Alumnae in the Arts
Alumnae in the Arts
We love hearing from our Alumnae pursuing a career in the Arts! Troubie Artists, keep in touch with our alumnae department so we can share all of your accomplishments. Submit an update here
Katie Sweeney ‘09
Katie Sweeney, class of 2009, spent her college years at Seattle University studying philosophy and classical vocal performance. She supported the choirs as the Soprano II section leader, honed her skills as a musical arranger directing SU’s first a cappella group, and played bass and guitar in extracurricular bands. In 2011, Katie and a few choir buddies formed a band, jokingly named it The Ramblin’ Years, rehearsed twice, and unexpectedly won the campus Battle of the Bands.
Julie Soto ‘06
Congrats to Alumna Julie Soto ‘06 who wrote a musical with fellow SFHS Arts actors Ryan Warren and Will Finan called “Generation Me the Musical.” The musical was accepted into the 2017 New York Musical Festival (NYMF).
Julie, Ryan and Will were all in Mrs. Watson’s productions from 2003-2007. See photos below of the 2006 St. Francis High School production of “Little Women,” Julie played Aunt March.
Jessica Crouch ‘04
SFHS Theatre Alumna Jessica Crouch ‘04 has been cast in the Broadway bound Pretty Woman: The Musical! Jessie was very active member of the SF Theatre Program. She performed in musicals, plays and was a member to the SF Players all four years of high school. Jessie received an Elly Award for her final performance as Winifred in Once Upon a Mattress! After high school she graduated in musical theatre from NYU Tisch and has been working non stop since in regional theatres and national tours.
Stacey Stoddard Burkett ’04
Stacey Stoddard Burkett ’04 started her circus career in 2009 at the Gravity Arts, training under renowned aerialist TT Robson. Stacey has trained locally in Santa Cruz, as well as at Kinetic Arts in Oakland. While silks has always been her first love, she has also performed some rope, and two years ago, added hand balancing and partner acrobatics to her repertoire. Stacey was a part of Acro5, an all female circus troupe, in 2015, and as a part of the group, performed in last year’s Santa Cruz Dance Week, and assistant-produced and performed in a full-length professional aerial and acrobatic show called Luminance. Stacey recently began teaching Beginner Aerial and Acrobatics at Radical Movement Factory in Santa Cruz. She hopes to continue her career in the air with more professional performances in the future, as well as continuing to share her passion through teaching.
Claudia Castaneda ’02
Claudia Castaneda ’02 is beginning her fifth year as an expatriate in Milan, Italy. She is currently completing her final thesis for a Masters in Visual Arts & Curatorial studies while working full time as the Study Abroad Milan Program Coordinator for students studying at Cattolica University, NABA, and Domus Academy. In between travel, work and research, she finds time to keep playing soccer on a couple of local teams including F.C. Pasturago.
Natasha Soto-Albors ‘02
After graduating from SFHS Natasha Soto-Albors ‘02 made the journey east to study at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Since receiving her B.F.A. in Drama, Natasha has built a career as an actor, screenwriter, and film producer. She is the founder and CEO of Night Spark Pictures, an NYC production company dedicated to diverse and dynamic storytelling.
Greta Gerwig ‘02
Greta Gerwig graduated from St. Francis Catholic High School in 2002. While at SF, Greta was part of the Dance program, Chamber Choir and numerous theatre productions. She played in SF’s shows “Into the Woods,” “The Boy Friend,” “Pippin,” and “The Apple Tree,” as well as Lenaea Festival showings with SF for “Antigone,” “Final Dress Rehearsal” and “Ladies of the Tower,” for which she was a Lenaea medalist.
Courtney Glass ‘01
Courtney, class of 2001, was very active in SF’s Drama and Dance departments throughout all four years of high school. Almost 15 years later, she is still a working actor, having appeared on Broadway, in numerous regional theatre productions, and traveled the world with the Walt Disney Company as a singer for their luxury cruise line. It was on the ship that she met her partner Pete, a technician from Australia. Now married, the couple lives in New South Wales, where Pete serves as a technical director for the iconic Sydney Opera House and Courtney continues to pursue theatre.
Kiera Mickiewicz Anderson ’99
Kiera is a proud alumna of St. Francis, and serves as representative for the Class of ’99. As a student at SFHS, she was involved in the arts and liturgical dance, and was part of the first class of SF Players on campus. Kiera took that passion to New York University, majoring in Theatre, with a minor in Irish Studies. Kiera lived in New York for nine years, working as a professional musical theatre actor, teaching artist, and yoga instructor.
Amy Lynn-Cramer ‘90
Alumna Spotlight
Amy works on the Corporate Communications Team as head of HR Communications for all of NBCUniversal. She was formerly a publicist at TECHTV, FUSE, and NBC News.
Maura Knowles ’86
Maura Knowles ’86 is the C.E.O. and founder of Mac-n-Mo’s, a Morselicious healthy baking company created in honor of her dad, Mac, and an International Integrative Board Certified Health Coach (A.A.D.P.). She is actively involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and has served on the host committee for Dr. Oz’s non- profit organization, HealthCorps.
Maura was inspired to write Insult to Injury based on her own life and death experiences, turning to her Irish American comedy roots. She believes that a balanced life is important, as it enriches the life of all artists. An avid traveler, a.k.a, The Wanderlust Queen, her singing career has taken her across the globe, inspiring her to trek throughout Europe with a recent visit to her motherland.
Colleen (Fitzsimmons) Findley ‘71
We recently heard from Colleen Findley, class of 1971, who shared the following.
What a great foundation St. Francis has given me. The
faith, encouragement and love from the staff has served me well,
reaching into every aspect of my life. The achievements I’m
most happy with are my daughter, son, granddaughter and
great-grandson. The achievement I’m most proud of is the
presentation of my Jeweled Egg to the President and First Lady in
the White House. 
