The alumni being acknowledged for their distinguished service to their profession and community are:
- Bill Wiersma of Pleasant Hill, CA
- Ray Greenleaf of Walnut Creek, CA
- Frank Marrero of Fairfax, CA
- Ellen Lanzone of Los Angeles, CA
- Leanne Schlegel of Martinez (who is awarded posthumously)
Bill Wiersma is the founder and principal of Wiersma and Associates"a management consulting and training firm. Bill is known as a gifted workshop leader, talented author, and trusted business consultant. Bill facilitates organizational initiatives, planning events, and annual retreats. In addition, he conducts leadership, communications, and management development workshops. Wiersma is the author of the highly acclaimed book “The Big AHA"Breakthroughs in Resolving and Preventing Workplace Conflict”. Media outlets that have covered his work include the New York Times, Gannette News Services, Small Business Review, and Workwise"a nationally syndicated column.
Ray Greenleaf graduated from JFKU in 1981, and was one of the first to gain a transpersonal psychology degree from the Graduate School for the Study of Consciousness. In the early 80’s, all pre-degree hours counted towards licensure, so within one year of graduating, Ray became a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. In 1992 Ray returned to JFKU as an adjunct faculty member. After just one year, JFKU hired him to be a member of the university’s first full-time faculty. Over the years Ray has inspired hundreds of students with his quick mind, bountiful enthusiasm for transpersonal and integral psychology, his love of teaching and his indomitable coyote spirit. In 1998, Ray was promoted to Chair of the Counseling Psychology program in the School of Holistic Studies. Under his leadership, the program expanded to be one of the largest programs in the university.
Frank Marrero is a graduate of JFK University’s BA Completion Program in Philosophy and Religion, elementary teaching credential, and the Master of Arts in Teaching programs. He is currently a fifth grade teacher in Richmond, California, where he is working on a writing program designed to teach affective intelligence while exercising state standards in the language arts. This is no easy task given that the California State standards focus heavily on the cognitive development of each child rather than on the whole child.
Ellen R. Lanzone, PsyD received her Doctor of Psychology degree from JFKU in 2003, and her Bachelor of the Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1993. She has worked for the past three years at the Los Angeles Child Guidance clinic, serving at-risk children and families in the community of south-central Los Angeles, doing psychotherapy, assessment and consultation.
Leanne Schlegel graduated from the University’s School of Law in 1993, but sadly passed away in March 2006 after a valiant fight against cancer. She was a true friend, a committed mentor, and a powerful and leading advocate for children. She was well known throughout the County for her strong spirit and her willingness to help those who were in need. She was a founding member of The Law Center, an organization created to help poor and low-income county residents to find legal help when they couldn't afford an attorney. Among the projects she undertook with the bench in the County were several self-help center videos on family law issues to assist people in making their way through the family courts.
