To Lead, To Know, To Do

Vision: Dinah Benveniste Cohen ’75

Dinah Benveniste Cohen established the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP)—the world’s largest assistive technology program—at the U.S. Department of Defense so that federal employees living and working with a disability would have the resources to fully participate in the workplace.

“We provide assistive technology for people with hearing, vision, dexterity and cognitive disabilities to access the information environment,” said Cohen. “A person with limited use of his or her hands may benefit from a different keyboard, or from technology that allows him or her to ‘talk’ to the computer via voice recognition technology. This allows the user to speak into a microphone and the words appear on the computer screen.”

Since 1990, CAP has provided devices to more than 60,000 workers. CAP was started to serve Department of Defense employees specifically, but in 2000 expanded to serve employees at partner federal agencies—at no cost to employees or their managers. Recently, it has served more than 2,400 service members wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And Cohen’s program doesn’t just pass out equipment. It also provides detailed need assessments, installation, training and follow-up that help retain talented employees in the federal government.

At the Technology Evaluation Center at the Pentagon, federal managers and employees can see and try the technology CAP makes available—including devices that translate text on a computer screen into Braille and technology that makes telephone communication possible for people who are hearing impaired. More than 20,000 visitors—including President George W. Bush—have toured the Center since it opened in 1995.

In September, Cohen received the prestigious Service to America medal for her work. “I had a vision of trying to make it easier for people with disabilities to work in the public sector,” she said upon receiving the honor. “I like to think that each and every time we fill a CAP request we are making somebody’s life a little bit easier and helping them be more productive in their work environment and personal lives.”

Commitment: Nancy Kozinn Falchuk ’66

Nancy Kozinn Falchuk’s background as a nurse led to the resume of a leader.

In July, she was elected president of Hadassah, a 300,000-member women’s organization rooted in the Jewish faith. She is founder of the Hadassah National Center for Nurses Council; a driving force behind Israel’s first clinical master’s program in nursing; and has raised millions of dollars to support international humanitarian projects.

Health-related projects in Israel and the United States are central to Hadassah’s mission. Shortly after becoming president, Falchuk told the Boston Globe that she wants to help the world see Israel “through the eyes of medicine and education and not through the eyes of CNN and war.”

After Russell Sage, the Long Island native moved to Boston and started her nursing career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. As she became involved with her local Hadassah chapter, the organization’s history—its first project was to send two American nurses to Jerusalem for a needs assessment in 1913—and healthcare projects inspired her to advance the role of nurses within the organization. “Russell Sage was ahead of its time, in terms of training nurses for leadership,” said Falchuk.

The Nurses Council she founded in 1989 began with 18 nurses, and now has 3,000 members in chapters across the United States. It is the only national professional organization for Jewish nurses. (Helaine Ohayon ’71 is a former chair of the Council and now sits on the advisory committee.)

In Israel, the Hadassah Medical Organization treats more than one million people a year, in two hospitals, as well as in clinics and community health centers. It funds medical research facilities, five schools and a college and is the second largest employer in Jerusalem, with an annual budget of $100 million dollars. “I worry about any of the things a corporate head worries about on a daily basis,” said Falchuk, whose travel schedule in November included New York, California, Saint Louis, Miami and Israel.

In addition to continuing Hadassah’s health and humanitarian projects, Falchuk is committed to promoting Hadassah to young people and attracting young women to the organization. “There are two sides,” she said. “The first is to make the issues Hadassah works on relevant to young women. The other is to make sure young people know this 90- year-old organization is going strong, with money in the bank, and meaningful projects. We’re not sitting around.”

Optimism: Mary Kirchhoff ’77

Mary Kirchhoff wants to be sure that the students in U.S. classrooms today are the scientific leaders of tomorrow.As the director of education at the American Chemical Society (ACS)—the world’s largest scientific society—Kirchhoff oversees a staff of 30, a budget of $6 million, and a roster of projects that impact chemistry instruction from kindergarten through graduate school.

“The range makes the job fun,” said Kirchhoff of her position, which addresses broad science education issues like assessment (measuring learning outcomes); curriculum reform (making content more relevant); and teacher development, as well as chemistry education specifically. ACS publishes chemistry textbooks; conducts a rigorous bachelor’s degree certification program (Russell Sage offers the ACS-certified degrees in chemistry and biochemistry), and administers high school chemistry clubs and a college student affiliate program that serves approximately 10,000 undergraduates.

Russell Sage had a profound influence on her development as a leader, said Kirchhoff, who taught chemistry at Trinity College and worked with the Environmental Protection Agency’s green chemistry program prior to joining ACS. “Women always have to address the issue of balance, whether it is work and family or work and school,” Kirchhoff said. “Convenience is an important aspect of the opportunities in the sciences that Russell Sage offers.”

And while it is still not unusual to find she is the only woman attending a meeting or speaking on a panel, Kirchhoff said it has been invigorating to see women better represented in the sciences over the course of her career. “Today, 52 percent of undergraduate chemistry majors are women, and 33 percent of chemistry Ph.D. candidates are women.”

And Kirchhoff is ready with advice for these future science leaders. “The most important trait is optimism,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to take on new challenges. The most valuable thing you bring is your intellect and you can learn anything.”