Molissa Fenley ’75
Distinguished Achievement Award

Molissa Fenley ’75 earned this year’s Distinguished Achievement Award for her lifelong success as an artist who has transformed the world of dance. Fenley first became fascinated with the movement of the body during her youth in Nigeria and Spain, and her work is notable for its exuberant physicality and athleticism. She founded Molissa Fenley and Company in New York 1977 and has also performed extensively as a soloist, often working in collaboration with visual artists, poets, and composers.

In the course of her career, Fenley has danced on every continent except Antarctica. She has created more than 80 works; her dances Cenotaph (1985) and State of Darkness (1988) both earned the Bessie Award for choreography. Her work has been commissioned by numerous contemporary dance and ballet companies, including the American Dance Festival, the Ohio Ballet, the Australian Dance Theatre, the Deutsche Oper Ballet of Berlin, and the National Ballet School of Canada. She's been named a fellow of the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, American Academy in Rome, and Bogliasco Foundation, and a master artist of the Atlantic Center of the Arts.

Fenley remains strongly connected to Mills. Each spring she is in residence on campus as the Danforth Professor of Dance and in 2011 was awarded the Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award. While in New York, she is a regular participant in activities of the Mills College Club of New York.

Annette Chan-Norris ’65
Outstanding Volunteer Award

With a steadfast dedication to the concept of women’s colleges, Annette Chan-Norris ’65 first volunteered as an alumna admissions representative in 2001, helping to recruit students in the New York area. Since that time, she has also been a driving force as co-chair of the Mills College Club of New York, organizing a full calendar of social events as well as cultivating support for the Tri-State Scholarship Fund. Annette and her husband, Evan, have contributed generously to the College’s mission: they established a scholarship in memory of her parents to support a Mills student studying science and technology, and they launched the Endowed Visiting Professorship in Science and Technology. Margot Jones Mabie ’66, the co-chair of the New York Club, says Chan-Norris is “the ideal volunteer: thoughtful, creative, energetic, interested in other people, and willing to do the work.”

Katie-jo Donnell Ramirez ’07
Recent Graduate Award

As a student, Katie-jo Donnell Ramirez ’07 was deeply involved in life on campus and beyond: she rowed with the crew team, earned the Myrt Whitcomb Leadership Award, and taught writing at local nonprofits before graduating with a BA in English. So it’s no surprise that, when she moved to Chicago to complete her master’s degree in education, she would continue to contribute in many ways. Ramirez became one of the founding members and lead educators at Legal Prep Charter Academy, a legal-themed high school in one of the nation’s most underserved neighborhoods, and became an active member of the Mills College Club of Chicago. She has served as branch president since 2013, creating regular opportunities for Chicago alumnae to socialize, network, and provide service.