Distinguished alumni recognized at USJ

WEST HARTFORD – Five University of Saint Joseph graduates will be honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards for outstanding work in their fields. 
They are Ann-Margaret Anselmo '46, University of Saint Joseph professor emeritus; Beth Fischer, RSM '76, coordinator of community outreach, and partnerships, at the University of Saint Joseph; Bonnie Belanger Gauthier M '85, president and chief executive officer of Hebrew Health Care; Isabel Pacheco Logan '96, a social worker with the State of Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services; and Lorie Reardon '96, M'10, a registered dietician at the Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford, Conn. 
They will receive the awards at a dinner on Friday, April 19, at the Hartford Marriot Downtown, Hartford, Conn. For tickets, contact the Alumni Relations Office at (860) 231-5323.

Ann-Margaret Anselmo, Ph.D., professor emeritus, University of Saint Joseph, has been chosen to receive The Mary de Lourdes Kenney Award. Throughout her tenure at USJ she served as chair of the English and humanities department, coordinator of program planning, and academic dean from 1984-1987. 
Dr. Anselmo became involved in the ecumenical movement and was coordinator of the Hartford Archdiocese's Commission for Ecumenical Affairs. She participated in Pope Paul VI's historic visit to the World Council of Churches headquarters in Geneva, where she was the only Roman Catholic participant and only one of three women. While in Switzerland, she made pilgrimages to all the Protestant shrines in the area. She served on the National Council of Teachers of English and was the first woman to be elected consultant secretary for the New England Consultation of Church Leaders.

Actively involved in community and social justice issues throughout her life, Dr. Anselmo marched for voting rights with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965. Today she works with the pet therapy program at Jerome Home with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Molly. She retired as full professor in 1990 from USJ and currently resides in New Britain.

Sr. Beth Fischer, coordinator of community outreach and partnerships at USJ, will receive The Winifred E. Coleman Service Award for her dedicated years of service to the university and her embodiment of its core values. Sr. Beth also received a prestigious Health Care Hero Award from the Hartford Business Journal, one of only seven awarded. In particular, she won the Corporate Achievement/Innovation Award for her years of dedicated service to The Wellness Center on Church Street — a partnership between the University and the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry.

Sr. Beth has committed her life to serving the poor and disadvantaged, teaching USJ students though service learning to increase awareness of community needs and issues while encouraging lifelong civic engagement. 

Heightening attention to the medical needs of the underserved people of Hartford, Sr. Beth acts as a liaison with The Wellness Center, a partnership with the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, St. Patrick - St. Anthony Church, and USJ. In a program that connects USJ students from nutrition, social work, graduate counseling, and nursing with the center's clients, she helps future health-care professionals receive out-of-the-classroom experience. Students repeatedly describe their experience at the center as "transformative."                   A resident of West Hartford, Sr. Beth continues to develop relationships between USJ and organizations within the Greater Hartford region.

Bonnie Gauthier M'85, president and chief executive officer of Hebrew Health Care, will receive The Mary Consuela Mulcahy Award. 

Ms. Gauthier joined Hebrew Health Care in 1979, serving as director of employee and public relations, assistant executive director, and chief operating officer before assuming the role of president and chief executive officer.

Overseeing the daily operations and long-term planning of Hebrew Health Care and its affiliates, Ms. Gautheir has been instrumental in building Hebrew Health Care into a leading provider of health care for older adults in the Northeast, including the development of the Hoffman SummerWood Community for assisted living in 2000.

Active in organizations that address issues related to health care and aging, she currently serves on the board of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and is past chair of the Connecticut Association of Not-for-Profit Providers for the Aging (CANPFA). 

Ms. Gauthier continues to educate students as an adjunct faculty member at USJ and participates in a mentoring practicum for students in the gerontology program. She is a West Hartford resident.



Isabel Logan of Simsbury will receive The Mary Rosa McDonough Award for outstanding service to her profession and the community. Ms. Logan is a social worker who joined the State of Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services after earning her degree from USJ in 1996. Ms. Logan fills a key role for clients by providing psychosocial assessments, interventions, and program referrals and admissions. This service helps prevent unnecessary incarceration for adults and keeps youth in their community. Ms. Logan also serves as a community liaison, building relationships with multiple resource networks to meet the various needs of her clients.
An adjunct professor at USJ where she spearheads the Latino Community Practice Program, Ms. Logan is working toward her doctorate in education leadership (expected 2015) at the University of Hartford. in 2009 she was honored with two awards: the Latino Social Workers Network Certificate of Recognition for significant contributions to the field and as a mentor and role model to Latino social workers as well as the Caritas Award for outstanding contributions to the Latino Community Practice Program at USJ. 

Lorie Reardon '96, M'10 will receive The Catherine McAuley Award. Ms. Reardon is a registered dietician at the Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford where she developed the dietetics program and additional programs to better serve the community. Her initiatives included a monthly nutrition support group for individuals with HIV/AIDS, the Food Share Mobile Unit, monthly bilingual nutrition classes, a Food Stamp Program, and a Community Pantry Program.

 

In 2007, Ms. Reardon traveled to Guyana with the USJ Immersion Project where she served as the sole dietician on a team of medical professionals that provided treatment and education to HIV/AIDS clinics, vocational schools and hospitals. She continues to mentor undergraduate dietetics students and interns enrolled in the University of Connecticut and USJ. She resides in Portland, Conn.

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