Distinguished Alumni

Lynda Resnick (HHS '60)    is vice chair and co-owner of The Wonderful Company. Dedicated to harvesting health and happiness around the world, the company's iconic brands include Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Almonds, Wonderful Haloes, POM Wonderful, FIJI Water, Landmark Wines and Teleflora. She runs worldwide marketing and product development for the company and in 2018 was ranked #10 among Forbes Top-60 Most Successful Self-Made Women in America. Under her personal supervision, The Wonderful Company gives back to the areas in which its employees live and work with robust community development, health, wellness and educational initiatives.

Alon Shaya (HHS '97) - who was born in Israel, raised on cheesesteaks in Philadelphia and now calls New Orleans home - has started and served as executive chef and partner at three award-winning restaurants: Domenica, Pizza Domenica and Shaya, which all reflect his culinary journey and love of Italian and Israeli cuisine. Last year, he formed Pomegranate Hospitality - a space for community and cultural engagement, to foster opportunities for friends and partners to work together and to achieve personal goals. In 2016, Shaya and Donna Barnett, his high school home economics teacher, started the Shaya Barnett Foundation, which is committed to providing culinary education and resources to high school students. Tapping into the philanthropic community in New Orleans, he also cooks to raise money for No Kid Hungry, Alex's Lemonade Stand and DC Central Kitchen/Martha's Table. Shaya has been honored by the NOLA schools and received the Youth Advocate Award from Liberty's Kitchen. He recently published his first book and is scheduled to open two more restaurants in New Orleans and Denver. He has earned such accolades as Best Chef – South and Best New Restaurant; was named one of   50 People Who Are Changing the South  and has been nominated for five James Beard Awards.

After graduating from University of Michigan law school, Arn Tellem  (HHS '72)  began his law career working with sports attorney Steve Greenberg, son of legendary baseball player Hank Greenberg, who was a hero of Tellem's. He became partner in the law firm and specialized in law representing basketball and baseball. He went on to launch his own sports agency and became CEO of Wasserson Media Group negotiating deals for players like Tracy McGrady. Currently, he is Vice Chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Detroit Pistons. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Peace Players International and Seeds of Peace and was later inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Hall of Fame.

From her early days reporting for Money Magazine to hosting a prime time series on CNBC and becoming the resident money guru for the Oprah Magazine, Farnoosh Torabi  (HHS '98) has become one of America's favorite money exports. Millions of Americans tune into her award-winning podcast where she chats with leading experts, authors and influencers about their financial perspectives, failures and habits. The show was recently recognized as a "top podcast to grow your business." She is a sought-after speaker and best-selling author of multiple books. Her work has been featured in New York Times,   Wall Street Journal,   Fortune  and   Forbes.

World-renowned oncologist Robert Brodsky (HHS '81)  is the Johns Hopkins Family Professor of Medicine and Oncology and Director of the Division of Hematology at the Johns Hopkins University. He has played a major role in clinical developments in the treatment of aplastic anemia and related auto-immune diseases. He has played an integral role in the ground-breaking discovery of the method to perform transplants with only a single match donor instead of a double match for sickle cell. This advancement gives hope for a possible cure and makes transplantation accessible to anyone with a sibling. This breakthrough has garnered Dr. Brodsky numerous awards.

David Crane (HHS '75) is best known as the co-creator of the long-running TV show  Friends, which ran for ten seasons and earned him numerous awards including an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. He also produced   Mad About You, for which he received the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement from the Writers Guild. Most recently, he co-created the Showtime/BBC comedy   EPISODES .  starring Matt LeBlanc.

Author, journalist and podcaster Michael Goldfarb  (HHS '68) has covered conflict and conflict resolution for more than 30 years in more than 20 countries and five continents. He worked in public radio as NPR's London correspondent during the 1990's. His work earned him honors on both sides of the Atlantic with a DuPont Colombia Award and the Overseas Press Club of America's Lowell Thomas Award. His first book,  Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace: Surviving Under Saddam, Dying in the New Iraq, was named   New York Times  Notable Book of 2005. Goldfarb served as a Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; has received numerous other awards; authored a second book in 2009; and is published in various news publications and lectures.

David Amado (LM '86) has served as the Musical Director and Conductor of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra since 2003 and began a second musical directorship at the Atlantic Classical Orchestra in Florida in 2016. As a much sought-after American conductor, Amado has had engagements with such prominent orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Stockholm, Toronto Symphony and several others. While studying at the Juilliard School, he was the recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Award.

Elizabeth Schussheim Brater  (LM   '69)    graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (Phi Beta Kappa).   After college, she worked as a writer and editor before teaching writing at the University of Michigan. She was later elected Mayor of Ann Arbor and was the first woman to hold this position. After winning a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, she was later elected to the Michigan Senate. She was awarded the Sierra Club Environmentalist of the Year Award in 1996 for her work on environmental issues and clean water initiatives. She has also served on the Michigan Governors Land Use Leadership Council with a continued focus on environmental issues.

Lewis First (LM '72) is a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Vermont Children's Hospital and professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine. He also serves as Chief of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont Children's Hospital. First has received numerous awards throughout his career including the 2017 Green Mountain Boy Scouts of America Award for his work as a distinguished citizen for the betterment and improvement of the lives of children in Vermont. In addition, the University of Vermont Alumni Association honored him with the George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award for excellence in teaching.

