2011 Alumni Award Winners
Susan Lacz, BA ‘83
Susan earned her bachelor’s in business administration in 1983. Since graduating from Marymount, Susan has enjoyed significant professional accomplishments, namely becoming Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Ridgewells Catering.
She joined Ridgewells in 1986, and has been instrumental in the expansion and growth of the company’s portfolio over the past 15 years. In 2002, she and her partners formed Haute Catering by Ridgewells, a union company responsible for the House of Representatives catering services. That division has since expanded its services to the Pentagon, the Naval Academy and the National Defense University. In 2008, Purple Tie by Ridgewells was formed to provide experienced and professional service personnel to the corporate and hospitality industries. And most recently in 2009, Ridgewells partnered with celebrity Chef Jose Andres and formed Jose Andres Catering with Ridgewells. The new company combines the exquisite cuisine of Chef Andres with the experience and service of Ridgewells.
A recognized leader and sought-after public speaker in the Catering and Special Events Industry, Susan Lacz is passionate about her work. Susan has been the keynote speaker at several conferences across the country, and has also spoken at many Universities, including her alma mater.
Over the years, Susan and Ridgewells have received a number of industry and professional awards, including many from the International Special Events Society in categories including Best Special Events Team, Best Events with a Legacy, Best Off-Premise Caterer, and Best Cuisine.
Susan has also been awarded for her leadership in the business community by the Washington Business Journal in 2004 in Women Who Mean Business. In May 2008, Susan was also honored for her charitable work by Miriam’s Kitchen with the Bowls of Compassion Award. Most recently, Susan was a finalist for The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Greater Washington Award.
Susan currently serves on numerous boards in the greater Washington DC area, including Marymount’s own Board of Visitors. And for the past three years, Susan and Ridgwells have made a presence on campus by catering Marymount’s annual Portfolio in Motion Preview Night.
Personally, Susan is a role model for working women everywhere. She is a single mom to two sons and calls herself the ‘queen of balance’, encouraging others to be independent thinkers. Having lived through two health scares, an aneurism and melanoma, Susan felt she has been given a second chance and works to both take charge of her life but also find time to appreciate the world around her.
Catherine Heller Lenihan, AA ‘61
Catherine graduated from Marymount College in 1961 and went on to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Fordham University in New York City. She taught in the New York City Public School System for 26 years before retiring in 1995.
Catherine is a former President of the Volunteers at the Mary Manning Nursing Home, NYC, and is now the Vice-President, where she leads approximately 400 volunteers. She is also on the Manhattan Volunteer Committee of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Catherine is a member of the English Speaking Union, The Irish-American Historical Society and a patron of the St James-St. Joseph School in New York City through her parish, St. Vincent Ferrer. Just last month, she was inducted as a member of the Board of the Navy League of the United States, New York Council.
Catherine received the Spirit of Hope Award in 2006 from the Kennedy Child Study Center, nonprofit agency dedicated to assisting very young children who experience significant difficulties in learning and other areas of early childhood development.
She is currently serving her third term as the President of the Women's National Republican Club in New York City and through her involvement with the Club has graciously hosted events for Marymount alumni in New York City since 1990.
An alumni leader in the New York City area, she is dedicated to both Marymount and to the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, hosting and attending a variety of events. Two of the most recent include Marymount’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade gathering and co-chairing the RSHM Benefit Luncheon in NYC for Retired Sisters in the Tarrytown Convent.
Francisco Semiao, BA '00, MS '05
Francisco earned his bachelor of arts in 2000 and a master of science in Health Care Management in 2005. After graduating from Marymount University, Francisco has enjoyed significant accomplishments both professionally and personally.
As a program manager for the District of Columbia Department of Health, Francisco worked to establish the DC Cancer Coalition in 2005. The coalition became an independent non-profit entity that developed the District’s first comprehensive cancer control plan in 2006.
