Claremont COURIER Focus on Women 1-31-14

8/13/2019 Claremont COURIER Focus on Women 1-31-14

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FOCUS/Unique Women of Claremont 2014 3

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Oh, the possibilities by Christina BurtonCHS Assistant Principal encourages students to apply themselves.

Women of the Holocaust by Sarah TorribioCMC professor explores the role of females in Hitlers Furies.

Being an active inspiration by Beth HartnettMelissa Vollaro leads a team in raising Claremont spirit.

FOCUS: Unique Women of Claremont

Curtis Real Estate's current location back in the 1950's

Curtis Real Estate was founded in 1947 by Florence Curtis at a time when fewwomen were involved in real estate brokerages or even worked outside of the home.

The family-owned business, now in its 67th year, is headed by Carol Curtis,3rd generation owner/broker and granddaughter of Florence.

Carol CurtisBroker/Owner 1994 - Present

Florence CurtisBroker/Owner 1947 - 1979

Carol Curtis, BrokerSales Associates: Craig Beauvais, Maureen Mills,

Nancy & Bob Schreiber, Patricia Simmons, Corinna Soiles, Carol Wiese

Continuing the family tradition in the Claremont Village since 1947

107 N. Harvard, Claremont CA 91711

(909) 626-1261 www.curtisrealestate.com


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Women have long been viewed

as the gentler sex, moreinclined to nurture than to

wage war. A new book by historian andClaremont McKenna College professorWendy Lower, however, turns thisnotion on its head.

Hitlers Furies: German Women in the NaziKilling Fields sheds light on the hundreds of thou-sands of womensecretaries, nurses, social workersand teachers among themwho played an active rolein the Holocaust. Ms. Lower puts a female face ongenocide by introducing 13 women who served aswitnesses, accomplices and perpetrators in the Nazikilling machine.

Far from occurring in a vacuum, their deadly actionswere encouraged by their setting.This lost generation came of age in a Germany

humiliated and economically crippled by the loss ofWorld War I. Girls in the post-war period were indoc-trinated with nationalist and anti-Semitic sentiments inranks of the Hitler Youth organization and in schoolsthat used the Fhrers Mein Kampfas a textbook.

The Nazis racial scapegoating and imperialisticaims fell on fertile ground. A third of German womenwere active in a Nazi Party organization.

It was the first generation of women who were polit-ically mobilized in a massive way, Ms. Lower said ina recent interview. The tragic irony is that this politi-cization of women coincided with a genocidal regime.

Seeking adventure and advancement, many youngwomen heeded the call to staff and Germanize newly

annexed eastern territories of the Third Reich, such asPoland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltics. They foundthemselves far from the moral strictures of home andunexposed to constant and unabashed violence: massshootings, hangings, ghetto liquidations and the sightof packed train cars chugging towards death camps.

It was a landscape uniquely conducive to barbarism.This imperial rush quite literally gave [Nazis]

license to shoot Jews with impunity, Ms. Lower said.Many women made the most of the situation, pic-

nicking near mass graves, plundering Jewish goods

and mingling with eligible SS personnel. If they expe-rienced the inconvenience of a guilty conscience, itcould be assuaged with an excess of vodka or forgot-ten amid sexual pleasure.

Ms. Lowers subjects include women who typedexecution orders and lists of murdered Jews in thecourse of their clerical duties. They include nurseswho gave lethal injections to people deemed mentallyand physically unfit. Perhaps her most chilling

accounts are of wives and mistresses of SS officialswho, unasked and unsanctioned, killed Jews out of amisguided sense of duty or even for sport.

Ensconced in a lavish requisitioned villa with herSS officer husband, Erna Petri shot six childrenwho had escaped transports to death camps.

A female fury:CMC professor exposes womens role in the Holocaust


COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffClaremont McKenna College history professor Wendy Lowers research began in 1992 for herbook about women during the Third Reich Hitlers Furies, and included five years living inMunich. She found that many of the young women who participated in the Holocaust wereseduced by the prospect of a good job and a sense of duty to Germany, while others took amore active role directly participating in the genocide.