Alan Poul (LM '72) has enjoyed a distinguished career as a director and producer of both movies and television. Over the past 20 years he has received an Emmy, Golden Globe, two Producers Guild Awards, four GLADD Awards and three Peabody Awards. He also served as Consulting Producer on HBO's series   Westworld, Executive Producer and Director on Aaron Sorkin's series Newsroom and directed episodes of   Six Feet Under. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Film Independent and in the past has served on the board of The Producers Guild of America.

Retired Brigadier General Jon A. Reynolds  (LM  '55) graduated from Trinity College with a degree in Engineering and a United States Air Force Commission. He participated in various deployments in Cuba, Kontum, South Vietnam, Japan and Thailand. Reynolds was shot down over Vietnam, captured and interned for seven years and endured incredibly difficult hardships as a POW until his repatriation in 1973. Subsequently, he served as an Air Attache' and Defense Air Attache' to the People's Republic of China. He became a private businessman and served on the Board of Directors of the National Air and Space Museum. Reynolds has been decorated with the Distinguished Medal of Honor, Legion of Merit and the Silver Star with Oak Leaf from the military, to name only a small number of military honors he received for his service to our country.

Dick Roberts  (LM  '50) has spent his career in medical research. After serving our country in the armed services, he was assigned to the Division of Communicable Diseases and Immunology at the Walter Reed Research Institute at the Walter Reed Medical Center where he assisted in the battle against meningococcal disease, which was prevalent in the armed services at the time. He continued with research at the Rockefeller University in New York followed by joining the faculty of Cornell University Medical College where he held numerous academic positions, most notably Chief of Infectious Diseases Division, Vice Chairman of Medicine and Associate Dean for Affiliations. Roberts has held many academic appointments, published 140 articles and received numerous prestigious honors, including the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art (First Class), which was presented to him at Carnegie Hall by the Austrian Ambassador to the United States.

Retired Vice Admiral Shelanski (LM '74) is the 40th Naval Inspector General of the United Stated Navy, whose duties involve all matters of importance to the Department of the Navy, including advocating for quality of life for sailors, marines, civilians and family. Shelanski holds a degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and a Masters of Electrical Engineering and Space Systems Engineering. He completed several deployments, was a NATO Supreme Allied Commander and coordinated Naval air and Tomahawk strike capability on targets in Iraq. He amassed nearly 3,000 hours in the E-2C Hawkeye and more than 500 Cartier landings during his career. Admiral Shelanski has received the Legion of Merit Award and the Airborne Early Warning Excellence Award, in addition to numerous other awards.

Golfer Jay Sigel (LM '61) had enjoyed one of the more illustrious careers in the history of U.S. amateur golf before turning pro. He has earned 20 professional wins, eight PGA tour championships and received the USGA Bob Jones Award and the Golf Writers Association of America's Ben Hogan Award. He has been involved with the GPSGA for years and raises money for cancer research through his invitational charity golf event. In addition to his success in golf, Sigel has had a successful career as a Chartered Life Underwriter and a Chartered Financial Consultant helping individuals and business owners with an array of personal and business insurance needs.

As a 13-year-old, Russell Peltz (LM '64)    knew that he was "hooked for life" when he went to his first live boxing match. He was initially a copy editor on the Evening Bulletin sports desk before being promoted to his first boxing card of a sold-out fight. He worked in promoting at Philadelphia's Blue Horizon and has continued to help develop individual boxers. His boxing cards have been televised on cable, HBO and other major networks. He has been inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame, World Boxing Hall of Fame, Atlantic City Hall of Fame, N.J. Boxing Hall of Fame and he has received the James J. Walker Memorial Award from the International Hall of Fame.

Kenneth Hill  (LM '55)    was a seasoned executive with an extensive background in general management and marketing after 34 years of positions at Sunoco. He was the first African-American to hold positions at the level he achieved, serving in many posts, including V.P. of Community Relations. He graduated from Temple University before earning degrees from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. He later served on numerous Boards and received many awards, including the NAACP State of Pennsylvania Distinguished Service Award, City of Philadelphia Community Award and was honored by the ELC - the nation's premier Leadership Network of the most senior African-American Corporate Executives in Fortune 500 companies.

James Vance  (LM  '59)  was among the first wave of African-Americans to anchor a local broadcast. He was originally a school teacher at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia when he answered an ad for a local TV station. Vance went on to win 17 Emmys, was named "Washingtonian of the Year" and was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame. His reporting took him all over the world, including across the United States, El Salvador, South Africa and Vietnam. He also received the Board of Governors Award for Outstanding Community and Achievement Service. He appeared on his broadcast for 43 years making him the longest serving news anchor in Washington before retiring.

LMHS Class of 1971

Dr. Altschuler is best known as the President and CEO of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the nation’s first hospital dedicated to pediatric care, where he has been on staff since 1985. He has served as Physician-in-Chief and holder of the Leonard & Marilyn Abramson Endowed Chair in pediatrics. In addition, Dr. Altschuler has served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and held a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School. He is an internationally renowned, board-certified pediatrician and gastroenterologist as well as an accomplished scientific researcher.

Dr. Altschuler received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Case Western University before performing his pediatric residency at the Children's Hospital of Boston. Clinically, Dr. Altschuler practices general gastroenterology with a special interest in children suffering gastrointestinal mobility problems and functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Throughout his career, Dr. Altschuler has received more than 16 distinguished awards - two of the more recent being the prestigious "Heart of Philadelphia" in January 2007 from the American Heart Association and the Komarov Prize for Gastroenterology Research.

