MOVERS & SHAKERS

The New York Community College Trustees named Onondaga Community College alumna Karin Franklin-King ’69 recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement for 2021. She will receive the award during November in Saratoga Springs. The New York Community College Trustees is a voluntary, nonprofit consortium of community college trustees. Their Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement highlights contributions made by community college graduates in an effort to showcase the exceptional value of a community college education.

Franklin-King came to Onondaga Community College from Brooklyn and earned an associate degree in drama in 1969. She would go on to earn a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oswego and a master’s degree from Cornell University.

While her first loves were in music and theater, she was also well-known throughout Central New York as a news anchor at WIXT Television (now known as WSYR TV) and WSYR Radio. She also hosted live call-in and public affairs shows on local radio and television stations. In recognition of her outstanding career in broadcasting and her contributions to the community, she was inducted into the Syracuse Press Club’s Wall of Distinction. Franklin-King was also active in the areas of nonprofit and corporate consulting, and education. She’s a past member of the OCC Foundation Board, and in 2011 was named an OCC Alumni Faces honoree.

“Karin is such an amazing example of the value and impact of a community college education. She came here from Brooklyn, fell in love with OCC and the region, and never left. She became an active and beloved member of the community and was always available to help others and provide guidance to people of all ages. We’re so proud of everything she has done and grateful she is still an active member of our college community,” said OCC President Casey Crabill.

DeSiato named Superintendent of the Year

Dr. Donna DeSiato of the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District has been chosen as the 2021 New York State Superintendent of the Year. This annual accolade focuses on the calendar year at hand, but its bestowing by the New York State Council of School Superintendents also takes into account a cumulative look at the selected educator’s entire career. “It is truly an honor that I take extremely to heart with regard to the gratitude for our community, for our board of education and for all of the partnerships and relationships that we have that help us to be successful as a school system,” DeSiato said.

Throughout the application review process, candidates from across the state were judged on their leadership for student learning, their communication skills, their professionalism and their active community involvement.

Since DeSiato’s start in the district in 2005, ESM has introduced three five-year strategic plans, the state’s first career pathway courses in aviation, and the Spartan Academy, which is a tuitionfree way for the high school’s students to earn college credits and eventually two-year degrees from Onondaga Community College in either computer science, math science or engineering science by the time they receive their regents diplomas.

The school district’s capital improvements, its nationally acknowledged STEM ecosystem, its New Heights program for special needs students, and the 10%-plus increase in its graduation rate have also stood as hallmarks of her time at the helm.

Joins Oswego Health

Lorraine A. Ladd-Falanga joins The Center for Wound Healing at Oswego Health. Ladd-Falanga will see patients at the center which offers leading-edge treatments including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative pressure therapies, bioengineered tissues, and biosynthetic to reintroduce the body's innate ability to heal. Ladd-Falanga brings over 20 years of experience to The Center for Wound Healing and is no stranger to Oswego Health. Throughout her career, she held various positions at Oswego Hospital including being a nurse practitioner in the emergency department and serving as a hospitalist. She’s worked throughout Central New York at the major healthcare systems and most recently was a nurse practitioner at Delph Health Care where she provided medical care to patients requiring admissions.

Ladd-Falanga is a New York licensed registered nurse, registered vascular technologist and cardiac sonographer. She earned her master of science and bachelor’s degree in nursing from SUNY Upstate Medical University.

OPEN