2021 Crandall Challenge

Challenge Honor Roll

Nancy Barnes, WG’76

Beverly, MA

Nancy has devoted her time and energy in three Austin nonprofit’s activities: the Ballet Austin Guild, which promotes growth an involvement in ballet cultural arts in the Austin metropolitan area. She also is involved with the Assistance League of Austin’s Thrift Shop which provides clothing for needy children and teens and the Hays County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

Roger Blood, WG’66

Chestnut Hill, MA

A Private mortgage industry pioneer, Roger worked to increase affordable housing in Boston. He was Chair of the HAB (Housing Advisory Board). Trustee for Brookline’s Affordable Housing Trust) with 200 affordable apartments.

He is a Co-founder of the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, which preserves a historic structure in Boston – Metro Waterworks Museum of Chestnut Hill — an Educational venue for the Boston area’s schools. It is also used for weddings.

Annually, it attracts tens of thousands children and adult visitors.

Sewon Chough, WG’62

Napa, CA

Sewon’s professional career included working on project control for Bechtel Corporation. He also was the owner a Hallmark Shop in Huntington Beach, CA. Since his ‘retirement’ in 1989, Sewon has been part of a husband-wife Amkor network devoted to feeding homeless people. This involved recruiting local churches to create soup kitchens and cooking and serving the meals. He has also written a book that helps explain the Bible to those who cannot come to church for Sunday worship.

• Continues long time effort to seek out the homeless and give them necessities.
• Has paid for and given out thousands of meals to the homeless.
• At the end of his career, he moved to Indonesia for four years LNG plant. He and his family lived in the jungle and during this time he helped local people.

Marc Cooper, WG’68

Westport Point, MA

Marc sold his ice cream business but her turned over his separate desert toppings business to a non-profit (WOW – Working Opportunities for Women) which employs disadvantaged women. In the greater Boston area.

Mark Cummings, WG’70

Atheron, CA

Mark is a current and longtime advocate and supporter of organizations raising the alarm about the need for more cybersecurity. He is a founding member of CTO, and a board member: Bace Cybersecurity Institute (BCI). BCI is dedicated to education, public policy, R&D, etc. to address this problem.

In another initiative, Mark have been a co-organizer of an initiative focused on meeting the existential planet wide problems we face including global warming, pandemics, food scarcity, water scarcity, and nuclear weapons. This initiative is conducted under the title of “Death or Utopia”. A video of the initial webinar that kicked it off is available on You Tube.

Woodrin Grossman, WG’68

Fort Worth, TX

Ten year effort as campaign chair and fund raiser to purchase and renovate an overnight camp for those with physical and mental disabilities Camp Summit – nonprofit overnight camp for people of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities.

Camp Summit, Texas Worked as a volunteer with this nonprofit overnight camp for people of all ages with physical and developmental disabilities. Was campaign chair and worked with our CEO to acquire, renovate and raise $13 + million to fund the purchase and renovation of the camp on 460 acres A ten year journey which established our forever home to replace a camp that was on leased property.

In another initiative, Mark have been a co-organizer of an initiative focused on meeting the existential planet wide problems we face including global warming, pandemics, food scarcity, water scarcity, and nuclear weapons. This initiative is conducted under the title of “Death or Utopia”. A video of the initial webinar that kicked it off is available on You Tube.

Robert (Bob) Killebrew, WG’64

Cockeysville, MD

Chairs substantial capital campaigns for a wide variety of non-profit organizations which have raised in excess of $200m. Some of the Maryland community institutions he has played a major role in include the Enoch Pratt Library and the Red Cross. Bob also served on the Board of the Baltimore Parks and Recreation Department.

Charles Kurz, WG’64

Bryn Mawr, PA

Charles has provided leadership in the capital campaigns, scholarships and endowments in a number of colleges, churches and summer camps that include Trinity College and Asylum Hill Congregational church in Hartford, CT, Camp Tecumseh in New Hampshire and the Valley Presbyterian Foundation in Arizona. Charles also created a scholarship fund at Wharton that annually supports Kurz Family Scholars.

Wyn Lydecker, WG’76

Darien, CT

I helped found a local nonprofit, At Home In Darien. The organization’s original name was Aging In Place in Darien. Its purpose is to empower older adults remain in their homes and the community as they age. The organization provides transportation, handyman services, a list of vetted professional service providers, and connection to community. It has grown and flourished over the past 12 years, even during the pandemic, providing truly essential services to more and more seniors in Darien, Connecticut, with no fees for membership or services provided by volunteers.

Wyn wrote a blog for the Wharton Magazine about starting a nonprofit.

James McElwee, WG’76

Menlo Park, CA

Thru healthcare industry experience, developed integrated health programs to serve 38,000 homeless in 13 California counties. Revamped board and created bond issue to finance desired organization capabilities. I joined the board of HealthRIGHT 360 in San Francisco six years ago. HealthRIGHT 360 is a family of integrated health programs that provides care and treatment to over 38,000 individuals a year through more than 70 distinct and culturally competent programs in 13 California counties.

