The Alumni Association Board recognizes and celebrates outstanding alumni who demonstrate high levels of achievement and/or service in one or more of Converse’s Seven Core Values: Excellence, Integrity, Exploration, Diversity, Respect, Community, and Progress.
Nominations for our 2026 Alumni Achievement Awards will reopen in August 2025.
2025 Alumni Achievement Award Winners
Our Alumni Association Board is honored to recognize our outstanding Alumni with the following awards:
The 2025 Recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient (Undergraduate) is Grazier Connors Rhea, ’74
The Distinguished Alumni Award (Undergraduate) is given to an undergraduate alumna/alumnus who deserve special recognition for their loyalty to Converse, outstanding achievement in their fields, and service to their communities.
Grazier Rhea is from Anniston, Alabama, and a 1974 graduate of Converse. She has been employed by the Catawba Regional Council of Governments for 46+ years and works with local governments in Chester, Lancaster, Union, and York Counties to develop strategies to address community needs. As Community Development Director, Grazier oversees projects and preparation of applications for the Community Development Block Grant program, the SC Rural Infrastructure Authority, the Economic Development Administration, SC Parks, Recreation & Tourism, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and other State and Federal programs. Once funding is secured, Grazier and her department administer the projects, from start-up to close-out.
She served two terms as President of the SC Community Development Association and received their Leadership Award. She also received the SC Department of Commerce’s Spirit of Community Development Award and the Donoho School Outstanding Alumna.
Grazier has been active in her community as the founding President of Historic Rock Hill, Board member of the Junior Welfare League, Chair of Rock Hill’s Jubilee Arts Festival, Vice-Chair of Rock Hill’s Historic Review Board, Co-Chair of the York County Museum’s Gala, and Co-Chair of Rock Hill’s Empowering the Vision Historic Committee. She was a founder and served as President of the Women’s Art Initiative and is currently a Board member of the Arts Center at Fountain Park. She is also a member of Rock Hill’s Placemaking Committee and attends Episcopal Church of Our Saviour. Grazier previously served as President of Converse’s Alumni Association Board and was one of Converse’s “125 Converse Alumnae of Distinction.”
She and her husband, James C. (Toy) Rhea, III live in Rock Hill, South Carolina. They have two children and five grandchildren.
The 2025 Recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award (Graduate) is Sureka Amerasinghe, MM, Lrsm, Ltcl, ’13
The Distinguished Alumni Award (Graduate) is given to a graduate of Converse’s Graduate Program in recognition of their outstanding contributions in their professional field and their passionate and service-oriented commitment to making a positive impact on our world.
Sri Lankan musician, educator, and researcher Sureka Amerasinghe earned her Master of Music in Flute Performance with distinction from Converse in 2013. Mentored by Dr. Chris Vaneman, she was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda’s Rho Chapter. Sureka also completed a Master of Arts in International Relations from London Metropolitan University in 2024.
A second-generation Fulbright Scholar in 2010, Sureka researched Music in Conflict Resolution at Mannes School of Music, New York. She studied with Robert Dick on contemporary flute techniques during this period. In 1999, Sureka was also a British Scholar at the Royal Academy of Music, London, specializing in piano with Graeme Humphrey, and the Art of Teaching with Judith Burton.
An award winner in piano, flute, violin, and recorder, Sureka has performed in genres ranging from classical to jazz and fusion at prestigious venues on four continents.
Sureka’s composition Sri Lankan Choral Fantasie was premiered by the Royal College Choir at the World Choir Games in 2018. Her latest choral and instrumental work, Come! Let’s Worship, was performed at the 125th anniversary of her alma mater Ladies’ College, Colombo, in February 2025.
Sureka was chosen as a distinguished State Department Alumni to represent Sri Lanka in a regional TED Talk to help ‘Unleash South Asia’s Potential’ in 2016. She was also chosen to participate at the Institute and Festival of Contemporary Performance in New York where she organized an Elliot Carter memorial concert.
Many of Sureka’s award-winning students have been global prize winners pursuing international music careers and several have been distinguished alumni of Converse. She has also been actively involved with music at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Spartanburg.
Through her passion for music, education, and peacebuilding, Sureka continues to unite people through the universal and powerful language that is music.
The 2025 Recipient of the Community Service Award Recipient is Libby Long Richards ’15
The Community Service Award is given to an alumna/alumnus who displays the qualities of a vibrant citizen through their active involvement in community, church, and state.
