CA Alums Reconnect at an Energizing 2026 Reunion
We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather for Concord Academy’s reunion on May 16 and 17, 2026. Around 250 alums returned to campus, most from the classes ending in 1 and 6, which were being celebrated, though alums from all years were welcome to attend. Since this reunion was held during the academic year, alums enjoyed several opportunities to engage with students as well as one another.
Saturday’s events began with student-led campus tours and a historical walking tour of Concord, Mass. Alums had the option to attend a class with a current faculty member. Science Department Head Will Tucker shared a lesson about critical moments of scientific discovery in the 20th century and their impact on global events, from his course on chemistry and the Cold War. Several generations of alums came to his CA Labs classroom, in a building new since many of them last returned to campus. Tucker shared that for their final projects in his course, students create a podcast that traces an issue from modern times to its origins in an event they learned about during the semester. Mathematics teacher Shawn Bartok offered a similar sample of a course he teaches about math and politics. In his interactive session, he invited alums to weigh in on a seemingly simple topic: “Which is best: french toast, pancakes, or waffles?” Giving them chances to experience many ways voting data can be collected and interpreted, he demonstrated plurality, ranked choice, and weighted voting systems based on the class’s responses. His students puzzled out weighted voter values to reach particular coalition requirements and simulated the prisoner’s dilemma, which highlighted the impact of game theory on voting and the conflict between individual self-interest and collective benefit. Alums left with a new understanding of what math reveals about cooperation and how political power can be measured.
The music recital hall in the Centennial Arts Center (C.A.C.) filled for the Alum Association Assembly. In addition to appointing the new 2026–27 Alum Association officers and a vote on revised bylaws, alums heard an update from Head of School Henry D. Fairfax. He recognized retiring faculty and staff members Jackie Decareau, Sue Johnson P’20, Nancy Boutilier, and Christa Champion, and he shared enthusiasm about CA’s enrollment for next year, which includes students from many U.S. states and from Egypt, Japan, Singapore, Nigeria, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China.
Fairfax also shared about the ongoing work driven by CA’s strategic plan. Just two weeks prior, the Board of Trustees had approved a campus master plan, which considers every inch of CA’s campus and provides a flexible framework for future leaders to make decisions nimbly and in alignment with protecting the character of the campus learning environment. He added that he has tried to attend at least one class each week: “I’m constantly astonished by our superstar faculty and the incredible students we have here.”
During the assembly, alums also had a chance to talk with current students. Betsy Green ’91, who was celebrating her 35th reunion and facilitated the program, said, “I challenge you not to be a little jealous after hearing about their amazing experiences and the amazing facilities and opportunities that they have.” In a panel discussion moderated by Assistant Head for Student Life Grant Hightower, three current students spoke about the importance of senior chapels and other CA traditions, courses such as the Sitcom Project that they had enjoyed taking this year, and the independence they have in shaping their learning journeys. Alums began reminiscing at the mention of certain favorite local haunts, and they had a chance to offer advice to their younger counterparts. One tip: Always wear your CA ring—you never know when you’ll run into someone connected to CA.
On Saturday afternoon in the Ransome Room, Chris Labosier, science teacher and CA’s sustainability lead, opened a discussion about sustainability at CA and beyond by sharing the organizational structure for overseeing this work at CA, which involves students, faculty, staff, and trustees, and he announced the recent publication of the school’s first annual sustainability report. Then Labosier and Elyn Tao ’27, one of CA’s student environmental representatives, moderated a panel discussion about driving sustainable change, which centered around the sustainable finance industry and the many uses of public lands.
After beginning her career in commercial banking, Melissa Moye ’76 spent over two decades at the World Wildlife Fund, where she led the nonprofit’s efforts to create sustainable sources of financing for conservation in developing countries. She discussed how climate change is creating uncertainty around investing and the differing regulatory contexts in the U.S. and other regions of the world. “Even though I didn’t start out interested in science, I always was interested in going to wild places,” she said, and she reflected on the transcendentalist legacy of spiritual engagement with nature she absorbed in Concord, Mass. Also an impact investor, Moye highlighted a project she supported, a seaweed farm in the Faroe Islands, developed as cattle feed to reduce methane emissions.
