From left: John J. Mahoney, Jr. '73, Chair, Board of Trustees, John H. Vaughn 82, William K. Olsen, Jr.'86, Joan Hogan Gillman '85, Shannon C. Carroll '92, David G. Butler '61, and Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., President
- David G. Butler '61
- Shannon C. Carroll '92
- Joan Hogan Gillman '85
- William K. Olsen, Jr. '86
- John H. Vaughn '82
David G. Butler '61
Sixty miles north of Port-au-Prince, in Haiti’s rugged mountainous region, is the village of Milot. Along with Sans-Souci Palace, one of Haiti's most revered landmarks, Milot is best known for Hôpital Sacré Coeur, founded by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of the Montreal Province, and a center of hope for people devastated by poverty, illness, and the repercussions of infrastructure failures and natural disasters. To say that Dr. David Butler is familiar with this nation, this landscape, and this hospital is the definition of understatement.
Brooklyn born, David was educated by the Jesuits at Brooklyn Prep and arrived on Mount St. James in 1957—interestingly, given the path his life has taken, the same year François “Papa Doc” Duvalier was first elevated to president in Haiti.
David studied biology at Holy Cross and after graduation, went on to SUNY Downstate where he received his medical degree. He subsequently served his nation as a physician in the Air Force, and continued his residency training at St. Vincent Hospital in New York City. A fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dr. Butler has worked in private practice in New Jersey for 40 years. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, and is the former chair of that board. He and his wife Dr. Mary Ann Butler have raised five children.
This admirable and productive life and career has another dimension, firmly rooted in the village of Milot.
Thirty years after graduating from Holy Cross, David traveled to Haiti, at the urging of a cousin who volunteered at Hôpital Sacré Coeur. It was a trip that changed his life—and the lives of countless women, men, children and families. Every year since, he has returned multiple times, treating patients, conducting surgeries, and witnessing—thanks to his fundraising leadership—the hospital’s growth from 16 beds to 120 beds today, and a significant increase in modern treatment options. The explosive growth in facilities and capacity to meet the demand for patient services includes new operating rooms and X-ray rooms, a blood bank, cardiac surgery capabilities, as well as a neonatal intensive care unit. In 2012, he was named president of the Center for the Rural Development of Milot Foundation, which supports the hospital, and other activities and initiatives in the village.
Under Dr. Butler’s leadership, Hôpital Sacré Coeur has served the 250,000 people in the Milot region with dedication, skill, and love. Through medical and public health education outreach programs, more than 100,000 people a year receive the treatment and education necessary to stay alive and live productive, hopeful lives.
For his commitment to patients and to setting new standards of excellence; for his deep Catholic faith; his commitment to using his gifts to bring the finest care to his patients here and in Haiti; and his work to build a healthier Haiti, one dignified life at a time, the College of the Holy Cross presents to Dr. David G. Butler the Sanctae Crucis Award.
Shannon C. Carroll '92
Just over 20 years ago, on the brink of crossing the Commencement stage, this economics and accounting major made a decision that changed her life—and the lives of people around the world.
During her first years at Holy Cross, Shannon Carroll planned to work at a Big 8 accounting firm. In her senior year, while she was actively interviewing and making plans for life after graduation, Shannon took stock and realized her passions were elsewhere. Inspired by her Jesuit education and influenced by Claudia Ross, professor of Chinese, Shannon discerned that her interest in Asia and the Chinese language merited a closer look. After graduation, she headed to Georgetown for additional language study. Then, it was on to China, where she stayed five years, teaching English as a foreign language and improving her Mandarin.
When Shannon returned to the United States, she began her career in workforce education at Rhode Island’s Dorcas Place, an organization that assists low-income adults in realizing their full potential through literacy, employment, advocacy and community involvement. Her nine-year tenure there culminated in becoming Workforce Education Director, overseeing program and curriculum development and supervising teachers in the program.
Today, Shannon is president and CEO of the nationally-acclaimed, nonprofit Genesis Center in Providence. The multi-service organization—founded in 1982 by a Catholic priest and nun concerned about refugees—offers a full range of services to immigrants, refugees, and low-income families, including a financial education program that Shannon established. Annually, Genesis serves more than 600 individuals in its adult education and workforce development programs and more than 100 in its childcare program. In the past year alone, a record 150 Genesis students have entered or re-entered the workforce, or increased their employment—a full 30 percent of adult education placements in the state. Last year, Vice President Joseph Biden and the National Skills Coalition recognized Genesis as a model program in workforce development——an honor bestowed on only 30 organizations across the country.
