EDUCATION

Aneesha N. Jacko

Principal New York City Department of Education Cambria Heights, NY

Cambria Heights, NY — Aneesha N. Jacko is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Trusted Professional Educator for her outstanding leadership and dedication to Early Childhood Education and in acknowledgment of her work with the New York City Department of Education.

A seasoned Educational Leader, Coach, Teacher, Counselor, and Licensed Minister, Aneesha Jacko has been involved in Early Childhood Education for more than 20 years with the New York City Department of Education. Since 2015, Ms. Jacko has served as Director of Early Childhood Education for the District 2 Pre-K Centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

Known as a compassionate and creative professional, Ms. Jacko prides herself on instilling a love for learning in children, which she considers essential in early education. She defines her motto as “Inspire learning, building relationships, and thriving.” She works to create teamwork between leaders, teachers, students, families, and organizations in reaching educational goals for the children she serves. During her career, Ms. Jacko has worked hard to disrupt systemic inequities and help her students and their families to the best of her ability.

Among her most recent accomplishments, she was instrumental in developing and opening the first Dual Language Program for Early Childhood Education in the Upper East Side of New York City in 2020. The program’s mission is to provide children with highquality early learning in English and a target language. While she has experienced several career highlights, she is incredibly proud of maintaining family relationships during her two decades as an educator.

In pursuit of her higher learning, Ms. Jacko obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1999 from Hampton University, followed by a Master of Arts in Special Education and Early Childhood from Touro College in 2003. The following year, she earned a Master of Arts in Literacy from Long Island University Brooklyn. In 2005, she received a Master of Arts in School Leadership and District Leadership from Long Island University. Her current educational pursuit is a Master of Divinity in Urban Ministry from Nyack College.

Among her affiliations, Ms. Jacko is a member of Phi Delta Kappa. She is also involved in the Off School Grounds (OSG) Coalition and Jack and Jill of America.

She enjoys music, concerts, journaling, and spending time with her sons, Sy and Avi, in her free time. Looking ahead, she says she would like to write books, create documentaries, and host podcasts.

Debra Lynne MacWilliams

Retired Adjunct Professor State University of New York Surprise, AZ

Surprise, AZ — Debra Lynne MacWilliams is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Professional in the Educational field and in recognition of over three decades of excellence as an educator with Letchworth Central School and an adjunct professor with the State University of New York.

A passionate teacher, Ms. MacWilliams prides herself on dedicating her professional career to expanding young minds with knowledge. She retired in 2020 after garnering more than 32 years of experience in her field and touching the lives of hundreds of students. Ms. MacWilliams began her successful and rewarding career in 1988 as a teacher of gifted and talented students and as a reading specialist at Letchworth Central School in Gainsville, NY. In 2003, she accepted a position as an adjunct professor in the Department of Social Sciences at State University of New York, Genesee Community College, in Batavia, where she became a language arts consultant.

In pursuit of her higher education, Ms. MacWilliams earned a Bachelor of Art in Liberal Arts in 1977 and a Master of Sciences in Education in 1988, both from the State University of New York. She holds state certification as an elementary education teacher and reading specialist in the State of New York.

Among her professional affiliations, she is a member of the New York State Reading Association, the Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education, the Mary Jemison Reading Council, and the International Reading Association.

In addition to her teaching career, Ms. MacWilliams has actively served in her community as a supporter of various civic organizations. She began volunteering for the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation in Washington and Camp Good Days and Special Times in Rochester, New York, in 1986.

Among her other community works, Ms. MacWilliams has served on the executive committee of the Cub Scouts of the Geneseo Region in Batavia and as a parent network coordinator for the Association for Pediatric Patients in Buffalo, NY. She has additionally been a long-time volunteer with the Wyoming County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, which honored her with an Outstanding Service Award in 1992.

Michael A. Cervantes

Retired El Rancho Unified School District San Gabriel, CA

San Gabriel, CA — Michael A. Cervantes is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Pinnacle Retiree for his dedication to the Education field and in acknowledgment of his many years of outstanding service to the El Rancho Unified School District.

A seasoned educator with nearly 40 years of experience in his field, Michael Cervantes most recently served as a second-grade teacher for the El Rancho Unified School District, in Pico Rivera, Calif., from 2005 until his retirement in 2010. In pursuit of his teaching career, Mr. Cervantes obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English from California State College in 1971. He subsequently earned a Master of Arts in Education in 1978 and another Master of Arts in Chicano Studies in 1985, also from California State. He is a certified elementary teacher and bilingual specialist in the State of California.

Mr. Cervantes began his teaching career with El Rancho Unified School District in 1979. During his tenure, he taught kindergarten through fifth grades. He was also chairman of the school district and a teacher of Spanish as a second language through the Gifted and Talented Education Program.

