Felicia Brady-Lopez Named Eleanor Thomas Nelson ’49 Chair in Fine Arts
One of 10 endowed chairs at Winsor, the Eleanor Thomas Nelson ’49 Chair in Fine Arts was established in 2003 in honor of Eleanor “Ellie” Thomas Nelson, a devoted member of the Winsor community with a lifelong love of the arts. Her family established this chair to honor her connection to the school and to ensure that her passion for the arts would continue to have an impact here for generations to come. Ellie’s own generosity, including gifts realized after her death, has helped sustain this legacy.
An endowed chair honors exceptional teaching, and connects that teaching to someone whose love for Winsor continues to shape the school. Since it was established, there have been just two previous holders of this chair: Lisa Taillaq held it for nearly two decades, followed by Sara Macaulay, who held the chair from 2020 until her retirement last year after more than 40 years at Winsor. At an all-school assembly in the David. E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater on Friday, October 9, 2026, a new name was added to that history: Ms. Felicia Brady-Lopez.
Remarks from Head of School Meredith Legg P’32 are excerpted below:
Today, we have the pleasure of celebrating a teacher whose work over the past 27 years has had an extraordinary impact on Winsor’s arts community. Throughout her time at Winsor, she has helped generations of students develop the confidence to share their voices and more, often on this very stage.
For the past 27 years, Ms. Brady-Lopez has brought extraordinary creativity, care, and energy to Winsor’s performing arts program. As head of the Performing Arts Department since 2020, she leads a program that encourages students to take creative risks and discover the galvanizing power of working together toward a common goal, whether on the stage or behind the scenes.
Ms. Brady-Lopez brings to her work not only tremendous artistic talent—she’s a classically trained pianist, and a singer, songwriter, and composer who can play everything from the accordion to the xylophone—but also a deep commitment to her students, whose accomplishments bring her immense pride and joy. She creates a space where students can be ambitious and curious, where it’s safe to take risks and try something new. She helps students see clearly how arts are an essential part of a Winsor education.
She is the creative genius behind classes like Music Technology and Rock On, a favorite course that not only introduces students to new instruments, but teaches them how to play—and to love doing it. One former Rock On student from the Class of 2023 shared, “she made all of us feel like we could do anything and everything.” Another shared, “Ms. Brady’s encouraging and inclusive teaching methods can make even the shyest and most anxious person feel alive onstage.”
That type of confidence building has inspired students to step into the limelight far beyond the walls of Winsor. In 2022, Ms. Brady-Lopez submitted a video of students from Advanced Rock On to a competition. They won, and took the band on the road to play in Washington, D.C. and venues in the Boston area.
Ms. Brady-Lopez is also a beloved and respected colleague, whose generosity and collaborative nature are well known among her fellow faculty members. Ms. Taillacq, who hired her almost 30 years ago, shared that “Ms. Brady-Lopez was bar none the best hire that I ever made.”
We are all fortunate to have a teacher and colleague who so ably brings out the best in others, helping students discover and develop their talents and enriching our community through her leadership. Ms. Brady-Lopez, it is especially fitting that this chair, created to honor a woman whose life was so deeply connected to Winsor and to the arts, will now be held by you.
Ms. Brady-Lopez, it is my great pleasure to announce that you are the next holder of the Eleanor Thomas Nelson ’49 Chair in Fine Arts. Congratulations! We are so grateful for all that you bring to Winsor, and we are thrilled to celebrate you today.
