Celebrating our Coeducation Trailblazers:
A Round Table Discussion with Some of the First Women of SYA
Aired on Founder's Day, Wednesday, September 9
Meet some of the first women of SYA. Go back with them to Spain and France in the early 70s and hear about their experiences as Schoolboys Abroad admitted its first female students. Moderated by Allison Temple Bacon ES'81, Trustee.
About our panelists:
Laura Heery FR’72, Architect and Co-Producer
Laura is co-producer of A Call to Spy, a film about female spies in the French Resistance, distributed by IFC for this 75th anniversary year since the end of WWII. The film is scheduled for domestic release in October. (Watch the official trailer.) She is President of TAEVAST.com, a group of technology investments, and co-founder of BrookwoodGroup.com. An architect, master planner and strategic planner, Laura has led design for U.S. and international projects, such as for the Turner/Time Warner Entertainment Campus in Atlanta; the Georgia Tech campus in Savannah, the Peachtree Corridor redesign from urban highway to livable boulevard; The Coca-Cola Company’s European headquarters in Brussels; and a soccer-related project for Disneyland Paris. As former board member of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) and co-chair of initiatives, organized with assistance from the US CDC, Laura has directed her efforts to advance walkable, healthy, resilient places.
Laura attended SYA France as a junior from Westminster Girls School (GA) (now The Westminster Schools), received her BA from New College of Florida and her Master of Architecture from Yale University School of Architecture.
Emily Nicklin ES’71, Lead Trial Counsel
Emily has been lead trial counsel in both jury and bench trials in various state and federal venues. Her practice includes individual and class actions ranging from professional liability to personal injury. She joined Kirkland & Ellis LLP in 1979 and became a partner in 1983. She served as Deputy Corporation Counsel of the City of Chicago from 1989 through 1991. Her virtuosity as a trial lawyer has been recognized by virtually every major legal publication. Over the past 10 years, eight different publications have designated her as being at the pinnacle of her field. Those honors were capped with her induction into the prestigious and exclusive American College of Trial Lawyers in 2010. Emily is a longtime trustee of the University of Chicago and of the University of Chicago Medical Center. Her pro bono work has highlighted her interest in social justice, including a class action civil rights lawsuit on behalf of some of Chicago’s neediest youth to representing separated families fleeing to the U.S. border.
Emily attended SYA Spain as a senior from the George School (NY). She received her BA and JD from the University of Chicago.
Laura Rodriguez FR’72, International Trade Analyst
Laura is an internationalist trade analyst with the U.S. International Trade Commission, focusing on apparel and textiles relating to Mexico, Central America and Andean Pact countries. The Commission formulates and analyzes U.S. trade policy and provides high-quality, leading-edge analysis of international trade issues to the President and the Congress and is a highly regarded forum for the adjudication of intellectual property and trade disputes. Listen to this podcast where Laura discusses footwear trade in Africa, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process and the future of footwear sourcing.
An avid yoga enthusiast, Laura is also the author of Yoga at Home: Gain Energy, Flexibility, and Serenity in 20-30 Minutes a Day. (Find it here.)
Laura attended SYA France as a junior from The Baldwin School, an all-girls school in Bryn Mawr, PA. She received her BA from Wellesley College double majoring in French and Political Science, MA in international communications from American University and MBA in international business from George Washington University.
Janis Tomlinson ES’71, Museum Director and Author
Janis is the Director of Special Collections and Museums at the University of Delaware. She was previously Director of Exhibitions and Cultural Programs at the National Academy of Sciences and also taught as assistant and associate professor of art history at Columbia University. An expert on Spanish artist Francisco Goya y Lucientes, she has contributed to exhibitions around the world. Her publications include articles, exhibition reviews, and books on topics in Spanish painting including the forthcoming biography, Goya: A Portrait of the Artist. Janis has been a Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and of the American Council of Learned Societies. In 1997, she was the Sterling Clark Visiting Professor at Williams College.
Janis attended SYA Spain as a senior from the American High School in Barcelona. She lived with her family in Spain while her father, John Tomlinson, was the Resident Director of SYA Spain. She received her BA from McGill University and her MA and PhD in the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania.