EXTRAORDINARY ALUMNAE CELEBRATED AT FIFTH ANNUAL ST. MARY'S ACADEMY AWARDS
From an internationally respected philanthropist, to the woman who formed Oregon’s first Disaster Medical Team, to a lifetime educator, to the chief nursing officer for Providence Oregon, this year’s St. Mary’s Academy Awards offers recognition of four amazing alumnae who are taking the school’s message and teaching our local community, nation and world how to serve others.
St. Mary's takes great pride in presenting its 2007 honorees: Joan Berger, SNJM ’50 for Excellence in Teaching/Educational Administration,Kathy (Mills) Johnson ’61 as Woman of Career Achievement; Helen (Carney) Miller ’79 as Woman of Achievement in the Science or Medical field, and Tracy Poe ’86 for Embodiment of the Mission of St. Mary’s Academy.
Joan Berger, SNJM ’50
Excellence in Teaching or Educational Administration
Sr. Joan Berger has had a love of learning and a love of teaching all her life. She has worked in education for more than 50 years as a teacher, religious education program coordinator, principal, and more. Her long career includes teaching religion at St. Mary’s, chairing that department, and serving as the Dean of Students. She is well-respected as being fair and caring in all of her work. Her dedication to education, her experience, her wisdom, and her generosity of spirit are all exemplary.
Kathy (Mills) Johnson ’61
Woman of Career Achievement
She is noted as the most influential and powerful nurse in the history of Providence Health System in Oregon. Kathy’s entire nursing career has been dedicated to making life better for every Providence patient. She has accomplished this life mission through advocating for nurses as the most essential aspect of hospital care. Over her 40 years she has advanced in Providence from nursing assistant to RN to nurse manager to nursing director to chief nurse executive to her current position as chief nursing officer for Providence Oregon. In this role her strategic vision is realized through her quiet strength and her unwavering dedication to the profession of nursing.
Helen (Carney) Miller ’79
Woman of Achievement in the Science or Medical field
After medical school she worked as a pediatrician, pediatric emergency room doctor, and OHSU faculty member. In 1995 she joined Washington’s Disaster Medical Team headquartered in Seattle. After serving with the Washington team on several missions, Helen formed Oregon’s first Disaster Medical Team (ODMT). Successfully formed in 1999 the ODMT now includes 130 volunteer healthcare professionals who without any notice interrupt their own lives and careers to provide care for others in an emergency situation. The team represents Oregon in the National Disaster Medical System and can respond within 8 hours. Helen and her colleagues have provided emergency medical care in places such as rural Haiti; New York after 9/11, Houston after tropical storm Allison, Florida after hurricane Ivan, and Louisiana after hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
Tracy Poe ’86
Embodiment of the Mission of St. Mary’s Academy
This award is given to someone who lives out many of the values that St. Mary’s endeavors to instill in young women. Tracy is a dedicated wife, mother of three, a very intelligent woman with a Ph.D. from Harvard, a college professor, and a philanthropist who cares so deeply about international human rights that she personally involves herself with making the world a better place. Through Tracy’s efforts to strategize the most effective giving for her family’s foundation, the Frankel Foundation, she finds herself working with the American Refugee Committee, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Millennium Promise, and EarthRights International to name a few. She was recently featured on the cover of “Giving” magazine with 24 other philanthropists including Bill Gates. Tracy, her husband, and the family foundation also believe in education as a means of ending poverty.
St. Mary's Academy will hold its fifth annual St. Mary's Academy Awards on Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 5:00 p.m., at the St. Mary's Academy Clark Family Auditorium [1615 S.W. Fifth Ave., Portland]. The annual awards event is a unique opportunity to recognize the premier achievements of St. Mary’s alumnae and highlight the accomplishments of four outstanding alumnae who exemplify the spirit and mission of the school. The public is welcome to join alumnae, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, teachers, students, and friends of St. Mary's Academy for this prestigious event.
The ceremony opens with a red carpet entrance for guests as student journalists snap their pictures. Mary Ryan, SNJM (’60), St. Mary's alumna and recipient of the 2003 award for Teaching/Educational Administration, will deliver the keynote address. And for the first time in the history of the event the Custer Sisters, all of whom are St. Mary’s alumnae, will provide entertainment during the ceremony. Following the awards presentation, guests and award winners will enjoy an hors d'oeuvres and dessert reception.
Event tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance, and $5 for Holy Names Sisters and current St. Mary's students.
For tickets and information, please e-mail St. Mary's Alumnae Office [alumna@stmaryspdx.org], or call (503) 721-7710.
