Shared Effort Spring 2012

Spring 2012

Volume 15, Number 2

Community Volunteers Launches Turning Point Series On April 26, Princeton AlumniCorps welcomed more than 30 guests to its inaugural Turning Point panel entitled “From Princeton to Prison to Purpose: The Story of Walter Fortson, Jim Farrin ’58, Natasha Japanwala ’14 and the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Program.” Turning Point, a Community Volunteers initiative, brings together speakers with inspiring stories about what drives their passion for service. Each panel highlights a specific issue or need in the community.

me as a human being,” Walter said.

“The compassion in his eyes for me really let me know that I had a second chance.

That’s something I [will] never forget.”

Since his release, Walter has been admitted to Rutgers University, where he received the 2010 Jim Farrin ’58 and Walter Fortson Rutgers Academic Excellence members to local prisons to tutor award, and was recently named a Walter Fortson discussed his incarinmates. Charlie reached out to his Truman Scholar. He has dedicated ceration in a New Jersey state prison, classmate, Jim Farrin ‘58, to help run himself not only to improving his life, and what sparked his desire to turn the program. While Jim was hesitant at but also to helping others in similar his life around. Rutgers University first, a fortuitous encounter between situations turn their lives around.

Professor Donald Roden started a his wife and a prison chaplain at program to help inmates enroll as Charlie Puttkammer ’58 founded the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional university students and took an interest Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance Facility made Jim realize this was an in Walter. “That was the first time in a Program which is dedicated to bringopportunity to give back in a very siglong time that anybody had looked at ing Princeton students and community nificant way. (Continued on Page 7...)

In This Issue 2

Emerging Leaders Highlights and Closing Celebration

3

AlumniCorps Celebrates Keystone

Join us during Reunions 2012!

Crime & Punishment: Debating the Legal Justice System in America With Robin Steinberg, Founder, Bronx Defenders & Peter Kougasian ’76, Special Assistant, Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor NYC Introduced by Kathy Miller ’77 & Moderated by Rainah Berlowitz ’97

Society Members

2:30 - 4:00 p.m. • Friday, June 1, 2012 • Lewis Library, Bowl 120

4

Regional Updates

Princeton AlumniCorps Open House

6

2012 Fellows List

7

Help us reach our goal!

Reconnect with classmates, former fellows, mentors, and other alumni.

Celebrate 22 years of PP55 Fellowships, and our two newest programs: Emerging Leaders and Community Volunteers!

4:00 - 6:00 p.m. • Friday, June 1, 2012 • 12 Stockton Street

Emerging Leaders Celebrates Its Inaugural Year Members of the nonprofit community gathered in Washington, DC on March 13 to celebrate the success of the 2012 Emerging Leaders program. AlumniCorps board and staff members, participants, employers, mentors and family members joined other supporters to congratulate the Emerging Leaders Class of 2012. In three breakout groups, participants shared the many ways that the program has impacted their professional lives. Attendees heard firsthand the exponential impact this program has achieved in just one year. As one participant said, “This program didn’t just transform eleven individuals. It transformed the workings of at least eleven nonprofit organizations in [Washington,] DC, and it will continue to improve how effectively those different organizations serve their employees and their community moving forward.”

The event was the culmination of a series of monthly sessions facilitated by an executive coach and featuring skill development activities and nonprofit executive speakers.

The Emerging Leaders implemented these learned skills in their work, and served as role models for their peers. The program is expanding to New York in its second year, set to begin in June.

The nonprofit professionals who recently completed the program are helping to fill a significant leadership gap within the sector, AlumniCorps Board President Kathy Miller ’77 noted: “A recent extensive study by the Meyer

Emerging Leaders Class of 2012

Foundation and Compass, Daring to Lead 2011, found that two thirds of nonprofit executives plan to leave their jobs within five years.”

An Emerging Leader summed up her gratitude for the program. “This is a phenomenal experience that is easily worth 10 times what our organizations contributed to support this work. I hope your work is able to expand to support even beyond NY, as I found this immensely helpful to my personal and professional growth. Thank you!”