Front cover of a recruitment brochure for reset-tlement advisors in Poland stating, "GermanWomen! German Girl! The East Needs You!"

FEMALE FURYcontinues on the next page


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Another SS wife, Liesel Wilhaus, took aim from her

balcony, shooting Jews who had been pressed intotending her garden. The fact that both were motherslent them little empathy.

While their acts were monstrous, Ms. Lower notesthat most of her subjects are not rare examples offemale pathology.

These women wanted a paycheck. They wanted tobe independent, Ms. Lower said. A common replywas I wanted to be somebody. These are things wecan all relate to.

Years in the researching, Hitlers Furies is based onwartime and post-war documents as well as interviewswith Holocaust survivors and perpetrators. When Ms.Lower asked one woman why she chose to become aGestapo secretary, her answer epitomized what political

theorist Hannah Arendt deemed the banality of evil.The woman recalled seeing beautiful shoes that she couldnot afford to buy in a department store. With a good job,such nice things would no longer be out of reach.

Ms. Lower emphasized that women who took partin genocide are not marginal figures. Their partici-pation, however, has been marginalized in the collec-tive memory. The role of the German woman in World

War II has been mythologized as that of stoic victim,holding down the home front and enduring hardship

Ensconced in a lavish requisitioned villa with herSS officer husband, Erna Petri shot six childrenwho had escaped transports to death camps.

Secretary Liselotte Meier, the mistress of an SSofficer attended more than one mass shooting.

FEMALE FURYcontinues on the next page

FEMALE FURYcontinued from the previous page


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while the men waged war.The system that made mass murder

possible would not function withoutthe broad participation of society,Ms. Lower writes. And yet nearly allhistories of the Holocaust leave outhalf of those who populated that soci-ety, as if womens history happenssomewhere else.

After the war, the international tri-bunals that sought to punish Germanwar criminals rarely prosecuted women.

When an entire nation is implicat-ed, where do you begin to parse guilt,culpability and responsibility? Where

do you draw the lines? Ms. Lowerasked. You start with the men, whoare the primary perpetrators.

The few women who were brought totrial often feigned ignorance and inno-cence. As Ms. Lower writes, they gotaway with murder.

The women didnt continue to killafter the war. They got on with theirlives, rarely speaking openly abouttheir wartime experiences. When Ms.Lower decided to bring this untold his-tory out of the shadows, she agonizedover whether she should divulge thenames of her real-life protagonists.While their stories were a matter ofpublic record, she knew it would bringpain to relatives who had nothing to do

with wartime atrocities.Ultimately, however, Ms. Lower felt

compelled to take on the role of truth-teller. Her greatest duty, she said, is tothe victims of the Holocaust. While theymay be dead and gone, their voices arevery much alive. When Ms. Lowerreads firsthand accounts of their suffer-ing, she hears the scream of a single,unifying message:

Hear me. Dont forget my story. Imimploring you, so your readers willnever forget.

Hitlers Furies, a finalist for the2013 National Book Award, is avail-able on Amazon and through mostmajor booksellers.

Sarah Torribio

[email protected]

FEMALE FURYcontinued from the previous page

Photos Vera Sthli in her SS marriage application, 1942 can be seen in Claremont McKenna College history professor Wendy Lowers book Hitlers Furies.


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TRADING SPACES...HELPING BOOMERS THROUGH TRANSITIONAL LIVING

Multi-generational living,sandwich generation, down-sizing, mature active adult

living, aging in place, transitionalliving. These are all relatively newterms that have come up as newtrends in the Real Estate Industryas the demographics in our countryare shifting. By 2015, those aged50 and older will represent 45% ofthe US population. (AARP)

Along with these new trends comea myriad of issues that often timescan leave an individual overwhelmed

and unprepared of how or where tostart planning for this new stage oflife. This scenario happened to mewhile providing long distance care-giving for my ill father which lastedover a period of 13 years.

