Earning a doctorate seems like a long, uphill climb to most people — but one UI&U learner literally climbed a mountain on his path towards a Ph.D., motivated by a worthy and very personal cause.

To fulfill the personal development portion of his doctoral studies in applied physiology and health informatics, cancer survivor William "Billy" Elliott scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest mountain on the African continent. In September 2002 Elliott and 19 other climbers helped raise awareness and more than $400,000 for biomedical research at the Webb-Waring Institute for Cancer, Aging, and Antioxidant Research in Denver.

“In my lifetime I’ve climbed many mountains, literally and figuratively, but climbing that ‘mountain’ to beat cancer was the greatest physical, mental, and spiritual challenge I have ever encountered,” says Elliott, an exercise physiologist who developed an aggressive form of testicular cancer in 1992 at age 24. Twelve years later, he is cancer-free and feeling “very blessed to be alive.”

A formally trained exercise physiologist, nutritionist, certified fitness trainer, fitness therapist, licensed massage therapist and certified neuromuscular therapist, Elliott owns wellsci.com, an independent fitness and wellness-based practice. He holds a bachelor's degree in exercise nutrition from California State University at Hayward and a master's degree in exercise science from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where he teaches health- and science-related classes. In addition to wellness-related public speaking and writing, Elliott teaches physiology classes at the Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy. He has competed at the national level in natural (drug-free) bodybuilding and at regional weightlifting championships.

The Kilimanjaro 2002 climb allowed Elliott to pay that blessing forward. “It symbolized what I and many other cancer survivors have experienced,” he says. “If even one person with cancer or another life-threatening disease heard about my climb on the news or the Internet, then maybe they gained hope. That is the greatest outcome I can imagine – someone gaining hope.”

Christy Bradshaw, distance learner from Nashville, Arkansas, will publish her short story, “The Ghostly Woman,” in a short story anthology, Enter the Realm (October 2004 release date). The story was part of Bradshaw’s Senior Project through the Los Angeles Academic Center.

Don Brady presented “A Preliminary Investigation of Active and Retired NFL Players’ Knowledge of Concussions, based on his dissertation research, at a national conference on "New Developments in Sports-Related Concussions," sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System. The first of its kind research-based assessment of National Football League players' knowledge of concussions, an analysis of Brady’s findings revealed that the athletes lacked accurate and essential knowledge pertaining to various aspects of concussions. Brady also assisted a sports reporter at NBC-TV affiliate WKTV-2 in Utica, New York with a two-part series, "The Silent Epidemic," on sports-related concussions, and presented “The Need for Baseline Data and Follow-Up Assessment for Sports-Related Concussion Management” at the Upstate Medical Center Health Systems annual Sports Medicine Symposium in Syracuse. Brady lives in Chittenango, New York and is a school psychologist with the Cazenovia Central School District. Brady presented his doctoral research results along with a workshop pertaining to sports-related concussions at the annual convention of the New York Counseling Association, a state branch of the American Counseling Association, in Glens Falls, NY, October 2004.

Mary E. Findley was quoted regarding vampires in an October 30, 2003 article in the Vermont Times Argus. A former journalist, actor, and U.S. Navy reservist, Findley is an assistant professor at Vermont Technical College, where she teaches a class about the continuing fascination with the vampire myth in literature, culture, and film.

Michael Faulkner, senior vice president of segments and affiliates with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), received the 2004 Outstanding Committee Chair Award from the New York Society of Association Executives at their annual luncheon in New York, April 21, 2004. This annual award is for the committee chairperson who demonstrates exceptional qualities of leadership and exemplary devotion to voluntary membership organizations. Faulkner also received 2003 Silver Apple Award from the Direct Marketing Club of New York. Faulkner’s responsibilities with the Direct Marketing Association include providing increased tangible value to all DMA members in key member segments. In addition, he oversees the DMA’s seven local/regional chapters as well as three subsidiaries: the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM), the Internet Alliance (IA), and The DMA Nonprofit Federation (DMANF). Previously, Faulkner spent 13 years at Dun & Bradstreet in a variety of sales, marketing, and product management positions. He also ran his own consulting practice for four years specializing in new member acquisition and retention for non-profit organizations. Faulkner graduated cum laude from Rutgers University and earned an M.B.A. from New York Institute of Technology and an M.S. in direct and interactive marketing communications from New York University. He is now pursuing doctoral studies in organizational and association management as part of the UI&U/American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Initiative learner cohort.

