2025 Service Awards

DOUGLAS N. MORTON ’62 YOUNG ALUMNI SERVICE AWARDS

CAROLINE DUFF STUART ’16 • BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS

Associate Director, Major Giving, Boston College

Caroline describes her volunteer leadership with the W&M Alumni Association as fundamental to her sense of connection in each place she has lived since graduation. In D.C., she served as William & Mary’s advancement coordinator for the region, working directly with alumni volunteers and staff to grow engagement and philanthropy. She helped launch regional engagement in Nashville, Tennessee, hosting events for Yule Log and One Tribe One Day, and connecting with fellow alumni, parents, family and friends in the area. Now living in the Northeast, Caroline plans, promotes and leads events for the W&M Boston network.

With a career in university fundraising, Caroline understands the importance of giving back to her alma mater. She has served as a class ambassador since 2017, encouraging her classmates to support W&M. In March 2023, Caroline joined the Society of 1918 to promote women’s impact and influence at W&M. Her giving is recognized in the Fourth Century Society and Bell Society.

“William & Mary encouraged me to grow authentically, find strength in community and use my talents in service of others. It is beautiful to be a part of something bigger than me, especially a values-driven community rooted in a sense of belonging. I have been lucky to play a small role in nurturing this attitude in a large chapter like Washington, D.C., and smaller networks like Nashville and Boston,” Caroline says.

“I see philanthropy — the gift of time, talent, treasure and testimony — as a democratic process. When you participate in a way that is meaningful to you, you add your voice to a large, diverse coalition that is driving William & Mary forward for the next generation of students. I am proud to give back to the institution that formed me, and I look forward to a lifelong relationship with my alma mater.”

TYLER W. VUXTA ’13 • CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Vice President of Operations, Caring.com

Tyler fosters an inclusive network of alumni, parents, family and friends in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region. He has been an active member and leader of the W&M Charlotte Network since 2015 and served as president since 2018. Working with other volunteers, he has led the network to host new parent welcome events and Young Guarde Welcome to the City opportunities. He has also collaborated with partners across the university, including on tailgates with W&M Athletics and career and professional opportunities with the Office of Career Development and Professional Engagement.

Always curious about current university priorities, Tyler looks for ways that the Charlotte network can support and promote those initiatives. He has developed a leadership team in Charlotte that executes events at the highest level and creates a welcoming and extensive network of alumni and friends. Tyler’s success at building community stems from his personal ethos to always treat others with care and respect.

In addition to his leadership in the region, Tyler consistently gives to W&M and is a Cobblestone member of the Bell Society.

“My time on campus at W&M was personally transformative — I loved the sense of community, and some of my closest friendships originated in Williamsburg,” says Tyler. “Charlotte has a large and vibrant network of W&M alumni, and it’s been really rewarding for me to build the same sort of community relationships here that I experienced on campus.

“I hope that our network can create an additional source of connection for the W&M family in Charlotte. Every year, I hear from new alumni who are moving to the city, going through challenging personal situations or hoping to expand their group of friends. I believe that our network can create a sense of belonging due to our shared experience at the university. My goal and purpose for the network is to be an avenue for alumni to get connected with a like-minded social community, even hundreds of miles from campus.”

IAN DOTY ’21 • WASHINGTON, D.C.

As a student at William & Mary, Ian led the Senior Class Gift effort in the midst of pandemic, and he hasn’t slowed down since. As a member and then co-chair of the Young Guarde Council, Ian worked tirelessly to connect recent graduates to William & Mary and to advocate for their needs to the W&M Alumni Association Board of Directors. With a clear vision for what young alumni engagement could be, he helped create and plan Welcome to the City events and networking opportunities for young alumni, among other initiatives.

Ian returns to campus frequently to volunteer at W&M signature events like Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, as well as to meet with and advise current members of Students for University Advancement and the Senior Class Gift committee. Through all his interactions, Ian works to strengthen William & Mary’s culture of engagement and philanthropy.

