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By Kevin Kelly
Catholic Key Associate Editor
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Pope John Paul II, fresh from a rain-soaked Mass on the Boston Commons, gave the baby-faced pilot of Shepherd I a bear hug. Then held he held him at arm's length for a good look, and proclaimed, "You are so young!"
The 32-year-old Nelson Krueger, stunned to be unexpectedly face-to-face with the pontiff in the airliner's cockpit, replied with the first words that came to his mind: "You are so wet!"
The pope let out a big laugh and looked Krueger straight in the eyes.
"The guy was so warm and friendly," Kreuger told The Catholic Key. "There I was face-to-face with the Holy Father. Our eyes met, and those millions of bits of information that happen in such a moment were exchanged."
It was the start of a relationship that would last a week, and, to this day nearly 32 years later, one that the pilot would remember in minute detail for the rest of his life.
Krueger was already one of the top international pilots for Trans World Airlines when he was hand-selected by Capt. Sal Fallucco, the airline's director of flight operations, to sit in the left seat for Pope John Paul's first pastoral and state visit to the United States from Oct. 1-7, 1979.
Krueger, now retired and living in Lawrence, was on a layover in St. Louis in mid-September when he got the call from TWA's chief scheduler to get back to headquarters in Kansas City right away.
Krueger's first thought was that he was in some sort of trouble. But when he asked, the reason stunned him.
"They said, 'Go to the overhaul base. We are fitting a plane for Pope John Paul II. You are going to oversee that, because you are going to fly it,'" he said.
"I almost died," Krueger said. "I was speechless. I was stunned."
As pilot, Krueger and co-pilot Clarence Powell would take the pope from Boston to New York to Philadelphia to Des Moines to Chicago — an itinerary that was always behind schedule because the pontiff could not be pried from the millions who came to see him at every stop.
"He had to meet everybody," Krueger said.
Krueger had seen the world and would see much more of it before his days as a Boeing 727 pilot would end. He had seen the pyramids of Egypt, the Holy Land, nearly all of Europe, Asia and India.
He had flown the rich, the famous, and the infamous.
But this is the trip that still brings tears to his eyes.
And Krueger is a Methodist.
As the Roman Catholic Church prepares to beatify Pope John Paul II on May 1, Krueger said his memories are taking on even deeper meaning. He flew not just a pope, but a certain saint.
"It's taken 32 years to have this sink in," he said from his home overlooking a golf course in western Lawrence, where he has dedicated a room to his memorabilia of years behind the controls, and much of it dedicated to the flight of Shepherd I, including scores of photographs, newspaper articles, and even copies of Time, Life, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, all with Pope John Paul II on the cover.
"This beats everything I have done in my life," Krueger said. "There is no higher peak in my human experience than the time I got to pilot Shepherd I."
Even for a Christian of another tradition.
"He was the pope of all people," Krueger said. "I know a lot of Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists who view him as their pope too. He allowed all of us to revisit and deepen our calling as Christians.
"He just loved people — all people," he said. "He was just so warm and friendly with everybody he met."
Pope John Paul II was 59 and just a year from his election when he began to build a reputation for globe-hopping. He was filled with boundless energy, even after long days in front of crowds that number in the millions.
Earlier that year, he had gone to Mexico, then to a historic pastoral visit to his native Poland, still under communist control, meeting millions at every stop.
His first U.S. visit was preceded by a pastoral visit to Ireland, where nearly a third of the island's population attended Mass with him, and where his schedule of 16-hour days would kill a mule.
But not the pontiff that Nelson Krueger met, and grew to know better on that six-day tour of the United States. He drew energy from people who came by the hundreds of thousands everywhere he went, including airport tarmacs.
Still, the pope had time for his flight crew.
Pope John Paul II signed Krueger's family Bible. And he blessed a rosary once owned by the Catholic grandmother of Krueger's father-in-law. (When he returned it, his father-in-law pressed it back into the pilot's hand. "This is for you," he said, as tears filled both men's eyes.)
Krueger also showed his 12-string Takamine guitar that Pope John Paul II played during a delay in the takeoff from Philadelphia to Des Moines.
Hearing that the pope played a guitar for youth in Ireland, Krueger brought his along, just in case.
Waiting for clearance to take off, Krueger unpacked his guitar and strummed a chord. Like a shot, the pontiff raced to the cockpit, a phalanx of cardinals, bishops and reporters right behind.
"He looked at the guitar, so I handed it to him," Krueger said. "He started strumming it, then he adjusted two strings by ear. Then he strummed a full C chord and belted out 'Silent Night,' in a big, full, nice voice.
"Then he looked at me and nodded, like, 'Aren't you going to join in?' so I did. Soon, everybody was singing, 'Holy night. All is calm, all is bright.'"
By the time the song was finished, the flight had received its clearance. Krueger put the guitar back it its case with a TWA sticker, telling the pope that TWA meant, "This Way America."
"Oh, no," said the pope. "It means, 'Traveling With Angels.'"
"Everybody in the press heard that," Krueger said.
The skies over Des Moines were overcast, but cleared when Shepherd I broke through the clouds. Then the weather turned picture-perfect for the papal Mass in Joe Hays' Miracle Farm pasture with 400,000 people.
