Three 1970s alums join Grinnell College Alumni Council
September 17, 2025 — Three Grinnell graduates who have worked extensively in the nonprofit and medical sectors are bringing their expertise to the Grinnell College Alumni Council.
The new Council members for 2025-26 are:
- Bob Eckardt ’73
- David Calvert ’75
- Deborah Smith-Wright ’75
Eckardt, Calvert, and Smith-Wright will serve an initial two-year term through Reunion 2027, and they are eligible to serve through 2031. Council members can be elected for up to three consecutive terms. The new members took the positions vacated by Robert Gehorsam ’76, Bernard Jackson ’86, and Shelley Aggeler Harper ’87.
The Alumni Council strives to unite Grinnell graduates. The 26-member group promotes a spirit of camaraderie among alumni and supports the College leadership, faculty, staff, and students in the advancement of the College. Council meetings are held on campus in the fall and spring.
“The Council is thrilled to announce our new members who bring vast experience in terms of their work as professionals and their dedication to Grinnell,” says Kate Goddard ’91, Alumni Council president. “It’s always exciting to have new alumni join us to bring fresh ideas, expertise, and insights. They will be joining our philanthropy, career exploration and membership committees – all of which are exciting areas for the Council this year.”
Get to know the new members joining the Council:
Bob Eckardt ’73
Hometown: Lakewood, Ohio
Committee Assignment: Philanthropy Committee
Eckardt spent his career in the nonprofit sector, mostly in philanthropy. While Eckardt formally retired 7 years ago, he continues to do consulting and serves on nonprofit boards.
A history major at Grinnell, Eckardt has been involved with planning his 50th reunion in 2023 and was a Grinnell Regional Admission Support Program (GRASP) volunteer when that program existed. He received a Grinnell College Alumni Award in 2023.
“It took me awhile to realize how special Grinnell is in supporting unusual learning,” he says. “As I uncovered my developing interests in aging, Grinnell worked with me in multiple ways. This led to my Watson Fellowship and my career. I want to help pay it back during a particularly challenging time for liberal arts colleges.”
In his free time, Eckardt enjoys biking, reading, classical music and opera – an interest he developed at Grinnell.
David Calvert ’75
Hometown: New York City
Committee Assignment: Career Exploration Task Force
Calvert retired this year after 45 years in the community-based nonprofit world, which turned into living and working in nine countries. The YouthBuild program that he helped create right out of Grinnell provided a long-term thread of professional engagement.
A long-time volunteer at the College, Calvert is the co-class fund director for the class of 1975, which just set a record for 50th reunion fundraising. He has also hosted dozens of Grinnell students as interns and externs and helped plan class reunions.
“Grinnell has been very good to me, even after graduation, advancing my career in crucial ways,” he says. “Grinnell professors wrote reference letters that helped me gain access to jobs and graduate school. Waves of Grinnell student volunteers between 2012-2020 contributed beautifully to my YouthBuild work in East Harlem. My 2007 project to launch YouthBuild in four Central American countries was keyed by a Grinnell Wall Service Award. Giving back to Grinnell makes it a two-way street and feels right,” Calvert says.
“Alumni represent a key, often undermined component of Grinnell, and I hope to help build up and expand that relationship in useful, productive ways,” he says.
Deb Smith-Wright ’75
Hometown: St. Paul, Minnesota
Committee Assignment: Membership Development Committee
Smith-Wright, a retired pediatrician, previously served as director of pediatrics at Shriner’s Hospital Twin Cities and was on the pediatric faculty at the University of Minnesota.
Smith-Wright has passed on her health care expertise through mentoring Grinnell students. “I particularly enjoy talking to current students and recent alumni,” she says. “There is always a connection no matter what year we graduated.”
Smith-Wright says she wanted to serve on the Alumni Council to help provide the incredible educational and community experiences that she received to today’s students.
“Those experiences propelled me into a wonderful career and a wonderful family,” she says. “I feel strongly that alums should support the College not only financially, but through giving time especially to students, such as being mentors, hosting internships, endowing MAPs [Mentored Advance Projects], recruiting future students, networking with colleagues, and serving on advisory committees.”
Smith-Wright played field hockey at Grinnell, which was the first women’s athletic team. Lately, soccer has played a big role in her life. She spent 12 years coaching her three children’s soccer teams. One son, Evan Wright ’12, went on to play soccer at Grinnell. The family established an Endowed Fund for Men’s Soccer, and Smith-Wright plans to host an event for the current team when the Pioneers play a match at Hamline University in St. Paul on Sept. 14.
Other Council news
The Council also re-elected the following members to their second terms: Grisel Hernandez ’17, Stephen MacFarlane ’82, Tony Pham ’03, Ken Schofield ’71, and Anne Stein Velma ’84. Goddard and Anton Jones ’02 were elected to their third Council terms.
Suha Gillani ’16 was elected Alumni Council president-elect for this year. She will serve as president in 2026-27.
In addition to three standing committees (Executive, Alumni Awards, Membership Development), the Council is bringing back both the Philanthropy Committee and the Career Exploration Task Force.
Co-chaired by Jay Dick ’93 and Dawn Helsing Wolters ’87, the Philanthropy Committee will work with annual giving leadership to advocate for alumni giving to Grinnell and help create a culture of philanthropy among Grinnell alumni. This committee led fundraising efforts last school year for the First Gen Low Income (FGLI) Lounge.
Co-chaired by Pham and Sasha Aslanian ’90, the Career Exploration Task Force will partner with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) and the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS) to improve pathways through which alumni can support students’ career exploration. Last year, this task force helped secure over 100 alumni-student matches for spring break externships.
—by Jeremy Shapiro