Since Elizabeth Spingarn Stanton graduated from Barnard in 1992, she has become a fixture on the New York City nonprofit circuit. Last fall, she was elected to the Board of Overseers of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a leading facility for diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS research. She also serves on the boards of the Melanoma Research Alliance and the Iyengar Yoga Association of Greater New York. And the foundation she runs with her husband, Oliver Stanton, supports the 92nd Street Y, the Central Park Conservancy, The New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Chai Lifeline, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, among other organizations.

Stanton has a personal connection with many of these charities. She practices Iyengar yoga regularly and says it did wonders for her scoliosis. Diagnosed with melanoma several years ago, she believes strongly in supporting research. At this point, she says, helping others is second nature. “I’ve always volunteered and played a part in the community,” says Stanton, recalling her teenage years, when she worked at a soup kitchen and helped children and seniors in need at hospitals and nursing homes. “It's just something I've always done—working with children who have autism, elder care, it was all part of who I was, and I continued to do it though college.”

Stanton, an art-history major, transferred to Barnard from Cornell during her sophomore year. Upon her arrival, she helped start a branch of her previous sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, and became its first president. “My brother started a fraternity at Columbia, and my father, my uncle, and grandfather all attended Columbia, so the school is very important to my family,” she says.

After college, she volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House, which supports children with cancer. When she was 26, she and her husband, who is a trader in the chemical industry and a company principal, moved to Zurich for three years and started their foundation. They returned Stateside with a baby in tow, and went on to have two more children.

A typical day for Stanton includes practicing yoga, attending a board meeting, volunteering, and spending time with her kids, who are now 14, 12, and 1 1/2. On top of all that, Stanton has begun designing a women's clothing line—"design is my passion," she says, describing her line as "dressy-casual"—and she and her family recently moved to Westchester, where they enjoy the country.

Despite her busy and full life, Stanton stresses the importance of slowing down. “I am constantly involved in many different activities, it's my way and I love to do it,” says Stanton, “but it's important to me to be calm and relaxed while I'm running around—and to be very present for my kids and husband." —A. Abrahamian