Alumnae Share Their Professional Journeys During Career Day Workshops

Sloane Coles ’07
Horse Trainer

Sloane comes from a long line of Virginia horsemen including her father, John Coles, and mother, Julie. She spent her childhood in the hunt field of the Orange County Hounds, where her father eventually became Master of Foxhounds. After graduating from Foxcroft, Sloane pursued business and sociology degrees from Drew University but continued to ride and train with some of the best in the industry. In 2013, Sloane returned to Virginia and set up her business, Spring Ledge LLC, at the family farm in The Plains, where she offers a variety of services from hunter-jumper training to lessons for foxhunters. Sloane travels to Europe several times a year looking for horses to train and sell. 

Meredith “Dish” Harris ʼ10
Accounting & Finance

Meredith “Dish” Harris graduated from the University of Denver in 2014 with a Master of Science in Accounting. Originally, she thought she was going to enter a career in hospitality but became particularly interested in the finance field after taking several core business classes. She started her career in accounting at KPMG as an intern in the summer of 2014 and worked her way up to Manager. Since spring 2021, Dish has worked at Nephron Pharmaceuticals and currently serves as Vice President of Accounting. During her time at Foxcroft, Dish learned to use her voice in the classroom and to have no fear, which has continued to serve her in her professional field today. 

Whitney Hansen ’02
Project Interior Designer/Architecture

Whitney graduated from Corcoran College of Art and Design with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art Photography and a Master's in Interior Design. She started her career here at Foxcroft in the Admissions Department before transitioning into a new field in Residential Interior Design. With a fine eye for detail, Whitney has built her career in the interior design and architecture field. She currently works as a Project Designer II at GTM Architects. Her projects have included several offices and residential properties across the DMV. 

Rachelle Hill ’02
STEM Environmental Planning

Rachelle was not a STEM-based student during her time at Foxcroft but found her passion for the field. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Environmental Science with minors in biology and chemistry. Rachelle started her career as a Research Assistant before transitioning to Environmental Planning for Naval Facilities Engineering Command and is now a Subject Matter Expert at Coast Guard Headquarters. She is passionate about environmental planning and its multifaceted aspects spanning the social, environmental, and economic impacts that it has on a community. She was a Hound Painter at Foxcroft and was thrilled to return to campus to share her story. 

Lisa Kelly ’87 
Pediatrician

Dr. Lisa Kelly is a partner at Northern Virginia Pediatric Associates where she has practiced since finishing her residency at Georgetown University Hospital in 2006. She graduated from Foxcroft in 1987, received her undergraduate from Harvard in 1993, and M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 2000. Dr. Kelly has not always followed a traditional career path, having taken a gap year to pursue her passions and explore options for the future. She is a horseback rider, a Foxcroft girl (daughter of Maggie Stehli ’49 and mother of Sage W. ’23), and will be forever Foxy Blue! 

Ryane LeCesne ’97
Life Coach/Mindset Coach

Ryane is an Advancement Mindset Coach. Since 2012, Ryane has coached nearly 1,000 high-achieving women — specializing in the unique needs of high-achieving Black women — to advance their professional dreams by overcoming and healing from the self-limiting mindsets of Impostor Syndrome, Perfectionism, and Distractionism. Her coaching process is evidence-based, holistic, transformational, and proven to be instrumental in helping women advance professionally. When Ryane’s not coaching or with her nose in a book, she spends time with her family. She’s a proud member of The Links, Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and a graduate of Spelman College and Georgetown University.

Devon McCarthy ʼ12
Client and Investment Services

Devon is an associate at CoreCommodity Management focused on Investor Relations and Business Development. CoreCommodity Management is an independent commodity asset management firm based in Stamford, CT, which provides advisory and fiduciary commodity management services to investors globally. Before joining the firm in 2018, Devon began her career as a Manager in the Hedge Funds Client Solutions group at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). GLG provides primary research, by connecting clients with top industry professionals who can educate them on a particular research topic. Devon received a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Mathematics from Connecticut College.

Alexandra Sherman ’94
Visual Artist

Alexandra’s art explores the landscape of the mind through myriad subjects and mediums. She seeks to give the viewer an intimate experience through works that explore the uncertainty and mystery inherent in life, ourselves, and our connections with the world around us. Alexandra grew up and worked in the antique business, which inspired her love of art and especially decorative arts. She has an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in painting and trained in ateliers at L’Eclat De Verre and Gold Leaf Studios where she studied framing and the art of cartonnage. Her curatorial experience includes Assistant Curator for Mobil Corps’ modern art collection and Curator of The Dadian Gallery at the Luce Center for Arts and Religion in Washington, DC. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Phebe Wahl ’96
Editor-in-Chief, Modern Luxury

Phebe is currently the Executive Vice President of Editorial and Editor-in-Chief at Modern Luxury Media. As EVP of Editorial, Wahl oversees all content for more than 85 publications across 22 markets, sending to press more than 370 issues a year. Throughout her decade-plus career at Modern Luxury, Wahl has served as Editor-in-Chief of various publications ranging from Art Basel to Hamptons and Manhattan magazines. Phebe began her career in publishing, first working in book publishing on Madonna’s children’s book series and then later at Vogue magazine at Conde Nast. She is a proud graduate of Foxcroft (go Foxes!) where she was awarded The Head’s Prize and still keeps up with her roommates daily. After Foxcroft, she attended The University of the South for her B.A. in English and The Savannah College of Art & Design for her Master of Architecture.

Laine Whitaker ’97
Professional Development & Educational Consulting

Laine is currently the Director of Professional Learning at Effective School Solutions. She has more than 15 years of teaching experience serving at-risk youth with the New Jersey State Department of Children and Families, Office of Education. She was also a high school Dean of Students before transitioning to consulting. Laine is an Advanced Trainer of The Nurtured Heart Approach®, a Certified Mental Health First Aid® Instructor, and holds several parenting and youth group facilitator certifications. She has a Social Work certification from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Leadership from Cabrini University. Laine was also an Adjunct Professor at Cabrini University, where she taught a course on Social-Emotional Learning that she designed for education majors.