It was during this time I quicklylearned how important it was tohave a team of professionals and/orresources that I could count on to be my trusted advisors. Some of the professionals I usedat the time were: an excellent in-home care provider: a general contractor who could retrofitour family home to accommodate Dads new physical limitations; a trust attorney to makerevisions to Dads trust which included a power of attorney and advance medical directive,an accountant; a financial advisor that would help me/us navigate through making soundinvestment decisions that would carry my dad through to the end of his life and a great localREALTOR that provided assistance with moving my dad from our family home to a residen-tial care home. Thanks to this great team of professionals, I was able to provide Dad with thehighest quality of care so he could live his end days with integrity and dignity.

This experience gave me a passion for helping others in the same situation. I am notjust a REALTOR, but I am a Transition Living Consultant, help ing others through a newstage of life. My success lies in my ability to provide the resources necessary to supportmy clients through this period of time as they face new surroundings and the challengesthat may lie ahead for them. Knowledge is free to those who ask. Feel free to stop in andsee me at my office located at 250 W. First St. Suite 100, Claremont, CA or email me toschedule an appointment for a time to discuss your options as you enter a new stage inyour life. [email protected].

Pamela Bergman-Swartz

909-636-2744Transition Living Consultant, SRES BRE #01899295Your trusted resource as you transition through the new stage of your life.

Robert Takeichi Oshiro & Pam Bergman-Swartz

Womens let-ters, diaries,literary and

creative writings andother personal docu-ments are the focus ofan exhibition forWomens HistoryMonth atHonnold/Mudd andDenison libraries at TheClaremont Colleges.

Titled, Telling Their Own

Stories: Women's Manuscriptsin Special Collections, theexhibition offers glimpses intothe lives and activities of sev-eral interesting women, whodonated their personal papersto the libraries for preservation,teaching and research. Frompublished authors to politicalactivists to journalists to col-lege students, all of the

womens papers and manuscripts on display are from the special collections ofHonnold/Mudd and Denison libraries and on view through March 28, 2014.

The Honnold/Mudd Library is located at 800 Dartmouth Ave., Claremont.For information, call (909) 607-8112.

A special collection of womens manuscripts on exhibit at Honnold

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffHonnold Library in Claremont.


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E

very memorable event

requires behind-the-scenes dedication. In thecity of Claremont there is onemore common factor: MelissaVollaro and Jamie Harvey.

From the Fourth of July celebrationto the Halloween Spooktacular, there ishardly a bash in the City of Trees with-out these two scurrying away behindthe scenes. At any given time of yearMs. Harvey, the citys special eventscoordinator, can be found working outthe details behind a number of localhappeningsthe Holiday Promenade,Spring Celebration, Arbor Day, theSummer Concert Series and others. In

addition to overseeing special city fes-tivities, she also handles communityprograms like the public art bannercompetition and the installation andremoval of other city ensigns.

Ms. Vollaro, community and humanservices manager, oversees special eventsand makes sure the citys senior programsare up and running while also stayingengaged in a variety of other special proj-ects, which currently includes the citysfirst public art master plan and helping theVillage Marketing Group with a fundrais-er for a band stage at Shelton Park.

And all other duties as assigned,Ms. Vollaro laughed.

The end result might mean little

downtime for the human services duo.But on a recent morning break, thewomen were afforded a rare moment toreflect on why they thrive off the hustleand bustle of their daily work schedule.

We run a lot of the same core pro-grams with similar elements to them, butno two events are ever the same. Theresalways a little bit of variety, Ms.

Harvey said. It keeps it interesting.

Ms. Harvey began her post at the cityof Claremont three years ago as a sen-ior recreation leader at the HughesCenter, mainly stationed at the frontdesk. Anything but a typical sedentarydesk job, employment at the bustlingcommunity center afforded Ms.Harvey the ability to get her feet wet ina variety of city programming, from

senior classes to events for the citys

youth. It proved the perfect transitioninto a part-time position with specialevents beginning in the summer of2012, where she happily accepted

extra duties. Instead of feeling over-whelmed with the increased workload,she felt exhilarated.