2012-2013 Emerging Leaders Highlights 

With the expansion of Emerging Leaders to New York in 2012-2013, AlumniCorps received more than four times the number of applications we did last year. Nearly 30 percent of applicants are Princeton graduates.



Nonprofit professionals who applied for the program in Washington, DC and New York came from such fields as Urban Development, Education, Health, and Social Services.



The new cohorts will be notified of their acceptance into the program in May, and the program will start in both cities in the beginning of June.



Many thanks to our supporters, including the Rita Allen Foundation, for making the expansion of the program possible!

Page 2

Shared Effort

AlumniCorps Celebrates Keystone Society Members On February 26, Princeton AlumniCorps held the first annual Keystone Society Breakfast. Members of this forward-thinking group have committed to ensuring the stability and long-term health of Princeton AlumniCorps by making a planned gift to the organization. We were delighted to honor Charter Members of the Keystone Society, and to include many others without whom Princeton AlumniCorps would not be the organization it is today.

Ten of the Society’s 21 members attended the event, where many shared their reasons for making a bequest to Princeton AlumniCorps, and their hopes for the future of the organization. Jim Gregoire ’69 told us: “Jane and I consider Princeton AlumniCorps to be a part of our extended family. There seems to us no better way to help ensure the sustainability of this great organization than making it a part of our planned giving. I am proud to stand with all of you today, as a member of the Keystone Society.”

John Fish ’55, a Keystone Society member and Chair of the Board of Directors, spoke about how much Princeton AlumniCorps has grown from its humble but ambitious beginnings. He shared: “AlumniCorps has made great progress towards sustainability beyond the founding class of ’55. Today, we are supported by members of more than 60 Princeton classes, from ’55 to ’11 and have four thriving programs for alumni of all ages.”

Each member was presented with a Keystone Society lapel pin, a handsome badge of honor. As well as being able to take great pride in assuring the sustainability of Princeton AlumniCorps, Keystone Society members enjoy invitations to exclusive events, free admission to all ticketed AlumniCorps events, recognition in organizational communications, and more.

Keystone Society Charter Members Mike Robbins '55, John Hamilton '55, Chet Safian '55, John Fish '55, George Hackl '55, Jim Gregoire '69, Steve Boyd '55, Harry Berkowitz '55, and Bill Leahy '66.

To learn more about the Keystone Society, please contact Executive Director Kathleen Reilly at kreilly@alumnicorps.org or 609.921.8808 ext. 2. Please let us know if you have already included Princeton AlumniCorps in your will, we would like to thank and recognize you for your gift.

Keystone Society Charter Members       

Jayne Barnard S’55 Harry W. Berkowitz ’55 Kirsten Hund Blair ’84 Stephen M. Boyd ’55 Charles W. Bray ’55 Milton J. Deitch ’55 Sara H. Deitch S’55

Page 3

      

John H. Fish ’55 James A. Gregoire ’69 George C. Hackl ’55 John D. Hamilton ’55 Richard L. Herbruck ’55 Peter Jefferys ’55 William R. Leahy ’66

      

Oral O. Miller ’55 Lois O. Robbins S’55 Michael D. Robbins ’55 Chester Safian ’55 John C. Tucker ’55 Nelson H. Wild ’55 Alan M. Willemsen ’55

Shared Effort

Regional Updates -BostonThe Boston PP55 program has had an exciting spring! On February 29, members of the Boston AlumniCorps community visited the Lawrence Community Day Charter School, where Ben Stone ’11 is currently a fellow, to learn about the school and to sign up for reading groups for children. On March 27, Megan Trombly, the Director of Process Improvement and Knowledge at Strong Women, Strong Girls, led a seminar for PP55 and Harvard CPIC fellows. Entitled “The Process of Developing and Sustaining a Nonprofit Organization,” Trombly’s seminar focused on her work in building and implementing strategies, systems, and processes to support the growth and best practices for all branch activities of her organization.

