Like the more than 2,200 young women who walked before them in 99 past presentations, eight debutantes continued the legacy.
Dressed in white ball gowns and coordinating long gloves, they were presented to society, each on the arm of her father or presenter, in front of close friends and family.
The 100th Cinderella Ball, Pittsburgh’s oldest fundraiser as well as one of the oldest continuously running debutante balls in the United States, celebrated its newest class of debutantes with a fairy-tale-inspired evening marking the milestone.
On June 26 inside Downtown Pittsburgh’s historic Duquesne Club, the 275 guests gathered to watch the debutantes and their fathers or presenter dance a waltz and take part in the Grand March.
The ball recognizes the debutantes’ introduction into society — and on this night, these young women became part of history.
“The young women presented tonight earn their own place in Pittsburgh’s history as they join the impressive group of over 2,200 debutantes who have been presented at Cinderella Ball since its founding,” said master of ceremonies Addison Lanier II. He is the husband of Jamie Wise Lanier, a Butler native and president of the Cinderella Women’s Committee, which has presented the ball for more than two decades.
Prince charming and Cinderella
A highlight of the evening, in true fairy-tale fashion, is the name of Prince Charming. His identity is kept secret until the master of ceremonies announces him to the guests.
While music was played by the Rick Purcell Big Band, it was announced that Hunter Rombauer “Bauer” Brown Jr., a student at Texas Christian University, was named Prince Charming. His father, Pittsburgh native Hunter Rombauer Brown, was Prince Charming in 1997.
Brown randomly selected a card with the name of a debutante from a silver bowl and placed it inside a glass slipper atop a pillow. His assistant, Anthony Jacob Guiffre of Pine, then brought the pillow the length of the ballroom to hand-deliver it to Lanier.
Lanier announced Shady Side Academy graduate Ella Camille Van Norman as Cinderella. Her sister, Madeline Elyse Van Norman, who was in attendance, was presented in 2025.
“I am very proud to be Cinderella,” Ella Camille Van Norman said. “The overall experience tonight has been great, and getting to dance with my dad and spend time with my family has been wonderful. I think all of these girls would have worked great if chosen as Cinderella.”
Brown and Ella Camille Van Norman waltzed, as did the debutantes and their presenters, followed by the Grand March.
Just before dinner, Ella Camille Van Norman and her father, Dr. Anthony Joseph Van Norman, waltzed.
Volunteering
As part of their debutante commitment, the young women are required to devote a minimum of 30 volunteer hours each to a beneficiary organization. This year, it was the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The organization also will be the beneficiary of next year’s Cinderella Ball.
A scholarship is awarded to the debutante who has contributed the most volunteer hours to the beneficiary organization. The group accumulated 340 hours volunteering at the museum and other places, coordinated by the Leadership Forum for Young Women.
The Leadership Forum for Young Women provides experiences that prepare them for the future through volunteerism and personal development opportunities, such as networking events with guest speakers and professional development training.
At the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History in Oakland, debutantes were concierges and helped guests navigate the Museum of Art’s globally renowned 59th Carnegie International. Debutantes also volunteered at the Kamin Science Center on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
They participated in a backpack drive in support of Urban Impact, a college essay writing workshop led by Allison Rath Espinel, holiday gift-wrapping with the Best of the Batch Foundation, and wreath-making in support of the Pittsburgh Zoo’s Sea Turtle Second Chance Program. They also made Easter blanket care packages for residents of McGuire Memorial.
Each year, the Cinderella Women’s Committee recognizes the debutante with the most volunteer hours. The committee formed in 2001 after the original organization, the Dispensary Board of St. Margaret Hospital, decided not to do it anymore.
The committee presented its first ball in 2002.
Committee member Espinel presented the scholarship, typically between $1,500 and $2,000, to two debutantes — Cassandra Ryan Sauer and Clarke Elizabeth Wickland — both Shady Side Academy graduates.
They each dedicated 68 hours.
The scholarship was renamed the Courtney Cairns Keevican Memorial Scholarship. Keevican, a 1997 debutante, died in 2003 at age 23. She exemplified the spirit of service the scholarship represents, said the Cinderella Women’s Committee. Keevican was an accomplished athlete who embodied the kindness, energy and generosity that define the organization’s mission.
Her father is Leo Andrew Keevican Jr. and her mother is co-founder and current Cinderella Women’s Committee board chair Rebecca Parkinson Keevican.
“They surprised me with the renaming of the scholarship,” said Rebecca Parkinson Keevican of Fox Chapel, as she teared up.
Sauer and Wickland said they are grateful for the scholarship.
“I am a history person and loved being at the museum,” Sauer said. “I am so excited to be part of this ball. The Cinderella Ball community is a big reason why the ball has lasted 100 years.”