I fell in love with being able to putmy own different spin and personaltouch on each event, she said.

Flexing her party-planning prowess,the events coordinator is the mastermindbehind Flo the Reindeer, a highlight ofthis past years Holiday Promenade, andmade sure the Halloween Spooktacularwas memorable with the inclusion of aphoto booth.

Its the little additions that peopleseem to really enjoy, enough change to

Creating memories, taking every opportunity to celebrate

HUMAN SERVICES

continues on page 10

COURIER photos/Steven FelschundneffClaremont Community and Human Services employees Jamie Harveyand Melissa Vollaro take some measurements in planning this yearsSpring Festival on Tuesday at Memorial Park. The pair must work long inadvance of any big city holiday to make sure that the celebration goesoff without a hitch.

Melissa Vollaro watches band videoslast Thursday while selecting theacts that will perform at this sum-mers concerts in the park series.



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Claremont Community and Human Services employees Jamie Harvey and Melissa Vollaro look for Fourth of July decorations that must be returned to a former com-mittee member on Tuesday at the Garner House in Claremont. Though most of their days are spent in meetings, the pair often get out of the office as part of their job.


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not make the event seem totally differ-

ent, but still give it that special feel,Ms. Harvey said.

She admits its not always easy tokeep up the pace, especially with herbusy schedule. It helps to have a depart-ment of equally high-energy co-work-ers at the ready when she needs it.

We are all so busy and runningaround all the time, yet they still find thetime to ask me how Im doing and howmy day is going, she said. Its one ofthe most rewarding parts of my job.

At the head of her team is Ms.Vollaro, who makes the job look easywith 14 years in the local communityand human services realm under herbelt. Ms. Vollaro first put her psychol-ogy degree to use at a skilled nursingfacility, but knew quickly it was nother niche. She soon found a better fitas a program coordinator at the Joslyn

Senior Center in Claremont.The nursing home was really emo-

tionally challenging, Ms. Vollarosaid. I decided I would rather be onthe other end, keeping people activeand interested in activities to preventthem from having to go to nursinghomes.

Her municipal work was a perfectmatch. She was quickly bumped upto senior program supervisor and after

several years saw her responsibilities

expand once more with a promotionto community and human servicesmanager. While she continues to havea hand in the happenings at the Joslyn,

Ms. Vollaro enjoys helping hercoworkers oversee a variety of cityprogramming and special events, herfavorite of which is the IndependenceDay extravaganza.

The Fourth of July is like Christmasin Claremont, she said. There are somany facets to the day and so manygroups involved. Its really rewardingto see it all come together.

Charlie Gale, past president of theIndependence Day committee, creditsMs. Vollaro and her team for makingthe city holidays so memorable.

Melissa has always been very pro-fessional in pulling together the needsof the community and being our pointperson in understanding how the cityoperates and how to balance our budg-et, Mr. Gale said. Her positive atti-tude and professionalism has taken ourcommunity to another level.

Ms. Vollaro and Ms. Harvey assurethe feeling is mutual. Working withClaremonts many service groups iswhat they say keeps their job interesting.

Everyday is a mystery, you neverknow whats going to pop up or whatnew program idea [these communitygroups] will come up with, Ms.Vollaro said. It keeps us on our toesand it keeps us refreshed.

Beth Hartnett

[email protected]

HUMAN SERVICEScontinued from page 8

COURIER photo/Steven Felschundneff

Melissa Vollaro and Jamie Harvey of Community and Human Services meetwith Kiwanis Club president Ed Leavell and president elect Dennis Baumanlast week at the Hughes Community Center. During the meeting they deter-mined a schedule for the summer concert series in Memorial Park whichthe Kiwanis Club co-sponsors with the city of Claremont.


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Coming into the United States speak-

ing zero English has pushed ClaraDehmer to prove to Claremont

High School students that college andsuccess is possible. Ms. Dehmer left herposition as principal at Mountain ViewElementary at the end of December 2013 tofurther those pursuits as the new assistantprincipal of Student Services at CHS.

As an administrator, I have always thought ofmyself as really shy. This position has pushed me tochange that, she said.