-Bay AreaAccording to Julie Rubinger ’09, the newly elected Bay Area Coordinator, the Bay Area fellows have been busy with seminars and keeping up with the responsibilities of their fellowship positions. On February 27, the Princeton Project 55 fellows came together with fellows from Harvard CPIC and Stanford SPIN for a site visit to the UCSF Breast Care Center. The current fellows who work at the center (Matthew Salesi ’11, Yici Zheng ’11, and Alyse Wheelock ’11) gave presentations on the projects that they are working on, and then gave a walk-through of the hospital. Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to see firsthand what research projects the UCSF fellows were engaged in.

-Chicago-

As always, members of current partner organizations have contributed their knowledge and expertise to the seminar series. Mary Visconti, CEO of Better Boys Foundation, where Laura Martindale ’11 is currently a fellow, spoke about the mission and goals of the organization, which seeks to provide care and support for children in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.

-ConnecticutThe Connecticut branch of the Princeton AlumniCorps community continues to receive outstanding support from Harry Berkowitz ’55. PP55 fellows have joined New York fellows for their monthly seminars and have gathered throughout the year at the homes of Connecticut-area alumni.

As part of her work at Housing Development Fund, Tiffany Lee ’11 recently planned an event in Hartford, CT The Chicago PP55 community continues to have a busy entitled “Energy Smart Solutions: A Megacommunity and engaging seminar schedule. Together with University Solution.” This two-day conference brought together 80 of Chicago and Northwestern PIP fellows, the Chicago leaders from government agencies, businesses, and PP55 fellows have learned from leaders in Chicago’s nonprofits to tackle residential energy efficiency in nonprofit and public interest sectors. Highlights include: Bill Farrow, President & CEO of Urban Partnership Bank; Connecticut. Tiffany writes that “the event was a huge success…the participants really immersed themselves in the Ed Shurma, Executive Director of Chicago Coalition for Simulation and they were excited and motivated to take the the Homeless; and Sharon Fairley ’82, Assistant U.S. Attorney and Candace Jackson ’00, U.S. Public Defender. insights they learned from the two-day event and to do something in the months to come.”

Page 4

Shared Effort

Regional Updates -New York-

(The Alumni Network) affiliate John Nolan led an engaging seminar on great leadership in the social sector. Having read Jim Collins’ Good to Great and the Social Sectors, fellows came to the table prepared for a lively discussion with John and two local nonprofit leaders about the challenges and opportunities of working in the nonprofit sector.

Spring has finally come to New York! New York PP55 fellows have been excited by the changing season and the great opportunities it has provided to explore the city. Fellows continue to come together for interesting and informative seminars and for fun fellowship gatherings. In April, an Education Seminar featured a moderated panel discussion -Philadelphiawith Marc Sternberg ’95, NYC Deputy Chancellor of Schools, Thackston Lundy, Chief of Staff of the Fellows in Philadelphia participated in Global Net Night, Relay Graduate School of Education, and Stephanie coordinated by Katie Thaeder '09, for the March Greenberg ’04, 8th grade teacher at Williamsburg Collegiate seminar. The theme was "Developing Your Personal Brand," Charter School. and the group learned about networking skills from Sandy Mannix p’12. The Philadelphia AlumniCorps community In May, the New York fellows attended a Press and the continues to actively partner with the Princeton Club of Politics seminar moderated by Judy Hole Suratt s’55 with Philadelphia. In March, Joseph Sengoba ’10 put together an panelists Sarah Dutton, the Director of Surveys for CBS event at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, where he News; State Senator Liz Krueger; Andrew Romano '04, a is currently a PP55 fellow. The seminar was entitled Senior Writer at Newsweek; Adam Frankel '03, the “Breaking the Cycle of Violence” and focused on the crimiExecutive Director of Digital Promise; and Bill Plante, the nal justice system in Philadelphia. The forum featured a White House Correspondent for CBS News. keynote address by Seth Williams, the District Attorney of the City of Philadelphia, as well as a panel composed of -Washington, DCleaders in the Philadelphia criminal justice community, including Assistant Chief of Appeals Larry Goode ’84.

