One Act of Kindness, A Thousand Ripples
The 41st Annual Gala Honoring Outstanding Achievers with Learning Differences made a splash in its debut at the Washington DC Ritz-Carlton.
Every year, Lab’s Annual Gala welcomes several individuals with learning differences to share their inspiring stories with our community. After several years of hosting this flagship event on Lab’s campus, the 41st Annual Gala made its debut at a new location: the Washington DC Ritz-Carlton. There, the honorees spoke of their personal journeys and reflected on what they had seen during their tour of The Lab School. “What I saw yesterday was what I dreamt school could be when I decided to shift from law school to being a teacher,” said Linda Clark, a dyslexic education and digital learning pioneer and one of the night’s honorees. “What you’ve done for your kids is one of the most incredible gifts you can give.” The Gala makes the gift of a Lab education accessible to the children who need it, this year raising more than $535,000 for financial aid and to support teacher’s salaries.
The evening recognized four honorees. In addition to Ms. Clark, the outstanding achievers with learning differences in 2026 were Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer at Open AI and Paul Musselman, Senior Managing Director at Ankura Consulting Group. The outstanding alum was Patty Gray ’01 who is a technical advisor for women’s protection and empowerment at the International Rescue Committee. These honorees joined a long list of notable achievers and leaders whose learning differences shape how they think, create, and lead. In recognition of this distinguished community, the evening of the Gala, Lab launched the Outstanding Achievers Endowment Fund for Financial Assistance at Lab. This fund, a dedicated component of Lab’s endowment, will help ensure that students with learning differences across the region can find their place at Lab.
“There is a word that almost everyone who visits our school uses,” said Head of School Kim Wargo in her welcoming address. “That word is ‘magical.’ Our school makes magic. Our school transforms lives. Our school changes families.” Some of this magic was on display during the Gala – literally. Student artwork, available to buy in the silent auction, adorned the reception area where guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before the three-course dinner. Art classes across all three divisions worked with their teaching artists to create the collaborative pieces on display including paintings, ceramics, linocuts, and digital artwork. The evening also featured a performance from current Lab student Aaron Guida ’27 who sang “Good Kid” from the spring production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, which also happened to be the highest grossing production in Lab’s history.
Each year, the Gala is an opportunity to celebrate what is possible when leaners embrace their strengths. “Kids like yours have brains that, once unlocked, have incredible superpowers,” Mr. Lehane told parents and teachers in his speech. “I think we just saw these in our speakers. That resilience Paul spoke of. Patty’s empathy about the world around her and thinking about refugees. Holly, that creative energy and mind to think about how this stuff can actually help to advance education. All of your kids have some version of those incredible skill sets. What The Lab School does, is unlock them by giving them the confidence to deploy those incredible talents that they all have. At Lab, I had the benefit of seeing what are going to be the next generation of superheroes and I can’t wait to see what all of your kids do.”
