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Cleveland Heights High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame
On September 17, 2022, the Heights Schools Foundation hosted the 42nd induction of the Cleveland Heights High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame (HOF) by honoring ten extraordinary alumni inside the Dina Rees Evans Center for the Performing Arts. The celebration coincided with Homecoming Weekend.
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One of the most remarkable aspects of this year’s induction ceremony was the return to an in-person event with live-stream video capacity for those who could not join in-person. The festivities, which reached thousands of students, staff, alumni and community members, included honoree speeches and the fun and informal After-Show talk show. The After-Show, created in 2020 in connection with the 40th anniversary of the HOF, has become a beloved tradition of the celebrations.
Visit HeightsSchoolsFoundation.org to learn more about this year’s inductees and to view the ceremony and talk show on Heights’ YouTube channel. On these pages, members of the newest HOF class express profound gratitude for being selected for receiving this school honor and community-wide recognition.
by Abbie Nagler Sender
DIANA COHEN ’97
Concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012, Diana performs in concerts across the country and globe with award-winning ensembles, such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, at some of the most prestigious music festivals, including Marlboro and Ravinia, and collaborates with renowned artists such as Garrick Ohlsson, Mitsuko Uchida, Jonathan Biss, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard and Cleveland quartets. A passionate chamber musician, Diana is founder and co-artistic director of the acclaimed ChamberFest Cleveland and ChamberFest West (in Calgary). “I’m honored to join an exceptional group of people who have preceded me as inductees into the Hall of Fame. I was inspired by many of these people as a student at Heights High and was always in awe of what people accomplished after graduation. I was incredibly lucky to be a student surrounded by bright, hardworking, creative and caring peers, many of whom are still dear friends, as well as devoted and passionate teachers and mentors. I am grateful that my profession has taken me to a place where I’m able to give something of significance to my hometown community and am truly honored for being recognized for this.”
Nancy is a sought-after expert in the field of child development. Using a psychodynamic approach, she has been in private clinical practice for more than 25 years in New York City working with children, adolescents and adults. She consults with parents and educators in school settings and nonprofit agencies about emotional risk-taking, social-emotional development and wellness, self-regulation, and the intersection of learning disabilities and emotional functioning. Nancy is the author of Raising Children Who Soar: A Guide to Healthy Risk Taking in an Uncertain World, a nationally recognized book on child rearing. “I am humbled by being asked to be part of this prestigious group. I hope that my work will inspire young people to work hard to do what they love to make our world a better place, while keeping in mind the importance of balance - time for family and play.”
STAN SILVERMAN ’65
Stan’s career has been devoted to educating students, administrators, employees, business leaders, and CEOs of national corporations. As dean and professor emeritus at The University of Akron and president of Human Resource Decisions, Inc., he trained thousands of students, employees and executives in the areas of leadership, management development, organizational change, performance management, and employee training and staffing. Co-author of the book Working Scared: Achieving Success in Trying Times, Stan speaks nationally about workplace issues and about his recent research about arrogance and leadership. “I am grateful that Cleveland Heights High School prepared me for such a rewarding and successful career. I am very proud that the Foundation and the students chose to give me the honor of being inducted into the Cleveland Heights High School Alumni Hall of Fame!”
JEROME T. WHITE ’88
Jerome, a long-time artist-educator at his alma mater, with a side professional artistic career, is a dynamic community artist and activist. Committed to his hometown, he initiates mural beautification projects in inner-city neighborhoods and engages community members to participate, particularly young people who are encouraged to master their own creativity and artistic talents. Jerome’s recent high-profile commissions include Heights’ Hall of Fame mural and a nine-arch series for the renovation of Cleveland’s historic League Park, a 19th century venue that hosted sports events including baseball, football and boxing. “Being inducted into the Heights Hall of Fame means that throughout all of the ups and downs, somehow in my life journey, the blueprint for success manifested in the path choices I made. It recognizes that I did something right, something that has value to share with the rest of the world.”
AL CARR ’84
In 2007, Al was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates after a 20-year career in telecommunications. He is currently in his third term representing the 18th District serving on the Health and Government Operations committees. Al, humbled to serve and improve the lives of others, has received top ratings and awards from groups advocating for conservation, civil rights, municipal government and consumer protection and endorsements from national leaders, including U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin, and organizations such as the Montgomery County Education Association, Sierra Club and the Association of Black Democrats. “The Cleveland Heights and University Heights school community strongly values educational excellence. Because of this, there are many alumni who have gone on to make significant contributions to our society. It is a great honor to be included in this group. I feel lucky to have grown up in Cleveland Heights and to have been educated at Heights High.”
