Sharon Shapiro and Laura Walker

Sharon Shapiro is Trustee and Community Liaison at the Ruderman Family Foundation, an internationally recognized organization that works to end the stigma associated with mental health. The Foundation does this by identifying gaps in mental health resources and programs within the high school and higher education communities as well as by organizing other local and national programming and initiatives that raise greater awareness around the stigma. Shapiro has made major contributions to inclusive Jewish education through many years of service on the Board of Directors of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. She also served on the Board of Directors of Combined Jewish Philanthropy (CJP), as well as the organization’s Committee on Services for People with Disabilities and the Special Education Committee. She is also the past chair of the Miriam Fund at CJP. The Fund aims to inspire and strengthen women and girls through grants within and beyond the Jewish community. Shapiro also serves on the Disability Task Force of Greater Boston and is on the advisory committee of the Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston (JTFGB), the board of Yachad, the board of Yeshiva Ohr Yisrael, and runs their development committee.

Laura Walker is the eleventh president of Bennington College. Since her arrival in 2020, the College has attracted a record number of applications and expanded the faculty. She has led the college through COVID, the expansion of the student body, and a strategic planning process as well as college-wide initiatives in anti-racism and mental health and wellness. Before joining Bennington, President Walker was an Executive Fellow at the Yale School of Management and the founding President and CEO of New York Public Radio, a pioneer in podcasting, and the recipient of 10 George Foster Peabody Awards. President Walker earned her bachelor’s in history magna cum laude from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.