As a result of her strategies the organization addresses the whole individual not just subsets of their needs. HealthRIGHT is very good with respect to drug addiction and mental health.

My experience at HealthRIGHT has been very satisfying in that the target customer base of the organization are homeless and others with the most urgent needs.

Richard Ossen, WG’63

Fort Myers, FL

Leadership positions to maintain and preserve the shellfish and quahog breeding and estuary areas for future generations.
Chairman of our gated community’s Activities and Fitness Committee (CAF) 2016-present Board member of our community’s United Way Committee 2018-present Past President (2007/2008) and active member of Barnstable Assn. for Recreational Shellfishing (BARS) 2004-present.

Provide some for BARS, it is our work with the Town’s Dept. of Natural Resources to insure future generations will be able to continue to enjoy shellfishing as we have. We help propagate thousands of oysters and quahogs every year, insure clean water and make sure residents have a way to reach the shellfish areas.

Eugene (Gene) Strickland, WG’66

Lakeland, FL

After 34 years as Lakeland FL city manager, Gene has promoted affordable housing projects in his community. He also has provided leadership in the Boy and Girls clubs of Lakeland and Mulberry, FL and served as a Trustee of the Lakeland Employees and Fire Fighters Pension . Funds. Gene has also been a Board Member and volunteer for ACE (the Aerospace Center for Excellence.)

Robert Swartz, WG’67 (Reston, VA)
Bob has focused volunteer activities in six areas:

• As a NPS (National Park Service) Volunteer for the National Mall & Memorial Parks in DC, primarily the Vietnam Veterans and the WWII Memorials.
• As a Hospitality Group volunteer for the Wolf Trap Performing Arts concerts and programs.
• A Member of the Reston (VA) Association’s Fiscal Committee Financial Advisor Board of VHB that provides linguists to the Federal government particular for the Middle East (e.g. Afghanistan.).
• He is also a Financial Advisor for Quest Digital Interactive which is developing a software game: “Saving the Planet.”
• Collaboration with Tony Gallo on a play about Robert Morris, Financier of the America Revolution.

Christian Varin, WG’68

Vordere, Switzerland

Jerry Wilkinson, WG’69

Atlanta, GA

Provided time and support to the local and national apartment industry associations and community foundation in Atlanta. Jerry has served in several leadership positions for the National Apartment Association and the Atlanta and Georgia Apartment Associations, along with being a Board members of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Duke University’s New School of Engineering has been names in honor of Jerry and his Family’s long time support.

Nedland Williams, WG’76

Marblehead, MA

Proposed in a broad brush, big picture way a revamp of the U.S. tax code.
Wrote and published a 2010 book, Fixing Everything, on Amazon. This dealt with many of the issues plaguing the federal government and proposed solutions.

Proposed a new tax code. We currently waste 7.6 billion man-hours on federal tax compliance. A new code could reduce that to 2 billion, or 2% additional growth to the economy. The core idea would be a flat tax combined with a UBI. Companies would be the tax collectors, while the UBI would add progressivism and could be distributed separately.

The UBI would cost $2.5 trillion (citizens would receive the Federal Poverty Level). This could be paid for with tax expenditures [$1.6 trillion] and some safety-net [$0.9 trillion of $2.0 trillion]. The safety-net reductions would be dollar-for-dollar exchange. Since the UBI would not be means-tested, there would be less disincentive to work. Better economics decisions would be made. With the above in place, we could fix Social Security, annual federal spending, reduce crime, fix our healthcare system, and several others.

Paul Zantzinger, WG’76

Marietta, GA

Prepares and serves food to addicts.
Trinity House, Atlanta, GA. tcmatlanta.org Preparing and serving food and prayer to recovering addicts. Helping addicts is very challenging because there is a high degree of relapse.

I am helping one human being at a time, to recovery. I cannot help everybody but if I can help one individual to recover, and even if they stumble and fall, I can encourage them get up and walk forward. It is important to have facilities such as Trinity House to help individuals in need to find recovery, love and understanding.

Proposed a new tax code. We currently waste 7.6 billion man-hours on federal tax compliance. A new code could reduce that to 2 billion, or 2% additional growth to the economy. The core idea would be a flat tax combined with a UBI. Companies would be the tax collectors, while the UBI would add progressivism and could be distributed separately.

The UBI would cost $2.5 trillion (citizens would receive the Federal Poverty Level). This could be paid for with tax expenditures [$1.6 trillion] and some safety-net [$0.9 trillion of $2.0 trillion]. The safety-net reductions would be dollar-for-dollar exchange. Since the UBI would not be means-tested, there would be less disincentive to work. Better economics decisions would be made. With the above in place, we could fix Social Security, annual federal spending, reduce crime, fix our healthcare system, and several others.