Emily Silk ’10 reports one of the highlights of the DC AlumniCorps social calendar this spring was a sports outing, organized by the fellows, to see the Washington Wizards play the Detroit Pistons at the Verizon Center. The fellows, along with their guests and fellows from Dartmouth and Harvard, were treated to an exciting, down-to-the-wire game. Unfortunately, the Pistons eked out a victory on a last-second shot— but the fellows still managed to win free Chick-fil-A sandwiches, see Michael Phelps in the stands, and have a great time. Overall, then, the experience was quite a success despite another loss for the Wizards!

The fellow seminar series has also continued in full force this spring. In February, Justin Smith ’90 hosted fellows at the US Department of Justice for a discussion of public service in the environmental sector. Fellows met three panelists with expertise ranging from law to science to policy, who spoke both about their current work and their career trajectories. In addition, fellows enjoyed a short tour of the USDOJ at the end of the seminar.

March saw the fellows at the National Postal Museum, where Washington & Lee fellowship coordinator and TAN

Page 5

The Breaking the Cycle of Violence Panel was organized by the PP55 Philadelphia Area Committee in collaboration with the Princeton Club of Philadelphia

Shared Effort

Congratulations to our 2012-13 Princeton Project 55 Fellows!

Boston, MA

New York, NY

Washington, DC

Bianca Cabrera ’12 Community Day Charter Public School

Taylor Leyden ’12 Association to Benefit Children

Amy Sweeny ’12 Aeras

Danielle DiCesare ’12 Community Day Charter Public School

Avion Tai ’10 Association to Benefit Children

Kelly Harchut ’12 Community Day Charter Public School

Susanna Hamilton ’12 Campaign for Educational Equity

Sara Wallace ’12 Apple Tree Institute for Education Innovation

Thelma Ramirez ’10 Community Day Charter Public School

Brandon Joseph ’12 CASES

Anna Condella ’12 EMNet Coordinating Center, Mass General Hospital

Nina Bahadur ’12 Education Through Music

Sweta Haldar ’12 Character Education Partnership Stephanie "Q" Miceli ’12 Character Education Partnership Caroline Rawls ’12 CityBridge Foundation

Chicago, IL

Maraiya Hakeem ’12 Education Through Music

Jesse Mudrick ’12 Bethel New Life

Jennifer Wu ’12 Heads Up! Pediatric Literacy Program

David Jean-Baptiste ’12 Better Boys Foundation

Ivana Castellanos ’12 New Alternatives for Children

Daniel Corica ’12 Center on Halsted

Sarah Twardock ’11 New York Center for Child Development

Michael Collins ’11 Civic Consulting Alliance

Alix Greenwald ’10 New York County District Attorney's Office

Nathan Brown ’12 CNT Energy

Bonnie Robinson ’12 New York County District Attorney's Office

Julie Nkodo ’12 Free Spirit Media

Jocelyn Johnson ’12 Prep for Prep

Ajay Tungare ’12 Illinois State Board of Education

Kristan Scott ’12 Reach Out and Read of Greater New York

Kelly Reilly ’12 National Equity Fund

Eleanor Meegoda ’12 Rockefeller Foundation

Pauline Ndambuki ’12 Urban Partnership Bank

Barbara Stoddard ’11 St. Mark The Evangelist School

Diana Robinson ’12 Women Employed

Alyssa Pehmoeller ’12 The Foundation Center

Connecticut

Philadelphia, PA

Sabrina Szeto ’12 Housing Development Fund

Michelle Ripplinger ’12 KIPP Philadelphia Schools

Mary Thierry ’12 Housing Development Fund

San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Carolyn Birbiglia ’11 Norwalk Community Health Center Brandon Chan ’12 Norwalk Community Health Center

Page 6

Tiffany Lee ’11 NewSchools Venture Fund Nilan Schnure ’12 UCSF Breast Care Center

Reginald Galloway ’11 Digital Promise Alan Reynolds ’11 Greater Baden Medical Services A. Ginny Weinmann ’12 Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Dana Weinstein ’12 Partners for the Common Good Camila Vega ’12 Regional Primary Care Coalition/ Consumer Health Foundation Sam Scott ’12 World Faiths Development Dialogue Alana Tornello ’12 World Faiths Development Dialogue

Princeton Project 55 Fellowships are made possible by passionate area committees and local volunteers, generous donors, and highly effective partner organizations. Thank you for your shared effort.