Harriton Class of 1965

Donald Bandler graduated cum laude from Kenyon College in 1969 with a bachelor of arts in political science before earning his master's from St. John's College. Bandler received his juris doctorate from George Washington University School of Law in 1979 and later received an Honorary Degree from Kenyon.

His diplomatic career began in 1978 when he was named Director of Face to Face, a program sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that provided new perspectives and opportunities in regard to our nation's foreign policy efforts. Bandler then spent 28 years working for the U.S. State Department in a variety of capacities beginning in 1983 where he served as the U.S. Coordinator for the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. From 1985-89 he headed Political Military Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Paris before accepting the Minister-Counselor for Political and Legal Affairs position in Bonn, Germany where he participated in diplomacy efforts leading to German unification. In 1993 he became Director of Israel and Arab Affairs and had an active role in Middle East peace negotiations that yielded bilateral and multilateral agreements.

Bandler's wide range of experiences in management and policymaking led to his next position as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the National Security Council where he was responsible for diplomatic relations with Europe and Canada. From 1999-2002 Bandler served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus before leaving the public sector for the private, serving as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at the Monsanto company. Don has received the U.S. State Department's Superior Honor Award on four occasions and was also awarded the French Legion of Honor.

Lower Merion Class of 1980

Early in her career as an environmentalist, Elizabeth Cook worked as the Ozone Campaign Director of Friends of the Earth - an international network of environmental organizations throughout 74 countries - before joining the staff of the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 1994 where she has held several positions throughout the past two decades. She began with oversight of the Interdisciplinary Climate Protection Initiative, working to identify policies and business strategies for achieving climate-related goals. Next she led the WRI's Sustainable Enterprise Program, which harnesses the power of business to create profitable solutions to environment and development challenges. She currently serves as the Vice President for Institutional Strategy and Development where her role is to work with board members and staff to scale up the organizations priority initiatives. Elizabeth also works with many fortune 500 companies on a regular basis to help strengthen corporate commitments to environmental stewardship.

Cook has received many distinctions throughout her career including the Environmental Protection Agency Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award (1991), the United Nations Environment Program Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1997) and the Best of the Best Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award (2007) from the US EPA.

Harriton Class of 1961

Dr. Mark Hallett is the Chief of the Medical Neurology Branch and the Human Motor Control Section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in Bethesda, Maryland. His research focuses on the physiology of human movement and its pathophysiology in movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and dystonia.

A cum laude graduate of Harvard University where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa, Dr. Hallett received his M.D. cum laude from the Harvard Medical School in 1969. After interning at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, he joined the staff of the National Institute of Mental Health's Laboratory of Neurobiology. He took a residency in neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and then conducted research at the Institute of Psychiatry in London on a Mosely Traveling Fellowship.

In 1976, Dr. Hallet was appointed director of the Neurophysiology Laboratories at the Brigham, a post he held for eight years while also serving on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, where he became an associate professor of neurology before accepting his current position at the NINDS. He concurrently serves as clinical professor of neurology at the Uniformed Services University for Health Sciences in Bethesda.

A fellow and former vice president of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and an elected member of the American Neurological Association, he is an honorary member of the Australian Movement Disorder Society, the Australian Association of Neurologists, the German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology, the German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology, the German Neurological Society, the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Movimientos Anormales, and the Schweizerische Gesellschaft fur Klinische Neurophysiologie.

Dr. Hallet has served as a director and president of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), president of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS) and the International Medical Society of Motor Disturbances. Among his many awards are the United States Public Health Service's Distinguished Service Medal, the 1999 Physician Researcher of the Year Award given by the Physicians Professional Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General, the Director's Award of the National Institute of Health (NIH), the AANEM's Distinguished Researcher Award, the Dino Garavoglia Prize of the Italian Association for Neurological Research, the Pierre Gloor Award of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society and countless others.

Dr. Hallet is also currently the editor-in-chief of Clinical Neurophysiology, associate editor of Brain and a member of the editorial boards of more than a dozen other professional journals. He is the author and co-author of more than 500 scientific papers and the editor or co-editor of 20 books.

Harriton Class of 1964

In 1971 Suzanne Hall Johnson graduated with distinction from UCLA'S Master Program as an Advanced Practice Nurse. She then went on to teach nursing at both Stanford and San Jose State universities. 1976 marked the beginning of several entrepreneurial and pioneering ventures for Hall Johnson including the development of her own national nursing continuing education business; the establishment of the professional journal, Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, where she served as the editor-in-chief for 16 years; and she became the founding editor and publisher of Recruitment & Retention Report and Nurse Author & Editor, which provides articles and advice to assist nurses in writing for publications.

Hall Johnson has also authored numerous articles and books including High Risk Parenting: Nursing Assessment and Strategies for the Family at Risk, which won a Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing. In 1999, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses awarded her the National Pioneering Spirit Award, recognizing significant contributions that influence high acuity and critical care nursing.

Lower Merion Class of 1940

After graduating from Lower Merion High School in 1940, Joseph McCarthy went on to earn a litany of degrees while serving his country as a distinguished member of the United States Military beginning with his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY (1945). McCarthy later received degrees from the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas (1958), the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I. (1965) and the University of Maryland where he earned both his M.A. in Government & Politics (1960) and Ph.D. in Political Science (1965).

McCarthy's illustrious military career, which spanned more than 33 years, began in 1945 when he was commissioned in the infantry where he served three tours in the Far East and five in Europe in infantry, airborne and armored unit capacities. From 1958-60 he worked at the Pentagon in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before serving in the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel from 1960-63. McCarthy returned to Europe in 1965 on assignment from NATO.