“William & Mary has been a substantial part of my growth as a person and I feel extraordinarily appreciative to the peers, mentors and friends who have been a part of my William & Mary journey. I feel happily obligated, especially to those students and alumni who have graduated after me, to pay it forward through my time, talent and treasure. This alumni community is a tremendous gift, the rare network that is broad in scope but deep in impact, and I am fortunate to play a role in expanding and amplifying the good work that it does,” says Ian.

“I hope that I have influenced more senior alumni and Alumni Association leadership to view young alumni engagement as a long-term, high-reward investment. The risks of ignoring young alumni programming are high. As we have ongoing discussions about the future of alumni engagement, I hope that I provided a fiercely pro-William & Mary perspective: Young alumni are future leaders and major donors, and the university must ensure that their affinity for William & Mary remains strong.”

DOUGLAS N. MORTON ’62 ALUMNI SERVICE AWARDS

WAYNE CURTIS ’82 • BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Realtor, Monument/Sotheby’s International Realty

For 35 years, Wayne has been a steadfast volunteer leader, forging connections and building trust amongst LGBTQ+ alumni and W&M.

Wayne joined the board of William & Mary Gay and Lesbian Alumni, Inc. (GALA) in 1988, when the W&M Alumni Association and university administration did not recognize and was opposed to the group. He steadily grew the organization through a variety of leadership roles and served as the group’s president from 2004-2012. He played a major role in planning GALA’s well-attended celebrations during the university’s tercentenary in 1993 and the group’s 20th and 25th anniversaries in 2006 and 2011.

In 2015, Wayne worked with the Alumni Association to officially recognize the LGBTQ+ alumni group and build trust between the two organizations. He suggested the more inclusive name Crim Dell Association, which is reflective of the iconic location on campus where love is expressed. The new name was adopted by the group in 2021.

Wayne helped to create the GALA Foundation to support LGBTQ+ initiatives at W&M. He also worked with Swem Library to establish the Richard Cornish Library Endowment, which to date has raised more than $169,000 for LGBTQ+ resource materials. He was one of the first participants in the Stephens Project that captures the stories of LGBTQ+ alumni for University Archives, and his papers from GALA are held by Special Collections.

“Before the late 1990s, W&M could be a very unfriendly place for ‘out’ members of the LGBTQ community. Generations of alumni were totally alienated from this institution because of the way they had been treated as students,” Wayne says. “I love this university and the lifelong friends I made here. It was important to me to work to heal this open wound, in memory of the many good people we lost along the way, and for the wonderful people who survived — and who still could hold a warm place for W&M in their hearts.

“I hope that William & Mary in the 21st century strives to continue the progress it has made to become an open, welcoming and supportive place for ALL people as a result of the work we did in WMGALA — on its own, in cooperation with more recent university administrations, and as part of the new Alumni Association — with its rebirth as the Crim Dell Society.”

AMY L. SMITH ’92, M.B.A. ’96 • YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA 

Director, Internal Audit, Bon Secours Mercy Health

Amy embodies the spirit of the W&M community as an engaged volunteer leader. She can often be found at W&M Athletics events and around Williamsburg in her green & gold. She served as president for the local Peninsula Alumni Network for many years and was instrumental in their merge with the Williamsburg Network. Since then, she’s stayed highly involved with the W&M Williamsburg-Peninsula Network and currently serves as president. By boosting digital engagement, Amy has promoted the network and its events more broadly. She finds the delicate balance between preserving beloved W&M traditions and finding new and exciting ways to engage local alumni, parents, family and friends. Last year, Amy co-led local favorites, like Grand Illumination. Enhancing partnerships across W&M, she helped to promote VIMS Marine Science Day in June 2024.

Amy has served as a class ambassador since 2015 and became a lead class ambassador in 2020, spearheading the efforts of her class to give back to William & Mary and participate in the life of the university. She practices what she preaches — she’s a Bell-Ringing member of the Bell Society for her more than 25 years of consecutive giving.

“William & Mary has been part of me for almost my entire life; I knew from the age of 3 that I wanted to attend W&M, and I worked to make sure I fulfilled that dream. I bleed green & gold, and since I’ve always lived so close, it was only natural to stay involved and share my love for W&M. I missed out on developing relationships when I decided to live at home and commute my freshman year; however, through being active in my local alumni chapter, I feel like I have truly found my Tribe,” says Amy.

