Wellesley's Day of Giving 2023

Loreley Godfrey ’27 has a passion for student mental health education. She finished high school early, and before starting at Wellesley she joined the Governor’s Youth Advisory Council on Substance Misuse and Prevention in her home state of New Hampshire, where she partnered with state senators to craft a bipartisan bill to provide schools with lesson plans addressing mental health. She has also worked on climate and conservation public policy projects, all before reaching voting age. “I’ve always been one who was organized and detailed, but I’ve never felt so comfortable in class before. I’ve realized the smartest ones are those willing to ask questions.”

Our Wellesley community truly knows how to crush a goal—let’s keep it going! You still have time to make a difference on this Day of Giving. A gift to The Wellesley Fund today will ensure that we can empower the next generation of trailblazers.

Melissa Ludtke ’73 P’19 is an esteemed reporter and journalist who was the plaintiff in the groundbreaking 1978 federal court case that established equal access for women to report alongside male reporters in Major League Baseball locker rooms. Graduating from Wellesley following the women’s liberation movement, Melissa discovered newfound opportunities for women in the world. Her dedication and persistence paved the way for generations of young women to work in sports media.“There were possibilities opening for women for the first time that had never been opened before,” Melissa says.

Charlotte Hayes ’75 is a management consultant, certified business and executive coach, and board member of Girl Up, a nonprofit focused on developing transformational leaders who advance gender justice worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., Hayes has been a mentor for Wellesley alumnae and the alumnae coordinator for the Wellesley in Washington Student Internship Program for more than two decades. She enjoys meeting with students and urging them to take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way. Hayes provides them with guidance as they explore their own career paths, including connecting them to contacts in her network and talking with them about financial planning.  

Cecilia Conrad ’76, Stephanie Hsieh ’89, and Chantale “Chanty” Zuzi ’25, featured in our Day of Giving video, are part of our incredible Wellesley student and alumnae network.

Cecilia is CEO of Lever for Change, a nonprofit that connects funders with exceptionally creative individuals who have ideas about how to solve problems in the world. She returned to campus last month to accept a 2023 Alumnae Achievement Award.

Stephanie has worked for 30 years in the life science industry, as an entrepreneur, board director, executive, intellectual property attorney, and angel investor. She is president-elect of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association and finds mentoring students and young alums to be some of her most gratifying work. 

Chanty is a junior from the Democratic Republic of Congo who founded Refugee Can Be, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate and empower refugee girls. She aspires to work in the field of global politics, including as a U.S. diplomat and eventually secretary of state.

We look forward to highlighting more Wellesley trailblazers on Thursday!