Five Thayer Alums Honored at Annual Reunion Event

The Thayer Academy Alumni Association recognized five alums this past weekend during the Academy’s Reunion Celebration for classes ending in 0 and 5. The ceremonies took place Sept. 19 in Cahall Dining Hall as part of the association’s Evening of Alumni Excellence. 

Sarah Cochran Taylor ’00 and Dr. Morgan Bowling ’05 were each awarded the Humanitarian Award. There were also two individual recipients of the Achievement Award: Shailesh Shenoy ’90 and Chris Sullivan ’95 P ’28, ’28, ’33. Lori Tregoning Donnellan ’90 P ’17, ’19, ’21, ’25 received the association’s Loyalty Award. 

Head of School Chris Fortunato P ’26, ’28 welcomed guests and spoke of the depth of love and care he saw from the many alumni gathered that night. He encouraged all alumni to return to Thayer and to bring their particular experiences and insights with them. 

“This is an open invitation,” Fortunato told the packed dining hall. 

The evening’s first honoree, Bowling, currently serves as assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City; she is also an attending physician in its departments of Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and Global Health. Bowling’s work in immigrant health and emergency care in Santiago, Chile, and subsequently in Lima and Trujillo, Peru, ignited her passion for health equity in the global arena. She conducted clinical and epidemiologic research on the status of HPV/cervical cancer in university students in South Africa and was one of only four recipients of the AMPATH Nepal 2023 Nepal Pilot Project for her work, Global IMPACT (Improving Emergency Medical Preparedness and Childhood Treatments) through the Arnhold Institute of Global Health at Mount Sinai. In 2024 she and her team traveled to Dhulikhel Hospital in Nepal to train providers in PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support); after the success of the program, the team led similar pediatric resuscitation courses in both Botswana and Tanzania. Bowling is also committed to improving reproductive healthcare and has focused much of her clinical research on contraception initiation from the emergency department. 

Upon receiving the Humanitarian Award, Bowling spoke briefly but from the heart. 

“I have been given so much by so many,” said Bowling, who thanked her family for their love — both tough and otherwise — and her extended Thayer family for their support. She urged listeners to give “a little bit more” in a world so in need of kindness and compassion. 

Taylor, who also won the Humanitarian Award, shared her family’s story of dealing with spinal cord injury following her husband Justin’s 2021 diving accident, an injury which left him paralyzed from the chest down. Overwhelmed with gratitude following the outpouring of support from so many, including strangers, the husband-and-wife team founded the T-Bird Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the spinal cord injury community. Its mission focuses on two critical areas: improving access to exercise and impactful rehab; and providing advocacy and resources for families navigating life after a spinal cord injury — especially in the critical first year. 

Taylor acknowledged the difficulty of the past four years but added that navigating such challenges has brought out abilities that family members didn’t know they had. 

“We feel very privileged to be able to help others,” Taylor said. 

Shenoy received the Achievement Award in recognition of his tremendous success at the forefront of technological innovation. Currently the assistant dean for information technology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, Shenoy’s 28-year tenure there began with developing optical microscopes for single-molecule imaging; he has contributed to more than 20 co-authored publications in cell biology and neuroscience. Shenoy oversees the institution’s technology infrastructure, supporting over $250 million in NIH (National Institutes of Health) research funding. His oversight spans high-performance computing, cybersecurity, and multimedia technologies. 

Shenoy told his audience that he’s honored to be a member of the Thayer community and that his alma mater teaches the skills of self-expression and communication so vital in today’s world. Gone, he said, are the days of an individual researcher alone with a Bunsen burner; in 2025, innovation requires collaboration and imagination. 

“There’s no AI for curiosity,” he told the crowd. 

Currently a member of the Thayer Academy Board of Trustees, Sullivan earned the alumni association’s Achievement Award for his success in the world of finance. A graduate of Dartmouth College with an MBA from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, Sullivan is a managing partner at Griffin’s Wharf Partners, an operationally focused private equity firm based in Boston. Before founding Griffin’s Wharf, Sullivan founded and served as managing partner of Landon Capital Partners. He was previously a managing director at The Tokarz Group Advisers and MVC Capital, and earlier in his career he worked in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse. 

“For me, Thayer was an extended family and still is today,” said Sullivan, whose mother, Beth, served for many years as an Upper School counselor. Sullivan — a standout athlete (football, basketball, track & field) who was inducted into the Thayer Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 — praised Thayer for allowing his teenage self to take chances, step out of his comfort zone, and even make mistakes. 

“I knew that the community, as a whole, had my back,” Sullivan said. 

Donnellan, who received the alumni association’s Loyalty Award, began her remarks by noting that her Thayer experience started at Camp Thayer and then as a seventh grader in the Middle School. All four of her daughters attended Thayer, she added, resulting in a combined 26 years of Thayer attendance. 

“The community always embraces you,” she said, “no matter what year you graduated.”

Donnellan, who said she’s grateful to have known Thayer both as a student and a parent, gives back to the Academy in countless ways — as a class agent, as a dedicated member of the Alumni Association Board since 2021, and as a loyal supporter of Thayer’s numerous philanthropic initiatives. However, in accepting the award, Donnellan noted that Thayer’s continued excellence makes being loyal an easy task. 

“Thayer, Thayer, Forever,” said Donnellan to conclude her remarks. “Go, Tigers!” 

The 2025 Reunion celebration coincided with Homecoming, offering attendees a chance to cheer on Thayer sports teams and enjoy additional festivities, such as a TAPA (Thayer Academy Parent Association) bake sale and a variety of food trucks.

The Thayer Academy Alumni Association was founded in 1881 following the Academy’s first four-year class. Its purpose is “to cherish the memories and associations of Academy life and to promote the interests of the Academy and its alumni in whatever way may be deemed best.”