In 1967, McCarthy wrote the Illusion of Power: American Policy Towards Vietnam before retiring from the service in 1975. Following his retirement, General McCarthy pursued a variety of activities and interests in both education and environmentalism, first teaching Political Science at the University of Maryland and several other military posts before serving two terms as a school board president. McCarthy later devoted several years to the protection of the environment, developing an alternative (non-federal) program for funding and constructing wastewater treatment facilities.

In 1999, he became President of the United States Army Heritage & Education Center in Carlisle, PA - a non-profit foundation which serves as a hub for military history, education and cultural enrichment. Throughout his career General McCarthy has received many awards and distinctions including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Lower Merion Class of 1972

Dr. William McComas taught both middle and secondary school science in suburban Philadelphia for 13 years while working toward his doctorate degree in Science Education, which he was ultimately awarded in 1991 from the University of Iowa. In 2006 Dr. McComas joined the University of Arkansas faculty as the inaugural holder of the Parks Family Endowed Professorship in Science Education and currently serves as the founding director of the Project to Advance Science Education (PASE). Prior to his current position with the Razorbacks, Dr. McComas founded and directed the Program to Advance Science Education at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education.

Dr. McComas has earned numerous awards and distinctions throughout his career as an educator, author and scientist. He was named the Outstanding Science Teacher Educator by the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science as well as the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Educational Press Association in 1998. Other honors include the Ohaus Award for Curriculum Innovation (2001) and the Outstanding Evolution Educator Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study and the American Institute of Biological Science (2007).

Dr. McComas has chaired more than 25 doctoral dissertations with eight former students who have since become professors of science education. Other than his passion for science and teaching, Dr. McComas is also an avid photographer - more than 30 of his photographs have appeared on the covers of a variety of professional journals and in the pages of textbooks. The Los Angeles Museum of Natural History also presented an exhibition of his photos entitled, The Galapagos Islands: Evolutions Showcase. He has also penned several books, two of the more recent being The Nature of Science in Education: Rationales & Strategies and Investigating Evolutionary Biology in the Laboratory.

Lower Merion Class of 1967

After graduating from American University with a B.A. in Journalism, Nancy Myers moved from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles where she eventually broke in to the film industry as a story editor for Rastar Productions. After pursuing graduate work at UCLA, Myers began working as an assistant director and production manager on various television and film projects before diving in to her career as a screenwriter.

Some of her earliest writing endeavors were for television working for such shows as The Odd Couple and All in the Family. Her first brush with the silver screen came in the form of the film Private Benjamin starring Goldie Hawn - a collaborative venture with longtime writing partners Charles Shyer and Harvey Miller - and it was a hit, proving that a female lead could be as bankable as movies starring male counterparts. This work set the tone for her career, helping to build Myers' reputation as one of the most important female writers/directors in Hollywood because of the desirable roles she created for older, female leads. Private Benjamin also earned a nomination for an Oscar and won The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Following the success of her first feature film Myers went on to write and produce Irreconcilable Differences, Baby Boom and Father of the Bride Part I & II. Her directorial debut came in 1998 with the remake of The Parent Trap starring Lindsay Lohan and Dennis Quaid. In 2000 Myers followed up with What Women Want starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, Something's Gotta Give (2003) starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, The Holiday (2006) starring Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black and Kate Winslet, and most recently It’s Complicated (2009) starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. In 2007, Myers received The Crystal Award for Women in Film and the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award.

Lower Merion Class of 1946

After earning his B.S. from Lafayette College in 1951, Wilbur Oakes attended Hahnemann University - formerly Hahnemann Medical College - where he received his medical education and training. Upon graduation, Oakes accepted a position as a staff physician with Hahnemann Hospital where he has worked since 1961, both as a physician and a professor, eventually advancing to the position of Chairmen of Hahnemann's Department of Medicine. Throughout his career, Dr. Oakes' teaching appointments have included Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of Postgraduate Education and the Project Director of the Homeless Clinic at Hahnemann University.

He has authored 13 medical textbooks, 98 scholarly papers and was editor for Sexual Medicine Today, Drug Therapy and Co-Editor for Hahnemann Journal of Medicine. Dr. Oakes has been presented with many awards and distinctions throughout his long and illustrious career including the 1000 Points of Light Award from President George W. Bush, the Distinguished Gold Medal Award and the Hahnemann University Recognition for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring.

Dr. Oaks has also served on the Board of Trustees at Lafayette College and was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal in 2001. Four years later, the school named their soccer stadium after him: the Lafayette College Soccer Complex Oaks Stadium.

Lower Merion Class of 1973

In 1976, Lisa Scottoline graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania earning her B.A. in English in just 3 years of study. In 1981, she graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School before joining the prestigious law firm Dechert, Price and Rhodes as a litigator. Her foray in to law provided the knowledge and background to write legal thrillers that brought her international attention.

Looking for a way to pay the bills and stay home after her daughter was born, Scottoline penned her first book, Everywhere That Mary Went, which was nominated for an Edgar - the highest award given in the mystery genre. It was her second publication - Final Appeal - which won Scottoline the Edgar and her fifth book - Mistaken Identity - which was the first to make the New York Times best-seller list. Her other awards include the PW Innovator by Publishers Weekly Magazine (2004), the Fun, Fearless Female Award from Cosmopolitan Magazine (2004) and the Paving the Way Award from Women in Business.

