Each year, the Sidwell Friends community looks forward to several special events that have become part of the fabric of life and learning at our School. The Daryl Reich Rubenstein Guest Artist Lecture in the fall, the John Fisher Zeidman '79 Memorial Lecture in late winter, the Newmyer Awards Ceremony and Dinner in the spring, and the Dehejia Fellows Program in the summer. Each program was created by a Sidwell Friends family with the purpose of transforming moments of personal significance into a source of joyful programming for the community.

Dreams and Perseverance

"When my family began the Daryl Reich Rubenstein Guest Artist Program, we envisioned bringing a nationally recognized artist to the School to speak with students and share in the artistic process,” says Barton Rubenstein ’81, P ’14, ’17, ’21. And so it has with dozens of nationally recognized artists having exhibited at Sidwell Friends and shared their life’s work with the community.

The program, which honors Barton’s mother who was an art historian and curator, was started in the mid-1980s. “We believed the program would benefit Sidwell Friends students not only in their artistic journey, but also in their development as maturing, evolving citizens of the planet. Over the program’s four decades, it has provided exactly that, which is a tribute to the Rubenstein family’s dream and to the School’s perseverance in making the program successful.”

Actively Fostering Global Citizenship

Last March, Katherine Tai ’92 delivered the John Fisher Zeidman ’79 Memorial Lecture, becoming the first Sidwell Friends alumna and graduate of the School’s Chinese Studies Program to join the long list of Zeidman lecturers—a list that stands as a who’s who of scholars, diplomats, journalists, and other China watchers. It was a full-circle moment for the Zeidman family who established The John Fisher Zeidman ’79 Chinese Studies Fund in 1982 to advance the study of Chinese language, history, and culture.

Betsy Zeidman ’76, P ’20 says that her family aimed to create a living program which might light a spark in future students, just as visiting China had done for her brother John. “Seeing the program grow and evolve over the years, accommodating challenges in US-China relations and changes in each country, and still attract students interested in learning the culture and language of another part of the world is quite rewarding,” she says. But the most meaningful to her is hearing from students whose lives have been touched by participating in the program. “It feels like a very active way to foster the Quaker value of global citizenship,” she says.

Invaluable Experience

The Dehejia family established the Anindya Dehejia ’78 Fellows Fund to celebrate his spirit of inquiry, curiosity, vigor, and love of life. Initially, it provided opportunities for involvement in creative and innovative intellectual pursuits for faculty and students. Since then, the fund has evolved to focus on giving rising seniors the chance to intern at local nonprofits, businesses, and think-tanks, where they can gain professional experience while exploring topics of interest.

The program, which started with a handful of interns nearly 20 years ago, is now managed by the Center for Ethical Leadership and supports dozens of interns annually. When Vidisha Dehejia Patel ’81 and her father visited campus to have lunch with a group of Dehejia Fellows, she says, “The room was full. It was magnificent.” Mak Dehejia P ’78, ’81 sees the program’s new home as fitting. “To develop ethical leadership, students need more than intellectual ability,” he says. “They need experiences that allow them to cultivate and apply people skills.” Vidisha says internships at this stage of a student’s life give them the chance to explore and gain invaluable experiences, discovering what they like and what they don’t. In some cases, they might even discover their life’s work as her brother did when he was a Sidwell Friends student.

The Transformative Power of Service

Ginger Newmyer P ’72, ’74, ’76, GP ’06, ’09 was a beloved parent, grandparent, and friend of the School who believed in the transformative power of service. Ginger, who passed away last May, will be fondly remembered for her longstanding commitment to the School and her legacy of service to others. As her daughter Lory Newmyer ’76 shared at the memorial service, “She was a sharer and bringer-together of people, a magnet that pulled us all closer to her and to each other.” She also encouraged and celebrated the service of others. Indeed, for 49 years, the Newmyer Awards have recognized remarkable volunteerism within the Sidwell Friends community. Named for Ginger and Jimmie Newmyer ’37, these awards are given to parents and alumni who have made the greatest contribution over a sustained period of time to the values of Sidwell Friends and the life of the School community. And the Newmyer Young Alumni Service Award recognizes sustained commitment to volunteer service by a young alumnus/a. 2025 award recipient Oliver Stabbe ’14 expressed the spirit of the awards when he shared that for him, service is “not just about kindness—it’s about necessity,” because human connection is “a means of transformation.”

Decades of Impact

Each of these enduring programs has grown and evolved over time. For decades, they have helped shape the Sidwell Friends education, experience and community. Indeed, the lives of the family members they honor continue to speak — teaching us, connecting us, and inspiring us.

If you would like to learn more about these established programs created in memory of community members, please reach out to Helen Schreiber at schreiberh@sidwell.edu.