark ’59. Following CRS, Lisa attended the Windsor School and then Boston University. After college, Lisa worked as an investigative reporter for Channel 12 in Providence, RI, traveled to the Easter Islands in New Guinea to work on a documentary, and returned to work at WGBH and at WCVB Channel 5, where she was a producer for Chronicle.

In 1984, Lisa produced several films on education, including the Peabody Award-winning documentary “Somerville High.” This documentary took an honest look at the school and its problems and exposed Lisa to the significant challenges both students and educators face in the US educational system. In 1992, she won an Emmy Award for an ABC After School Special called “In the Shadow of Love: A Teen AIDS Story.”

In the early 1990s, Lisa joined forces with CRS alums Kippy Dewey ’60 and her brother Toby ’62, to address the escalating violence facing inner-city youth in Boston. Together, they founded an innovative organization called Urban Improv, which uses improvisational theater to teach violence prevention, conflict resolution, and decision-making skills. Under Lisa’s leadership, Urban Improv partnered with Boston Public Schools to develop a social and emotional learning program for students. Since 1992, it has served more than 70,000 children in the greater Boston area, helping them explore challenging issues such as peer pressure, teen pregnancy, gangs, bullying, or racism. In 2002, Lisa and her Urban Improv team won a New England Emmy for “RE: Action!” – a two-part special showcasing the organization’s methodology (directed by CRS alum Peter Temple ’62).

Spending summers in Westport, MA Lisa has a strong connection to the Massachusetts Southcoast. Lisa recognized an opportunity to change the lives of young girls in the New Bedford area through education. According to the Boston Globe, “The city is home to many low-wage workers whose daughters battle poverty and the pull of traditional roles.” Working with a coalition of community leaders, educators, financiers, fundraisers, nonprofit executives, parents, and a Board of Directors, Lisa opened Our Sisters’ School in 2008, an independent, tuition-free, non-sectarian middle school whose mission is to educate and inspire economically disadvantaged girls from the New Bedford area and empower them to step into the future with valuable life skills and a mindset of achievement and excellence by providing a safe, supportive, and academically challenging environment. Many OSS graduates go on to receive full academic scholarships at independent schools such as Andover, Milton Academy, St. George’s, Loomis Chafee, and others.

“The school’s faculty and staff work closely with students’ families and other volunteers, building ties between school and community, and developing the kinds of personal and institutional support that will ensure the continuing success of the students in high school, college, and in later life,” said Lisa. “There are over 150 volunteers involved in the daily operations of the school, reflecting a deep commitment from the local community to its faculty and students.”

Lisa Schmid Alvord has made an enormous impact on the lives of so many, and CRS is honored to present her with this year’s 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award.