Shannon was recently appointed by Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island to the state’s Board of Trustees on Career and Technical Education, and is a member of the State’s Permanent Legislative Committee on Child Care. She also holds a M.S. in Nonprofit Management with a concentration in Leadership.
For her leadership, tenacity and advocacy for her sisters and brothers; for empowering members of her community through education, compassion and inspiration; for her consistent service to so many without any thought of the usual rewards, the College of the Holy Cross presents to Shannon C. Carroll the Sanctae Crucis Award.
Joan Hogan Gillman '85
Joan Hogan Gillman balances the here-and-now of her professional life as an executive with critical responsibilities at one of the world’s largest media companies together with an eye toward the future. It is a future that not only involves a media landscape dramatically shifting seemingly every day, but also involves the essential need to develop and nurture tomorrow’s leaders.
An English major on Mount St. James, Joan traded literature for politics after graduation. She worked for former United States Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, serving first as his legislative aide, and then moving quickly to assistant press secretary, legislative director, and ultimately state director. Along the way, she earned a master’s degree in legislative affairs from George Washington University.
Joan joined the internet industry in 1995, working for Physicians’ Online, the leading internet service provider for the healthcare industry, and has been on the cutting edge of new technology in media and advertising ever since. She took her skills across the Atlantic and headed up the business development, regulatory and legal teams for British Interactive Broadcasting, before returning to the United States where she served as president of Static2358, the interactive television, games and production subsidiary of OpenTV.
She joined Time Warner Cable in May 2005 as vice president of interactive television and advanced advertising. Currently, she is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of media services for Time Warner Cable, where she leads a multi-market media sales team of 1,500 providing integrated marketing solutions to local, regional and national markets. Under her leadership, Time Warner Cable's business has grown to more than $1 billion, with Joan directing and achieving long-term financial and strategic goals.
In 2009, she was named a “Wonder Woman” by Multichannel News and was inducted into the CableFax Magazine Sales Hall of Fame. In 2010, she became an Advertising Age “Woman to Watch,” and in 2011, CableFax Magazine recognized her again for regional and local advertising sales of the year.
Her resume includes service on a number of industry boards and organizations, including BlackArrow, National Cable Communications Media, Women in Cable Telecommunications, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She is a former board member of City Parks Foundation in New York.
Her service to her alma mater is legendary: she is a trusted advisor to College leadership as well as to the College’s emerging leaders. A former member of the Holy Cross Board of Trustees, Joan is a founding and instrumental member of the College’s Alumni Marketing Advisory Group. For years, she has been actively involved in the Holy Cross Women in Business Conference and a participant in pre-business programs, in addition to sponsoring summer internships at Time Warner Cable.
Joan has been married to Ted Gillman for 26 years, and together they are the proud parents of 10-year-old Allison and 7-year-old Zachary.
For her commitment to excellence, innovation, and creativity; for encouraging and mentoring women and men as they begin their careers; for modeling leadership for Holy Cross students and alumni alike; and for her extraordinary professional achievement, the College of the Holy Cross presents to Joan Hogan Gillman the Sanctae Crucis Award.
William K. Olsen, Jr. '86
Rutland, Vermont has a rock solid history – literally. In the mid-19th century, large deposits of nearly solid marble were discovered in the area surrounding the town, leading tiny Rutland to become one of the world’s foremost marble producers.
Today—as another school year begins—the 21st century Rutland High School students, who will graduate in 2016 and beyond, know they will start their post-high school lives with a rock solid foundation—thanks to their principal, Bill Olsen.