It was a stop that the pope himself added to his U.S. itinerary after Hays personally wrote to him that the backbone of America was its farms. This was in the midst of the worst farm crisis in the nation since the Great Depression, and one the pontiff couldn't resist expressing his solidarity.
They were supposed to leave Des Moines in time for the pope to arrive in Chicago by 8 p.m. It wasn't going to happen. The pope spent so much time in Iowa, especially with Hays, that the flight didn't arrive at O'Hare Airport until past 10 p.m.
Not a soul among the people who waited extra hours for a glimpse of the pope left the Chicago airport. He disembarked to the cheers of a half a million people.
The next day, Krueger and the flight crew were issued press passes to attend the Mass in Grant Park, with a million Chicagoans.
It was at that moment that Krueger began to realize more deeply that he was witnessing something far greater than he could imagine.
"Here he comes with his miter and crozier. He gets to the altar and says, 'I look up and I see you, the people of God.' He has no doubt that his presence is enough to bring these people together."
"For two hours, Grant Park was a gleaming cathedral, with this leader of over a billion people at the center of it all," Krueger said.
Standing next to Krueger was Jeff Lyons, reporter for The Chicago Tribune.
"Lyons turned to me and said, 'Isn't he a great guy?'" Krueger said. "What higher thing can anyone say about you?"
On the final leg of the trip from Chicago to Washington, D.C., Pope John Paul II asked to see his pilot one more time. This time, he presented Krueger with two gifts — one of 99 crystal obelisks he had commissioned with etchings of a monstrance and cross, and a solid platinum medal with Pope John Paul II's image.
Thirty-two years later, Krueger — the hard-boiled pilot who had done it all, seen it all — still has to wipe his eyes as he takes it from the special case in his special den, dedicated to both airline history and to the flight of Shepherd I, half his lifetime ago.
And he is not ashamed to admit he cried when the pontiff died in 2005, suffering for years with Parkinson's.
"You knew he was dying, but it still got to me," he said. "I was thankful in one respect because he had suffered so much. I thought about going to the funeral, but so did a lot of people, and I didn't."
He did make one special trip to the Vatican.
Krueger was on a special assignment in the fall and winter of 1991, flying U.S. soldiers to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Operation Desert Storm. On the morning of Christmas Eve, he and his crew had a layover in Rome.
Krueger went to the Vatican with a note he handed to the Swiss Guards for Msgr. Thaddeus Rakoczy, the pope's personal secretary whom he had met 12 years before, asking if they could attend Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.
Before he got back to the hotel, he had a message.
"He remembered me," Krueger said. "He told us to arrive two hours early in uniform with our identification."
Krueger and his flight crew were seated in the seventh pew, five seats from the center, as they watched the preparations for the papal Mass.
"I would have sat there for a week," Krueger said.
When he landed Shepherd I for the last time in 1979 and bid the pontiff farewell, Krueger and his flight crew quietly returned to Kansas City, then to his home in Lawrence.
"I picked up my wife and kids, and we went to a Kansas University football game," he said. "But I was forever changed."


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subset: commoncrawl


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The Mazda Shinari bowed in the folded-and-creased sheet-metal at today's Los Angeles Auto Show, showing off new "KODO" design language that should lead the way for future Mazda vehicles. We still sorta miss Nagare.
Start with the fact that the Shinari was designed as a powerful rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan, a type of vehicle Mazda doesn't build. It suggests a nice starting point for the next generation RX-8, but much of its beauty derives from proportions that won't translate to Mazda's front-wheel-drive cars and crossovers.
Four years ago, Mazda unveiled the Nagare concept car, which eventually led to the beautiful Furai. Neither ever saw production, and Mazda executives later said the design language was simply too complicated to put into production. Aiming a little lower might have made the Shinari more realistic.


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Hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI for Imaging Pulmonary Function
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01280994
Recruitment Status : Recruiting
First Posted : January 21, 2011
Last Update Posted : July 15, 2020
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Interstitial Lung Disease Cystic Fibrosis Pulmonary Hypertension NSIP
|Drug: Xenon
|Phase 1
Non-invasive imaging of pulmonary function is expected to provide critical insights that are needed to spur progress in characterizing and treating chronic pulmonary diseases. The current primary diagnostic measure is pulmonary function testing (PFT), which was introduced in the mid-19th century, yet remains the standard of care today. PFTs have the advantage of being non-invasive and widely available, but suffer from poor sensitivity and high variability. Thus, PFTs are ineffective in assessing therapeutic response or disease progression on reasonable time scales, given the frequent heterogeneity of disease and the lung's compensatory mechanisms.
It has long been appreciated that improving sensitivity requires assessing the lungs regionally. To this end, methods, such as computed tomography (CT), provide insights into lung structure, but lung function must be inferred. However, of greater concern is the high radiation dose associated with CT, which precludes frequent longitudinal follow-up imaging. Alternatively, regional imaging of both ventilation and perfusion is possible using nuclear medicine techniques such as planar scintigraphy, single photon computed tomography (SPECT), or positron emission tomography (PET). However, as with CT imaging, all these modalities expose the subject to ionizing radiation and cannot be applied serially without a compelling clinical need. Moreover, these nuclear imaging modalities suffer from poor spatial and temporal resolution.
