Y87 Tim Harkness

Maritza Guzman was kind enough to share her story of being a Yale student and on spending her life devoted to philanthropy.  Take a listen!

Here is what her organization says about her:

Maritza’s personal experience with social justice issues inspires her to help create more opportunities for communities of color. As the daughter of immigrants and the first in her family to complete high school—and achieve college and advanced degrees—Maritza works to combat injustice and build a more equitable society where all individuals can contribute. She believes in meeting clients where they are, applying a collaborative approach to issues areas including health, racial and gender inclusion, and access to a quality education.

Over a 25-year career, Maritza has designed and directed a host of initiatives in philanthropy and collaborative grantmaking. With program management experience across large national foundations, corporate philanthropy, government agencies, and the nonprofit sector, her diverse knowledge base and ability to gather and synthesize information from a variety of sources helps TCC Group’s clients achieve their goals and desired impact.

Melissa Gilliam is an amazing classmate.  She had a storied career as a medical researcher but sought a completely new challenge at The Ohio State University.  There, she is Provost and is shaping a land grant institution so it can serve thousands of students, the community and the world through its academics and research.  

Here is Melissa's bio:

As Ohio State’s executive vice president and provost, Dr. Melissa L. Gilliam is the chief academic officer of one of the largest and most comprehensive universities in the country. She leads an academic enterprise that includes 15 colleges, more than 7,500 faculty members and more than 67,000 students on campuses in Columbus, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark and Wooster.

A scholar, physician, educator, and academic leader, Dr. Gilliam joined Ohio State from the University of Chicago, where she was vice provost, the Ellen H. Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Justice, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics. At the University of Chicago, Dr. Gilliam has focused on academic excellence, supporting faculty at all stages of their careers, and issues involving diversity and inclusion.

Dr. Gilliam conducts domestic and international research, addressing adolescent health and education using technology, design, and narrative. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and others.  Dr. Gilliam is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

During her tenure at the University of Chicago, she held a variety of roles, including founder and director of the university’s Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health, Dean of Diversity and Inclusion for the Biological Sciences Division at University of Chicago Medicine, and leader of the Program in Gynecology for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults.

Dr. Gilliam earned her Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Yale University, a Master of Arts degree in philosophy and politics from the University of Oxford, a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard University, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois Chicago. She completed an internship in general surgery at the University of Chicago and her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University.

Our classmate Susan Anslow Williams is an Episcopal priest in the Detroit area.  She has spent her time since ordination helping parishes in transition.  The past several years have been particularly challenging for Susan's flock and in this episode Susan shares here journey.  

Here is a bit about Susan's like, from her website https://revved4change.org/

I’m The Rev. Susan Anslow Williams, an Episcopal Priest with more than 25 years’ experience in ordained ministry.

My renewed purpose in life and ministry is to help congregations navigate changes, often unwelcome but happening everywhere and to all places of worship. We’ll be turning change into opportunity for intentional, Spirit-led transition. In my case, we’ll be following the words and example of Jesus Christ — within “the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement” (our Presiding Bishop’s term for The Episcopal Church).

I’m originally from the Great Lakes state of Michigan; born, raised, and now returned to the Detroit suburbs.  I left for college, seminary,  and my first 20 years of ordained ministry, but now I’m back along with my husband Eric and our two fabulous daughters.

In addition to my years of church experience, I have received a certificate from the ecumenical Interim Ministry Network. This means I’ve learned and used a variety of practices to evaluate, reframe and energize a congregation over 12-18 months. This is most often called an “interim” or “transition period,” as the church prepares for new, long term leadership or missional identity. Any size congregation can benefit from one or more of the methods led by trained interims like me.

Ever think that your neighbor is so annoying that you might cast them as a villain in your next novel?  Well, Joanne Lessner has.  She is a polymath who has been singing, writing, acting and performing since college.  Is she the most famous?  No.  Has she made it to Broadway?  Well, yes, but most of her career has not been there.  Has she built a family and a body of art that she is immensely and justifiably proud of?  Absolutely.  Take a listen.

Here is a link to Joanne's website:  http://joannesydneylessner.com/

Here is her bio:

Joanne Sydney Lessner is a writer, singer, and actor. Joanne’s debut novel Pandora’s Bottle was inspired by the true story of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine and named one of the top five books of 2010 by Paperback Dolls. She has written four novels featuring aspiring actress and amateur sleuth Isobel Spice: The Temporary Detective (BloodWrites Award for Best New Mystery), Bad Publicity, And Justice for Some, and Offed Stage Left. “The Ghosts’ High Noon,” an Isobel Spice short story, is available on this site as a free download.

