By Liz Babb, Director of Alumnae Engagement at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California

After I graduated from a girls’ school and went to a co-ed college, I began to notice a troubling trend. Membership in certain sports teams, fraternities, and exclusive organizations materialized into other coveted opportunities, be it summer internships or offers to work on Wall Street. Those opportunities went to, by and large, men.   

But what about the women, I wanted to know, as I looked at my fellow classmates and colleagues—no less smart or driven than their male counterparts? We had no female equivalent of the boys’ club. That’s just the way the world works, I kept hearing time and time again, and that didn’t sit well with me. 

So when I took the helm of the alumnae relations office at my alma mater, a girls’ school in California, I instantly knew that I wanted to address this disparity. Armed with years of professional experience in finance and business and a passion for empowering other women, I put three principles into practice that continue to serve me daily: leverage your community, build belonging that goes beyond a dollar amount, and align the internal system with the school’s values.  

Leverage Your Community

Girls’ schools are committed to women’s education and empowerment. At my school, our motto is, fittingly, Women Learning, Women Leading, and this is especially applicable for alumnae relations. In a world where men still hold the majority of executive and Fortune 500 leadership positions, we need to do what we do best: empower the women in our network. 

A strong alumnae program needs a mix of robust and continuous in-person and virtual activities. The options are limitless: the alumnae can offer career advice, give tips on law school applications, share job openings, share books they’ve published, meet friends when moving to a new city, and so much more. An email list can only go so far, even within the extensive alumnae base of our 118-year-old school. 

In 2024, we launched an online platform for alumnae, which has grown to over 1,000 members in less than a year. From our learnings during COVID, we’ve also broadened eligibility parameters for our Alumnae Board and Class Representatives to include people who live outside our area. Since then, we’ve seen participation increase nationwide and even overseas. These alumnae love to stay connected, maintain friendships, and contribute to their alma mater, so why not tap their valuable skills and interests? 

To wit, nearly 60 alumnae returned to our campus either in person or virtually last year to lead programs, guest-speak in our clubs and classes, and offer networking and professional tips.

In addition, we launched in-person grassroots programs: college campus pizza parties, where older alums give advice to younger ones at their college and we pay for their pizza (We call it “Slice of Advice”). We’ll also offer partial reimbursement for social alum get-togethers anywhere in the country. All of this is in addition to a regular cadence of regional alumnae events across the U.S., and, of course, our annual Reunion/Alum Day. 

Since rolling out these new initiatives, the value of our median alum gift has increased by 150 percent. This brings me to my second point: even though alumnae engagement doesn’t have to always be financial or even in person, it can correlate with giving. 

Engagement Is About Belonging, Not Just a Dollar Amount

All alumnae participation is valuable. There are multiple ways to give back to your alma mater. Engagement can drive donations of both time and treasure. And we have to continually educate our students and alums about why it’s important to stay connected with the school, since the odds are not in our favor. Out of all philanthropic donations across the United States, only around 2 percent goes to girls’ and women’s organizations. Traditionally, more people give to their colleges than to their high schools. And let’s not forget the ages-old taboo against women talking about money, which was, for years, considered “impolite,” in contrast to their fathers or male partners. Even now, in 2026, we still have plenty of work to do. 

Many prospective parents and donors I talk to don’t only look at the total amount of alumnae donations. They also look at participation. To them, it’s important that alums are contributing, even modestly, to the place that helped form their foundation. This signals that people like our product, that their school years were worthwhile, that the impact is deep and long-lasting. 

Our System Must Emulate the School’s Values

At my school, our alumnae databases are under the woman’s name. In our systems, the woman is the head of the household. What better way to send a message to students and alumnae—with the youngest who graduated in 2025 and the oldest in 1945—that we’re committed to equity and women’s empowerment? 

We strive to keep records of every alumnae exchange, every contribution, every class note submission. This way, we can celebrate their accomplishments and keep up with their news, while communicating strategically and judiciously. And we have a certain structure in place for event planning and newsletter cadence, which builds predictability and trust. An alumnae program is just like a reputation: it’s hard to cultivate, but easy to compromise. 

A former alumna often says to me: “You’re an alum much longer than you’re a student.” And this is exactly why I believe in the power of women’s networks. In addition to breaking glass ceilings, we should open doors for one another, and, if done right, it can start—and continue—with the school. 

Liz Babb is the Director of Alumnae Engagement at Castilleja School, an independent girls’ school in Palo Alto, California, from which she graduated in 1982. She went on to earn a degree in Government and Economics from Dartmouth and to have a 20-year career in financial services, where she worked in technology and product development in New York, London, and San Francisco, as well as owned two small businesses. Now back at her alma mater, Liz enjoys giving back to the institution that gave so much to her.