Red and Blue are everywhere in Washington, D.C., and not just because they’re the favorite colors of our nation’s politicians! The region is also home to one of the largest concentrations of Penn alumni, with more than 22,000 Quakers strong.
Beyond the Bounds of Campus
D.C. Alumni Club President Vivian Ramirez keeps local Quakers connected
Published: August 18, 2023
Not surprisingly, it’s also home to one of the largest and most active Penn Alumni Regional Clubs in the world, the Penn Club of Washington D.C., which benefits from the dedicated leadership of Club President Vivian Ramirez, C’96.
“Our Penn journeys extend far beyond our college years,” she explains. “We want to make sure the way we connect also extends beyond the geography of campus.”
Ramirez’s own Penn journey began well before she enrolled. While growing up in Media, Pa., she came to Penn’s campus for both middle school and high school programs, including an intensive studio art program that allowed her to take the Art History AP exam. She also regularly visited Penn’s Institute for Contemporary Art.
Coming to Penn, she said, was a “no-brainer.” She majored in Design of the Environment, a pre-architecture program in the College, and also took courses at Penn Engineering. “I wanted to couple my artistic degree with more quantitatively oriented courses in Engineering,” she explains. That combination of training in art and engineering proved beneficial in her professional life. Today, Ramirez is Development Manager at Seneca Group, a real estate development firm. One of her key projects is Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters in the D.C. area.
It was another job—her first after graduation—that first brought Ramirez to D.C. nearly two decades ago.
In those early years in the nation’s capital, she first attended a D.C. Club event to meet other Quakers. A few years later, she was an active volunteer for the Club, helping to coordinate its robust slate of programs for D.C.-area alumni. She stepped into a larger role as President of the D.C. Club in 2008, a position she held until 2011.
At the end of her term, with two young children, she passed the baton of Club leadership to another local alumni leader, while remaining a loyal member and event participant.
Nearly a decade later, with her children older, Ramirez became involved in the Club once again, first as a volunteer and Board member. Soon, she was invited to take on the role of President for a second time.
Elise Betz, Senior Executive Director, Alumni Relations, applauds Ramirez for her work with the Club: “Vivian has embraced this leadership role in an important part of the country for Penn, a place where people are looking for engagement with the University. She is the leader we need at this time.”
Under Ramirez’s leadership, the D.C. Club offers a wide range of activities for local Quakers, from happy hours to celebrations of Benjamin Franklin’s birthday. She particularly enjoys the events that take advantage of the region’s abundant natural resources, such as hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains and visits to see the cherry blossoms in spring bloom on the National Mall. The D.C. Club is best known for its signature event, an end-of-summer cruise on the Potomac.
She believes the Penn Club plays an especially vital role in the D.C. area, since the local community is so transient, changing with each administration. “Even if you’re brand new, you know someone in the city.”
John Mosley, C’14, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and liaison to the D.C. Club, commends Ramirez for her work. “We love having her as an ambassador to welcome new Penn alumni to D.C.”
A loyal group of D.C.-area Quakers helps Ramirez run the Club, including a diverse board that is broadly inclusive of the local alumni community. Like all the Regional Clubs, the D.C. Club offers volunteer opportunities that allow alumni to connect with their fellow Quakers, serve their alma mater, and even boost their resume.
The D.C. Club is just one of Ramirez’s Penn volunteer roles. She also serves as an alumni interviewer for prospective students and a reunion volunteer for the Class of 1996. And when Penn’s ninth President, Liz Magill, came to D.C. last year on her Penn Forward tour, Ramirez served on the Host Committee for the event and helped ensure a sell-out crowd, thanks in part to the enthusiasm of the D.C. Club members.
Ramirez encourages all Quakers to check out their regional alumni Clubs. Why join? “You always have the opportunity to connect with other Penn alumni with common experiences,” she says. “No matter where you are, your Penn Alumni Club is there for you.”