The key role for HP 129Xe MRI is that it can enable non-invasive high-resolution imaging of all aspects of pulmonary structure and function. We have recently shown HP 129Xe MRI to visualize pulmonary ventilation with high resolution, as well as the ability to show abnormalities of the alveolar microstructure that are associated with the emphysema phenotype of COPD. We have also demonstrated the fundamentally new capability to directly visualize the uptake of 129Xe into the pulmonary capillary blood and tissues, which can provide an even more complete picture of pulmonary function by supplying regional gas exchange information.
Xenon is a noble gas that is not chemically altered by the body. A small fraction of the inhaled Xe is absorbed into the blood stream and has documented anesthetic effects at moderate concentrations. The levels of gas used in this protocol are within the previously derived safe limits for both animals and humans. The stable isotope 129Xe can be hyperpolarized, which is a means to enhance its gross MRI signal by a factor of ∼100,000. Such signal enhancement makes it possible to image the inhaled gas with high spatial and temporal resolution. Moreover, the properties of 129Xe enable images to be acquired with multiple forms of contrast including ventilation, lung microstructure, and regional gas exchange. Because 129Xe MRI uses no ionizing radiation, and only an inhaled gas contrast agent, it has the potential to be used in longitudinal studies to test the effects of therapy or monitor progression of disease noninvasively.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Estimated Enrollment :
|445 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Hyperpolarized 129Xe MR Imaging of the Lung Function in Healthy Volunteers and Subjects With Pulmonary Disease
|Study Start Date :
|January 2011
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|December 2022
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|December 2022
- Drug: Xenon
Each subject will receive up to but not exceeding 5 doses of hyperpolarized 129Xenon gas during any given imaging session. One of these doses is used for calibrating the MRI scanner and will contain 200 ml Xe, and 800ml N2. Xenon Doses used for image acquisition will contain up to 100% xenon at a volume up to 1 liter. Subjects will receive no more than 4 doses consisting of 100% xenon at 1 liter.
Xenon will be administered with at least a 10 minute interval between doses to ensure that there is no imaging or health effect from residual xenon
- Number of Participants with Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety and Tolerability [ Time Frame: 5 years ]The purpose of this trial is to examine the ability of HP 129Xe imaging to characterize the lung in healthy and diseased states. The safety endpoint for each subject is to record any adverse events as a measure of safety and tolerability. The technical endpoint for each subject is the acquisition of technically adequate HP 129Xe MR images.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria for Healthy Control Subjects
- Subject has no diagnosed pulmonary conditions
- Subject has not smoked in the previous 5 years.
- Smoking history, if any, is less than or equal to 5 pack-years.
Inclusion Criteria for Subjects with lung disease
- Subject has a diagnosis of pulmonary dysfunction made by a physician
- No acute worsening of pulmonary function in the past 30 days
Exclusion Criteria:
- Subject is less than 18 years old
- MRI is contraindicated based on responses to MRI screening questionaire
- Subject is pregnant or lactating
- Respiratory illness of a bacterial or viral etiology within 30 days of MRI
- Subject has received an investigational medicinal product (not including 129Xe) within 30 days of MRI
- Subject has any form of known cardiac arrhythmia
- Subject does not fit into 129Xe vest coil used for MRI
- Subject cannot hold his/her breath for 15 seconds
- Subject deemed unlikely to be able to comply with instructions during imaging
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01280994
|Contact: Jennifer Korzekwinski
|Contact: Anne M Boyd
|United States, North Carolina
|Duke University Medical Center
|Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27710
|Principal Investigator: Bastiaan Driehuys, Ph.D
|Principal Investigator: Joseph Mammarappallil, MD, PhD
|Principal Investigator:
|Joseph Mammarappallil, M.D.
|Duke University
Other Publications:
|Responsible Party:
|Bastiaan Driehuys, Associate Professor, Duke University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|January 21, 2011 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|July 15, 2020
|Last Verified:
|July 2020
Lung Disease
Pulmonary Disease
Diagnostic Imaging
Cystic Fibrosis
Lung Diseases
Hypertension, Pulmonary
Lung Diseases, Interstitial
Pancreatic Diseases
Digestive System Diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases
Genetic Diseases, Inborn
Infant, Newborn, Diseases
Anesthetics, Inhalation
Anesthetics, General
Central Nervous System Depressants
Physiological Effects of Drugs


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It was an unexpected—and shocking—announcement: After acknowledging what looked to be violations of the Certified Financial Planner Board's "Standards of Professional Conduct," Alan Goldfarb, chair of the CFP Board's board of directors, resigned in early November along with two members of the Board's Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC).
While the news has shaken the CFP Board community, industry officials and some of Goldfarb's colleagues are vouching for his integrity. Still, questions remain in the CFP community as to why the alleged ethics violations—if not violations of criminal or civil laws—were referred to the DEC.