Ms. Dehmer has been in elementary education sinceher career began and wanted something different mov-ing forward in her career. She began to talk to col-

leagues and James Elsasser, superintendent of theClaremont Unified School District, about going into ahigh school position. So when the position for studentservices opened, she took a chance and applied.

Now her time is filled being an active faculty mem-ber on campus. Every day she meets with students ortheir parents to ensure that schedules and behavior areon track.

Coming from the elementary environment to highschool has been an adjustment for her since she start-ed in her new position a month ago. While she got toknow staff and students quickly at the smaller campusof Mountain View, Ms. Dehmer has had to take a lit-tle more time getting to know the larger CHS staff.

In her new position, she is hoping to help preparestudents for life as an adult. Being able to tell students

that college can happen to anyone with a strongenough desire is important to her, she said.At six-years-old, Ms. Dehmer immigrated to the

United States in 1980 after president Carter allowedasylum to Cuban immigrants looking to move to theUnited States.

We moved around a lot when I was a kid, and itwas non-English speaking at home so a lot of it mybrother and I had to do on our own. It was toughgrowing up, Ms. Dehmer said.

Even though her family faced challenges as they adapt-ed to life in the United States, none of the strugglesstopped her parents constant support of their childrensfutures. Mrs. Dehmer was encouraged to better her lifewith an education and told to strive for her dreams. Itimparted on her the value of an education and howimportant it is to be supportive of children at a young age.

I never knew I was going to go to college, I neverknew I was going to do these things. Mrs. Dehmer said.

Though the hope for a better life was present, herfamilys financial situation never had Ms. Dehmerthinking about life after high school. It was not untilshe was in eighth grade that she began forming herdream of attending college. A representative fromUSC visited her history class to promote collegelife and took their mailing information.

Every year after that I got a birthday card and aChristmas card from USC. So, my dream was to goto USC. That is where it kind of started, Mrs.Dehmer said.

COURIER photo/Steven FelschundneffEducator Clara Dehmer was recently been hired as one of the assistant principals at ClaremontHigh School. She was the principal of Mountain View Elementary School for several years but feltit was time for a new challenge.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALcontinues on page 13

CHS Assistant Principal prepares students for adult life, college


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COURIER photos/Steven FelschundneffAssistant Principal Clara Dehmer walks the Claremont High School campus between classes on Monday. Ms. Dehmer is in her first few weeks onthe job and loves working with the high school students.


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Without any previous knowledge on what grants

were or how to get a loan to start school, she beganto work part-time to help pay her tuition.Ms. Dehmer attended Cal State Los Angeles

before transferring to USC for her bachelors degreein education. She stayed at USC for her masters ineducation with an emphasis on science education.

Her professional career began in 1996 at BassetUnified School District in La Puente. There shetaught at Sunkist Elementary as a third and fourthgrade teacher. Eventually she moved up to aresource teacher position and taught the Englishlanguage to students who needed help.

As she studied for her masters degree in adminis-tration at Cal State San Bernardino, Ms. Dehmer wasapproached about taking the assistant principal posi-tion for Sunkist. For two-and-a-half years she watchedover the K-8 school of more than 900 students.

After nearly 12 years at Basset Unified, Ms.Dehmer was offered the principals position at aschool that closed down due to low attendance. The

schools closure put her on the path to Claremont

Unified School District and in 2008 she took thehelm as principal at Mountain View Elementary.

While at Mountain View she initiated a lot of pro-grams that benefited the students. One of these pro-grams was the Bucket Filler awards. The programrecognizes students who are kind to others andshowed selflessness. Mountain View also became adistinguished school and was awarded the Title 1Academic Achievement award for the 2009-10school year under Ms. Dehmers leadership.

I couldnt say anything more besides she was aperfect boss. She was just so easy to work with and,

as a team, we did so well together and it was justalways great. I miss her terribly, Kathy Lepore,Mountain View office manager, said.

