Dear Gwynedd Mercy Community Members,

Our school year is off to a bustling start, albeit many things look somewhat different this year. We are deeply grateful that our girls, faculty, and staff are all able to return to campus. As many of you know, we are currently operating in a hybrid model, which means half of our student body is on campus on any given day, while the other half of the student body learns virtually and concurrently from home. Providing our Gwynedd Girls the Mercy education and opportunities for which our fine institution is known has been possible only through the efforts and hard work of our faculty and staff, and in particular, the members of our COVID Preparedness Committee.

Earlier in the year, I shared several updates regarding progress that we had made on our five-year strategic plan, "She is the Future," launched in November 2019. Allow me to reshare with you an important goal that we set in our Connection pillar:

GOAL

"To open doors for her, we will unite our community, expand our diversity, and grow connections locally and globally. Gwynedd's great differentiator is our strength of community infused with Mercy spirit. Our genuine desire to help one another succeed empowers the whole to make an even greater impact in the world. To widen and deepen our circle, we will mobilize our Gwynedd family through our global Mercy network to share our story and create a more vibrant, diverse, and engaged school community where all feel welcome, supported, and purposeful. Through a commitment to faith, service, and inclusion, our students will forever ground themselves in Mercy values, calibrating their moral compass for life."

It brings me great pleasure to inform you of yet another step forward we have made on this goal. I am delighted to welcome Anita Roberson, Gwynedd's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader. In our search to find the right person for this new role at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, we met with an array of impressive, experienced candidates, and I enjoyed the many inspiring conversations. It was really Anita's background, combined with her passion for education and advocacy for the underserved that mirror several of the respected attributes of our Mercy mission and helped us determine that Anita will be a great asset in Gwynedd's efforts and continued implementation of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan titled, "As Catherine Did."

ABOUT ANITA

Anita Roberson firmly believes, as the late Congressman John Lewis professed, that "if you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it." It is this call to action that has led Anita to live a life of service committed to helping individuals and organizations solve issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to joining the Gwynedd Mercy team, Anita served as the Middle States Regional Program Manager for A Better Chance, a national non-profit that recruits academically talented students of

Anita Roberson

color for independent school placement. There, Anita delivered workshops designed to help scholars successfully transition and thrive in predominantly white institutions while also advising member independent schools on their diversity, equity and inclusion goals. Anita served as the founding Boston site director at a national non-profit that provides academic enrichment programs for first-generation college students while simultaneously training future teachers on how to serve the educational needs of students from marginalized communities. Additionally, Anita founded a college preparatory elementary school for economically disadvantaged students. Anita has developed and executed a broad range of workshops on topics pertaining to race, gender, class, and sexual orientation and is extremely excited to join the Gwynedd Mercy community in her role as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader. In her spare time Anita loves to read, listen to podcasts, cycle, and play recreational soccer. Anita is a graduate of Cornell University.

We are thrilled to welcome Anita to the Circle of Mercy, and we look forward to working together to advance our Mercy mission. and better educate, inspire, and empower our young women to be bold, compassionate, culturally-responsive leaders. Today is officially her first day with us at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, so please join me in extending a warm Mercy welcome. Know that we will seek added input of our Gwynedd community members in support of our important work in the weeks and months ahead.

A very special note of gratitude to an alumna donor and our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee whose generosity of time, talent, and treasure have been instrumental in these efforts and our continued growth. Thank you to all who have made this development possible for Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School as we rise to meet the challenges set forth by our foundress Catherine McAuley, "to do good today and better tomorrow." Please join us on our mission. If you are interested in getting involved and supporting Gwynedd's DEI initiatives, send a message to inclusion@gmahs.org. Together, we can and will effect change.

Mercy always, in all ways.

 

Denise C. Marbach '72, P'05, '09

President