Lauren Speeth '81
Distinguished Achievement Award

Lauren, author, filmmaker, educator, and social entrepreneur, already has a lifetime of high-tech experience in Silicon Valley, ranging from the startup to Fortune 50 levels. She serves as an External Advisor to the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, where she was an architect/programmer for their website inequality.com, orchestrating their launch with A Concert for Hope. Dr. Speeth is a Lifetime Member of the Board of Councilors at The Carter Center, a Regent Emeritus of Saint Mary’s College of California, a former Trustee of Mills, and Violin I Emeritus with The Peninsula Symphony.

Her works— web, film, books, music, and multimedia—have garnered critical acclaim, and she is much sought after as a public speaker and judge of media content. For her work as a social entrepreneur, Lauren was named one of 40 Women of Influence by Saint Mary’s College and has been awarded honorary doctorates from Golden Gate University School of Law and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. In addition to her BA from Mills, Dr. Speeth holds an MBA from Saint Mary’s, a DBA from Golden Gate University, and a DMin from Bakke Graduate University. A Certified Classical Homeopath, Dr. Speeth also holds an International Homeopath Certification.

Additional training includes an Advanced Computer Security Professional Credential from Stanford University, where she also completed their Executive Program for Philanthropy Leaders, as well as a Clinical Pastoral Education for chaplains. She also holds a Lifetime California Community College Teaching Credential and has taught graduate and undergraduate computer science, mathematics, and statistics, serving for ten years as a guest lecturer in Leadership, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship at Mills. She now enjoys discussing the power of storytelling and social entrepreneurship with students all over the world, including Australia, India, Jordan, China, and the Ukraine. Dr. Speeth’s accomplishments are impressively varied and plentiful, and for this, we are proud to honor her with the Distinguished Achievement Award.

Pierre Loving '77
Outstanding Volunteer Award

Pierre has been serving the AAMC since 2011. As Nominating Committee chair she overhauled and streamlined the process, including initiating online voting, making it significantly easier for future chairs, and enhancing alumnae participation.

Pierre has spearheaded multiple successful fundraisers for the AAMC and the College, usually incorporating her deep love of jazz, and served on the Summit meeting under Alecia DeCoudreaux, championing the ownership interests in the Reinhardt Alumnae House (RAH). She more or less single-handedly oversaw every detail of the renovation of the RAH kitchen, a benefit for generations to come. In her honor, the AAMC named it the Loving Kitchen.

In addition to all these projects, Pierre diligently oversaw the accounting and financial health of the endowment while serving on the Finance Committee, managed the Executive Committee, and recognized the work of others on the Awards Committee. Clearly, Pierre’s service cannot be fully illuminated by the number of years she’s been making contributions, nor by the numerous committees, she has served on. Her impact goes way beyond mere metrics, and we thank her for her tireless dedication to the AAMC.

Daisy Gonzales '07
Recent Graduate Award

Daisy has been involved in community service since she was still a student at Mills College. As an upper classwoman, she was elected President of the Associated Students of Mills College where she actively engaged other students to understand the power of their voices through student government. Less than 10% of foster youth graduate from college, and as a former foster student herself, Daisy not only defied those odds, she went above and beyond by eventually completing a Ph.D. in Sociology at UC Santa Barbara.

While earning her doctorate, Daisy counseled a foster youth group of high school students about their rights and available resources with their empowerment as the ultimate goal. The group ended up creating their own, and first-ever, foster youth-run club called LEGIT: Leaders Engaged with Good Ideas Today, to break down stereotypes of youth in foster care.

Daisy has served as Vice President of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee and was co-founder of the Santa Barbara Latina Leaders Network. She was specifically sought out for the position of Deputy Chancellor of the California Community College System. In that role, she developed the new online college option, CalBright, which provides digital college to the vast remote areas of our state, a timely response to California’s job challenges.

Daisy has a demonstrated investment in providing educational access to historically underserved communities; she has a great ability to build teams and communities to create positive change. Finding how you can improve the world is what a Mills education is all about, and Daisy is an accomplished example.