Alumni Awards

The Alumni Appreciation Award honoree has performed a unique service or made a unique contribution to the Oberlin College Alumni Association.

Carolyn (Cunningham) Ash has over 30 years of experience as an inspirational leader across PreK–12 schools, higher education, and educational nonprofits nationwide. Rooted in a commitment to providing students with both a first-rate education and the tools to build just, inclusive communities, her expertise spans admissions, enrollment, financial aid, DEIB, student life, nonprofit management, and communications.

Her career includes leadership roles at Colorado Academy, The Spirituals Project at the University of Denver, The Carey School, College Track, and The Chapin School. She currently serves as the inaugural Director of Strategic Communications and Board Relations at The Calhoun School in New York City.

Carolyn earned her B.A. in psychology from Oberlin, an M.A. in education from the University of Michigan, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership, management, and policy from Seton Hall University. Deeply devoted to her undergraduate alma mater, she has served on Oberlin’s Alumni Leadership Council since 2017 and as co-chair of the Oberlin Alumni Association of African Ancestry (OA4) since 2018. Outside of her professional and volunteer work, Carolyn is a passionate advocate for the arts and an avid global traveler.

The Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient must be 40 years of age or younger at the time of consideration and have distinguished himself or herself in one or more of the following areas: professional career, service to humanity, and service to Oberlin College.

Cory Rogers '12 is a disaster response officer in the U.S. Foreign Service. A 2012 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, he carried his liberal arts education in history and jazz performance to Java, where he spent two years as a Shansi Fellow exploring music, journalism, and America’s role in the world. He ultimately spent six years in Indonesia, working as a reporter and editor for local and international publications, where he covered culture, politics, environmental change, and the country’s democratic transformation. In 2016, he joined UNICEF Indonesia as a communications officer, helping tell the stories of children confronting poverty, inequality, and natural disasters.

These experiences deepened his commitment to public service and sharpened his interest in how the international community supports communities facing political, environmental, and humanitarian crises. Following graduate school as a Robertson Fellow at the University of California San Diego, where he earned a Master of International Affairs, Cory accepted a role with USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance as an information officer, supporting the United
States’ response to humanitarian crises in Iraq, Lebanon, Venezuela, Ukraine, and elsewhere.

In 2022, he was accepted into the USAID Foreign Service as a specialist in humanitarian assistance. He has since served at U.S. missions in Nepal, Pakistan, and Thailand, advancing U.S. humanitarian work across crisis communications, disaster preparedness, early recovery, food security, and locally led humanitarian response. Today, Cory continues that work with the U.S. Department of State, helping coordinate American responses to disasters and humanitarian crises
around the world, guided by the same curiosity, creativity, and sense of public service that first took shape at Oberlin

The Distinguished Achievement Award honoree has demonstrated in his/her life outstanding contributions and achievements that reflect Oberlin’s values in a career field.

Jeannette Sorrell '90 is a GRAMMY®-winning conductor recognized internationally as one of today’s finest interpreters of Baroque and Classical repertoire. She is the subject of Oscar-winning director Allan Miller’s documentary, PLAYING WITH FIRE: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting, commercially released in 2023.

Bridging the period-instrument and symphonic worlds from a young age, she studied conducting under Leonard Bernstein, Roger Norrington and Robert Spano at the Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals; and studied harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam.  She won First Prize in the Spivey International Harpsichord Competition, competing against over 70 harpsichordists from four continents. 

As a guest conductor, Sorrell has repeatedly led the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco, and New World Symphony; and has also led the Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra Manchester, Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Oregon Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, National Arts Center Chamber Orchestra (Ottawa), and Houston Symphony, among others. 

This season she returns to the New York Philharmonic and New World Symphony, and makes debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Kansas City Symphony, among others.

As founder and conductor of APOLLO’S FIRE, she has led the renowned ensemble at London’s BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and many international venues.  Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire have released 34 commercial CDs, including 14 bestsellers on the Billboard classical chart and a 2019 GRAMMY® winner.  Her CD recordings of the Bach St John Passion and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons have been chosen as best in the field by the Sunday Times of London (2020 and 2021).  Her Monteverdi Vespers recording was chosen by BBC Music Magazine as one of “30 Must-Have Recordings for Our Lifetime” (2022).

With 24 million views of her YouTube videos, Sorrell has attracted national attention and awards for creative programming, particularly her multicultural programs.  She was nominated for a second GRAMMY award in 2025.

The Distinguished Service Award recipient has demonstrated in his/her life service or volunteer activities that reflect Oberlin’s values by directly improving the quality of life for humanity.

Deborah Wei '79  As a long time activist and organizer, Wei has fearlessly and tirelessly fought to protect Philadelphia’s Chinatown, and advocated for other issues of importance especially within the Asian American community.  She retired as a Curriculum Specialist in Social Studies for the School District of Philadelphia. She was previously an Elementary School Director at the Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica. In 2005, after a long career in teaching and as a curriculum specialist for the Philadelphia School District, she became the founding principal and CEO of the Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School in Philadelphia, which aims, among other goals, to "provide students with an educational experience that inspires a vision of justice and fairness and the courage to pursue them." She has also served as the principal of the Elementary School for the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India.