DePauw Stories

On October 3, DePauw University recognized five distinguished alumni for their achievements and service to the institution.

The Old Gold Goblet, recognizing eminence in life’s work and service to DePauw University, was presented to Kathy Patterson Vrabeck `85. Vrabeck is the former Chief Operating Officer of BODi (formerly The Beachbody Company), a leading digital fitness and e-commerce nutrition company. In her capacity as COO, she led the Digital Product, Consumer and Enterprise Technology, global Supply Chain, Customer Service, Nutrition R&D, Security and People organizations, until her retirement in 2025.

Vrabeck has significant public company governance experience from both her operating and board leadership roles. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors, as well as Chair of the Compensation and Nominations & Governance committees and a member of the Audit committee of MediaAlpha, a leading ad technology platform serving the insurance market. Vrabeck has over two decades of brand marketing and general management experience in consumer package goods and digital entertainment, and a decade of talent acquisition and advisory expertise.

She graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors from DePauw University with a bachelor’s degree in French and economics. She is a member of Alpha Chi Omega. She received her MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business with concentrations in marketing and finance. Additionally, Vrabeck serves on the Board of Trustees at DePauw, of which she was the chair from 2018-2022.

In her acceptance speech, Vrabeck said, “It was a full-ride scholarship that opened the gates of this campus to me, and it absolutely changed the trajectory of my life... We're very fortunate that DePauw's mission has been to develop leaders the world needs, because we need that more than ever today. This is a time that calls for wisdom, empathy, courage and the ability to bridge divides and engage in civil discourse... This Old Gold Goblet is less of a recognition for what I've done, and more of a celebration of what was given to me by this amazing community."

Molly Madden ’18 was honored with the 2025 Young Alumni Award. Madden graduated summa cum laude from DePauw in 2018 as a philosophy and environmental biology double major and also joined Alpha Phi. She went on to earn her juris doctor from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and her master’s in public affairs from IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, graduating magna cum laude and as a member of the Order of the Coif. While in law school, Madden’s taxonomy on constitutional court appointment mechanisms was published in the Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design, and she worked for Justice Goff of the Indiana Supreme Court and interned at the office of the Indiana Solicitor General.

Madden is now a third-year associate at the Indianapolis office of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath where she practices mergers and acquisitions. She also co-authors a quarterly column in the Indiana Lawyer spotlighting pro bono opportunities for lawyers in Indiana. As a dedicated volunteer and advocate for students and young alumni – including leadership on the university’s GOLD Alumni Board – Madden has made a lasting impact on both DePauw and the broader community.

In her professional and civic life, Madden demonstrates the same commitment to service that she has shown DePauw. Most notably, she founded the Tiger-Led Legal Aid: Putnam County Pro Bono Legal Clinic at the Putnam County Courthouse, an initiative that provides critical legal support to those who otherwise would not have access. This program not only reflects Madden’s passion for justice and equity but also her creativity in finding ways to extend DePauw’s spirit of service into the wider world.

Madden said in her acceptance speech, “Even as a junior attorney and young professional, I see how relatively easy it is to pull other people up the ladder, even if you only have a single foot on the bottom rung yourself...and there is no group more deserving than the current generation of motivated, kind, and intelligent DePauw students...I want to encourage everyone to serve as that point of connection, serve as the outstretched hand ready to pull others up, and be that friendly face that makes a big, disconnected world feel small. It's the Tiger way."

Judy Edstrom ’70, honored with an Alumni Citation, has worked in positions of leadership, advocacy and analysis at the World Bank, UNICEF and RTI International/USAID in over 30 countries in Africa and Asia, including 12 years of professional residence in Kenya, South Africa and Indonesia as chief of mission or project. With sectoral expertise in education, health and community development, she has championed good governance and human and social development throughout her career, with a substantive focus on government accountability through citizen engagement. Her most impactful assignment was as country director of the World Bank’s office in South Africa two years after the election of President Nelson Mandela, where the deputy minister of finance reported a “sea change” of trust in South Africa’s relationship with the Bank during her tenure there.

Edstrom holds a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University, and in 2005 she received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from DePauw. She recently received a prestigious Leadership Award from the United Nations Association-National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) for her advocacy on behalf of human rights and the United Nations throughout her career. Earlier this year she was named to the Wall of Pride of her public high school in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Ann Libka Hendrich, Alumni Citation recipient, graduated from DePauw with a nursing degree in the Class of 1980. She has more than 30 years of experience in large, complex health care systems as an expert in nursing, quality and patient safety. For 16 years, she served as the System Chief Nursing/Quality/Patient Safety Officer for Ascension, a leading nonprofit health care system. As a fierce nursing advocate, Hendrich elevated the role of nursing leaders within this organization. She also launched onboarding simulation centers to support and enhance learning for new nursing graduates, ongoing professional development capabilities and retention. Hendrich was named a top 50 national patient safety expert by Becker’s Hospital Review and one of the top 25 women leaders in health care by Modern Healthcare. She was selected as a Nursing Leader to Watch by the American Organization for Nursing Leadership. Hendrich has served on The Joint Commission Nursing Advisory Council and the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). She was invited by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to join the US Delegation at the 71st United Nations General Assembly for an international meeting on antimicrobial resistance.

Alumni Citation recipient Reuben F. Johnson `82 is Director of the Asia Research Centre and Korea Fellow for the Poland-based think tank Casimir Pulaski Foundation. Johnson is a 36-year veteran of analyzing and reporting on foreign weapon systems, defense technology and the international politics of arms exports, and he is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. During this time he has worked several years in the U.S. defense industry as a foreign technology analyst, and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Navy and Air Force Departments, as well as for the UK and Australian governments.

He currently writes regularly for several professional defense and aerospace technology publications. He has won back-to-back awards for defense reporting in 2022-2023. Since 1988 he has reported from most of the world’s major aerospace and defense expositions, as well as from the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in the People’s Republic of China, 2004-2005 and 2013-2014 Ukrainian revolutions and the 2022 Russian invasion and occupation. He holds a BA from DePauw University and an MA from Miami University (Ohio) in the US, both with a specialization in Soviet/Russian studies.