Scottoline currently has 15 books in print which have been published in more than 20 languages. She also recently started a weekly column entitled Chick Wit for the Philadephia Inquirer and also teaches a course on Justice and Fiction at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Lower Merion Class of 1932

Dr. Herman Giersch was hired as a music teacher for the Lower Merion School District when Bala Cynwyd Junior High School first opened its doors in 1939. During his 46-year tenure, Dr. Giersch was the only music teacher who at one time or another taught at every level - elementary, middle and secondary - and in all disciplines - instrumental, vocal and classroom.

Dr. Giersch graduated from West Chester College with a B.A. in music, received his M.A. in music education from Temple University and continued work toward a doctorate in musicology and composition from the Conservatory of Music in 1954 while working at Bala Cynwyd. In 1965, Giersch transitioned to the high school level taking a job teaching music at Lower Merion Senior High School where he remained until his retirement in 1984.

Before, during and after his long and storied career with the District, Dr. Giersch would always find ways to be involved in a wide variety of musical endeavors, whether performing or directing, dating back to his time in the army where he served as band director for the 42^nd Rainbow Division. In 1952 he began summer work as the music director for the Silver Bay (New York) Conference center where he continued to lend his summers until 1974. During a sabbatical in 1971, Giersch joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as a vocalist in the Mendelssohn Club Choir. He has also been orchestra conductor for the Narberth Community Theatre and choirmaster at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in Penn Wynne.

Lower Merion Class of 1949

Paul Alpers received his B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University before accepting a position as an English professor at UC Berkley where he taught for 38 years. He was the founding director of the college's Townsend Center for Humanities and a former chair of the its English Department. During his time at UC Berkley, Alpers was awarded the Class of 1942 Professor of English Emeritus, the Distinguished Teaching Award (1972) and was elected to both the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Alpers penned numerous scholarly articles, journals and award-winning books throughout his career. His first book, The Poetry of the Faerie Queene, introduced a new way of reading English poet Edmund Spenser. In his second book on Virgil's Eclogues, he initiated his work on the pastoral genre of literature, art and music. His next book, What is Pastoral? was a foundational work that won both the Christian Gauss Award and the Harry Levin Award. Alpers was also the founding editor of the journal Representations, which was first published by the UC Press in 1983. Its purpose being to "encourage innovative research among scholars who explore the way artifacts, institutions and modes of thought both reflect and give a heightened account of the social, cultural and historical circumstances in which they arise."

Lower Merion Class of 1958

Lita Indzel Cohen served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1992 - 2002; Lower Merion Township Commissioner from 1985-1993; and was a member of the Lower Merion Planning Commission from 1973 - 1995. She was the first woman ever to be appointed to any commission in Lower Merion.

Indzel Cohen is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She is a member of Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Bars and is admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Board for the Philadelphia Child Guidance Centers of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Among her numerous distinctions, Indzel Cohen has been listed in Who's Who in American Women, named the Humanitarian of the Year by the Montgomery County Association of Retarded Persons and the Legislator of the Year by the American Jewish Congress Pennsylvania Chapter. She also has served as Director for the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and National Association of Broadcasters, a Trustee of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is the Founder of the Food and Allergy Research Initiative.

Lower Merion Class of 1954

Kenneth Tindall Derr is a member of the board of directors of the Haliburton Company. He is a retired chairman of the Board, Chevron Corporation. He served as Chevron's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from January 1, 1989 to December 31, 1999. Derr is also a former Chairman of the Board of Calpine Corporation, a director of Citigroup Inc., and a former director of the Potlatch Corporation. He is also a member of Council on Foreign Relations.

Derr had served as the vice chairman in 1985 where he was responsible for the firm's domestic operations. He had earlier spent a year and a half charged with responsibility for implementing the merger of Chervon and Gulf Oil after the firm purchased Gulf in 1984. In August 1988, Chevron named Derr as chairman to succeed George Keller, who would be reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.

Derr attended Cornell University and was a member of the Sphinx Head Society - the oldest senior honor society at Cornell, recognizing those who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service. He also serves as a Director of the American Petroleum Institute, a Member of the Business Council, The Business Roundtable, The California Business Roundtable, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution. He is also a co-chairman of the Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy and a Trustee Emeritus of Cornell University.

Lower Merion Class of 1970

Wendell F. Holland was born and raised in Ardmore, PA and was a member of the first integrated class of students to graduate from Lower Merion High School. He attended Fordham University on a full basketball scholarship and graduated in 1974 with a B.S. in Urban Studies and Psychology. He attended Rutgers University School of Law where he was elected class president.

Holland specialized in Energy and Utility regulation working with New York Public Service Commission and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PaPUC). He then served as a judge until 1990, when he was appointed Commissioner of the PaPUC. After practicing law and serving as a corporate executive, he became Chairman of the PaPUC in 2004 where he was responsible for deciding utility mergers and acquisitions, the implementation of legislation that triggered comprehensive and substantial changes to renewable energy, telecommunication reform and consumer services legislation.

He also served as Vice President and General Counsel of the Global Bioscience Development Institute. In 2002 and 2003, respectively, Holland was appointed to coordinate the Philadelphia Trade Missions with the People's Republic of China and South Africa.

Holland has served on three public company boards. He was elected to the Board of Directors for Aqua America, Inc. in 2011. He was also named to the board of trustees for Main Line Health Inc in 2012. Holland was also the 1994 recipient of the Annual Award for Excellence for the National Association of Water Companies, Pennsylvania Chapter. He was named one of Philadelphia's 100 Most Influential African Americans. In 2007, he became the recipient of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award for the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Holland has served as President of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissions and the Organization of PJM States. In 2007 he was the Treasurer of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), where he also served on the board of directors and as chairman of its Audit and Investment Committees.