Libby Long Richards has dedicated her career to strengthening communities, a passion she first developed during her time at Converse, where she majored in politics and theater. As a member of Converse’s inaugural Bonner Leaders class, Libby dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to the Spartanburg community, gaining a deeper understanding of service and the meaningful role that safe gathering spaces play in fostering growth and connection.
After earning her degree in 2005, Libby continued her work building strong communities, first as Coordinator of the Bonner Scholars Program at Wofford College and later spending more than a decade at Triangle Community Foundation in Durham, NC. At the Community Foundation, Libby managed scholarship programs and designed grant initiatives focused on literacy, arts, conservation, and nonprofit resilience.
In 2018, Libby joined global technology company Lenovo, as Community Engagement Manager, leading corporate giving and employee volunteering across the US and Canada. Her efforts have provided access to technology and STEM education to underserved communities, supported those affected by COVID-19 and natural disasters, and promoted racial equity.
Outside of work, Libby lives in Durham, NC with her husband, Andy, and two sons, Reese (7) and Ellis (5).
The 2025 Recipient of the Career Achievement in Music Award is Elizabeth Williams Taylor ’82
The Career Achievement in Music Award is given to an alumna/alumnus who has dedicated themselves to excellence in their profession in music and notable achievements credited over a continual period of time.
Elizabeth Williams Taylor, soprano and actress, has enjoyed an extensive professional career in Broadway/ Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical/Pops Symphonic Concert stage, and TV/Film. Touring across the USA and Canada, Elizabeth starred as Guenevere opposite Sir Richard Harris as King Arthur in the National Broadway Tour of Camelot. Other favorite roles she has performed are Laurie in Oklahoma, Eliza in My Fair Lady, Maria in The Sound of Music, Marsinah in Kismet, and many more.
On the Opera stage, Elizabeth has sung the role of Musetta in Puccini’s La Boheme with North Carolina Opera and Opera Carolina. She also sang the role of Valencienne in The Merry Widow with North Carolina Opera. With Greensboro Opera, she sang the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Lucy in The Telephone, and Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto.
Other opera credits include Jackie in Michael Daughterty’s Jackie O and Ariel in Lee Hoiby’s “The Tempest” with Long Leaf Opera Festival. She was also privileged to perform the Southern Premiere of At the Statue of Venus by world-renowned American Opera composer Jake Heggie, with Jake accompanying her at the piano. The one-act opera for soprano and piano was performed at UNC-Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill at the Long Leaf Opera Festival.
On the concert stage, Elizabeth has performed as a soprano soloist in Carmina Burana at UNC-Memorial Hall with the Chapel Hill Choral Society and symphony, the Milwaukee “Music Under The Stars” Symphony in Washington Park, Asheville, Durham, Fayetteville symphonies and with the Greensboro Oratorio Society and symphony. She has performed several times as soprano soloist with the NC Symphony singing both classical and Broadway Pops.
As the role of Grace Kelly in the American Opera’s Jackie O, Elizabeth made her European Debut at Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Italy. The opera was filmed and can be seen on DVD.
Elizabeth was also crowned Miss North Carolina in 1982 and went on to win talent and swimsuit scholarships at Miss America.
The 2025 Recipient of the Mae Elizabeth Kilgo Spirit of Converse Award is Mary Gossett Dalton King ’75
The Mae Elizabeth Kilgo Spirit of Converse Award is given to an alumna/alumnus who, by their constant and loyal service to Converse, has kept the University visible to other alumni and their community.
Mary Gossett belonged to Converse from birth. Her mother, Mary Helen Garrison Dalton ’45, was a lifelong active volunteer and trustee, and her association with the school was an integral part of Mary Gossett’s formative years. She observed the physical growth of Converse and heard conversations about the value of women’s education from an early age. When the time came for college, it was a natural fit. She knew she would find a stimulating education and a warm campus life. While at Converse, she developed a love for art and travel through a study trip to New York, where she visited museums and had an audience with Salvador Dali. She spent a fall semester in London where she studied art, literature, and culture.
Throughout her life, she displayed a uniquely keen sense of observation of the natural world. Her sensitive appreciation of nature inspired her personal artistic expression. She was an accomplished artist in multiple media, focusing on silver craftsmanship for over 25 years. She had exquisite taste and was an avid collector, haunting the antique and art markets of Atlanta and the world.
Soon after college, she married and had a family, but Converse continued to be a large part of her life. She was a reliable and gracious hostess for the school, opening her beautiful home on numerous occasions for prospective students and alumni events in Atlanta. She was a loyal and trusted friend to her Converse classmates. She was a role model for her friends due to her strength, resilience, talent, sensitivity, kindness, and intelligence.