Upon hearing the news of Goldfarb's resignation, William Dorriety, a CFP at Optimum Asset Management in Daphne, Ala., told me his reaction was: "Wow!" Dorriety, who serves as a CFP ambassador to the Gulf Coast region, said the news "makes you feel a bit uneasy," and that he's hoping the CFP Board "releases information in a timely manner that takes the idea of a civil or criminal" violation off the table.
CFP Board stated in a release announcing the resignation that it became aware of "broad allegations that members of the Board and other volunteers may have violated provisions of CFP Board's 'Standards of Professional Conduct.'" After hearing of the allegations, CFP Board said that its board of directors created a "special committee" made up of public Board members who have no ties to the financial services industry and retained outside counsel to investigate and report its findings directly to the committee.
The special committee, the CFP Board said, "found sufficient merit in the allegations against Mr. Goldfarb and the two members of the DEC to refer them for further proceedings under CFP Board's 'Disciplinary Rules and Procedures.'"
While Kevin Keller, CEO of CFP Board, told me in an email message that the matter regarding Goldfarb and the two DEC members "does not involve alleged violations of criminal or civil laws," it's important to note that the CFP Board doesn't refer complaints of ethical misconduct to the nine-member DEC until it performs its own internal investigation of the said misconduct and, according to the Board, "determines there is probable cause to believe one or more of CFP Board's 'Rules of Conduct' may have been violated."
Keller said in his email message that the allegations "relate to possible violations of CFP Board's 'Standards of Professional Conduct.' The matter has been referred to the DEC for further proceedings under our 'Disciplinary Rules and Procedures.' To be sure, no final determination has been made; if a public sanction is warranted, it will be made public once the process is complete."
Keller added that "proceedings under CFP Board's 'Disciplinary Rules and Procedures' are confidential, and because of that confidentiality provision, CFP Board cannot disclose details related to allegations against CFP professionals."
But Katie McGee, director of marketing for Weaver Wealth Management, where Goldfarb is director of wealth advisory, told me that the CFP Board's investigation is "over what we believe was a misunderstanding of how [Goldfarb's] compensation was disclosed on the Financial Planning Association's website." Goldfarb's resignation, McGee said, was "voluntary," adding that the potential violation "doesn't involve a client complaint."
After being presented with the committee's findings, Goldfarb and the two DEC members resigned from their positions during a special Oct. 31 meeting.
On the same day, Goldfarb sent a letter to the board of directors, CFP professionals and the public, stating, in part, that: "I am certain that this was a misunderstanding, and I welcome the opportunity to engage in good faith the CFP Board's enforcement process consistent with its 'Disciplinary Rules and Procedures.'"
Goldfarb is director of wealth advisory services for Weaver Wealth Management in Fort Worth, Texas, and co-author of the CFP Board's standards and disciplinary rules. He added in his letter that: "As chair of CFP Board's board of directors, it is my responsibility to put the interests of the organization ahead of my own. I believe that under the circumstances, it is best for the organization that I resign pending the outcome of the process as both chair and a member of the board of directors, effective immediately."
Goldfarb did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The 2012 Chair-elect, Nancy Kistner, was elected to fill the remainder of Goldfarb's term. She will continue to chair the board of directors through Dec. 31, 2013.
Prominent members of the CFP community were quick to voice their reactions to the news. Harold Evensky, president of Evensky & Katz Wealth Management in Coral Gables, Fla., told me in an email message that while "the action the Board has taken is a painful but excellent example of a regulatory organization placing the interest of the public above its own short-term institutional interest," it's also "important for everyone to remember an accusation is not proof."
Having known Goldfarb for decades, Evensky said he considers "him a friend and a respected practitioner. My opinion has not changed and will not unless and until there is substantive proof of a significant ethics violation. As for those ready to pillory Alan at this stage, what happened to 'innocent until proven guilty?'"
While echoing Evensky's sentiment that Goldfarb and the two DEC members are "innocent until proven guilty," Larry Barton, president and CEO of the American College, called the allegations "serious" and said he hoped the planning "profession is not damaged by the charges."
Barton went on to encourage the CFP Board, the Financial Planning Association and other industry groups to "reflect upon" the resignations and other "recent incidents" in the industry and get "back to basics."
While the profession "should always place the interests of clients above our own," Barton said, he believes "an independent, national body" should be set up to "review and certify designations based on rigor," as "no single designation has a monopoly on quality."
Indeed, a CFP certificant commenting on AdvisorOne.com noted that as the educational requirements for CFPs "become more detailed and cumbersome," he wonders if "very many people are actually following the letter of the code."
Another AdvisorOne.com reader signaled their belief that the allegations against Goldfarb and the two DEC members were "sufficient enough" for CFP Board CEO Keller to refer them to the DEC, while Ron Rhoades—who disclosed in late August that he had committed a compliance violation by failing to timely file registration papers with the State of Florida Division of Securities, and therefore could not serve as the 2012-13 chair of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)—said Goldfarb "is a man of honor."
Having known Goldfarb for "several years," Rhoades, associate professor of Alfred State College's Financial Planning Program, said that he has "been a leader for decades in advancing financial planning as a profession." While not knowing the facts or circumstances relating to the charges, Rhoades said that Goldfarb "no doubt felt it necessary to resign while this investigation was pending—for the good of the CFP Board and the profession."
