WLP Honors Alumnae Leaders at Annual Reunion

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Members and supporters of the George Washington University Elizabeth J. Somers Women's Leadership Program (WLP) and Mount Vernon Seminary and College responded enthusiastically when called upon to recognize the professional accomplishments of alumnae at the annual reunion on Saturday. They filled the room in the Eckles Memorial Library on the Mount Vernon Campus, where wall-mounted screens flashed footage of young women in flowing dresses over the years as far back as 1888, and a table exhibited artifacts-a dusty blazer, photographs, year books from the program's archives.

It was a festive occasion where women embraced and greeted each other with smiles on a night during GW's Alumni and Families Weekend set aside to award, appreciate and, as WLP Director Carly Jordan said, "celebrate the power of community and the power of women supporting women across generations."

The WLP, named in honor of the educator who founded Mount Vernon Seminary in 1875, is a selective year-long living learning community for first-year students at GW.

Jordan, a professor in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biological Sciences, acknowledged WLP students, noting that "WLP continues to carry forward the legacy as a living experiment in what women's leadership looks like today."

The highlight of the evening was the Elizabeth J. Somers Award that is given each year to honor women who have given back to the community through mentorship, philanthropy and engagement. This year the award went to Barbara Jacobs Ficklin, Mount Vernon Seminary Class of 1965, and Joyce Roldan King, WLP Alumna and CCAS Class of 2008.

Mary Buckley, emeritus professor in Theatre and Dance, and WLP director from 2016-2022, presented the award to Ficklin. Buckley described a luncheon with WLP students in Post Hall when Ficklin spoke of "the home she found at Mount Vernon Seminary and the challenging curriculum that helped her flourish and informed her life's journey."

Buckley thanked her for serving as a strong role model and reinforcing that bridge between Mount Vernon Seminary and WLP. "We love our history," Buckley said. "We embrace it. We felt supported by it, and your role has helped us continue to build a home for students."

Before retiring in 2004, Ficklin held positions at C&P Telephone, AT&T and as an account manager for a global learning solutions leader. In 2023, she was elected to the Village Council of Pinehurst, South Caroline. She said a visit with WLP students changed her feelings about GW after she cut herself off from the university when the last Mount Vernon College class graduated in 1999.

But that changed with an email that mentioned a Mount Vernon alumna's contribution to the Women's Leadership Program. It prompted she and her husband to visit the campus.

"I was totally blown away," Ficklin said. "We were totally impressed with everyone we met. We toured the campus. We thought 60 years might have made a difference. It was faded, but it was still Mount Vernon."

The Ficklins contributed an initial $1 million gift, later expanded to $1.65 million, to continue the seminary legacy through the WLP program at GW.

"I feel like my life has come full circle," she said. "It is so telling that it is so Mount Vernon related. It is so leadership related. It is related to women."

Halea Kerr-Layton, B.A. ', M.A. '21, and Kalpana Vissa, B.S. '18, M.P.H. '20, took in the WLP Reunion during Alumni and Families Weekend.

King was introduced by Lauren McCutcheon, a 2025 graduate of the Milken Institute School of Public Health and the newest member of the WLP Alumni Advisory Council. She noted that the award recognizes King's extraordinary accomplishments, her vision and her unwavering commitment to justice and community.

King is the chief prosecutor of the Frederick County (Maryland) Cybercrimes Taskforce, a member of the Maryland Crimes against Children Taskforce, and the National District Attorneys Association Digital Safety Advisory. "She has taken on some of the most complex issues of our time-protecting children from online exploitation, combating human trafficking and addressing the evolving challenges of technology and public safety," McCutcheon said.

In addition, King also provides legal counsel in Maryland on addiction and mental health at various agencies that focus on treatment and reflect her belief that justice must come with compassion. King also was appointed by Maryland Governor Wes Moore to the Maryland Commission for Women.

In the meantime, she maintains a strong connection to WLP. She has served on the Alumni Advisory Council, mentored current students, participated in symposia and, McCutcheon said, "continued to invest in the growth and success of the community that helped shape her path."

King said being in the room at the Alumni Reunion reminded her of her first symposium at Post Hall, and what an "unstoppable force women are when they come together."

"WLP was a defining moment in my career," King said. "I had all this fire in my belly. I didn't have direction. What WLP did for me was refine the passion and refine the fire."

King mentioned that her career as a prosecutor often brings her into contact with the worst of human nature. "That is why I've stayed so close to WLP," she said, "because WLP gives me hope."

"I am honored to stand with WLP and so grateful to Elizabeth Somers and the women who have continued to build this program and GW that protected Mount Vernon and kept this a sacred space for us to foster the next generation."