Spence News
Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipients 2018
Congratulations to Anya Herz Shiva ’88 on receiving this year’s Distinguished Alumna Award for her extraordinary, sustained support and service to Spence, and to Tensie Whelan ’78 for her professional achievements. The Spence Alumnae Association salutes our extraordinary alumnae for their steadfast support and service to the School and for their many accomplishments beyond the Red Doors.
For Service to Spence
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For Service to Spence
Anya Herz Shiva ’88 gives tirelessly to the Alumnae Association and to the School and has done so for decades. Anya just concluded her tenure as President of the Alumnae Association, where she led our efforts with grace, thoughtfulness, dedication and loyalty. She makes every alumna feel welcomed and valued.
In addition to President of the Alumnae Association, Anya has served as a Trustee, Chair of the Reunion Committee, Chair of the Planned Giving Committee, volunteer for the 125th Anniversary, and Co-Chair of the most recent capital campaign for the Townhouse expansion. She currently serves on the Outreach Committee and Chairs the Nominating Committee. Anya is a Phonathon volunteer, a Class Representative, an Annual Fund solicitor and currently on the Reunion Committee. She is a member of the Alumnae Annual Fund Leadership Gift Committee. She is an IndiSPENCEable donor, giving 10 or more consecutive years in a row, and is a member of the 1892 Society. As if her alumnae efforts are not enough, Anya is also currently Chairing the Spence Parents’ Association Benefit at the Guggenheim this year.
During her tenure on the Board, Anya was instrumental in authoring the current Long Range Plan entitled, “Teaching and Learning at Spence 2025: An Intellectual and Moral Adventure.”
For Professional Achievement
For Professional Achievement
Tensie Whelan ’78 is the Director of NYU Stern School of Business’s Center for Sustainable Business, bringing her 25 years of experience working on local, national and international environmental and sustainability issues to engage businesses in proactive and innovative mainstreaming of sustainability. She was recruited a few years ago to create her own program for the Business School. Ever since Spence, she knew she wanted to champion environmental issues, and she has a distinguished and groundbreaking career in the field.
Tensie recently spoke at Spence for a “Spence Perspectives” and was a great inspiration to the girls. She has steadfastly kept in touch with friends from Spence and has been an inspiration to us all!
As President of the Rainforest Alliance, she built the organization from a $4.5 million to a $50 million budget, transforming the engagement of business with sustainability, recruiting 5,000 companies in more than 60 countries to work with Rainforest Alliance. She built the Rainforest Alliance frog into an internationally recognized and credible brand.
Her previous work included serving as Executive Director of the New York League of Conservation Voters, Vice President of the National Audubon Society, Managing Editor of Ambio, a journal of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and a journalist in Latin America.
Tensie has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics, was the Citi Fellow in Leadership and Ethics at NYU Stern in 2015 and has served on numerous nonprofit boards and corporate advisory boards such as the Unilever Sustainable Sourcing Advisory Board and the Nespresso Innovation Fund Advisory Board. She was most recently appointed as a member of the Board of Directors for GlobeScan and the newly created Global Advisory Council for Odebrecht.
She holds a B.A. from New York University, an M.A from American University, and she is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Owner President Management (OPM) Program.
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A K-12 independent school in New York City, The Spence School prepares a diverse community of girls and young women for the demands of academic excellence and responsible citizenship.
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© 2025 Spence School
212-289-5940
© 2025 Spence School