Joanne has written the book and lyrics to several musicals with her husband, composer/conductor Joshua Rosenblum, including the cult hit Fermat’s Last Tango, which received its Off-Broadway premiere at the York Theatre Company. The original cast recording became a bestseller, and the DVD has been screened at festivals from New Jersey to New Zealand. The Teatro da Trindade in Lisbon, Portugal, presented the European premiere and subsequently gave the world premiere of their next musical, Einstein’s Dreams, based on the celebrated novel by Alan Lightman. Their musical Garbo and Me was presented in concert at the York Theatre Company and the historic Paramount Theatre in Rutland, Vermont, while their adaptation of Wilkie Collins’s The Haunted Hotel was unveiled at the Signature Theatre Company in Arlington, Virginia. Their musical revue Love is Not a Science was presented at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where they will return with a musical based on Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman’s classic play, Stage Door. Joanne’s play, Critical Mass, received its New York premiere at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row as winner of the Heiress Productions Playwriting Competition. She is also a regular contributing writer to Opera News.

A remarkably versatile performer, Joanne has appeared on Broadway in Cyrano: The Musical, and in other New York City venues in roles as varied as Charlotte in A Little Night Music, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Cis in the cabaret version of William Bolcom’s Casino Paradise, which the New York Times named “one of the year’s ten best events in classical music.” She has performed in concert as a soloist with New York City Opera Vox, New York Festival of Song, The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s American Songbook, and the Harrisburg and Albany Symphonies. Joanne has also played ten principal Gilbert and Sullivan roles with the award-winning Blue Hill Troupe, including Julia Jellicoe in The Grand Duke, for which she was honored as Best Female Performer at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. Joanne holds a BA in music, summa cum laude, from Yale University

Katie Beals is a fierce advocate for her child and for all children with autism.  She has strong views, which have left her in the unenviable spot of being cancelled by Twitter.  Listen to her about children, about education and about speech.  All fascinating.  

Here is a bit more about Katie:

Katharine Beals has a PhD in linguistics and is an adjunct professor in the Autism Program at the Drexel University School of Education, where she designed two of the program's five courses. She also teaches courses on autism at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

She specializes in language and literacy acquisition in autism, language technologies for autistic individuals, educational challenges for students with autism, and the problems with facilitated communication as an intervention in autism.

She is the designer of the SentenceWeaver, a comprehensive linguistic software curriculum for language-impaired students with autism, a contributor at FacilitatedCommunication.org, and also an autism parent.

She has written and lectured extensively about the education of students with autism, language technologies for autistic individuals, and facilitated communication in autism. Her articles include pieces in The Atlantic, Education News, Nonpartisan Education Review, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Those of us in the New York City area saw our classmate, Oxiris Barbot, as a leader at the beginning of COVID.  A doctor and life-long advocate for health care equity, Oxiris helped all of us through those first difficult first months.  In this episode, she shares her perspective -- and challenges us all to make the world a better place.  



Here is a bit more about Oxiris from ChangeLab Solutions, where she is a board member:

With more than 25 years’ experience in public health and health care delivery, Dr. Oxiris Barbot has dedicated her career to achieving health equity. When she was commissioner of health for New York City, she led the nation’s largest municipal health department in centering an equity agenda on communities, bridging public health and health care delivery, and leveraging data for action and policy. She successfully guided the city's responses to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and to New York City's largest measles outbreak in 30 years.

As an innovative public health leader, Dr. Barbot has championed addressing health inequities in major cities along the East Coast. In 2010, Dr. Barbot was appointed commissioner of health for Baltimore City. During her tenure in Baltimore, she led the development of Healthy Baltimore 2015, a robust health agenda dedicated to ensuring that all Baltimore residents realize their full health potential. Under her leadership, the City of Baltimore achieved a record reduction in the rate of infant death, among many achievements in health.

From 2003 to 2010, Dr. Barbot served as medical director of New York City's public schools. In this capacity, she spearheaded development and implementation of an electronic health record system that improved delivery of health services for more than 1 million children. Prior to her work in New York City, Dr. Barbot served as chief of pediatrics and community medicine at Unity Health Care, Inc., a federally qualified health center in Washington, DC.

Dr. Barbot holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She completed her pediatric residency at George Washington University’s Children’s National Medical Center.