The Clio Hall Awards recognize outstanding collaboration with the Graduate School's GradFUTURES team on professional development for graduate students. These award-winners have been selected for their role in creating or expanding resources and programs, and elevating the visibility and impact of professional development. A committee reviews nominations submitted from across campus. The awards are presented each year at the GradFUTURES Forum. 

"The Graduate School's GradFUTURES program is fueled by an ecosystem of campus partners, faculty, alumni, graduate student leaders, and industry partners," said Eva Kubu, senior associate dean for professional development and director of GradFUTURES.  "Each of this year's Clio Hall Award honorees has helped ensure that Princeton's holistic approach to graduate student professional development is innovative, inclusive, and integrated into the experience of graduate students." 

All members of campus are invited to recognize and celebrate this year's honorees at the Clio Hall Award Reception on Friday, April 5th at 2 PM in the Frick Atrium.

2024 Clio Hall Awardees

 

Debbie Godfrey *84 (Psychology)

Alumna Debbie Godfrey *84 is President of New Logic Strategies, and earned a Ph.D. in Psychology. As noted in her nomination materials, Godfrey is a "rockstar" mentor in the GradFUTURES Alum Mentorship Program, serving as a mentor for three consecutive years. In each of these three years, Godfrey mentored multiple students. She also conscientiously reports conversations and responds to program surveys, which assists the Graduate School in assessing the impact of the mentorship program. Her graduate student mentees are also very engaged with the program, report conversations, respond to surveys, and participate in mentorship programs. According to her graduate student mentees, Godfrey brings interdisciplinary thinking to her mentoring relationships and approaches this program with a lifelong learning lens. Godfrey notes that she learns from her mentees just as they learn from her. 

 

Vanessa Silva 

Vanessa Silva is Associate Director, Annual Giving, University Advancement. Since the launch of GradFUTURES, Silva has raised awareness of the centrality of professional development among the graduate alumni community, specifically among the alumni volunteers in the Annual Giving committee. She has coordinated numerous opportunities for the GradFUTURES team to present to graduate alumni volunteers and facilitated conversations between the Graduate School, graduate students, and graduate alumni. Her partnership with GradFUTURES and the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni has increased awareness, advocacy, and other forms of support for GradFUTURES programs--in particular, her tireless efforts have allowed forthe expansion of the GradFUTURES Mentorship program. 

 

Christie Henry

Christie Henry is Director of Princeton University Press and has been a long-standing partner of GradFUTURES and a champion of graduate student professional development. Led by Henry, the Press has hosted numerous University Administrative Fellows and Social Impact Fellows, and the Press is a frequent partner in the creation of GradFUTURES Learning Cohorts, including "Scholarly Skills," and "Writing to Influence: A Public Writing Series," which featured 10 authors from the in-house speakers agency at the Press, PUPSpeaks. Henry's team also hosts graduate students for talks and discussions about the nature of academic publishing, as well as careers in publishing. Henry's optimistic, expansive engagement with GradFUTURES continues to identify new partnerships--all centered on graduate students and their futures.

 

Raghuveer Vinukollu *11 (CEE)

Raghuveer Vinukollu *11 is Head of Climate Insights & Advisory at Munich Re. Vinukollu has supported GradFUTURES in his various volunteer and professional capacities. As a volunteer leader in Graduate Alumni Annual Giving and the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni, Vinukollu strongly promotes GradFUTURES to fellow graduate alums. He also volunteers as a mentor for current graduate students through our GradFUTURES Mentorship Program and has served on panels to share his experiences as a mentor. He has also advocated for the creation of GradFUTURES Micro-internships in Industry; Munich Re will host part-time, paid internships for current graduate students during the academic year and in the summer. 

 

Sami Kahn

Sami Kahn is the Executive Director of the Council on Science and Technology (CST). Kahn has been a consummate collaborator and connector who attends to the ways that graduate student professional development can be made a part of nearly any intellectual and administrative enterprise on campus. CST has hosted numerous University Administrative Fellowships over the years, and Kahn and her team have also collaborated to co-sponsor and co-organize multiple GradFUTURES Forum events, Wintersession events on research communication, and events throughout the academic year. One example of the impact of the CST-GradFUTURES partnership is an event that brought Paul Sutter and SYREN Dance to campus, inspiring a graduate student to compete in (and win!) the AAAS Dance Your PhD contest. 