During his tenure, Mr. Cervantes also served the school district as chairman of the language arts component, secretary for school-wide effectiveness, chairman of the essay, literacy and leadership committees, and non-union representative of the Phase II Budget Committee. He additionally served as principal judge of the computer competition at South Ranchito Elementary School from 1985 to 1992. Following his retirement, Mr. Cervantes has continued his valuable service to the El Rancho Unified School District, remaining as a member of the Strategic Planning Task Force, on which he has served since 1991. He additionally serves as vice president and member of the negotiation team for elementary issues for the El Rancho Federation of Teachers, as well as a member of the alumni association scholarship committee of California State University, Los Angeles.

In recognition of his professional achievements, Mr. Cervantes was the recipient of the San Gabriel Mission High School Alumni Recognition Award in 2019 and was recognized by the Chicano/Latino Department’s spring 2019 newsletter under their Alumni Profile. He is also incredibly proud of developing the bilingual/bi-cultural program for the El Rancho Unified School District, where he worked with young students who were learning English as a second language.

He wishes to dedicate this honor to his parents, John and Bertha Cervantes, and his mentor, Dr. Roberto Cantu.

Robert E. Brown, M.D., FACSc

Pathologist The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Houston, TX

Houston, TX –Robert E. Brown, M.D., FACSc, is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Achiever in the Medical field and in acknowledgment of his work at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Morphoproteomics Laboratory at UTHealth McGovern Medical School.

Robert E. Brown, MD, FACSc, is a Clinical Professor of Pathology, teaching colleagues throughout the Houston, TX area. He has over 55 years of experience and has taught at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and served as the Medical Director of the Morphoproteomics Laboratory at UTHealth McGovern Medical School.

In 1962, Dr. Brown earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Medicine at the University of Akron, then received his Medical Degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1966. In 1968, he took on a Fellowship in Biological Chemistry at Massachusetts General Hospital, in conjunction with Harvard Medical School. Dr. Brown completed his Anatomic Pathology residency at the Medical College of Virginia in 1970 and is board-certified in Anatomic Pathology.

Today, Dr. Brown teaches at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. He is also a Clinical Professor and the Medical Director of the Morphoproteomics Laboratory in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the UTHealth McGovern Medical School. He proudly teaches students, residents, and clinical colleagues.

As the inventor of Morphoproteomics, Dr. Brown is an expert in morphology and protein expression in various diseases. His studies have helped physicians understand disease biology better and help them provide the proper therapeutic treatments to their patients. As a Pathologist, Dr. Brown teaches his residents how to study surgically removed organs, tissue, body fluids, and sometimes organs from autopsied bodies.

Alongside his clinical work, Dr. Brown also previously served two years in the U.S. Army at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, where he achieved the rank of Major.

IssueWire recognized him for his exceptional achievements in the medical field. Remaining involved in the medical community, Dr. Brown is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Clinical Pathology, and the Association of Clinical Scientists. He is also a member of the Editorial Board for the Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science.

In his charitable endeavors, Dr. Brown provides his treatment considerations in Morphoproteomics at a low or no cost to disadvantaged patients.

Dr. Brown would like to dedicate this honorable recognition, in Loving Memory, of his parents, Chay Brown and Elizabeth Ann Vrana-Brown. He has been happily married to Mrs. Dorothy Lee Cook-Brown for 57 years, and they have two sons, Robert and Jonathan.

CWW Member Profiles

Thomas A. Romberg, Ph.D.

Retired Professor University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fitchburg, WI

Fitchburg, WI — Thomas A. Romberg, Ph.D., is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Top Pinnacle Professor for his exemplary leadership and accomplishments in Mathematics Education and in acknowledgment of his many years of service to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Globally recognized in his field, Dr. Romberg served as Bascom Professor of Education and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his esteemed career, Dr. Romberg directed the National Center for Research in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics for the U.S. Department of Education and served as chair of the Commission on Standards for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics that produced the curriculum and assessment standards for U.S. school mathematics. The mathematician additionally served as a Fulbright Fellow to the former Soviet Union, a National Science Foundation visiting professor at the University of Delhi, a Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania, and a Spencer Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

Dr. Romberg has authored numerous scholarly works, reviewed academic textbooks, and shared his expertise at a vast number of educational conferences, where he was introduced as Mathematics Educator of the 20th Century.

He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1955 and a Master of Science in Secondary Education in 1958, both from the University of Omaha. He served in the military and became a high school educator before continuing his education at Stanford University, where he completed a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education in 1968. He then joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Among his accolades, Dr. Romberg was the recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Research Review Award, the Interpretive Scholarship Award, and the Professional Service Award. He was named a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. He was presented the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Lifetime Achievement Medal and the International Distinguished Leadership Award in Mathematics Education from the University of South Africa.

Dr. Romberg was also given Distinguished Alumni Awards from Omaha North High School, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Stanford University. The professor was also elected to membership in the U.S. National Education Academy.