John M. Greene Award

Alison Overseth

Smith College Class of 1980
Chair, Smith College Board of Trustees, 2020-2025

Leader, advocate, visionary, friend: You have touched and transformed countless lives with your generous spirit and open heart.

For more than four decades, you have championed access to education—not only as a cause but also as a moral imperative. Education, you once said, is one of our most precious assets, one that lifts communities, breaks down barriers, and endures for generations. With honor and grace, you have made it your personal and professional mission to open doors to opportunity through education for underserved youth in New York City and for undergraduates here at Smith.

As a longtime volunteer, chair of Smith’s board of trustees, and a trusted mentor and thought partner, you have made Smith and the Smith experience stronger and better for generations of students. Your desire to give back extends from your own experience as a student. “Smith,” you’ve said, “transformed my life. It helped me find my voice and my place in the world.” When asked to describe you, a fellow trustee had this to say: “Alison is the quintessential Smithie: wise, funny, strategic, and deeply committed to the values that Smith holds dear.”

You began your tenure as chair of the board of trustees in the midst of a global pandemic, but even in that moment of uncertainty and anxiety, you had a clear goal: Keep Smith safe and moving forward. Guided by a simple, yet powerful mantra—“Smithies help each other”—you rallied your fellow trustees and campus leadership to make big moves that ultimately changed the trajectory of Smith’s future, making the college a model of affordability, inclusivity, sustainability, and excellence. Under your clear, compassionate, and courageous leadership, Smith adopted an historic no-loans policy that has already altered the course of so many students’ lives. At times of upheaval that included racial unrest and deep international conflict, you encouraged the trustees and the campus community to engage in frank and honest conversations about freedom and equity and justice. First as a trustee and then as the board’s chair, you heard the Smith community’s desire to lead in being part of the solution to the climate crisis, championing a transformative geothermal energy project. With you as chair, we renovated and expanded Neilson Library and built Kathleen McCartney Hall, empowering students to collaborate, find pathways to careers they may never have imagined, and explore the multiple kinds of leadership that will create a more just world.

Your accomplishments are equaled only by your generosity. By establishing the first endowed fund for Smith’s Urban Education Program—now the Education Initiative—you have empowered the college to advance a national movement that sees education as the most powerful force for social progress.

For your compassionate and collaborative leadership, steadfast friendship, and unwavering belief in the power of education, Smith College is proud to honor you with the John M. Greene Award. 

President Sarah Willie-LeBreton
October 17, 2025