St. Lawrence University’s Board of Trustees has elected Kathleen Perkins Colson ’79 and Carolyn Davidow Putney ’88, P’22 as new term members. The trustees will serve for a period of six years beginning on June 1.
Kathleen Perkins Colson ’79
A former refugee worker and safari guide, Kathleen Perkins Colson ’79 founded the BOMA Project to disrupt how humanitarian aid is perceived and delivered in the drylands of Africa. With innovations in technology, programming, female empowerment, and financial inclusion, the non-profit organization is on track to end extreme poverty and hunger for millions of women and children in some of the most remote regions on the African continent.
In 2021, BOMA received a $10 million investment from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Over the years, BOMA received awards from the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Kathleen served as a global social entrepreneur fellow with the Mulago and Cordes Foundations.
Now retired from the non-profit organization, Kathleen lives on Upper Saranac Lake, New York with her husband, Doug, and serves as the CEO of Big Idea Nonprofit Consulting, providing services to regional and global nonprofits. She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards including secondary school, university boards, and environmental, conservation, and arts organizations in the U.S., Central America, and Africa.
At St. Lawrence, Kathleen majored in government, participated in the Kenya and London semester programs, and received the Sol Feinstone Humanitarian Award.
Carolyn Davidow Putney ’88, P’22
Carolyn Davidow Putney ’88, P’22 graduated from St. Lawrence with a bachelor’s degree in art and theater and as a proud member of the Tri-Delta sorority, she served as social chair. Following graduation, she earned an associate’s degree in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and worked as a residential interior designer before focusing on raising her children.
For many years, Carolyn supported her children’s schools, serving as chair of the Phillips Brooks School Book Fairs, and at the Woodside Priory School, as a board member, president of the Parent Association, gala and fundraising chair, and building and grounds committee member. She is the recipient of the Woodside Priory School’s highest honor, the St. Benedict Medal.
Carolyn lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, is married to Stewart Putney ’91, P’22, and has two children, Sam, a member of St. Lawrence’s Class of 2022, and Ben, a member of Emerson College’s Class of 2026. She has also served as co-chair for many St. Lawrence reunions.
