A Conversation with Lisa Richmond '84

Whether posing portraits, gathering families, or up on a scaffold at the Lantern Ceremony, for 37 years she was the photographer documenting this milestone for hundreds of Chatham Hall alumnae with only one notable exception: 2020, when Commencement went virtual due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and her own daughter, Jaz Leddy ‘20, graduated. This year, Lisa is hung up her camera for graduation and had time to discuss her memories and all that she has been a part of for more than a generation. 

Tell us about your life after Chatham Hall.
After Chatham Hall, I was looking for a large school in which I could get lost. I attended Syracuse University and studied at the Newhouse School of Public Communications. While there, I met a crew of visionary musicians and artists that changed my perspective; folks that are all still close friends today. We all shared a house brimming with creativity and spontaneity: painting, dancing, textile arts, photography, music, and maybe a few parties. Three bands rehearsed in the basement weekly — definitely not the quietest house on the block.

I was studying photojournalism at the time and spending my free time photographing bands. I soon became the manager of a popular local band, Dogtalk, which rehearsed in the basement and with which I later ended up moving to San Francisco to find our fortune. Interested in a more creative role, I became Dogtalk’s live sound engineer when our current engineer was unable to head west with us. While I loved the thrill of live sound and being integral to the performance, I eventually built my own recording studio in a loft in Emeryville and ran it there for about 15 years. It was called Dance Home Sound, and I engineered and produced hundreds of recordings for local bands.

How did your time at Chatham Hall influence your life after high school?
Chatham Hall was ultimately a great place for me because my family moved consistently. My father chased business opportunities across the country and Chatham kept me grounded in one high school. I first heard about it as a ninth grader living in Greenwich, Conn. My parents hired a local girl who was home on spring break from a small boarding school in southern Virginia to stay with me while they were out of the country. This was Lauren McClain Kemmerer and her friend Margaret Streit Ben Shoshan ’83.

In tenth grade, my family moved again, this time to Georgia. When I didn’t really find it to my liking, Chatham Hall immediately came to mind. Plus, if Lauren and Margaret went there, it had to be fun! I started at Chatham Hall one week later.

I often tell people that I sometimes felt a bit too secluded at Chatham. Looking back, I can see it was a wonderful period of my life where I was able to learn who I was, the friends I liked to keep, and how to study. As a result of the academic skills I acquired at Chatham Hall, my first year at college was a breeze and I found the transition to a big university easy and welcome. Spending day and night with people, you acquire lifelong friends and Chatham Hall was a great incubator for that. I also learned what it took to find success, and that success looked different for each of us. At an all-girls’ school, women are the leaders of everything. Chatham Hall set me up to understand that inherently. It’s something I took with me.

Which faculty member at Chatham Hall do you remember most?
Mr. Dixon, my sophomore English teacher and Advisor. He was youthful and engaged in the material he taught. He was quirky, funny, and entirely himself. It was easy to connect with him.

Dr. Ann Beal was my senior year English teacher, but I remember her mostly as a friend. I stayed with her year after year while she lived on campus and while I was just starting to photograph graduations. Once a year, we caught up on all things life. Once she retired, I used to stop in at her place in Hillsborough to visit with her out on her back deck. I miss her. Dr. Mary Edmonds, when awarding the Ann Dickenson Beal English Department Award at graduation, would find me on the ladder while capturing Commencement and with a quick glance we would acknowledge our mutual friend.

One great story: I met up with my pre-calculus teacher, Mr. Keith Krusz, at a Chatham Hall reunion a couple of decades ago. While I was apologizing for being so challenged by his class, he told me a story I did not know and something that I do carry around with me. He said while his wife was going through some file folders, she found a black dog collar and had to ask him what that was about. Keith explained that, during my junior year, there was a meeting called to discuss my attire and the fact that I wore a dog collar on occasion. My Advisor and many of my teachers, knowing that I was a solid and participatory student regardless of my accessory choices, all showed up to that meeting wearing dog collars in support. His story, while not known at the time, meant everything to me at that reunion a decade later. Those are the stories that make Chatham Hall. (Truthfully? Still waiting to use pre-calculus.)

Tell me about your photography.
Mr. Van Voorhis, who was Rector from 1981-1997, was someone who believed in me. I’m sure I was a handful at his school, but he took a liking to me. I reached out to ask him to be the main photographer for the 1985 graduation weekend and he loved the idea. As a young alumna, I had enthusiasm for the School and a connection with the students having just been through my own graduation. I understood better than most what the weekend was about. I wanted to capture the friendships, the family, the traditions, and the emotions that really made this graduation so unique. I wanted to capture in photographs what it felt like to be there that weekend and with my Nikon 35mm film camera in hand/36 exposures per roll, I got started. In context, this was 22 years before the very first iPhone was released. It has been a unique experience to have met and worked with most of the students and families in every single graduating class since 1985. That is a lot of people, a lot of graduates, and I’m privileged to have captured this memorable time for them all.

Currently, I own my own photography business in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, nestled at 4,000 ft between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe. My professional work consists mostly of events and life milestones such as engagements, weddings, pregnancy, kids, families, high school seniors, graduations, anniversaries, and then back around again. It’s my own circular business model and I have been rewarded with a strong repeat customer and referral network. Similar to my previous work as a sound engineer, I love the flexibility of owning a small business, wearing many hats, and thinking on my feet. I’m curious about people and their stories. I enjoy finding a connection and providing the space for them to be themselves in front of my camera. I’m passionate about discovering new ways of seeing things.

What advice would you give to a current Chatham Hall student?
Dig in for the years you are there. Commit. It’s a safe place to learn how to be successful and productive, and there are mentors everywhere wanting to help you do just that. Sometimes it may seem like graduation will never come, and then all of a sudden it is and you’re crying your eyes out saying your goodbyes. I see this year after year. You will leave Chatham Hall with fond memories and great connections to friends all over the world, ready and well-prepared for what is next.

Thank you, Chatham Hall. Esto perpetua, and go Gold!