Shared Effort

Community Volunteers Launches Turning Point Series (… Continued from page 1) Jim met with Al Kandell, Administrator at A.C. Wagner. Jim recalls Al saying to him, “We need Princeton volunteers, and I can tell by looking at you, Jim, that you’re going to bring them.”

The next fall, volunteers from Princeton University began tutoring at the prison. Of the volunteers he has worked with, Jim said, “These young Princeton students … have such a wonderful sense of mission.” Now, as Jim looks to expand the Petey Greene Program to other universities and prisons, he and Walter have teamed up to start a program at Rutgers.

AlumniCorps is seeking a community volunteer to help with this expansion plan.

Natasha Japanwala ’14 is a current volunteer with the Petey Greene Prisoner Assistance program. She discussed her experience as a tutor with the program, as well as leading a Breakout Princeton trip to a women’s correctional facility in

Community Volunteers Program Leader Kef Karsdin ’85 discusses current opportunities with attendees

Oklahoma. “I feel like every time I go to a prison, I help someone in a small way,” Natasha said. “And to be very honest, I think they help me more than I help them … It’s been such a huge part of my education.”

For more information on the Community Volunteers program and to see current opportunities, please visit the program website at www.alumnicorps.org, or contact Rachel Benevento, Community Volunteers Program Manager at rbenevento@alumnicorps.org. Keep an eye out for our next Turning Point program in the early Fall.

“Each step of the way, I’m learning more

and more about how differences can be made.” - Natasha Japanwala ‘14 Natasha Japanwala ’14

Six Weeks Left to Reach Our Goal!

We have raised just over $198,000 this year from 365 donors.

A big THANK YOU to those who have donated so far!

If you haven’t yet, please help us reach our goal to get to 500 donors by June 30 in one of three easy ways:

Scan this code to donate from your smart phone now!

Page 7

Mail your donation to: Princeton AlumniCorps 12 Stockton Street Princeton, NJ 08540

Make a secure credit card donation online at www.alumnicorps.org

Shared Effort

Princeton AlumniCorps Board of Directors John H. Fish ’55, Chairman Kathryn A. Miller. ’77, President Jessica D. Johnson ’98, Secretary Charles F. Mapes, Jr. ’55, Treasurer Thomas D. Allison ’66 Illa Brown ’76 Margaret Crotty ’94 Andrew Goldstein ’06 James A. Gregoire ’69 Stanley N. Katz h’21 William R. Leahy Jr., MD ’66 James D. Lynn ’55 Kathleen McCleery ’75 W. Arthur McKee ’90 Dominic F. Michel ’70 Paula Morency ’77 Ralph Nader ’55 Janice Nittoli *85 Alejandro Perez ’10 Anthony Quainton ’55

Michael D. Robbins ’55 Margarita Rosa, Esq. ’74 Marsha Rosenthal ’76 Warner V. Slack ’55 Leesy Taggart ’78 Scott Taylor ’75 Richard E. Thompson ’55 Richard O. Walker ’73 Lindsay Wall ’02 R. Kenly Webster ’55

Princeton AlumniCorps Staff Kathleen E. Reilly, Executive Director Rachel Benevento, Program Manager, Community Volunteers & Emerging Leaders Arti Sheth ‘08, Director of Development Sara McCord, Project 55 Fellowship Program Manager Mike McPeak, Office Administrator

If you would like to receive Shared Effort electronically, please email us at info@alumnicorps.org

Please visit us at www.alumnicorps.org “You will be saying that shared effort to solve our problems is not a hopeless venture” — John Gardner ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Permit 62

Princeton, NJ 08540-6813 12 Stockton Street PRINCETON ALUMNICORPS

Princeton, NJ

PAID U.S. Postage Nonprofit org.