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Signature Societies Celebrate Philanthropy

Members of the McDonogh Fund's Signature Societies gathered for a special luncheon on Thursday, May 21, at The Cove at Citron in Baltimore.

Head of School Dave Farace '87 welcomed attendees and introduced Crickett Kasper, McDonogh's new Chief Philanthropy Officer, before turning the floor over to this year's guest speaker, Ellen Haller ’98. She is a User Experience Director at Google who leads search design at a moment when AI is fundamentally reshaping how people find and interact with information.

Haller grew up in the McDonogh community as the daughter of longtime English teacher Carl Haller, and she credits her time on campus with giving her the tools she relies on most. She says, "The lessons of my McDonogh education are as follows: to meet new challenges with curiosity, even when doing so feels uncomfortable or scary; to apply critical thinking and consider other perspectives; and to build a strong moral compass to know where to bend and where hard lines lie."

She spoke about navigating change at Google's scale, from the rise of AI-powered search to the blurring of lines between design, product, and engineering. The through line, she said, traces back to McDonogh, to the curiosity, critical thinking, and moral compass she developed on campus, in the classroom, and on the court. 

Farace closed by connecting Haller's remarks to McDonogh's LifeReady framework and its emphasis on critical thinking, perspective-taking, collaborating, and connecting, noting that her story is exactly what that education is designed to produce.

Learn more about the McDonogh Fund's Signature Societies here.