Lower Merion Class of 1957

Joseph Manko has 40 years experience advising clients on environmental issues relating to real estate development, regulatory permitting and compliance and transactional matters. He was the regional counsel to the USEPA Middle Atlantic Region and on the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners for 27 years. Manko also served on Governor Ridge's Pennsylvania's 21^st Century Environment Commission and as Governor Rendell's designee to chair the Board of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority.

Away from work, Joe was on the board of the Fairmount Park Commission and now serves on the boards of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Film Society and Philadelphia Orchestra. Manko continues to lecture and write after serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and as a summer lecturer at the Vermont Law School. Joe graduated from Yale before obtaining his law degree from Harvard.

Lower Merion Class of 1945 (Deceased)

Warren E. Strothers established a library in Warminster Township in 1977, which was the beginning of his involvement in the library system. Strothers received many awards for his dedication to Warminster Township. As the head of the first African-American family to move to Warminster, he paved the way for others to follow.

Harriton Class of 1973

Lawrence "Larry" Summers received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1982. He then went to Washington D.C. as a domestic policy economist for the President's Council for Economic Advisers. At the age of 28, Summers returned to Harvard where he became the youngest tenured professor and later served as the 27th president from 2001-2006.

In 1987, Dr. Summers became the first social scientist ever to receive the annual Alan T. Waterman Award of the National Science Foundation (NSF). In 1993, Dr. Summers was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, given every two years to the outstanding American economist under the age of 40. Summers took leave from Harvard in 1991 to return to Washington as Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist of the World Bank.

In 1999, the United States Senate confirmed Dr. Summers as Secretary of the Treasury, serving as the principal economic adviser to the President and as the chief financial officer of the U.S. government. He was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Medal, the Treasury Department's highest honor. He later served as the Distinguished Fellow in Economics, Globalization, and Governance at the Brookings Institute in Washington.

After five years at the helm of Harvard, Dr. Summers was appointed to serve as the Director of the National Economic Council for the Obama Administration in 2009, serving as a key economic decision-maker in the Obama administration.

Lower Merion Class of 1944

Lieutenant General, United States Army (retired). Called to active duty from the Army Air Corp enlisted reserve in 1944, he attended the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA, where he was graduated as second lieutenant. After separation from active duty he entered Muhlenberg College, but was recalled to active duty after a year. Throughout his military career he pursued his education and among many educational achievements received his BS Degree from Prairie View A&M College, his MA Degree from the Institute for Defense Analysis at the University of Maryland, and an honorary Doctor of Law from Huston Tillotson College. He steadily moved upward in rank from second lieutenant in 1944 to Lieutenant General in 1983. Among his assignments he was Commanding General of the legendary 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas. He has received numerous decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1985, Becton was nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate as Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Prior to that he was director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance Agency for International Development.

Lower Merion Class of 1960

Currently, Ms. Ruth Crone is President of Silk King Studios, the largest and most well-known company offering silks to professional magicians worldwide.

From 1991 to 1998, Ms. Crone served as the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). COG, founded in 1957, brings area leaders together to address major regional issues in the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. COG's membership is comprised of 300 elected officials from 22 local governments, the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures and U.S. Congress. Prior to being named Executive Director, she served as COG's Director of the Department of Human Services and Public Safety. She joined COG as a planner in 1969.

Prior to her association with COG, Ms. Crone was a planner with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission in Chicago, the Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development and the Public Health Federation in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ms. Crone served as the Executive Vice President of the Center for Public Administration and Service, a board member of the DC Agenda Support Corporation, an ex-officio board member of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, an editor of The Regionalist and a member of the Board of Trustees of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Ms. Crone has received numerous awards and distinctions throughout her lifetime. Among them are the National Public Service Award from the American Association of Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration, the Alumni Achievement Award from Muhlenberg College and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Lower Merion High School, the International City/County Management Association's Professional Development Award, the Regional Leadership Award from the National Association of Regional Councils and the National Women in Planning Award from the American Planning Association. Washingtonian Magazine named her one of the region's "Most Influential Leaders" in 1992 as well as one its "Most Powerful Women" in both 1994 and 1997.

Ms. Crone has a wide range of experiences lecturing and speaking at five Washington area universities and at annual meetings of many national associations. She testified before numerous Congressional committees, appeared on local and national radio, television talk shows and news programs and served as a selection panelist for the 1998 White House Fellows.

Ms. Crone received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Muhlenberg College and an M.A. in Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati. In her spare time, Ms. Crone enjoys golfing, gardening and spending time with her grandchildren.

Lower Merion Class of 1951 (Deceased)

Robert Fagles was a professor, poet and academic best known for his many translations of ancient Greek and Roman classics, especially his acclaimed translations of the epic poems of Homer. He graduated from Amherst College in 1955 and later received both his master's and Ph.D. from Yale University where he began teaching English.

In 1960 Fagles became an English instructor at Princeton University until 1965 when he became an Associate Professor of English and comparative literature. Later that year he became director of the comparative literature program.

Dr. Fagles was most widely know as the renowned translator of Latin and Greek whose versions of Homer and Virgil were unlikely best sellers. Fagles translated Aeschylus and Sophocles, among others, but is most famous for his versions of The Iliad (1990), The Odyssey (1996) and The Aenid (2006). He is one of few translators to have taken on all three of the great classical epics and all three have sold millions of copies, both in print and in audio versions.

