The Woman of Promise Award is presented annually to a female senior in the Jandoli School of Communication who excels in and out of the classroom and sets a good example for her peers.
2025 Woman of Promise Ceremony (from left) President Jeff Gingerich, Keynote Speaker Maddie Gionet, '13, honorees Ellie Foley, '25, and Claire Fisher, '25, Dr. Mary Hamilton, '59, and Jandoli School Dean Aaron Chimbel.
Foley and Fisher honored as 2025 Woman of Promise
St. Bonaventure University seniors Ellie Foley and Claire Fisher were honored with the 2025 Mary A. Hamilton Woman of Promise Award in a ceremony on campus March 18.
In the photo, from left: Claire Fisher and Ellie Foley, recipients of the 2025 Woman of Promise Award, stand with keynote speaker Maddie Gionet, '13, who received the Woman of Promise Award and the Mark Hellinger Award in 2013 (the only person to receive both awards).
The Woman of Promise Award is named in honor of Dr. Mary A. Hamilton, ’59, professor emerita of Journalism and Mass Communication at St. Bonaventure. Hamilton worked as a reporter and editor in New York City, Washington, D.C., and York, Pennsylvania, before returning to St. Bonaventure in 1982 as a faculty member. She chaired what was then the Department of Mass Communication.
The Woman of Promise award is presented to a female senior who excels in and out of the classroom, sets a good example for her peers, and possesses the skills necessary to thrive in her postgraduate career. This year, for the first time ever, the award was presented to two outstanding students.
Claire Fisher is a senior from Scotch Plains, New Jersey, majoring in Communication, Social Justice & Advocacy with minors in both Theology and Political Science.
Fisher has been the co-president for Her Campus at St. Bonaventure since May 2023 and the co-president of Jandoli Women in Communication, alongside Ellie Foley, since October 2022. She has also been a radio host for WÌìÑÄÉçÇø¹ÙÍø-FM and wrote for The Bona Venture Newspaper and PolitiFact New York.
Beyond campus, Fisher is a communication intern for Mt. Irenaeus focusing on content creation. In the summer of 2023, she worked in Manhattan at Marino PR serving as a nonprofit intern to create media lists, press releases, and quarterly reports. The following summer, Fisher studied abroad in Sorrento, Italy, during which time she helped create an integrated marketing campaign for a local Franciscan church and archive.
Fisher’s leadership at St. Bonaventure include roles as a student worker for the Career and Professional Readiness Center and as a Mountain Community Leader for Mt. Irenaeus. She previously held positions as a Peer Coach and Biology tutor, both within the Student Success Center.
Elizabeth ‘Ellie’ Foley, from Somerset, Massachusetts, is a senior strategic communication major with a minor in marketing.
Foley has been the manager and a choreographer for the ÌìÑÄÉçÇø¹ÙÍø Team Dance since September 2022 and the co-president of Jandoli Women in Communication, alongside Fisher, since October 2022. She has also been a radio host for WÌìÑÄÉçÇø¹ÙÍø-FM.
Outside of St. Bonaventure, Foley has worked as a communication and marketing intern at Cattaraugus Regional Community Foundation and as a social media manager for Clancy’s restaurant on Cape Cod. In the summer of 2024, she studied abroad in Sorrento, Italy, helping to design an integrated marketing campaign for a local Franciscan church and archive.
In her free time, Foley finds joy in raising money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She frequently volunteers with her family at fundraising events aimed at supporting cancer research.
As a leader in the Jandoli school, Foley is also a student worker in which she digitizes the school’s archives. She follows in the footsteps of her sister, Grace Foley, '23, who received the Woman of Promise Award in 2023.
The ceremony's keynote speaker was alumna Maddie Gionet who earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Mass Communication in 2013 and a master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communications in 2015. She is the director of marketing for New York State Parks and Historic Sites. In this role, she oversees tourism marketing to drive visitation and recreation to state public lands, along with managing the agency’s brand strategy.
Prior to joining State Parks, Gionet spent nearly a decade at Corning Incorporated first as part of the corporation’s branding and marketing team, developing both digital and in-person activations to showcase how advanced glass technologies enable our everyday lives. She spent the final years of her career with Corning leading its global social media program.
Gionet received the Dr. Mary A. Hamilton Woman of Promise Award and Mark Hellinger Award in 2013. She is the only person to date to receive both awards.