Gloria S. Borgese

Gloria Borgese first came to Woods Hole in 1958 with her husband Tom, who was then a graduate student. She returned every summer with Tom and their three children, Paul, Andrew and Joan, from 1970 until 2005, when she and Tom moved to Woods Hole permanently from Howard Beach NY.

Gloria earned a B.A. from New York University and an M.A. from Cornell University. Following graduation from Cornell, Gloria was hired by the NYC Department of Hospitals as the first woman speech therapist, and worked with patients with aphasia and other speech disorders. As a licensed Teacher of Speech, she taught Public Speaking, Oral Interpretation and Dramatics, and provided clinical speech correction to public school students. She inaugurated the English as a Second Language Program (ESL) at Jamaica High School in Queens and served in that program until she retired.

As Chair of Education and Equity of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, Gloria expanded a program honoring outstanding female graduates in science and math at every public, private and parochial high school in the borough of Queens.

For seven years she volunteered at the Italian Cultural Institute (under the auspices of the Italian Consulate of New York).

Gloria volunteered in the MBL gift shop for two decades and served on the MBL Associates Board 2005-11. She continues to conduct visitors' tours of MBL, which she has done for 16 years.

Gloria served on the board of Children's School of Science, was a docent for 9 years at the Woods Hole Historical Museum, and has been a patron of the College Light Opera Company for more than 40 years. She has been a member of the Woods Hole Woman's Club since 2005 and currently serves on the Board.

In 2012 she joined the Falmouth Education Foundation, where she is a member of the grant review committee.