Fagles won numerous awards and distinctions throughout this career including the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award of the Academy of American Poets (1991); the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1996); and the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for lifetime achievement in translation. He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Lower Merion Class of 1969

Marshall Herskovitz is a film director, writer and producer and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are Traffic, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond and I Am Sam. He has directed two feature films – Jack the Bear and Dangerous Beauty and was the creator/executive producer of the television shows Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and Once and Again.

He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the American Film Institute. He has won numerous awards and distinctions including several Emmy Awards, Golden Globes and was honored by both the Writers Guild and Directors Guild. Traffic was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2001.

Lower Merion Class of 1932 (Deceased)

George S. Trimble, Jr. is recognized as a driving force in the development of our country's space program. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he graduated at the age of twenty before serving as Director of Engineering at the Martin Company. His direct manner and accuracy in the infancy of the space programs helped him gain a place on a 1958 committee on space technology chaired by Werner Von Braun. He became a pilot at the age of 18 and spent 20 years at Martin Marietta designing planes and overseeing the entire engineering operation which consisted of more than 6,000 engineers. He was one of the few among the scientific and engineering community who told President Kennedy that it was not only feasible, but also beneficial to the country to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960's. He was appointed Deputy Director for the manned Space Craft Center in 1967. He received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1969 for his leadership in the Apollo program. He selected Neil Armstrong to be the first person to walk on the moon.

Lower Merion Class of 1903 (Deceased)

Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold is widely known as the Father of the Air Force and is one of the most influential and decorated heroes in United States military history. By the conclusion of his illustrious career, Hap Arnold had become one of only nine men to earn the rank of five-star General of the Army and the only person to ever hold a five-star ranking in two separate U.S. military services, the other as General of the Air Force. He earned such prestigious awards as the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal to name but a few.

Arnold was born in Gladwyne on June 25, 1886 and attended Lower Merion High School where he played football and ran track & field before graduating in 1903. Following graduation, Arnold had planned to attend Bucknell University and become a Baptist minister. It was not until his older brother Thomas refused their fathers' wishes of attending West Point that Hap decided to take the entrance exam and enroll the next fall.

During his early years at West Point, Arnold garnered a reputation as a prankster and mischief-maker. Legend has it he was one of the founders of the "Black Hand," a group renowned for its high jinks around campus. Hap made sure to participate in slightly less frowned upon extracurricular activities as well, playing varsity football, serving as shot-putter on the track and field team and playing polo. Coming out of West Point Arnold had hoped to be assigned to the Cavalry but was relegated to the Infantry, sending him on mapping assignments throughout the Philippines.

Ever since he was a boy, Hap had been fascinated by the experimental flights of the Wright Brothers. It was this very fascination that led him to enroll in a flight-training program offered by the Army Signal Corps, instructed by none-other than Wilbur and Orville Wright themselves. Within two years Hap had become one of the first military aviators and was also named the Army's first flight instructor at the U.S. Signal Corps in College Park, Maryland.

A near fatal crash in 1912 forced Arnold to temporarily walk way from flying. This seemingly tragic turn of events was actually a blessing in disguise because it led Hap to his future wife, Eleanor "Bee" Pool, an Ardmore native, whom he never would have met had he not taken leave. They wed on September 10, 1913 and had three sons: Henry, William, and David, all who went on to graduate from West Point.

Arnold took his first command in 1917 when he selected men for the 7^th Aero Squadron where he preceded to lead a string of successful missions, ultimately leading to his promotion of full Colonel in the Army. By 1938, Arnold was serving as the Chief of the Air Corps and did everything in his power to bring his division to prominence.

It was Hap's prowess, leadership, and knowledge of military aviation that led to key victories in Europe, including pivotal daylight bombings to hit German supply depots and initiating firestorms across Japan, helping to turn the war in favor of the Allied Forces. Arnold was also the visionary who first articulated that superior research and development capabilities are essential to deterring and winning wars.

Arnold was named a five-star general of the United States Army in 1944 and a five-star General of the United States Air Force in 1949. The pressures of military life eventually took their toll on Hap who suffered three heart attacks between 1943-45. He retired in 1946 and published three books, including his autobiography, Global Mission, in 1949. Hap died on January 15, 1950 in his home in Sonoma, CA and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Lower Merion Class of 1947

Throughout his career in the television industry, Chuck Barris created numerous successful nationally televised shows including The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show. His production company had, at one time, more television shows on network television - 26 half hours a week - than any entertainment company in America. He received a gold record for the rock and roll classic Palisades Park and also wrote two novels and a memoir. He has been honored with an Emmy nomination for his work in television, as Man of the Year by the Philadelphia Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, as Man of the Year by the Autistic School for Children in Grand Rapids Michigan and the police departments of New York and Philadelphia. He is presently a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Police Foundation.

Lower Merion Class of 1946

Dr. James Billington has served as the Librarian of Congress since September 14, 1987. Under his direction, the Library expanded its public outreach, most notably in major international exhibits and through the establishment of a new National Digital Library and other services for uses in remote locations.

Billington was named valedictorian at both Lower Merion High School and Princeton University before earning his doctorate from Oxford University's Balliol College. After serving his country as a member of the United States Armed Forces, Dr. Billington taught history at Harvard University before moving to the faculty at Princeton University where he taught history from 1964 to 1974. From 1973 to 1987, Dr. Billington served as the director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars prior to accepting the position as Librarian of Congress.