Lauren Locker, who replaced Rhoades as NAPFA chair and is a CFP who founded Locker Financial Services in Little Falls, N.J., agreed that until specific details are released, "it's difficult to comment on the nature of the alleged misconduct." She added that violations occur "along a spectrum of severity, from unlawful to non-compliance."
Since the alleged actions, as stated by Keller, "don't rise to a civil or criminal level, the CFP Board is doing the right thing by disclosing the matter up front for their certificants and associated groups to see," Locker said. "By policing itself, the CFP Board is showing that it wants to be open and above-board in this matter."


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Why the Media Blackout Over the Gosnell Trial?
Why the Media Blackout Over the Gosnell Trial?
Yesterday's USA Today ran a piece by Kirsten Powers, a columnist and political commentator, that questioned why the trial of Kermit Gosnell isn't making front page news.
That's a good question.
Mr. Gosnell is an abortionist who performed illegal and horrific late-term "abortions" in deplorable conditions that, in addition to killing the babies, also cost at least two women their lives. The grand jury report can be accessed here.
I'm putting the word abortion in quotes because Mr. Gosnell allegedly murdered children after they were born.
Ms. Powers' piece was noticed by other reporters, who, thanks to her, now realize what is going on – or at least are finally compelled to report what was largely only being reported by pro-life-friendly sources.
Some are calling Powers "brave" for taking the risk to write her column. She should be credited for calling out the mainstream press, especially since she may pay something of a price for doing so. As a pro-life Democrat who once worked in the Clinton administration, she'll likely be criticized by those in her party who advocate for abortion.
The fact that people openly acknowledge that a news professional is taking a risk for reporting factual news reveals the depth of the media's bias when it comes to the issue of life.
"Media row" at the trial has been empty. Up until today the trial hasn't been mentioned by most of the main TV and cable news outlets. It's been given only passing mention by a few national papers.
The media may have been largely ignoring the murder of seven infants who were born alive, and the two women killed during abortions, but pro-life advocates haven't.
When it comes to the reporting regarding abortion the bias is nothing new, of course. But the new media is making it more difficult for some to ignore what so many now see on Twitter, Facebook or other social media.
Back in 1999, when Sen. Barbara Boxer refused to acknowledge a newborn's right to life after it had been completely separated from its mother, there was little to no coverage of it. Of course in 1999 there was no such thing as Twitter or Facebook, either.
That members of the traditional media would ignore this important trial and similarly newsworthy items about this issue shows how blindly the majority in their field supports abortion. And to those of us who see things differently it's frustrating, especially given their ability to influence people.
It's not my place to condemn them, but I will tell you this:
It breaks my heart.
How have some hearts grown so cold towards our most innocent and vulnerable?
In the midst of the darkness, though, there is good news when it comes to the growing public opposition to abortion. The press may support it, but more and more people do not. Thankfully, those who would commit, support and hide these atrocious acts are in the minority. Bolstered by ultrasound technology that brings the reality of life within the womb to our eyes, more and more people are holding to a pro-life worldview. The younger generation is more pro-life than the one that preceded it.
You, the advocates of life in all of its stages, are making sure people's minds are swayed. You do this by taking to social media and making sure people know what is happening. You do it by showing love and care to a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy. You do it by serving the elderly, taking care of the orphan and highlighting the plight of the vulnerable. You change the hearts of people by being the hands and feet of Jesus, speaking biblical truth with Christ's heart, whenever you get an opportunity.
As we think about what's happening today, let's cling to the good news that truth will ultimately be made known.
Evil will be uncovered.
Eyes will be opened.
Voices will be heard.
And God's heart for innocent children will be known.