PETER BENDIX ’04
At age 37, Peter, general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, is among the youngest to hold that position in all of Major League Baseball. The Rays are among the most highly-regarded MLB organizations, having been named Baseball America’s “Organization of the Year” in 2021 for the second time in three years. While Peter’s deep passion for baseball began when he was a child, it is without a doubt that his experiences at Heights—where he honed skill sets that enable him to get along and work with others and value people for their individual qualities—propel him in his remarkable career (to date). “I’m honored and flattered to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. Thinking back to my time in high school, I never could’ve dreamed this path would follow. Now my dreams have become a reality and I’m incredibly grateful to be here today.”
JULIANA WODA, PHD ’92
After earning her doctorate from Harvard in her twenties, Juliana became a scientist extraordinaire. She is a lab manager, an experiment designer, an evaluator and a consultant. She speaks comfortably to investors explaining why certain research is promising in the field of treating and curing diseases and finds time to mentor young women interested in STEM careers, volunteer at science fairs and speak on panels. She is the co-founder of a company that combats antibiotic resistance, making existing antibiotics more effective again, both saving lives and lowering costs of treating infections worldwide. “It is a huge honor to be inducted into the Heights High Hall of Fame. Many of my fellow alumni and classmates have led incredibly successful lives with meaningful careers. To be nominated and to be inducted was a huge surprise and very meaningful, given the accomplishments of many of my classmates.”
Habeebah is an experienced nonprofit leader with a demonstrated history of advocating for mental health care among Cleveland’s public-school students. Beginning her career as a psychologist for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Habeebah is currently CEO of Positive Education Program (PEP). She leads a staff of 450 professionals committed to supporting healing in children who have experienced significant adversity and mental health challenges. She has been honored with several high-profile community awards including this year’s Crain’s Cleveland Woman of Note. “It is a tremendous honor to be inducted into the Cleveland Heights High School Hall of Fame. I am reminded in this moment of the contrasting uncertainty and confidence I felt as I moved through high school and toward my future. Adolescence is a tumultuous period of development for young people, and it was no different for me, but I trusted that if I got my education, no one could take it from me, as my mother often said. So I pursued and achieved academic excellence under the guidance of Cleveland Heights High’s educators. To this day, I am grateful to my mother for her wisdom, the friends who walked alongside me, and the teachers who nurtured my love of learning during those years. I hope that current and future Heights High students will hear my story and see themselves in it, and know that they, too, will find their own path and purpose as students and future leaders.”
JAMES WYBAN, PHD ’69
Jim developed SPF (specific pathogen-free) shrimp and is the world’s foremost authority in this field with some of the world’s most influential organizations, such as the World Health Organization and NASA, seeking his expertise. Through his innovation, shrimp farmers use SPF stocks, which are high quality and produce both good survival rates and high yields without relying on antibiotics to boost growth and prevent disease outbreaks. The quality of his SPF shrimp stock transformed the industry leading to five-fold production and adding $225 billion to the global shrimp economy. “This is a great honor. My excellent education at CHHS prepared me for an interesting life in innovation, science and entrepreneurship. Heights was a competitive environment and trained me to handle competition and not to be defeated by life’s many challenges. Successful people have grit or determination and I learned that at Heights.”
TENESSA GONZALEZ-JENNINGS ’98
Tenessa, an Emmy-award winning executive producer for E.W. Scripps Company in San Diego, garnered the prestigious National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence in Television in 2021. To get to the top of her field, Tenessa propelled herself towards a fast-paced trip around the country working at numerous stations acquiring essential skills and expertise. Many watched and marveled as she broke barriers while staying connected to home and committed to training the next generation of broadcast journalists. “This is everything—to be recognized for all my hard work. Sometimes you don’t realize all of your accomplishments because you are always in grind mode. Always up against the odds, this accolade truly shows I’ve been setting myself up for success since I was young. I wish my grandparents were alive to see this moment. They loved me unconditionally and always pushed me to be the best. I can’t even describe how happy I am to be recognized by Cleveland Heights High School for my accomplishments.”