As project director at the George Washington University Cancer Institute, Francisco secured over $3 million to implement Washington, DC’s first City-Wide Cancer Patient Navigation Program with the goal of connecting under- and un-insured African-American and Latino women with diagnostic and care services. He also helped to develop and implement a community-based curriculum on cancer prevention and control in Spanish to educate an underserved population in need of healthcare information.
He is currently the Director of Development at the GW Medical Center where he is helping to increase their funding for public health initiatives.
Besides making significant impacts in public health, Francisco has contributed significantly to the community and has been recognized for his service. Francisco uses his education and professional connections and strives to make a difference in the Hispanic and Portuguese-American communities of his heritage.
He has served on numerous boards, and in 2009, established his own non-profit, The National Organization of Portuguese-Americans (NOPA, Inc), a national non-profit organization with the mission of supporting and working with communities and organizations to advocate for and empower Portuguese-Americans. His nonprofit provides 15 young professionals with opportunities to advance their careers. He also sponsored the first Young Portuguese American Leadership Summit, which was held on June 10, 2011. This Summit was endorsed by the Portuguese Government and sponsored by key corporations interested in emerging US-Portuguese policies.
Francisco has a deep passion for both public health and his Portuguese culture, and was recently knighted by the Duke of Braganza – the heir to the throne of Portugal – in recognition of his dedication. The Duke was in search of someone whose actions extended beyond donations to charity, but was proactive in helping the Portuguese-American community improve their quality of life in the United States.
Patricia Wimsatt Myler, AA '66
Patty earned her Associate of Arts degree in education in 1966. In her time at Marymount, she played three intercollegiate sports, and was aptly described as an athlete who “loved the game beyond the prize”. She will be inducted into the Marymount University Athletic Hall of Fame in May 2012. At her graduation ceremony in 1966, Patty was awarded the “Mother Butler Award”, an award still given at Marymount’s commencement today, and bestowed by faculty vote to the student who “shows the greatest devotion to the ideals of Marymount.” She considers receiving that award as one her finest moments in life.
Patty taught the lower grades at a private academy in Virginia for a year before working for six years with the DC Department of Recreation & Parks, where she coached many youth teams in basketball, tennis and softball, as the Director of Lafayette Playground in Washington, D.C.
After her years with the DC Recreation Department, Patty became the general manger of two local health clubs. While managing these clubs, Patty mentored a number of interns from Marymount’s Health and Fitness Program Management program, with the Marymount students working under her supervision for a semester as part of their course requirements.
After becoming a mother to four children, Patty coached youth soccer in the District of Columbia and Montgomery County for a number of years, while running her own catering business, “Simply Elegant.”
Patty has now been the Facilities Director at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart for 18 years. She has developed a national reputation for succeeding in maintaining a well-run campus, teaching courses for several companies and institutes, and also serving as a local resource for facilities personnel in the surrounding region.
Patty is the current President of the National Christ Child Society, a group comprising 7,000 individual members working through individual chapters in seventeen states across the country. The National Christ Child Society is a charitable organization dedicated to serving at-risk children regardless of race or creed. Patty served on the National Board since 2004, with a primary focus on operational procedures, by-laws and personnel.
As an active member of one of the Christ Child Society’s individual chapters since 1980, Patty served as head of the Camp Committee for twelve years, overseeing the operations of the Christ Child Society summer camp & retreat center in St. Leonard, MD. This entire program was very near and dear to Patty’s heart as it allowed low-income children from the DC area to attend bi-weekly summer camp sessions.
Throughout her thirty years with Christ Child Society, Patty has chaired, co-chaired and assisted with a number of benefits and fundraising events, served on Washington’s Board of Directors for three terms, the third as 1st Vice President and now proud to be serving as the National President.
In 1995 Patty was honored to receive the Washington Chapter’s “Volunteer Cum Laude Award”. She remains active in her parish, The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., serving as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister for twenty years, and has taught Marriage Preparation courses. She served as Chair of the Parish Council, and a Member of the Buildings and Grounds Committee.