As an author and historian Dr. Billington has been published several times including such titles as Mikhailovsky and Russian Populism, The Icon and the Axe, Fire in the Minds of Men, Russian Transformed: Breakthrough to Hope, August 1991 and The Face of Russia. Dr. Billington has received numerous awards and distinctions throughout his career including 22 honorary degrees, the Woodrow Wilson Award from Princeton University, decoration as Chevalier and then again as a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, as a Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany and has received the Gwanghwa Medal from the Republic of Korea.

Lower Merion Class of 1957

Edmund "Ted" Goldsborough received his B.A. from Allegheny College and his M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career as an educator in 1966 with Lower Merion School District where he taught English for 28 years until his retirement in 1994. Goldsborough has continued his involvement through leadership roles with a variety of community-based initiatives including with the Narberth Public School Reunion, Lower Merion Academy, Lower Merion Historical Society and the Lower Merion/Harriton High Schools Alumni Association.

Lower Merion Class of 1942 (Deceased)

Graduate of U.S. Military Academy. Received numerous military decorations. In 1969 became senior military advisor to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1974 was Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Elected president and COO of United Technologies. In 1981 was named Secretary of State by President Ronald Reagan. Currently Chairman of his advisory firm, Worldwide Associates, Inc.

Lower Merion Class of 1956

Gerald Levin retired as Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc. in 2002 and is currently Presiding Director of a holistic mental health institute in Santa Monica, California (MoonviewSanctuary.com). He is a graduate of Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He received honorary degrees from Texas College, Middlebury College, Denver University, the University of Vermont, and Haverford College (where he served as Chairman of the Board). He is also a Trustee Emeritus of Hampshire College, the Aspen Institute, and the New York Philharmonic and was a former Board member of the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In addition, he was affiliated with the National Cable Television Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Lower Merion Class of 1945

Founder of Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd, an investment management company, which has grown to an asset size of $33 billion. Trustee of University of Pennsylvania and was Chair of trustees for eight years. Trustee of the Ford Foundation for two six-year terms, a trustee of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and trustee The Science Center of New Hampshire. Director of World Wildlife Fund. Directorships: Hewlett-Packard; Rohm and Haas; The Mead Corporation; SPS Technologies and Philadelphia Ventures.

Lower Merion Class of 1967

Robert T. Sataloff, M.D., D.M.A., F.A.C.S. is Professor and Chairman, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Academic Specialties at the Drexel University College of Medicine. He is also Adjunct Professor in the departments of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as Adjunct Clinical Professor at Temple University; he is also on the faculty of the Academy of Vocal Arts.

He served for nearly four decades as Conductor of the Thomas Jefferson University Choir. Dr Sataloff is also a professional singer and singing teacher. He holds an undergraduate degree from Haverford College in Music Theory and Composition; graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from Combs College of Music; and completed his Residency in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and a Fellowship in Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Salatoff is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Voice Foundation and of the American Institute for Voice and Ear Research. In addition to directing all aspects of these two non-profit corporations, he has led other non-profit and for-profit enterprises. He has been Chairman and Chief Executive of a multi-physician medical practice for more than 30 years; and he has served as Vice President of Hearing Conversation Noise Control, Inc. from 1981 until the time of its sale in 2003. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Graduate Hospital; President of the American Laryngological Association, the International Association of Phonosurgery and the Pennsylvania Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery; and in numerous other leadership positions. Dr. Sataloff is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Voice, Editor-in-Chief of Ear, Nose and Throat Journal, Associate Editor of the Journal of Singing and served on the editorial boards of numerous otolaryngology journals. He has written more than 1,000 publications including 42 books. Since assuming his positions at Drexel in 2006, Dr. Sataloff has added extensive involvement in medical education to his other activities, including creation of new and novel tuition-based programs. His medical practice is limited to care of the professional voice and to otology/neurotology/skull base surgery.

Lower Merion Class of 1959

ABC News Correspondent, "20/20". Prior to her assignment at "20/20", in 1986 she was a National Correspondent for ABC News. She has covered presidential conventions, Space Shuttle flights- including the explosion of Challenger, and a wide range of other major stories. During the 1992-93 season, she received an aggie Award from Planned Parenthood for her report on the continuing battle over Ireland's abortion amendment. She has been honored with numerous awards for other "20/20" segments, including a Front Page Award Association, a Matrix Award from the New York Women in Communications (1990), an Exceptional Merit Media Award from the National Women's Political Caucus, a Pinnacle Award from the American Women in Radio and Television, to name a few. She is author of "Susan B. Anthony Slept Here: A guide to American Women's Landmarks", and co-author of "The Women's Calendar". She is also author of numerous articles. A graduate of Wellesley College and is listed in "Who's Who in American Women".

Lower Merion Class of 1926 (Deceased)

Wilbur attended LaSalle College and Temple University of Dentistry. He was the school dentist for Lower Merion School District from 1937 until 1939, when he resigned to complete four years of a remaining term for a board member who died. He was then reelected to three six-year terms. The last ten years of service was as president of the Board. Wilbur served 50 years as a member of the Corporation for Haverford College, and 31 years as a member of the school committee of oversight for The Friends School in Haverford. He was a member for 14 years of the board for Harcum Junior College and also served on the Strategic Planning Committee for Lower Merion School District. Dr. Zimmerman was awarded a Bronze Medal from American Legion upon finishing eighth grade, and received a Service Award from the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta in 1985. He also received a Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement from Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1987 and from the local chapter of the National Education Association, in 1994, an award for contributions to education.