“I loved my time at William & Mary so much. I hope to influence alumni who haven’t stayed connected to re-engage and know that they always have a home and a family at W&M.”

BETH SALA COVIN ’83, P ’21, P ’27 • PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Beth shares her love for William & Mary wherever she goes. Though she lives on the West Coast, she is frequently back on campus for events like Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, for which she volunteered for her 35th and 40th reunions. She has also hosted alumni network and parent welcome events in California and helped gather alumni together in New York City and London when she lived there.

Passionate about her sorority, Chi Omega, she planned and led their well-attended centennial celebration in 2021. Since then, Beth has hosted a Homecoming tailgate every year on the Alumni House Lawn for the Chi Os and their friends. Furthering her support of W&M women, Beth is a charter member of the Society of 1918. Involved in the competitive rowing community through her daughter, Sara, she is also an enthusiastic advocate for W&M Club Rowing.

She has served as a class ambassador since 2014 and a Greek ambassador since 2021, encouraging her classmates and sorority sisters to stay connected with and contribute philanthropically to William & Mary. In 2016, Beth joined the West Coast Regional Campaign committee for the For the Bold campaign, contributing to the success of William & Mary’s largest comprehensive campaign to date.

“Like many alumni, I left the ’Burg after graduation and didn’t often have the chance to come back. I lived in New York City and London, got married and had three kids. My eldest, Reid Covin ’21, matriculated in 2017, so I had an excuse to come to Homecoming, even though it was not a major reunion year for my class. It was like a time machine: Old Campus looks exactly the same! I saw friends from the years above and below. I reconnected with sorority sisters, as if no time had passed. It was so special that I started to look for ways to be involved, and that was easy!” says Beth. “2018 brought my 35th reunion. When you meet old classmates, even people you didn’t know that well, you have a bond. You remember what smart and kind people you went to college with, and they are still kind and smart! Even though (or maybe because) I live in San Francisco, I was drawn back and called to do something in service of my alma mater as an alumna and parent — and now the parent of a current student, Jack Covin ’27! It has been the gift of a lifetime!

“As you get older, you start thinking about how you can use what you have learned to help others. W&M is uniquely a place where you feel 300 years of history. In her Inaugural Address in 2019, President Katherine A. Rowe spoke of the role of universities to ‘play the long game.’ That is what I hope I do for my classmates and the current generation of W&M students. I hope I am modeling the virtues (and rewards) of giving back, in time, talent and treasure. Gen Z has a tough road, as the cost of college has soared. I hope they feel the love and care W&M alumni feel for them, and that when it is their turn, they will answer the call to serve the next generation.”

CHRISTINA COLABELLA WILDS ’00 • ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA

Principal Owner, Colabella Consulting

When Christina graduated from W&M as captain of the gymnastics team, it was just the beginning of her commitment to the university as an alumna. Since then, she has rallied and organized support for the women’s gymnastics team, including creating the Thrive Endowment with four fellow alumnae as part of the All In campaign for W&M Athletics. The endowment covers costs for the team to participate at a national level and provides competitive funding for coaching positions and scholarships for student-athletes.

Christina’s involvement at W&M reaches beyond gymnastics. She was an active and insightful member of the Annual Giving Board for two terms and was among the first class ambassadors, furthering the university’s culture of engagement and philanthropy. She is also a charter member of the Society of 1918, W&M’s giving society by women, for women, for W&M. When her dear friend and classmate Adrienne Vaughan ’00 passed away, Christina joined Adrienne’s husband and friends in creating a scholarship in her honor.

“William & Mary gave me the foundation to pursue my goals with confidence, and staying connected allows me to give back to a place that has given me so much. Being part of the alumni community keeps me rooted in those experiences and allows me to support the next generation of students who will carry on the legacy of excellence,” Christina says.

“Whether it’s through mentorship, providing opportunities or simply sharing experiences, I believe in creating a supportive network that drives success and fosters lifelong connections. Ultimately, I hope my involvement contributes to sustaining the strong sense of community that makes William & Mary unique, ensuring that future students can benefit from the same rich experiences that I did.”