text: Academics / Sparer Public Interest Law Fellowship print Meet the Sparer Fellows Overview Fellowship Program How to Apply Public Interest Curriculum Meet the Sparer Fellows Sparer Fellowship Committee Symposia and Forums Publications Sparer Alumni Fellows Sparer Fellows The Sparer Fellowship Program is an outstanding opportunity for high-caliber, qualified students to engage in concentrated studies and unique internships. Fellows are placed at leading public interest organizations, in the U.S. and abroad, providing legal services to underrepresented constituencies. Read more about how some of the current Sparer Fellows will be spending their summer. Class of 2014 Class of 2015 Class of 2016 Class of 2017 Setenay Akdag '14 Barnard College, B.A. in Political Science, May 2011 Setenay became involved in immigration law through the pro bono projects Immigration Court Observation Project (ICOP) and Immigrant Visa Assistance Project (IVAP) as a 1L and continued along the same path during her Sparer summer providing assistance and representation to detained immigrants in Virginia and Maryland through CAIR Coalition. She has been fortunate to have many academic and professional opportunities since then to explore different aspects of immigration law, focusing on impact litigation at New York Civil Liberties Union, on direct services for clients seeking asylum at Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and on adjudication of removal proceedings at Virginia and New York Immigration Courts. She is currently a co-chair of IVAP and interning at the Immigration Unit of Brooklyn Defender Services pursuing her primary interest, the intersection of criminal and immigration law. Leslie Bailey '14 Columbia University, 2007; BA in American Studies University College London, 2011; MA in Modern History, with distinction As an undergrad at Columbia, Leslie majored in American Studies and creative writing, and worked for a documentary filmmaker which sparked her interest in international law and human rights. She then earned a masters degree in modern history at University College London, where she focused on the colonial and post-colonial history of several former British colonies. As a BLS International Human Rights Fellow during summer 2012, Leslie was a legal intern with the UN in Beirut, Lebanon, in the Office of Staff Legal Assistance. During summer 2013, she was a Sparer Fellow and served as a judicial intern in the Appeals Chamber of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in The Hague. She interned during spring 2013 with UNHCR and during fall 2013 with Human Rights First in the Law & Security Program, which advocates for US national security policies consistent with the rule of law and human rights. Leslie is looking forward to her spring 2014 position as a legal intern in Judge Kelly's chambers of the Court of International Trade. Leslie is an Associate Managing Editor of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law and her note, Out of Africa: Toward Regional Solutions to Internal Displacement, will be published in this month's volume of the journal. Leslie also co-chairs the ILS International Human Rights Committee and is a student member of the UN Committee of the City Bar Association. Leslie is a 3L and is completing the International Law certificate. Christina Bernardo '14 Villanova University, B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy, May 2009 Prior to attending law school, Christina worked with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as a community organizer in Philadelphia and Chester City, PA. There, Christina worked with local community members to identify neighborhood issues and organize actions on their behalf. At the height of a local campaign advocating for the creation of a state subsidized supermarket, it became clear that attending law school would help expand her toolbox for assisting low-income communities. Upon attending BLS, Christina developed a wide array of public interest experience, starting with her 1L summer internship with Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A's (BKA) Group Representation Unit where Christina worked with tenant associations seeking building repairs from inattentive landlords. The intermeddling of organizing and housing law led Christina to pursue other public interest initiatives to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues low-income people face. In her second year, Christina participated in the Community Development Clinic (fall) and the Employment Law Clinic (spring) to understand the distinct skill sets required for transactional and adjudicative work. She also took on pro bono cases through the Suspension Representation Project and the Fair Hearing Assistance Project. In her second summer she returned to BKA to continue working with tenant associations and pursue her interests in landlord/tenant law. Last semester, Christina worked at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to draft contracts for the construction of affordable housing. This semester she will be working with the Safe Harbor Clinic and at Councilperson Carlos Menchaca's legislative office where she will be reviewing council bills to assess how they reflect the constituencies concerns and needs. Sarah Evans-DeVita '14 Northwestern University, B.S. Education and Social Policy, Concentration in Psychological Services and a specialization in Urban Childhood Development, 1998 After studying educational policy and sociology at Northwestern University, Sarah DeVita spent a year with City Year as a literacy tutor in San Antonio. Returning to New York, she spent the next few years as a paralegal specialist with the Legal Aid Society, working both in Federal and Family Court. Taking a strong interest in the juvenile justice system, she went on to work as a court representative and education advocate for CASES, an alternative to incarceration program, and later as the Director of Community Based Services with Friends of Island Academy, a re-entry program for young adults returning home from Rikers Island. While at Friends, she also ran a program for ex-offender young fathers, and helped to implement new curriculums for parenting classes, employment readiness workshops, as well as for a batterer's intervention program. In order to be able to continue to expand her ability to serve the disconnected youth of New York City, Sarah chose to return to school, and pursue her J.D. at Brooklyn Law School. She has partnered with the Resilience Advocacy Project to bring a new pro-bono project to BLS that allows students to act as community advocates, assisting teens and young adults with issues such as applying for housing, securing child support, obtaining important identification documents, and securing cash assistance and food stamps. Sarah is also a member of Outlaws, a BLSPI mentor, and a co-chair with the National Lawyers Guild. She has interned with Federal Defenders EDNY, the Exoneration Initiative, Bronx Defenders, Georgia Capital Defenders, Legal Aid Society- Criminal Defense Practice, and is currently participating in Professor Bentele's Capital Defense/Habeas Clinic. She plans to work in indigent defense and criminal justice and sentencing reform. Scott Foletta '14 University