Thank you for joining us for PBHA’s Alumni Weekend!
Thank you for joining PBHA as we celebrated 121 Years of Standing for Good at this year's Alumni Weekend. We started with an inspirational Robert Coles "Call of Service" Lecture honoring Deborah Archer. Saturday’s program sparked deep reflection on how PBHA continues to nurture purpose-driven leadership, amplify student voices, and strengthen community partnerships-- and how the PBHA community can keep meeting the moment with courage, creativity, and care.
President of the ACLU. A lifetime of service. A legacy of justice.
President of the ACLU. A lifetime of service. A legacy of justice.
PBHA’s 19th Annual Coles ‘Call of Service’ Lecture & Award
On Friday, November 7th, 2025, PBHA was delighted to honor Deborah Archer, president of the ACLU and NYU law professor, at the 19th Annual Robert Coles “Call of Service” Lecture & Award. Maria Dominguez Gray and Nana Safo-Mensa opened the event, followed by Dr. Julie Reuben and Carol Rose, who presented Archer with the award and introduced her lecture. Archer then joined Alex Fernand and Melanie Garcia for a conversation on “answering the call.” The program concluded with VaLonda Harris and Gabriela Gandara inviting attendees to Alumni Weekend and sharing a message from Outstanding Alumna Anurima Bhargava.
Thank you to our co-sponsors!
Thank you to our co-sponsors!
On Saturday, November 8th, the weekend program began at 1:00 p.m. ET with a welcome session highlighting PBHA-A and PBHA’s work in the current moment. At 1:40 p.m., attendees heard directly from students during a plenary on the current campus experience. The afternoon continued at 2:35 p.m. with the presentation of the Outstanding Alumni Award to Anurima Bhargava, followed by her keynote address. At 2:50 p.m., alumni engaged in a “Stand for Good” topic-based dialogue, and the day wrapped up at 3:30 p.m. with informal breakout sessions organized by decade.
Alumni Weekend 2025
Outstanding Alumni Awardee
Anurima Bhargava
We were proud to honor Anurima Bhargava ’96, PBHA alumna, civil rights leader, and lifelong advocate for justice, as this year’s Outstanding Alumna Award recipient. Anurima dedicated her career to advancing equity, including serving as Chief of the Educational Opportunities Section at the U.S. Department of Justice and as Director of Education Practice at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. A committed PBHA alumna, she also chaired Harvard’s National Advisory Board for Public Service and helped lead Crimson Courage. Her leadership continued to inspire the PBHA community to act with compassion, courage, and justice.
If you have any feedback, comments, questions, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Alumnicoordinator@pbha.org and Maria@pbha.org.
If you're an alumnus who would like to know more about our efforts, please reach out to our PBHA-Alumni Presidents Myles Lynk, Lisa Ulrich, and David Tang-Quan at alumnipresident@pbha.org
Please watch from 0:00–32:47 for PBHA and PBHA-A updates, and from 32:55 to the end for Anurima’s award.