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Young Alumna and Alumnus
Celebrating our alumni leaders
This award recognizes an alumna or alumnus expressing the finest of CofC traditions through service to his or her community or profession. The recipient’s class year must be within the previous ten years.
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2023 Young Alumna
Ashley Cafasso ’14 
Ashley Cafasso ’14 is a senior project manager, Operational Excellence, for Apellis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Apellis, she was both a project lead and manager, Business Administration (Nursing) at New York Presbyterian Hospital. While at New York Presbyterian during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cafasso developed corporate health programs for 26 Fortune 500 companies.
Cafasso volunteers her time with multiple organizations including iMentor, the Junior League of Bergen County and Radio Lollipop. At the College, she majored in anthropology and minored in linguistics and French and Francophone Studies. She joined Kappa Alpha Theta and served in various leadership positions. She continues to work with Theta Headquarters as a member of their National Risk Management Committee.
In 2015, Cafasso earned her M.P.H. from Tulane University where she was the professional development chair for the Healthcare Management Student Leadership Association and co-founder and president of the student-run Clinic Club – Public Health Partnership.
Cafasso is an inspiration to young women; and she has served as an outstanding mentor to countless friends and colleagues. She is a donor to the College, giving consistently since 2020, and since graduating has attended many CofC Alumni events including CofC Day, A Charleston Affair and regional NYC club events.
2023 Young Alumnus
Tanner Clay ’15 
Tanner Clay ’15 joined Charleston Battery, the professional soccer team, in 2021 and was promoted to director of revenue in January 2023. Previously, Clay worked as branch manager at Enterprise Holdings and as the inside sales team lead for Help Systems (formerly PhishLabs).
Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Clay accepted an athletics scholarship to play soccer at the College of Charleston. While at the College, he majored in finance and was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
A leader in the community, Clay serves on the Philanthropy Committee of the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce and as the chair of the East Steering Committee for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. He was recently recognized as the first Community Hero of the Match. Presented by The Ideal Life, the award recognizes a person whose community contributions positively impact the lives of others in the Lowcountry.
Clay is an active CofC alumnus. He created “CofC Night at the Battery,” which draws hundreds of alumni wearing maroon and white to a soccer match each year. He has also been a spokesmodel, advocate and donor for the first two years of the College’s commencement-themed “Share Your Chair” fundraising campaign for scholarships.
Young Alumna or Alumnus Past Recipients
| 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 |
John F. Martin ’82 W. Kurt Taylor ’84 Maria Mansfield Richardson ’84 Margaret Collins Frierson ’85 Cynthia A. Pittman ’91 Arlene Anderson Harrington ’91 Erica Henderson Brown ’93 Sheryl Snyder Matthews ’93 Brian C. Rutenberg ’87 Jackson Lee Davis, IV ’90 Troy Guerard Knight ’89 * Stephanie S. Sheffield ’93 Scott J. Buchanan ’92 * Wyndi M. Anderson ’93 Scott A. Heavin ’93 Anthony M. Johnson ’97 Chesley K. Stetten ’02 Keiron T. Kennedy ’01 Stephanie Rice Jones ’99 Nicholas C. Glover ’05 Margaret Anne Florence ’01 Carol Hannah Whitfield ’07 Cyrus A. Buffum ’06 Adam Paul ’06 Stephanie Felder ’04 Brett Gardner ’05 Harriett E. Lee ’08 Rebecca Shaw Whitener ’06 Donald F. Schneider ’12 Jerry Casselano ’08 Shaun D. Kraisman ’12 George Patrick McLeer Jr. ’10 Adeyemi M. Oduwole ’19 Catherine Clifton ’12 |
* Deceased