of California, Santa Cruz, B.A.in Community Studies, Immigration and Social Justice focus, June 2007 Scott's interest in immigrants' rights and economic justice began with volunteering and internships in post-Katrina relief organizations, and continued to grow through several years of work with service sector unions in California, New York, and Puerto Rico. This experience, which exposed him to the passionate work of dedicated lawyers in the field, helped solidify his belief that the law can be a powerful tool for justice when wielded with both passion and humility. Scott spent his Sparer summer at the Center for Popular Democracy developing proposals to improve wage-and-hour statutes and enforcement in several states across the country, and has continued his work in other economic justice legislation, civil rights litigation, and immigrant representation. Rebecca Gannon '14 University of Notre Dame, B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies and Psychology, May 2009 After attending the University of Notre Dame, Rebecca volunteered through AmeriCorps VISTA at CASA of Morris and Sussex Counties, a non-profit organization that trained community volunteers to advocate for children in abuse and neglect proceedings. Rebecca spent her first summer during law school at The Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Practice. She continued to work with youth and young adults involved with the court system at Youth Represent during a year-long clinic. Rebecca spent her second summer working on civil rights litigation at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. She is currently in the Capital Defender and Federal Habeas Clinic. Rebecca also works with two pro bono projects: the Brooklyn Detention Center Assistance Project and the Suspension Representation Project. She is also a member of Moot Court and the Brooklyn Law Review. Jana Hymowitz '14 Bard College After graduating from Bard College in 2008, Jana served one year as an AmeriCorps in the Juvenile Justice Project at Advocates for Children of New York. Following her AmeriCorps year, Jana moved to South Korea to teach English as a second language, and thereafter taught pre-kindergarten in Madison, WI. At BLS, Jana has been honored as a BLSPI and Sparer Fellow. As a BLSPI Fellow, Jana interned at the Prisoners' Rights Projects at the Legal Aid Society; as a Sparer Fellow, Jana interned at the New Orleans office of the Southern Poverty Law Center. During her semesters at BLS, Jana participated in the Municipal Litigation Clinic at the New York City Law Department and externed at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. This semester, Jana will intern with Judge Ronnie Abrams in S.D.N.Y. Jana is Co-chair and founder of the Youth Court Pro Bono Project. Jana is also Co-chair of BLSPI, where she has helped organize various public service and public interest events on campus. Jana is an Executive Articles and Symposia Editor for the Brooklyn Journal of Law and Policy. Following graduation, Jana will be joining Deloitte Tax LLP. Joseph (Karume) James '14 University of California, Los Angeles, B.A. in African American Studies, Psychology Concentration, June 2006 Karume James entered Brooklyn Law School with a deep commitment to social justice. His passion for public service crystallized as an undergraduate student at UCLA, when he led a 300-person march on campus as part of a successful student campaign to reform the university's admissions policies to increase campus diversity. After graduating from college, he immediately began his career as a social justice advocate, first working as a union organizer representing healthcare workers at UCLA, and later as a community organizer in South Central Los Angeles. As a community organizer, Karume directed a neighborhood transformation campaign with thousands of local residents. Additionally, Karume partnered with the Children's Defense Fund to coordinate a ten-week summer reading enrichment program for over 70 low-income elementary and middle school students in his summer before law school, while continuing the neighborhood transformation campaign. At Brooklyn Law School, Karume has continued his commitment to the social justice mission that brought him to law school. He is currently the Vice President of Alumni Relations for the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Co-Chair of Community Development for the Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest (BLSPI) and a past BLSPI Fellow, and Co-Chair of the National Lawyers Guild. During his Sparer summer, Karume interned with the Legal Aid Society, Employment Law Unit working with low-income clients in employment discrimination, overtime violation, and unemployment insurance cases. He has also interned with the Hon. Sharon A.M. Aarons of the New York State Supreme Court, Bronx County and at Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing development non-profit organization. During his 2L summer, Karume interned at the Bronx Defenders in the Criminal Practice and discovered a new passion for holistic criminal defense. As an intern, he had the privilege to help win a disorderly conduct trial with his supervising attorney. During the trial, he delivered the opening statement and an oral motion to dismiss. After law school, Karume will build upon his commitment to public defense as a staff attorney with the Bronx Defenders in the Criminal Practice. Melissa Lee '14 Before attending law school, Melissa Lee worked for Planned Parenthood for 7 years, first as a community organizer and later as the Manager of Advocacy Programs for Planned Parenthood NYC. In 2007, she founded the Young Professionals program for the New York Civil Liberties Union and went on to be elected as a member of the NYCLU Board. Additionally, she currently serves on the Sex and Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. As a law student, she has interned in The Office of the New York City Public Advocate, Bill de Blasio; in the Office of the New York Attorney General, Civil Rights Bureau; and has spent two semesters in The Bronx Defenders' Criminal Defense Practice. She is also an active member of the Brooklyn Law School Moot Court Honor Society. Last year, her team won first place in the Florida State National Mock Trial Competition and she was awarded the Best Advocate prize. This year, she is a member of the MCHS Trial National Team and will be competing in the Texas Young Lawyers Association Trial Competition in February. She plans to pursue Public Defense and Civil Rights work upon graduating from law school. Gideon Martin '14 University of Wisconsin – Madison, B.A. in Political Science, 2009 For his final summer in law school Gideon was awarded a fellowship supported by the Peggy Browning Fund, a nonprofit organization that encourages students to pursue careers in public interest labor law. Gideon spent the summer focusing on workers' rights and labor law at the Major League Baseball Players Association. During law school Gideon also interned for U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak in the Eastern District of New York, and participated in the Employment Law Clinic. Prior to law school, he worked for two years as a policy analyst and community liaison for a New