
LA JOLLA — Melissa Winter, a Bishop’s School alumnus and deputy chief of staff for First Lady Michelle Obama, will be presented tonight with the Ellen Browning Scripps Distinguished Alumni Award. Winter, who was raised in La Jolla and graduated from The Bishop’s School in 1985, will accept the award, meant to honor alumni who have had a broad impact in the pursuit of their goals and attracted wide recognition for their accomplishments, at the school’s sixth annual Ellen Browning Scripps Celebration. The event will take place at the school, located at 7607 La Jolla Blvd. After her education in La Jolla, Winter went on to attend Skidmore College, a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and she has worked under a number of notable politicians, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. As the deputy chief of staff for the First Lady, Winter focuses on the operation and administration of Mrs. Obama’s office, and she travels with Mrs. Obama whenever she goes out of the country. Also being honored at tonight’s event are Melinda Hennessey, who teaches advanced placement European history at Bishop’s, and the late Christiane Covington, who distinguished herself as a screenwriter and film maker before her untimely snorkeling accident death in 2009. Covington will posthumously receive the Alumni Achievement Award.