 

Debbie Bisno

Debbie Bisno is Director of University and Artistic Partnerships at McCarter. She has mentored numerous Social Impact Fellowships over the past 3 years, has been instrumental in the creation of the Working in the Creative Arts and Public Humanities Learning Cohort, co-hosted public speaking workshops with GradFUTURES and Princeton Entrepreneurship Council, and provided opportunities for students to interview and collaborate with inspirational artists like Patti Smith. Bisno was instrumental in launching the Arts & Ideas series and the Princeton-McCarter Conversation Council (of which GradFUTURES is a member.) She creates space for students to engage in cross-disciplinary conversation with both industry professionals and live performance through programs like The Scholar's Take. Debbie has a gift for connecting with graduate students - creating innovative ways for them to partner with McCarter, while building new skills and expanding their networks!

 

Rebecca D. Burdine

Rebecca D. Burdine is Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and is a tireless champion of graduate student professional development, particularly in the area of mentorship. She has collaborated with GradFUTURES and, in particular, Assistant Dean Sonali Majumdar, by serving as a speaker for the Preparing Future Faculty series, leading workshops on research mentorship for two consecutive years. She collaborated with Dean Majumdar and Molecular Biology colleagues to build our first-year graduate student professional development primer course. She collaborated with Dean Majumdar to co-teach classes on conflict resolution as well as Individualized Development Plan (IDP) sessions for first-year graduate students and co-hosted office hours. She regularly promotes relevant GradFUTURES opportunities to graduate students and colleagues alike!

 

Rose Guingrich, GS (PSY)

Rose Guingrich is a PhD Candidate in Psychology, and was a Professional Development Associate with the GradFUTURES team in 2022-2023. She was a key contributor to the formation of a reimagined version of the Ethics of AI GradFUTURES Learning Cohort and was also instrumental in the planning and execution of the 4th annual GradFUTURES Forum in 2023. Since the end of her term as a Professional Development Associate, Gingrich has founded a student organization called Ethicom, which extends and continues the work of developing skills and knowledge regarding Responsible AI (Empowering Tomorrow’s Human-AI Interaction Community). Guingrich remains a key partner to the GradFUTURES team, promoting graduate student professional development within the Psychology Department and beyond.

 

Christina Pellicane

Christina Pellicane is Assistant Director of Innovation and Lead Instructor, I-Corps Northeast Hub. Pellicane has been the ideal collaborator and partner in advancing graduate student professional development in innovation and entrepreneurship competencies. She co-facilitated and helped restructure the Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital & Startups GradFUTURES Learning Cohort, which led to a micro-credential for graduate student participants that drew on Pellicane's educational content from the I-Corp curriculum, as well as leveraged her connections to I-Corp teams for group capstone projects and mentorship. Pellicane, who is also a dedicated mentor of multiple University Administrative Fellows over the years, continues to think collaboratively to create opportunities for graduate students to explore their entrepreneurial interests.

 

Natalie Berkman *18 (FIT)

Natalie Berkman is the Digital Learning Manager at ESSEC Business School in Paris, France. Berkman has consistently shown up to support graduate students in small and global ways. A mentor in the GradFUTURES Mentorship Program, one of the inaugural participants in the Graduate Alum-in-Residence program, a regular and sought-after speaker at the GradFUTURES Forum and events throughout the year, Natalie has been one of the strongest champions for graduate students, graduate alums, GradFUTURES, and the Graduate School. Berkman now serves as a board member of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA), where, as the Vice Chair of the Lifelong Learning Initiative committee, she is building robust partnerships between APGA and GradFUTURES. 

The award ceremony is part of the 5th Annual GradFUTURES Forum, Princeton’s professional development conference for graduate students. This year’s theme is Building Clarity, Confidence, and Connections. The Forum features both in-person and online sessions and is open to the graduate community at Princeton and beyond. 

The Clio Hall award takes its name from the landmark building at the University that is now home to the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School. The award, a 3D-printed replica of Clio Hall, was produced with the generous support of the Council on Science and Technology.