Over the years, Mary Gossett was an annual leadership donor to the Converse Fund. She honored her family’s tradition by loyally supporting Converse and funding scholarships and construction projects.
She supported Converse generously before passing away from ALS in the fall of 2023. We lost her too soon but she left a beautiful legacy worthy of this award.
The 2025 Recipient of the Young Alumni Award is Emili Pickenpaugh ’15
The Young Alumna/Alumnus Award is given to an alumna/alumnus (within 15 years of graduation) who embodies the qualities of character and achievement that Converse alumni hold as their ideal.
Since graduating from Converse in 2015, Dr. Pickenpaugh has earned a masters degree in mental health counseling from UNC Charlotte and a PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. She now lives in the Denver area and is a licensed psychologist.
She works as a psychology attending at Denver Health Hospital on the psychiatry consult liaison service. Denver Health is a level one trauma safety net hospital and the majority of patients are underserved and underinsured. Many patients are unhoused, struggle with substance misuse, and/or are members of marginalized communities. She helped form an innovative proactive service that screens trauma patients in the hospital for the risk of developing PTSD and provides early intervention to those at risk. This service had 3,143 encounters in the first two years and Dr. Pickenpaugh is conducting ongoing research on its effectiveness. She is the co-principal investigator for a 3-year, $1.5 million HRSA grant that currently funds 10 psychology residents. She serves as a faculty member at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the psychology residency training program at Denver Health. She maintains a private practice providing eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy intensives.
Dr. Pickenpaugh is Secretary to the trauma division of the American Psychological Association (APA), an early career representative to the health psychology APA division consultation-liaison psychology interest group, and a member of the Denver Health psychedelic committee. Her professional interests are in providing trauma-informed psychotherapy to those experiencing acute reactions to traumatic events and EMDR to those with a history of medical or vicarious trauma. She is passionate about providing evidence-based care to underserved communities and quality training experiences. Outside of her career, she enjoys camping, crafting, and traveling with her spouse, three dogs, and lovely friends.
The 2025 Recipient of the Career Achievement Award is Amy Downey ’95
The Career Achievement Award is given to an alumna/alumnus who dedicate themselves to excellence in their profession and has distinguished themselves by notable achievements credited over a continual period of time.
Amy Downey has spent thirty years as an educator focusing on supporting students with intellectual, orthopedic, autism, traumatic brain injury, vision, and other health impairments. She has served Greenville County School District for 29 of her 30 years at two middle schools, League Academy and Beck Academy. She has served as a Special Olympics coach, teacher mentor, department head, athletic director, and coached basketball and volleyball.
During her career, she has received various awards including, School Teacher of the Year, PTA Teacher of the Year, Golden Apple Top 5 finalists, Southwest Council District 1 PTA Teacher of the Year, and was named by Upstate Parent Magazine as one of 10 Educators Who Make a Difference. Passionate about students with special needs and dedicated to fostering inclusive environments, she created a peer buddy program to foster a sense of purpose and community within her schools, not only for her students but for the entire school.
Possessing a deep connection to the students and their families, she has created a positive environment throughout the school and community. Her passion is to empower her students to develop confidence, a sense of purpose, and independence. Her success is not measured by the mandated state testing for her students, but rather the relationships she has built and maintained over the years, even after the students leave her classroom.
Amy has worked to build strong, lasting relationships with students and their families, due to the belief that education is a collaborative effort. She can be found volunteering her time with her local Miracle League, with many of her current and former students.
Each day brings new challenges and triumphs, but for Amy Downey, teaching is more than just a career—it’s a calling. Through patience, compassion, and unwavering dedication, she continues to shape the lives of her students and peer buddies, helping them unlock their potential and see their own possibilities.
The 2025 Recipient of the Converse 100 Award is Missy Craver Izard, ’75
The Converse 100 Award, first presented during Converse’s Centennial Celebration, is given to a representative who clearly embodies the qualities of character and achievement that Converse alumni hold as their ideal.
