Alumnae of the Year

2025 Alumna of the Year

We are proud to announce Marty Voelkel-Hanssen '75, as Maryvale's Alumna of the Year for 2025!

Marty Voelkel-Hanssen came to Maryvale as a ninth grader when the school was just 26 years old. A natural leader, Marty was engaged in student government and was a 3-sport varsity athlete excelling in field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse.

After graduating from Maryvale in 1975, Marty studied Political Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, and her interest in becoming an attorney led her to American University in Washington, D.C., where she received her J.D. in 1984.

Marty’s early professional career entailed working for the Legal Aid Bureau in Louisville, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C., where she assisted inmates and children with parole hearings and legal representation. She later joined the Law Office of Peter G. Angelos, where she worked on personal injury lawsuits and conducted settlements involving asbestosis-related claims.

Marty went on to open her own private general law and mediation practice in 1992. She used her skills and many experiences to represent all types of matters from family law to disabled adult guardianship issues to preparing wills and estates. The practice included mediation of workmen’s comp cases, neighborhood disputes, conflict resolution, and cases in Juvenile Court.

Marty has also had an enormous impact on the Baltimore community, having served as a trustee and later president of the Knott Foundation, which provides financial assistance and scholarships to students in catholic schools. A member of the Baltimore County Bar Association, Marty received the Pro Bono Award in 2018 from the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Marty has also served on the boards of trustees for REVAL Foundation, providing help to non-profits that focus on substance and alcohol abuse, Archbishop Curley High School, and our beloved Maryvale, where she co-chaired the Because of Maryvale Campaign.

In her remarks to the seniors last Friday, Marty acknowledged the enormous impact that former Athletic Director, coach, teacher, and friend, Ann McCloskey had on molding her into who she is today. She shared Rory McIlroy’s quote after The Masters and encouraged students to “Never give up on your dreams. Keep coming back, working hard, and if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.” Marty has indeed given so generously of her time, talent, and treasure to our school. She is a great advocate and a wonderful friend to all of us.

Alumna of the Year Award Recipients

1991 Catherine Vitrano Kellermann ’73 and Kathalee Malon O’Conor ’68

1992 Jane Bracken Mace ’65

1993 Patricia J. Mitchell ’65

1994 Tracy Bagli Hooper ’73

1995 Marion Connolly ’68 and Patricia M. C. Brown ’78

2000 Maureen Keelty Suelau ’72 and Julia McNeal Smith ’78

2001 Bronwyn Byron ’73

2002 Marci Prosser Reihart ’73

2003 Cindy Davis ’82

2004 Hon. Patricia Shimanek Pytash ’58

2005 Jean Bell Hessenauer ’66

2006 Mary Ellen Rector Fise ’74

2007 Mary Lochboehler Kilbourne ’57

2008 Kim Goldsmith McCain ’71

2009 Dolly Wells Mersinger ’67

2010 Elizabeth Lerch Visconage ’74

2011 Mary Teresa Smith Cook ’69

2012 Mary Catherine Bunting ’55

2013 Karen Geckle Moritz ’81

2014 Erin Stewart Howland ’89

2015 Heather Klink ’84

2016 Abigail Adams Brigstocke ’86

2017 Catherine Cochran Peddy ’62

2018 Sr. Catherine Phelps, SNDdeN '49

2019 Elizabeth Macsherry Moag '79

2020 Active, frontline medical professionals

2021 Sherry Pudloski ’85

2022 Mary Ellen Gallagher Barthelme '72

2023 Mercedes Greene '90

2024 Beth Hart '81

2025 Marty Voelkel-Hanssen