Girls Preparatory School honored recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Alumna Award, the Margaret Rawlings Lupton Award of Excellence, and an inductee into the Athletic Hall of Fame at a luncheon on Friday at the start of Alumnae Weekend festivities.
The GPS 2012 Distinguished Alumna Award is given based on a graduate’s professional achievement; service in home, church, and community; and commitment to GPS. This year’s distinguished alumna was Betsy Lee Battle, chief investment officer and founding partner of Lone Peak Partners Management LP in New York City.
A 1972 graduate of GPS and former member of the GPS Board of Trustees, Ms. Battle graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a degree in journalism. In addition to her busy career on Wall Street, Battle is an accomplished horsewoman and community volunteer. She has served on the board of North Carolina Outward Bound School and on the President’s Council for Peconic Land Trust. She is pictured with her sister, Jean Battle Richardson ’59, a former recipient of the same honor.
The Margaret Rawlings Lupton Award of Excellence recipients were Dr. Heidi Lary Kar ’97, Dr. Pamela M. Kato ’82, and Marshall Persinger ’77. Women chosen for this honor have made a significant impact in their communities in professional and/or voluntary activities. Dr. Kar is a clinical psychologist recognized as a specialist in the area of trauma and violence and has traveled extensively to study violence as it relates to victims of HIV/Aids and to develop stigma-reduction intervention programs. An award-winning researcher, she has been recognized by the Melissa Institute of Violence Prevention, the Gates Foundation, and USAID. She graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in neuroscience, received her master’s in health science and international public health from Johns Hopkins and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Stony Brook University.
Dr. Kato, an international leader in the field of health psychology, is a senior research specialist at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. She has developed 3-D collaborative technology for use in healthcare and created award-winning health games to enhance communications within her field. The video games for non-entertainment purposes, such as a biofeedback game to teach medical residents about patient safety, has made her a sought-after international consultant and lecturer. She graduated from Georgetown and pursued a master’s in counseling and consulting psychology at Harvard. She was awarded her Ph.D in psychology from Stanford University.
President of Fresh Produce, a television, film, and documentary production company in Los Angeles, Marshall Persinger began her entertainment career in New York under the mentorship of Academy Award-winning producer/director Jonathan Demme while working on the film, The Silence of the Lambs. Since then, she has been named one of Variety’s Top Ten International Producers to Watch and currently serves as co-chair on the Independent Producers Committee. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she was the executive producer for the first four seasons of Lifetime’s hit series “Army Wives.” Today, she is the executive in charge of the Sundance Channel’s first scripted series, “Rectify,” which will air in early 2013.
Courtney Poole Brunetz ’92 was inducted into the GPS Athletic Hall of Fame for her achievements in soccer. During her six-year career with the Bruisers, she received numerous honors, including the coaches’ award and being named senior captain. Continuing her soccer career at Rhodes College, she was All-SCAC, on the All-South Region team, and was once again named captain. She started in 67 of 76 games in four years, scored 46 goals, and recorded 27 assists. After receiving her masters in sports and leisure commerce from the University of Memphis, Ms. Brunetz approached Ronnie Carter, TSSAA director, and asked if he needed an intern. She is now the TSSAA marketing director.