Jimelle Rumberg, executive director of the West Virginia Psychological Association was recognized in the June 2004 Monitor on Psychology, the magazine of the American Psychological Association, for her efforts to help pass a new West Virginia law, the Child Custody Good Faith Protection for Court-Appointed Psychologists. Effective July 2004, the state immunity law protects licensed psychologists who adhere to the APA code of ethics when conducting custody evaluations from lawsuits by parents during divorce proceedings. Rumberg, who enrolled through the UI&U/American Society of Association Executives doctoral cohort initiative, published “Association Leader, Ph.D.” in the February 2004 issue of ASAE’s Association Management. In the article, Rumberg discusses difficulties faced by small-staff associations when it comes to professional development opportunities, describes the advantages of distance learning, and explains how the UI&U program provides the opportunity to link her doctoral studies with her professional work. She also serves on the ASAE Small-Staff Advisory Committee for 2003-2004, and recently earned the society’s Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential, a distinction held by less than 5 percent of all association professionals. In August 2003 and 2004 Rumberg joined UI&U core faculty William H. McKelvie, Ed.D. (moderator) and doctoral learners Michael Faulkner, senior vice president for the Direct Marketing Association (see individual entry) and Katherine Finley, executive director of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (see Network, Fall 2003) to present papers at ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Honolulu, HI and in Minneapolis, MN.

Lynn Somerstein is a psychoanalyst in private practice in New York who works with children and adults in groups and individually. She also teaches courses on human development, attachment, and psychoanalytic theory at the Harlem Family Institute and the Institute for Expressive Analysis, and leads private study groups devoted to understanding and writing about theory. She is a board member of the Institute for Expressive Analysis and the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis. She published the article, “Concrete Tornadoes," in the Journal of Religion and Health (vol. 41, no. 2, 2002), and three articles in NAAP News: "Sacrificial Daughters: Aspects of the Father-Daughter Relationship" (vol. 26, no. 2, 2003); “The Unconscious in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychoanalysis: The Fourth International Neuropsychoanalytic Conference on the Unconscious” (vol. 26, nos. 3 and 4, 2003); and “Contemporary Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Transference” (vol. 27, 2004). She also published "Gender and the Internet," a review of Virtual Gender: Technology, Consumption and Identity (Routledge, 2001) for the American Philosophical Association, Feminist Division (online, 2003), and has two book reviews in press with Psychoanalytic Review: "Trauma and Human Bonds," her review of September 11: Trauma and Human Bonds (The Analytic Press, 2003), and her review of Emotional Development in Psychoanalysis, Attachment Theory and Neuroscience: Creating Connections (Brunner Routledge, 2003). She gave a presentation on "Finding Hope within the Tornado: A Psychodynamic Look at Terrorist Enactments" at the Symposium on the Psychological Interpretation of War, January 2004, and a paper on “Hope within the Tornado: A Psychoanalytic Look at Terrorist Enactments” at the International Psychohistory Association, June 2004, both in New York City. Somerstein’s doctoral research is concerned with the role of the father in male development with a focus on patriarchal fathering and male violence.

Penny L. Willrich is a superior court judge with the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County since 1999, having served as judge pro tem from 1991 to 1995, then as superior court commissioner until 1999. After earning a juris doctorate in 1982 at Antioch-District of Columbia School of Law in Washington, D.C., Willrich practiced law with several legal services organizations and served from 1992 to 1994 as assistant director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security Division of Children and Family Services. A past president of the Hayzel B. Daniels Bar Association, Willrich was ordained as a Baptist minister in August 2003.

Olivia White coordinated one of several national and international commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which declared racial discrimination in public education unconstitutional. “Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Unfinished Business of Brown v. Board of Education” was held March 18-21, 2004 at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, where White serves as vice president for student life and dean of students. The four-day convocation of national scholars and local citizens featured keynote speakers, civil rights leaders, educators, and authors including Julian Bond, Genna Rae McNeil, Waldo E. Martin Jr., Peter Irons, and James Patterson. Participants in the seminars, panels, and colloquia included scholars from across the United States and Germany. Other offerings included historical exhibits and book signings, civil rights tours in historic Frederick, and cultural entertainment, most notably a performance by Sweet Honey in the Rock and the Morgan State University Choir, and a theatrical performance of The Color of Justice.