Alumni Recognition

Four Falmouth Academy (FA) alumni from reunion anniversary classes were celebrated on Monday, July 3rd at a reception held in Hutker Yard at Falmouth Academy.

Petra Scamborova ’93 of Larchmont, New York, was honored with the FA Alumni Achievement Award. Scamborova was the Falmouth Academy’s first exchange student, arriving from Slovakia on the eve of Hurricane Bob. “Petra Scamborova’s name is synonymous with achievement at Falmouth Academy,” noted Head of School Matt Green. “Her curriculum vitae reads like a science rock star’s playlist.” Scamborova received her BA in biochemistry from Mt. Holyoke College, her Master’s from Cambridge University, her Ph.D. from Yale in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and her JD from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Combining her passion for science and an interest in the law and protecting the nascent field of biotechnology, she found her professional niche as a science patent attorney. Scamborova is currently Senior Director and Assistant General Counsel of Dispute Resolution at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Savannah Maher '13, of Mashpee and Albuquerque, New Mexico, was honored in absentia with the Falmouth Academy Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which recognizes a member of the FA alumni community who graduated within the last 10 years and has shown great leadership and achievement in their professional or personal life.

A reporter for Marketplace, Maher won six awards from the Native American Journalists Association during its 2022 National Native Media Awards. In all, she won four first places for Radio/Podcast Best Feature, Best News Story, and Best Health Coverage, and second and third places for best news story. Prior to her work for Marketplace, Maher was the tribal affairs reporter for National Public Radio (NPR) in Wyoming and New Mexico. She also served as an associate producer for NPR and WBUR’s Here & Now. Along with her work for Marketplace, Maher has been an adjunct journalism professor at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Winner of the Alumni Mariner Award, Colleen (Bulman) Wooding ’93 of Mashpee, has devoted purposeful time and service in support of Falmouth Academy. Alumni Director Barbara Campbell called her, “a real cheerleader for the school” and noted that she has served as a class agent every year since graduation. Wooding is Chief Human Resources Officer for the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department and previously worked at Cape Cod Healthcare, Falmouth Hospital. Head of School Matt Green said, “Colleen embodies the heart of Falmouth Academy with her generosity of spirit for her alma mater and her classmates.” 

The Alumni Service Award was given to Amanda (Fay) Sierra ’98 of Woods Hole and Guatemala, an alumna who has participated in meaningful service in many communities.

Sierra is a bilingual early childhood teacher who most recently served as board president of the Woods Hole Child Center. Committed to equity and inclusion in the classroom, Sierra has had an impact on countless young children’s lives both in the States and in Guatemala. She has also taught at Harvard University.