Leaders at Wheeler and in the Wider World: Lisa Ballou Tyler ’75 and Jennifer Duffy ’81 to Receive 2025 Founder’s Awards

The Wheeler Alumni Board is proud to announce that Lisa Ballou Tyler ’75, P’09, P’11, P’14 and Jennifer Duffy ’81 will each receive its highest honor: The Founder’s Award. They will be recognized at a special ceremony during this fall’s Homecoming and Reunion Weekend festivities.

Lisa will be honored with The Founder’s Award for Service, which recognizes alumni who have demonstrated an uncommon level of devotion to Wheeler and given significant time and energy in service to the school’s mission.

“You have exemplified your commitment to Wheeler in a wide range of ways over so many years, including as president of the Alumni Association, chair of the Advancement Committee, chair of the Campaign Steering Committee for the Campaign for Wheeler, as a member of the Board of Trustees, and as a generous philanthropic partner,” former Alumni Board President John Clarke ’06 and Director of Alumni Engagement Danielle Kachapis P’28 said in their selection letter to Lisa. “Your dedication carries on today as a class ambassador for your 50th Reunion.”

After graduating from Hamilton College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Art, Lisa worked for a corporate interiors firm in New York, before receiving her Master’s Degree in Architecture at RISD. Following a stint on the West Coast with a large architectural firm, she returned to Boston to specialize in interior architecture, and in partnership with Susan Loney P’05, P’09, a friend and fellow Wheeler parent, she started ADI, a Rhode Island-based firm that designs residential and small commercial interiors.

Lisa is married to Jaye Tyler, a business executive, and they are the parents of three Wheeler alumni: Isabel ’09, Priscilla ’11, and Wilson ’14.

In addition to her decades of volunteer work at Wheeler, Lisa served on the Board of Amos House and is an associate at the RISD Museum.

Jennifer will receive the Founder’s Award for Achievement, which honors alumni whose outstanding accomplishments have made a meaningful impact in their fields and communities – and whose lives embody Wheeler’s mission to “learn our powers and be answerable for their use.”

She spent 32 years as a nonpartisan political analyst for The Cook Political Report, where she was senior editor responsible for U.S. Senate and governors races. After serving as press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 1986 election cycle, she joined the Report in 1988 as its first assistant editor. In the years ahead, while continuing to work with the Report, she was also a senior account executive with Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide and an associate with the lobbying firm of Cassidy & Associates.

In 1995, Jennifer rejoined Cook & Company full-time. She often served as an off-air analyst for NBC News on election nights, has been quoted in numerous publications, and appeared on all major television networks. In June of 2011, BusinessInsider.com named her one of the 13 savviest political analysts in the country. She has been a frequent public speaker on elections and national political trends.

“Your lifelong dedication to reporting on our American democracy reflects Wheeler’s mission in every way,” John and Danielle said in their selection letter. “Since graduating from Georgetown in the 1980s, you’ve built a remarkable career analyzing elections and political trends, helping shape the Cook Political Report into one of the most respected sources of nonpartisan political insight. Your integrity, rigor, and commitment to independent journalism exemplify the very best of Wheeler’s values, and your contributions to civic understanding have had a profound national impact.

“We are also deeply grateful for your ongoing service to Wheeler, as a member of the Wheeler Leadership Council, through your enthusiastic participation in our Alumni Career Roundtables, and as a generous philanthropic partner. Your guidance and support have strengthened our community in countless ways.”

In addition to her volunteerism for Wheeler, Jennifer is an alumni mentor for first-generation students in the Georgetown Scholars Program and conducts admissions interviews for Georgetown University as part of the school’s Alumni Admissions Program.

Jennifer and Lisa will each receive The Founder’s Award at the Alumni Awards Celebration on Saturday, October 18, preceding Wheeler Reunion Night dinners. You can register for the awards ceremony on the Wheeler alumni community website, The Wheel.