Missy Craver Izard was born and raised in Charleston, S.C., and has called Flat Rock, N.C. home for almost three decades. A retired Summer Camp Director and art teacher, Missy has a passion for working with children. She is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, journalist, community leader, and the recipient of the White House Champions of Change for engaging the next generation of conservation leaders. Her professional achievements include serving in various board positions with the American Camp Association as well as receiving The American Camp Association National Service and Distinguished Service Awards. Missy has also received the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy’s Lela McBride Award for Conservation. In her twenty years of teaching art in public and private elementary schools of Charleston County, she was named Teacher of the Year in 1996, served on Mayor Riley’s curriculum team for the Charleston Aquarium, and was a member of the Leadership Charleston class of 1998. She has held many board positions including President of Historic Flat Rock, The Flat Rock Playhouse, and President of the Ashley Hall Alumni Association. She was instrumental in the founding of two local Henderson County non-profits, Hand’s On! A Children’s Gallery and Camplify, a camp-based youth development program.
Missy’s love for Converse began at a young age with her grandmother, Katharine Everett McDonald, class of 1914, who was also a recipient of the Converse 100 Award at the Centennial Celebration of Converse. Both of her sisters, Ginny Craver Good and Ellen Craver Young as well as her aunt Myrtle Craver Riggs, all attended Converse. Missy attended graduate school at the University of South Carolina where she earned a M.A.T. in Art Education. She continued her graduate studies in the fields of counseling and art therapy at the College of Charleston and The Citadel. Later in life, Missy began taking creative writing courses at UNC Asheville and has cherished her journalism journey with publications in various magazines and local newspapers. In 2017, she published her first children’s book, The Adventures of Pajama Man and Hugs.
Missy currently serves as the Director of Christian Education at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church. Outside of her professional endeavors, Missy loves her role as mother to her four children and “Marmee” to her grandchildren. Missy can also be found enjoying nature, dabbling in art, writing, sewing, cooking, loving life, and celebrating God.
The 2025 Recipient of the Converse 100 Award is Lindsay Daniel, ’08
The Converse 100 Award, first presented during Converse’s Centennial Celebration, is given to a representative who clearly embodies the qualities of character and achievement that Converse alumni hold as their ideal.
Lindsay A. Daniel serves as the Deputy University Counsel for East Tennessee State University where she advises the University and its thriving Academic Health Sciences Center on a wide range of legal issues that arise in the educational, clinical, and research setting. Ms. Daniel’s primary areas of practice include healthcare regulatory compliance, HIPAA, data protection, privacy and cybersecurity, telehealth and digital health, human subjects research, fraud and abuse, and health board-related investigations.
Ms. Daniel received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Converse (cum laude) and her Juris Doctorate from Mercer University School of Law, where she served as the President of the Association of Women Law Students, and was named the Outstanding Law Student by the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers.
Ms. Daniel is a native of Northeast Tennessee where she is active in her community. She coaches the award-winning ETSU Mock Trial team where she very much enjoys mentoring students. She is a past President of the Washington County Bar Association and is a member of the Tri-Cities Women Who Care. In 2021, she was honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award through AmeriCorps, in recognition of her commitment to service and community.
The 2025 recipient of the Honorary Alumna/Alumnus Award is Janis Dengler
The Honorary Alumna/Alumnus Award is bestowed by the Board to a person who has given time, effort, and love to our University. By virtue of this award, this individual is considered an alumna/alumnus of Converse.
Before there was a Department of Theatre and Dance at Converse, Janis Dengler cultivated the talent, skills, and interests of students wishing to pursue their love of dance. Arriving on campus in 1960, Janis taught dance and physical education. Along the way, she produced 41 Converse Dance Ensemble Spring performances. Her dedication to Converse with her gift of time, enthusiasm, and love for her craft and her students was on full display at each annual concert.
Affectionately known as “Ms. D” to Dance Ensemble members, she has maintained warm relationships with many of her former students for over fifty years.
Since her retirement in 2001, Janis has done volunteer work with Mobile Meals, and Mary Black Hospital, and taught an aerobics class at the Shepherd’s Center for 15 years. She has also maintained a deep connection with Converse and has participated in many special events.
The 2025 recipient of the 2025 Star Award is Brandi Nicole Icard ’04
The Star Award is given in recognition of an alumna/alumnus who has actively and admirably served Converse in the area of student recruitment.
Soprano Brandi N. Icard is a Carolina native who has performed and taught in the Charlotte area for the past ten years. She is currently the Director of the voice program at Clover High School and maintains a private studio.
Before moving back to the Carolinas, she was a singer and teacher in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, appearing as a principal artist with the Fort Worth Opera Company and teaching at the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts.
Brandi previously served as a faculty member at the University of South Carolina – Upstate and Anderson University. Brandi received her Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance from Converse’s Petrie School of Music in 2004. Her awards include being named District Winner in the 2006 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
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