The 2026 recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award is Ginny Smith Younce ’98, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Penguin Press/Penguin Random House. The Distinguished Alumna Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their field and a meaningful impact on the world around them. As a respected leader in the publishing industry, Ginny has helped bring some of the most influential voices and ideas of our time to readers across the country.  

Since joining Penguin Press in 2009, Ginny has edited books that have become #1 New York Times bestsellers, New York Times Notable Books of the Year, Reese’s Book Club selections, and recipients or finalists for some of the publishing world’s prestigious honors. She works with authors including Jonathan Haidt, Celeste Ng, Nate Silver, Emily Oster, David Levering Lewis, and Senator Raphael G. Warnock.  

Ginny’s influence has also been felt right here at Stratford. Drawing on her work as editor of Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, she played a meaningful role in a campus-wide study that helped shape the school’s phone-free student policy. That work continues to support a stronger daily experience for students, encouraging greater presence, focus, and community.   

A Salutatorian of Stratford Academy’s Class of 1998, Ginny went on to graduate from Yale University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Ginny resides in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, Webb, and their daughters Claire and Edie.