After driving up Linden Lane from nearby Hopkinton, Bill proceeded to take a circuitous route to the principal’s office. He was an economics major at Holy Cross, studied abroad in Austria and Germany, and was greatly inspired by his English professor Edward Callahan. Following graduation, he spent a year-and-a-half crunching numbers as an accountant in Boston, but soon decided to give up the boardroom for the classroom. He moved to Salzburg, Austria, where he worked with his former roommate Peter Hogenkamp at the American International School, and fell in love with teaching and coaching. Next stop was the Canterbury School in Connecticut but, after a few years, missing the mountains of Salzburg, Bill moved to Vermont with his wife Kathy Monahan Olsen, also a teacher and a member of Holy Cross class of 1987. They settled in Rutland and since 1999, Bill’s tenure in Rutland’s public schools has been life changing for students and teachers alike.
Ten years ago, Bill was named Vermont Social Studies Teacher of the Year. After taking on more administrative responsibilities, he became principal at Rutland High School, which not long before he arrived, was deemed an underperforming school by the Vermont Department of Education. Today, it is a nationally recognized model of innovation. Under Bill’s transformative leadership, the school introduced the collaborative education system of Professional Learning Communities, a Global Studies Program and STEM Academy—all frequently cited and honored by peers and professional organizations. Bill is credited with creating an environment in which students successfully countered the negative and cyber-bullying effects of a social media app.
He has supported and mentored his teachers to receive an unprecedented three Rowland Foundation Fellowships, which awards a Vermont secondary school teacher’s school $100,000 to implement visionary, systemic and sustainable programs. Another Rutland teacher won a yearlong Einstein Fellowship to the National Science Foundation. In 2014, the Vermont Principals Association named Bill Olsen was named Principal of the Year.
For his commitment to students, his exemplary teaching and education of the whole person; for opening his students’ eyes and minds to the larger world; and for providing an environment that allows dedicated teachers to do what they do best, the College of the Holy Cross presents to William K. Olsen the Sanctae Crucis Award.
John H. Vaughn '82
Our Mission Statement asks: “What are our obligations to one another? What is our special responsibility to the world’s poor and powerless?”
The Reverend John Vaughn is asking those same questions today, compellingly and urgently. In his writing in the Huffington Post and other outlets, his commentary and sermons, and his participation and leadership in the Black Lives Matter movement, John Vaughn is calling us to think about how we view our world and to consider—and reconsider—how we act.
John is executive vice president at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York—a 200-year old institution dedicated to equipping leaders of faith and moral courage with the tools and resources they need to effect change. At Auburn, John leads overall strategic planning and management as the seminary works to build communities and pursue justice.
His commitments are far-reaching. He serves as a board member for a variety of organizations, such as the Solidago Foundation, the Beatitudes Society, and The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. In 2009, John was recognized for his dedication to advocating for equity in public education with a Change Agent Award from the Schott Foundation for Public Education; and in 2010 he received the Neighborhood Advocate Award by the Neighborhood Technical Assistance Clinic for his leadership in supporting community projects benefiting children and families.
Before joining Auburn in 2010, Reverend Vaughn was program director for the Twenty-First Century Foundation, where he led the responses to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; developed and implemented the Black Men and Boys Initiative in New York, Chicago, Oakland and other cities; and led a grant-making program that directly impacted more than 850,000 people. He previously was executive director of the Peace Development Fund in Amherst, Massachusetts, and minister for education and social justice at The Riverside Church in New York City. He is an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches and received his Master of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.
John’s history with Holy Cross began—long before he arrived on campus as a student—with his mother, Ogretta McNeil. In 1971, Father John Brooks hired Dr. McNeil as a faculty member in psychology. She was the first African American associate professor at the College, retiring in 1997 after 27 years at Holy Cross. John followed his mother to Mount St. James, where he studied French, played rugby, and was active coaching Little League and performing community service in Worcester.
A year ago, in the wake of Eric Garner’s death, John wrote a reflection in the Huffington Post about the time he returned to Holy Cross, years after he graduated, to lecture in his mother’s psychology class. He wrote about how that experience was unexpectedly difficult and emotional, because it brought up memories of the reality of growing up as a black American in predominantly white environments. It is an essay that exemplifies John’s ability to open his heart and invites us to ask, again and again, “what are our obligations to one another?”
For his life’s work, dedicated to shedding light and spurring action on issues of justice, race, economic equity, and education; for his great faith in God and the power of love; and for his leadership in working with people of many faiths and backgrounds to transform our broken world, the College of the Holy Cross presents to the Reverend John H. Vaughn the Sanctae Crucis Award.