Alumni Weekend 2026 Recap

During mid-May, the view of Greene Street from the third-floor art classroom is crowded with vibrant green trees, a calm blue sky just visible behind the gently-swaying canopy. Alumni from the Class of 1976 gaze out at the quiet street before them, faces less than an inch from the floor-to-ceiling dotted glass windows. Others mill about the classroom, perusing the shelves brimming with a medley of student-made ceramics—glossy vases, painted dishes, intricate figures.

 

Chair of the School Committee David Feldman ’76 calls his classmates out of their reverie to continue with the tour of the Abigail R. Cohen Center for the Arts. They file out the door to the classroom and into the sun-drenched hallway, where they peer down at the All School Commons courtyard and its arrangement of outdoor tables and stone-carved benches.

 

 

As School Committee Clerk, Feldman is deeply familiar with the All School Commons, the first new building constructed on campus since 2009. He, along with many other school leaders and community members, worked closely with the architect on the building design and has spent many hours in the building for lunches, events, and meetings since it opened in fall of 2024. But for many of his classmates, this was their first time laying eyes on the award-winning structure. 

"It's really fun to watch everybody's reaction coming back to campus and seeing it after a long time,” said Feldman. 

The building tour was part of the Class of 1976’s 50th reunion programming, celebrated during Alumni Weekend. They were among the scores of alumni spanning decades of GFS history—from 1958 to 2025—with festivities and programming held on and around the GFS campus.

 

The annual celebrations started on Thursday, May 14, with the Alumni of Color & Retired and Current Faculty and Staff of Color Reception. Hosted at The Landing Kitchen in Bala Cynwyd, alumni mingled, reconnected, and reminisced. Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Charla Okewole spoke about joy as an act of resistance and shared some of the work, such as student events, that has been happening on campus.

The next morning, GFS Upper School students, joined by faculty, staff, alumni, and special guests filled the Barbara & David Loeb Performing Arts Center for the Abigail R. Cohen ’91 Art Lecture. Featured speakers Paul Farber ’01, director and co-founder of Monument Lab, and writer and visual artist Carmen Winant ’01 delivered a talk entitled “Art, Justice, and Kinship," reflecting on their careers and 30-year friendship rooted at GFS. They shared the stage with student moderators Charley Levin ’26 and Tintin Chen-Rutledge ’26.

 

Later that evening, the community gathered in the Dining Hall to enjoy an evening surrounded by artwork in various mediums. Attendees were treated to a preview of the student All-School Art Show, as well as two dedicated pop-up galleries: “Lasting Legacies” (featuring works by former art faculty) and “One Cycle of My Journey” (featuring photographs by the late Abby Cohen). 

"I’m amazed at the new building,” said Jim Polk ’81 of the dining hall and All School Commons.

“When I was here, it was called the Boys’ Gym. Now it’s this amazing, multi-functional building. And yet, the campus still has the anchors, like the Meetinghouse. GFS looks and feels how it always has. That’s really comforting."

—Jim Polk '81

 

The next day, his voice reverberating in the Meetinghouse as he accepted the West Alumni Award, Bob Wilcox ’66 expressed a similar feeling. 

"I think the All School Commons is the most important thing this school has done in 100 years … The arts in all its forms—whether it's fine arts, painting, sculpture, theater, or music—have always been important … [and this building is] the culmination of the role of arts in our student experience."

Wilcox spoke on the lifelong impact GFS has had on him, through his successful careers in entrepreneurship and public service. 

“Those 13 years created a foundation for me that served all the episodes of my life,” he remarked. “My life has probably had more twists and turns than many, and I can say that no matter whether it was my years in uniform or my years behind the bench, the GFS principles just seep into our very being and help us."

—Bob Wilcox '66

Linda E. Johnson ’76, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, also received this year’s West Alumni Award. Like Wilcox, she spoke extensively about the enduring effects of her education at GFS.

“That moment of graduation, we left the open door and thought that was it,” she reflected. “But in fact, in many ways, it was just the beginning, and the school has continued to be an influence in my life ever since.”

—Linda E. Johnson '76

 

In addition to the Saturday ceremonies and activities on Main Campus, in the morning at Gratwick Field, the GFS Boys Varsity Baseball team faced off alumni during the Alumni Baseball Game. During a break after the fourth inning, the Athletics Department honored a special group of baseball and softball athletes as GFS retired the jerseys of Nate Kunkel ’79, Henry Steinberg ’93, Aisha Franke Bryant ’00, Chris Hamilton ’01, Jesse Biddle ’10, Rachel Allison ’14, and Lizzie Becker ’16—now known as the “Super Seven.” 

The athletes, families, and friends in attendance listened closely while the accomplishments of the honorees were read aloud. The biggest takeaway from the day went far beyond the impressive statistics, records, and accolades. Every speech pointed back to the community that GFS Athletics has built and continues to strive for—one where student-athletes are welcomed, challenged to grow, inspired to achieve greatness, and most importantly supported by teammates, teachers, and coaches whose impact lasts far beyond graduation.

 

Alumni Weekend festivities continued on Saturday night as reunion classes scattered across the city to celebrate and reconnect. Some returned to campus on Sunday for Meeting for Worship at Germantown Monthly Meeting and the All-School Choral Concert that afternoon.

By the weekend’s close, the overarching sentiment was clear: the spaces on campus may evolve, and the decades may pass, but the foundational ties of a GFS education never truly end.

View the full photo album from the weekend here.