Award Winners

Joseph B. Shane ’25 Alumni Service Award: Samuel J. Agger ’75

Since graduating from Swarthmore with a degree in psychology, Sam has held a number of volunteer roles and dedicated countless hours to the College. This has included serving on the Garnet Club Advancement Council, as an active member of his Reunion Committee, and as the Class of 1975 class secretary. He has also conducted alumni admissions interviews. 

Sam credits Swarthmore for developing his interests in philanthropy from time spent as a student fundraising volunteer, and work at the ABC House. 

In February of 2024 he retired from 13 years as a Budget and Acquisition Analyst for a U.S. Navy Radar Program office. His career accomplishments include earning three masters degrees, working in politics, a business career in graphic design, publishing, printing, and international business consulting, and a 10-year fundraising career. 

The nominations for Sam called him the “glue” that has kept the Class of 1975 connected since graduation. Thank you for everything you’ve done — big and small — to foster and uplift the community.

Joseph B. Shane ’25 Alumni Service Award: Rachel Weinberger ’80

Rachel graduated with a degree in Art History from Swarthmore before going on to earn an MBA in Marketing from NYU Stern and working in a variety of financial services senior roles until 2003. Since then, she has dedicated herself to arts-related nonprofit work and service to Swarthmore. 

Rachel is an engaged member of the Council on Presidential Initiatives, her class reunion committee, and a SwatWorks sponsor. She has previously held roles as class secretary and class president, served on Alumni Council, and conducted alumni admissions interviews.

The nominations for Rachel noted her generosity of time, talent, and treasure to friends, peers, students, and the institution of Swarthmore College. 

Arabella Carter Community Service Award: Laura Snyder Brown ’95

This year’s Carter Award winner is Laura Snyder Brown ’95 in recognition of her pioneering work co-founding Casa Alma in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a life spent in service to others. 

Casa Alma is a volunteer, nonprofit Catholic worker community that provides transitional homes for those in need. Alongside her husband and co-founder Steve, Laura and her family lived on-site and accompanied families who experienced poverty, displacement, violence, and other crises. Alongside many volunteers, Laura cultivated a beautiful urban homestead, hosted times of learning and reflection, and engaged in local justice and anti-racism efforts. 

In the nominations for Laura, Casa Alma is described as a “true labor of love for Laura and Steve.” The nominator goes on to write, “Together, they built the farm with their own hands (gardens, berry patch, honey bees, orchard, rainwater catchment, dairy farm.) They physically erected buildings to house more residents as the operation grew. They created a thriving community of residents and volunteers. They raised three children all the while.”

This past year, Laura passed the Casa Alma torch on to new directors. She has taken on a new role as the Resilience Program Director at The Women's Initiative, a nonprofit that serves women who experience barriers to care and the Black, BIPOC, Latine, and LGBTQ+ communities.

There is no better summary of Laura’s impact or ethos than this line from her nomination, “Through the noise and trappings of the modern era, Laura is a light amid confusion.”

Eugene M. Lang ’38, H’81 Impact Award: Rebecca Sharpless ’90

As a faculty member at the University of Miami School of Law, where she is the founding director of the Immigration Clinic and Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, Rebecca is a leading force for good in immigration law. 

From 1996 to 2007, Rebecca was a supervising attorney at Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, where she engaged in extensive litigation on behalf of low-income immigrants as lead counsel in cases before the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts as well as in immigration court and before the Board of Immigration Appeals. In the nomination letters for Rebecca, her work was cited as “cutting edge” and “especially timely for today.” 

Of particular interest to the nominating committee was her 2024 book, Shackled: 92 Refugees Imprisoned on ICE Air, which examines our immigration enforcement system through the stories of two men from Somalia who were on a botched deportation flight. The book has been honored as a Foreword Indies Finalist in two categories and as a Readers' Choice Book Award Finalist. The book also won a bronze Independent Publisher Book Award in the category of current events: political/economic/foreign affairs.

Rebecca graduated from Swarthmore with high honors with a degree in philosophy.