Like Moye, Nina Callahan ’16 is an investor in a seaweed business, though the business she supports is using it as a substitute for plastic. She traces her “sustainability bug” back to CA, when Sonia Lo ’84 visited as the Hall Fellow to speak about hydroponic farming in 2015. A few years later, while Callahan was studying at Middlebury, she interned at Lo’s farm as a plant scientist. But more than the science itself, what interested her was how Lo runs her business. She ended up studying environmental economics, then working at Barclays as an investment banking analyst, before joining Paine Schwartz Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in sustainable food chain investing. Callahan, who also became a vegan while a student at CA, highlighted the importance of agriculture in addressing the climate crisis. She said working within the firm’s “farm-to-fork” purview is “a nice intersection of creativity, environmental protection, and a tangible impact.”
When Haninah Levine ’01 shared that he’s a lawyer with the National Park Service, a collective “oh” rose from the room. “I couldn’t tell if those were sighs of admiration or sympathy,” he said, “but I think it’s the coolest job you can possibly have with the word lawyer in the title.” Levine has worked for the Bureau of Land Management and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and he has been with the Department of the Interior for around 11 years. He said he appreciates that his job involves so many disciplines and intersecting interests, from preservation for wildlife habitat and backcountry recreation to historical and culture conservation. “CA cultivated in me a passion for always finding more about different things, and I’ve been lucky enough to find a career where I get to humor that impulse,” he said. He added that he hoped to see more people trying to get out of their comfort zones and talking with, and listening to, others who don’t share their assumptions and goals.
Later that afternoon, alums filled the dance studio for a special performance of the spring dance concert, Kinetic Echoes. Choreographed by John Patrick O’Neill and the members of the CA Dance Project, the performance explored memory through movement. Then Linda Coyne Lloyd Performing Arts Department Chair Michael Bennett gave a tour of the C.A.C., highlighting several of its adaptable features, including the adjustable seating in the Hammett Ory Theater, the customizable acoustics of the music recital hall, and the flexible Spencer and Colton Process, Presentation, and Performance (P3) Lab, which can be configured for exhibitions, performances, and multidisciplinary learning experiences.
The schedule also allowed plenty of free time for reunioning alums to chat on the quad, enjoy a lemonade and popcorn bar in the C.A.C., and get out paddling on the Sudbury River. An animal presentation engaged families who had come with children, as well as some CA students. And a memorial service honored the memories of alums and former faculty and staff whose deaths the school had learned about within the previous year.
Late Saturday afternoon, alums gathered by classes for photos by the Senior Steps. The sun was shining bright over cocktail hour, when alums mixed and mingled in front of the C.A.C. Over dinner in the theater, alums enjoyed music by CA piano teacher Jonathan Fagan ’11, former CA music teacher Ross Adams, and Grace Blewer ’11. At the reception, Fairfax congratulated the reunioning classes, highlighted how special it was for alums to have the opportunity to interact with current students this year, and welcomed two alums to share some remarks.
“CA does many things well, and one of them is teaching students to ask good questions,” said Jamie Klickstein ’86, P’15 ’18, who was celebrating his 40th reunion and reflected on his time on the Board of Trustees and the “instant kinship” he feels when meeting a member of the CA community.
Former Alum Association President Laura McConaghy ’01, celebrating her 20th reunion, remarked on the “amazing community that CA has fostered” and her ongoing connection to CA through her relationships with fellow alums rooted, like she is, in common trust, love of learning, and care for each other and the world. She concluded with a toast to “the many twists and turns that are still ahead.”
The festivities wrapped up on Sunday morning with a leisurely farewell brunch. This was the final reunion before the first Alum Weekend will take place, according to a new schedule, in spring 2028. In this updated multiclass reunion model, alums from neighboring classes will be invited together, encouraging the deepening of connections across the CA community.