When she left Mountain View, the students wrote

to Ms. Dehmer and told her how much they wouldmiss her smile around campus. Her positive naturespread throughout the office and really made it ajoy to work with her, Ms. Lepore shared.

Ms. Dehmers advice for whoever fills her shoesat Mountain View is listen.

Just really listen and get to know the culture. Youmove slowly, you dont just come in and changepeoples worlds upside down. You have to berespective of the culture thats there and take it inand work with people to make changes, she said.

If at the beginning of her career you had askedMs. Dehmer if she would ever go into high schooladministration she would have responded with aloud, No. Now, she loves getting the opportunityto interact with the students everyday and beingpresent to support whatever they want to achieve.

I really like the atmosphere here. We have real-ly good kids at Claremont High, we really do.Theyre calm, theyre respectful, and Im reallyenjoying that, Ms. Dehmer said.

In her new role at CHS, Ms. Dehmer hopes tocontinue to learn about the culture on the CHScampus and get to know more of the students. Shehas made it a point to attend sporting events andkeep an open door so students will continue tocome in and get to know her.

Christina Collins [email protected]

Claremont High School Assistant PrincipalClara Dehmer has been an educator for overtwo decades and has been with CUSD for overfive years. As an immigrant from Cuba she tellsstudents that anything is possible in life if theychoose to apply themselves.

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALcontinued from page 11


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A

financial gift from Jess Ravich

and his daughtersZoe (Scripps2012), Rae, Ede and Avainhonor of his wife, Tia Palermo to ScrippsCollege was recently announced byPresident Lori Bettison-Varga. The TiaPalermo Scholarship will be awardedannually to help an incoming studentwith financial need.

Preference will be given to applicants fromLivingston County in New York, Tia Palermoshometown county, or from one of the surroundingcounties of Wyoming, Orleans, Genesee, Erie,Niagara or Monroe.

The new scholarship will help many students in

the years ahead and stands as a testament to Jesss

and his daughters love and respect for Tia, Ms.Bettison-Varga said. The Ravich familys gift is a

tribute to Tia Palermos life and to her belief inwomens education.

Tia Palermo, one of six sisters, enrolled in collegeand supported herself while she attained a bache-lors degree in education.

My parents both believed in the power ofwomens education and enrolled, us, their fourdaughters in an all-girls high school, Zoe Ravichsaid. Further, my mother adored the ScrippsCollege campus and what the college stood for as awomens institution.

The gift came in anticipation of a significantfundraising initiative and will produce immediateand long-term benefits for the college.

Uplanders Club Charitable Organization is fea-turing its annual fundraising event March 15 at a

luncheon to be held at the Upland Hills Country

Club starting at 11 a.m. This year's chosen benefi-ciaries will be Claremonts nonprofit Crossroads

and the GAP Food Bank of Rancho Cucamonga.Crossroads Housing for Women assists women

who have recently been released from long-termimprisonment by providing bridge gap housing forsix months during which the women receive train-ing and education to enable them to reenter societysuccessfully and obtain employment.

The GAP Food Bank provides food to needy fam-ilies and senior citizens on limited income in theUpland, Rancho Cucamonga and Ontario. The needis great in the Inland Empire, as the region wasrecently identified as being one among those withthe greatest poverty levels in the United States.

For reservations and information on the fundrais-ing event, contact Roxanne Basica, event chair, at(909) 229-6960 or Lulu Horn, president, at (909)

946-7321

Scripps College receives gift to establish Tia Palermo scholarship

Scripps College will present AnEvening of Perspective withauthor, columnist and political

commentator Peggy Noonan as part ofthe 8th Annual Elizabeth Hubert MalottPublic Affairs Program.

Ms. Noonan will comment on current events at 7:30p.m. on Thursday, February 6 in Garrison Theater ofthe Scripps College Performing Arts Center, 231 E.Tenth St. The event is free and open to the public.

Ms. Noonan is a widely-admired columnist for TheWall Street Journal and the best-selling author of eightbooks on American politics, history nd culture. In 2008,the National Journal dubbed Ms. Noonans political col-umn indispensable to an understanding of the presiden-tial year, and Forbes magazine called her column prin-cipled, perceptive, persuasive and patriotic. Ms.Noonans essays have appeared in Time, Newsweek,The Washington Post and other publications, and sheprovides frequent political commentary on television.

