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Alumni Awards Recipients

The Distinguished Alumni Award: Melissa (Donovan) d'Arabian '86
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes a St. Andrew's Episcopal School alumni who 
has demonstrated unique or significant accomplishments through professional achievement 
or social impact.
Melissa, a graduate of Georgetown University (MBA) and University of Vermont (BA) is a celebrity chef, television host, best-selling author, and mom of four.
 
She is a go-to expert on affordable and healthy family home cooking. Melissa enjoyed a successful career in corporate finance and strategy before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Passionate about sharing her tried-and-true recipes and money-saving tactics, Melissa then competed on and won season five of "Food Network Star." She soon became well known for"Ten Dollar Dinners" - her popular Food Network show and New York Times bestselling cookbook. Available now, Melissa's highly anticipated second cookbook, "Supermarket Healthy," proves healthy eating can be easy, affordable, and achievable with ingredients from the neighborhood grocery store.
 
Today Melissa can also be found serving as a regular judge on the hit Food Network primetime series "Guy's Grocery Games;" writing the nationally syndicated weekly "Healthy Plate" column for The Associated Press; and hosting multiple FoodNetwork.com series, including "The Picky Eaters Project" and "Smart Carts." A sought-after expert regularly featured in national media, Melissa shares her diverse life experiences and wide-ranging expertise on topics including food and cooking, money-saving strategies, family and parenting, healthy lifestyle, business and leadership, faith, and causes close to her heart including suicide prevention and childhood hunger. She and her family live just outside San Diego. Stay in touch with Melissa onFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and on her website www.melissadarabian.net.
The Thomas Shaw Award: Erin Wright-Gandhi '96
The Thomas Shaw Award recipient's deeds and actions reflect his or her pride in their alma mater and loyalty to the school, as demonstrated through their support of the school, the Alumni Association and its programs. 
Erin, a graduate of American University (MA) and Georgetown University (BA), has been a member of the St. Andrew's Board of Trustees since 2008 serving on the mission statement task force, budget and sustainability task force and the Student Center Campaign Committee.
 
Erin has served St. Andrew's diligently and tirelessly throughout the years sharing her passion for education and the advancement of St. Andrew's. Recently, Erin participated in the Strategic Planning Advisory Council and accepted the role of Alumni Council President.
 
Erin is currently the Director of Advancement at San Francisco Day School in California and was previously the Director of Development at the Philips Brooks School in Menlo Park, California from 2011 to 2016. Erin and her husband, Koonal, live in San Francisco with their 2 daughters, Renna (3) and Annika (1).
The Lion's Pride Award: The Class of 1995
The Lion's Pride Award recognizes the class with the highest percentage of participation in the Lion's Fund.  
The Class of 1995 achieved 60% participation- a school record - during the 2015-16 Fiscal Year. The Class dedicated their support to fellow classmates, Erin Foster and John Greene, who have passed away. Their efforts were led by Reunion co-chairs Alex George and Sam Speier. 
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St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool (Age 2) through grade 12, located in Potomac, Maryland.