Wickland agreed with Sauer about the strong network of support year after year for the event.
“Also, being able to listen to other students at Shady Side Academy who have been a part of this ball makes you want to do it,” said Wickland, whose brother, Maxwell Weston Wickland, was a member of the floor committee in 2022. “It’s about family and about continuing the legacy.”
Carrying on a legacy
The legacy has been carried on through generations.
Catherine Kilner Maxwell, a Shady Side Academy graduate, and Caroline Cromwell Smith, who graduated from The Benjamin School in Florida but originally is from Pittsburgh, are third-generation debutantes.
Smith’s mother, Courtney Kunsman Smith, was presented in 1999, and her grandmother, Jamie Wise Lanier, was presented in 1974 and is a co-founder and current president of the Cinderella Women’s Committee. Her aunts, Julie Kunsman Bell and Sarah Jane Meek, were presented in 1994 and 2008, respectively.
Smith’s father, Vance McClelland Smith IV, was Prince Charming in 2000 and a member of the floor committee for three years. Her great-grandfather, Vernon Laing Wise Jr., served on the floor committee in 1948 as did two uncles, Bennett Vernon Smith from 2003-05 and Evan Crawford Smith from 2000-02.
Smith traveled to Pittsburgh to volunteer.
“Everyone in my family has been in this,” Smith said. “It’s just really special to be a part of something that has such history. The fact that it’s been going on for so long is because of all the people who have supported it and donated. It’s a very cool opportunity for me, especially to be presented at the 100th.”
Maxwell’s great-grandmother, Daphne Edith Firth, was presented in 1940 and her grandmother, Rachel McMasters Hunt, was presented in 1972.
“It’s a rite of passage,” Maxwell said. “I’m very grateful to be a part of it. It’s such a beautiful, wonderful experience, especially now that it’s celebrating its 100th anniversary.”
Shady Side Academy graduate Madison Jane Davies’ sister, Lauren Helen Davies, was presented in 2018.
“The Cinderella Ball is historically supported, and my favorite part of the volunteering was learning so much about the museum,” Madison Jane Davies said.
University of Pittsburgh senior Elsa Allison Mitchell said she has always been interested in leadership and philanthropy.
“I love giving back to the community,” said Mitchell, a Hampton High School graduate. “I grew up going to the museum, and it felt special to be able to volunteer there.”
Her father, David Alan Mitchell, said the evening was a fabulous experience.
“The Cinderella Ball is so well run, and organizers were so encouraging,” he said. “This night was about having fun and spending time with my daughter.”
It was Caroline Rose Zelt’s father, Dr. Roger Paul Zelt, who researched and found out about the Cinderella Ball. Caroline Rose Zelt said volunteering at the Kamin Science Center was cool because she has an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“I didn’t know the girls, but they were all so welcoming and very sweet,” said Caroline Rose Zelt, a Bethel Park High School graduate. “It was a cool moment with my dad. I feel like these girls will become some of my lifelong friends.”
Dance until midnight
After cocktails, guests gathered for dinner prepared by the Duquesne Club’s executive chef, Michael Caudill, followed by dancing with music from the John Parker Band.
The menu included a salad of seasonal mixed greens, beef tenderloin, fillet of Virginia spot, potatoes, asparagus, carrots and spaghetti squash.
For dessert, there were cheesecake bites, dark chocolate ganache tarts, the Duquesne Club’s famous macaroons, individual fruit tarts and vanilla bean creme brulee.
The debutantes will attend colleges including Elon University, Franklin Marshall College, Grove City College, Hamilton College, Swarthmore College, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest University.
Co-chairing the ball were Christina Rath Lamport and Britton Wean Orzechowski, both past debutantes. Honorary ball chairs were Rebecca Parkinson Keevican, Jamie Wise Lanier and Catherine Loevner.
“I am a historian and on the Heinz History Center board because I love history,” said Loevner of Squirrel Hill. “The Cinderella Ball is so moving to me because of the debutantes and their families and the time we get to spend with them. There is so much joy in this magical evening, and something very special happens when the father or presenter of the debutante dances a waltz with her. That moment becomes a cherished, cherished memory.”
Meet the debutantes of the 100th Cinderella Ball
• Madison Jane Davies, Shady Side Academy
• Catherine Kilner Maxwell, Shady Side Academy
• Elsa Allison Mitchell, University of Pittsburgh
• Cassandra Ryan Sauer, Shady Side Academy
• Caroline Cromwell Smith, The Benjamin School (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
• Ella Camille Van Norman, Shady Side Academy
• Clarke Elizabeth Wickland, Shady Side Academy
• Caroline Rose Zelt, Bethel Park High School