Priority seating will be given to members of theScripps community with their Scripps ID. All otherseating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information about this event,contact the Office of Public Events at (909) 607-9372 or visit http://www.scrippscollege.edu/malott.

The Elizabeth Hubert Malott Public Affairs Program,established by the Malott family in memory of ElizabethHubert Malott 53, makes manifest her belief that a rangeof opinions about the worldespecially opinions withwhich we may not agree, or think we do not agreeleads to a better educational experience. Although theprimary audience for this annual program is the ScrippsCollege student body, all members of the Claremontcommunity and the general public are welcome.

An evening with Peggy Noonanat Scripps College



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F

or more than 30 years, CharleneMartin directed International Place,the center that supports internation-

al students at The Claremont Colleges.In that position, she coordinated hundreds of stu-

dents and community volunteers every year to planand present programs including the popularInternational Festival each April. She retired in 2008.

In 2006, Ms. Martin brought her skills of network-ing, persuading and coordinating to CLASP, joiningthe board and, soon after, chairing CLASPs firstTutor Committee. Since then, she and her committee,with co-chair Barbara Shelley, have recruited hun-dreds of volunteer tutors from the community andlocal colleges.

Ms. Martin spearheaded the efforts to create the firsttutor handbook, organize a series of tutor-trainingworkshops and built a database for systematic recruit-

ing. At the same time, she tutored at Claremont VillageApartments for five years, helped upgrade its programand recruited its site supervisor, Jim Keith. And sheorganized the first CLASP garden party for donors at

the home of the Pomona College president and his wife.Although Ms. Martin stepped down from chairing

the Tutor Committee this fall, she continues to tutorat Good Shepherd and to support CLASP.

I have enjoyed working with the committed peo-ple of CLASPpeople who feel that all children are

their responsibility and give of themselves to make adifference in their lives, she said.CLASP president Teddie Warner expressed her

gratitude to Ms. Martin for her years of service.Charlene has served CLASP with imagination,

creativity and persistence, Ms. Warner said. Wethank her sincerely for her devotion and care.

Charlene Martin personifies the spirit of CLASP

Charlene Martin

Suzanne H. Christian, CFP, attendedthe seventh annual Barrons TopWomen Advisors Summit, hosted

by Barrons magazine to promote bestpractices in the industry and the value ofadvice to the investing public.

The invitation-only conference was held at TheBreakers in early December in Palm Beach, Floriday.

Seventy-four of the top 100 women financial advi-sors in the US, as ranked and published in BarronsJune 3, 2013 issue, were in attendance. This annualranking is the basis for the summit; advisors are select-ed for the list based on the volume of assets overseenby the advisors and their teams, revenue generated forthe firms and the quality of the advisors practices. Thetop 100 women are comprised of advisors from majorsecurity firms and independent operations.

Attendees conducted workshops led by the topadvisors that explored current issues from businessdevelopment ideas, managing high-net-worth

accounts and families to portfolio management andretirement planning.

America needs wise and proven financial leader-ship. This conference brings together the best advisorsin the country to share information and ideas towardone goalto better serve their clients, their familiesand their communities, said Ed Finn, editor and pres-ident of Barrons. The financial markets and investingare more complex than ever. These leading advisorswill leave this conference better equipped to help theirclients find investing opportunities, avoid market trapsand achieve financial well-being.

Ms. Christian was one of approximately 500 finan-cial advisors who were selected by their firm to attendand participate in the conference. Participating firmsincluded: Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., Bank ofAmerica-Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse Securities(USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, EdwardJones, LPL Financial, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,Raymond James Financial, RBC WealthManagement, Robert W. Baird & Co., UBS FinancialServices Inc. and Wells Fargo Advisors.

Suzanne Christian takes part in Barrons Top Women advisors summit



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Claremont COURIER Focus on Women 1-31-14

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