~~ NEWSMAKERS ~~

David P. Nash, M.D., M.B.A., of Lafayette Hill, has been named as the first chair of the Office of Health Policy, a recently designated academic department, at Jefferson Medical College.

City Solicitor Nelson A. Diaz, of Chestnut Hill, has received the Common Good Award from Philadelphia Area Coalition for Responsible Investment (PACRI) for his work in ensuring that minorities receive access to equality in civic and economic life.

Michelle Keita, of Germantown, has won a $2,000 Leeway Foundation Window of Opportunity grant for her poetry work about Anna Murray Douglass, the first wife of Frederick Douglass.

Among the recent graduates of the Accelerated Career Entry Program for Nurses at Drexel University’s College of Nursing & Health Professions are: Amy Beatty of Roxborough, Amanda Livengood of Roxborough, Allison Claxton of Mount Airy, Cezanne Cocolin of Chestnut Hill and Anuli Ojukwu of Germantown.

Bernadette L. Mulligan, of Mt. Airy, director of community affairs for Health Partners, was recently honored at the eighth annual Salute to Philadelphia Women of Achievement, hosted by the March of Dimes. Mulligan received her award in the “Public Service” category. She was one of eight women recognized for their commitment to improving the lives of Philadelphia residents.

Carole B. Sheffield has joined the Philadelphia law firm of Jacoby Donner, P.C., and will concentrate her practice in estate and trust planning, administration and taxation. She is a graduate of Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law. Prior to entering the field of law, Sheffield earned her M.B.A. in finance from Temple University Fox School of Business and Management, and was vice president of bank market research at First Union Bancorp. Sheffield also holds a bachelor of fine arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She serves as treasurer and board member of the Fair Housing Council of Montgomery County and, in 1997, helped form the Chestnut Hill Garden District Fund.

Dr. Robin F. Gallagher, a Chestnut Hill dental practitioner, was elected to the board of directors of the American Endodontic Society during the recent annual meeting of the organization in San Francisco, Calif. Dr. Gallagher earned his dental degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He is a staff dentist at Chestnut Hill Hospital and a member of numerous professional groups, including the Academy of General Dentistry and the Pennsylvania Dental Association.

Navy Seaman Apprentice Christopher A. Okula, a 2002 graduate of Saul Agricultural High School, recently reported to Fleet Home Town News Center (FHTNC), Naval Station Norfolk, Va. As a journalist at FHTNC, Okula writes stories about service members and markets them to more than 12,000 media outlets nationwide.

Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Aquila N. Levy, whose mother lives in Chestnut Hill, has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Levy is a 1995 graduate of Central High School and a 2001 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Orlando.

Army Reserve Pvt. John J. Harkins IV, a 1997 graduate of Roxborough High School, has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Bobbie D. Bassett, a 1993 graduate of Roxborough High School, has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Bassett received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1997.

Marine Corps Pfc. Tyrell D. Parker, a 2002 graduate of Roxborough High School, Philadelphia, Pa., is currently on deployment while assigned to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), home based in Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Air Force Airman Darnell L. Gordon, a 2001 graduate of Germantown High School, has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

INTECH Construction, Inc., a Philadelphia-based general contractor/construction manager, has hired Valarie J. Cofield, of My. Airy, as diversity coordinator, a newly created position.

The Philadelphia Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has awarded $10,000 to Mommy’s Light Lives On Fund for its work with young people in the Delaware Valley whose mothers are afflicted with breast cancer. Since its inception, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has awarded $450 million for the fight against breast cancer.

The American Heart Association has named Judith M. von Seldeneck, of Chestnut Hill, chair of the Diversified Search Companies, as this year’s Heart of Philadelphia Award recipient. The award is presented each year at the Association’s Heart Ball to an individual whose leadership and heartfelt dedication to charitable causes best exemplify the giving spirit of Philadelphia. von Seldeneck will be recognized at the 47th Annual Heart Ball, “An Evening on Broadway,” on February 21 at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott.

Congregation Mishkan Shalom recently hosted a Hanukah bazaar where a local teen political activist group mobilized to stop child labor by selling T-shirts from NO SWEAT, an Internet accessible company that markets 100% Union-made garments for all ages. Among the participants were Masterman High School 10th-grader Ben Landau-Beispiel, from East Falls, and David Soffa, a 10th-grader at Delaware Valley Friends School and a Roxborough resident. The group will continue to promote NO SWEAT clothing, which is available at www.nosweatapparel.com.

~~ ACADEMIA ~~

Keren Sitrin, of Lafayette Hill, a sophomore majoring in advertising in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, has been inducted into Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society at Syracuse University.

Germantown’s Angela Crafton was one of two students to receive Temple University’s inaugural Transfer Scholars award. Crafton, an art education major, receives a $1,000 scholarship as part of the award, which recognizes two junior-level transfer students who demonstrate academic merit and financial need.

Mary Ann Domanska, of W. Mt. Airy, a kindergarten teacher at Springside School, recently joined more than 300 educators and parents attending the Phi Delta Kappa International 2003 conference and exhibit in St. Louis, Mo. The conference on the theme, “Leave No School Behind: Challenges and Opportunities,” was held November 20-23. Educators and parents from across the United States, Canada and around the world participated.