York State Assembly Member. Gideon's article, "Allergic to Equality: The Legislative Path to Safer Restaurants," will be published by the Appalachian Journal of Law in the Spring. He is a member of Brooklyn Law School's Journal of Law and Policy and the Moot Court Honor Society. Melissa Martin '14 Boston University Melissa is a 3L interested in family law, particularly issues of domestic violence and custody. She is currently interning at Juvenile Rights Practice at Legal Aid and will be clerking for the Maine Supreme Judicial Court next year. Last summer and fall, she interned at New York Legal Assistance Group, appearing in court under a student practice order in order of protection and custody cases. Before New York Legal Assistance Group, she was a judicial intern for Judge Levy in the Eastern District of New York and a legal intern at Advocates for Children working with students in foster care. She spent her first summer at Pine Tree Legal Assistance Group, Maine's only civil legal services provider, helping low-income victims of domestic violence get civil orders of protection and filing Title IX based complaints with the Office of Civil Rights on behalf of teenage victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment in school. Before law school, Melissa was a Teach for America corps member in Brooklyn, teaching for four years at P.S. 243 in Crown Heights and Excellence Boys Charter School in Bedford Stuyvesant. Melissa has a B.A. in International Relations from Boston University and a M.S. in Teaching from Pace University. Victoria Medley '14 Originally from South Carolina, a state that proudly waves the Confederate flag over its capital building, Victoria was exposed early to the judicial system's disparate treatment of different races. Being from a mixed-race family, Victoria's passion to advocate against a racially and economically biased criminal justice system grew at an early age. In high school, Victoria collected books for prisoners, and, in college, she interned with criminal defense attorneys. Since starting law school, Victoria has been an active participant in the ACLU and the Criminal Law Society. Last summer, she was a law clerk with Gideon's Promise, a non-profit organization that trains young public defenders in Southern districts. She will return to Gideon's Promise this summer to continue fighting the system-wide corruption and to provide some relief to the over-burdened public defenders. Finally, Victoria is currently participating in the Federal Habeas and Capital Defender Clinic, where she hopes to gain valuable federal experience and to assist in the fight against the death penalty. Callagee O'Brien '14 Fordham University Callagee O'Brien has always been passionate about working with children, but it was not until she worked at Student Sponsor Partners, a nonprofit that provides at-risk students with mentors and scholarships to high school, that she considered making a career out of working with or on behalf of children. In the summer of 2012 she worked in Anchorage, Alaska at the Attorney General's Office (Alaska Department of Law) in the Child Protection Division, followed by a Fall internship at the Children's Law Center in Brooklyn. For her Sparer summer, Callagee interned at the Legal Aid Society, Juvenile Rights Practice in both child abuse/neglect and juvenile delinquency. Callagee plans to pursue a career directly advocating for children and eventually moving into policy work. Erin Ogburn '14 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. in English and B.A. in Religious Studies, May 2008 After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, Erin joined Teach For America, teaching 8th grade special education students in Newark, NJ, and later served as a Program Coordinator for TFA New Jersey. At BLS, Erin has engaged in a variety of activities, often focusing on children's rights and education issues. She spent her Sparer summer working at Advocates for Children of New York, advocating for the educational rights of children with special needs, and she spent her second summer at Kirkland & Ellis, where she was selected to work on the Access to Justice project in Brooklyn Family Court. She participated in the Children's Law Center clinic, interned with Chief Judge Carol Bagley Amon in E.D.N.Y., and was a teaching assistant for the LLM legal writing program. As Co-Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors for BLSPI, Erin has helped organize various public service events around campus and has enjoyed collaborating with her Sparer friends throughout her time at BLS. After graduation, Erin will clerk for Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman in S.D.N.Y. and then will return to the litigation practice at Kirkland & Ellis. Lisa Okamoto '14 Pitzer College, B.A. in Linguistics with a Minor in Spanish, May 2005 Lisa started her career at the Little Tokyo Service Center, CDC, where she was a case manager for older and disabled adults in the Greater Los Angeles area. She learned the value of community development and social services, while working with low-income seniors who were also public housing tenants. She continued her work with older and disabled adults at the Medicare Rights Center in Manhattan, providing client service and professional training about Medicare. She was trained about how health insurance was structured generally, and became interested in healthcare. Lisa entered law school to find a career that would equip her with skills needed to help improve urban neighborhoods, so that it is livable for everyone. She has concentrated her law school experience on elements needed for a good quality of living, including housing, public benefits, and healthcare. Lisa spent her Sparer summer working at Public Counsel in their Community Development Project, where she helped not-for-profits in Los Angeles with corporate governance issues, as well as doing research for affordable housing policies in the City of Los Angeles. This past fall, Lisa was part of the Elder Rights Clinic, representing older adults facing evictions and cuts from public benefits at the South Brooklyn Legal Services. Lisa is currently enrolled in the Community Development Clinic, and soon will soon help existing and upcoming not-for-profits in Brooklyn. Ava Page '14 American University, B.A. in Women's and Gender Studies, August 2009 Ava is deeply committed to public defense. Prior to law school, she advocated for criminal justice policy reform at the Justice Policy Institute, provided re-entry support to men incarcerated in the D.C. jail, and founded Justice Not Jails on her college campus. As a policy analyst and case researcher at Families Against Mandatory Minimums for three years, she worked with prisoners and families to abolish harsh sentencing laws, including the federal crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity. At Brooklyn Law School, Ava has interned with New Orleans Public Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services and Federal Defenders in the Eastern District of New York. She helped write a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of a man on death row with the Capital Defender and Federal Habeas Clinic. This semester, she will work in The Legal Aid Society's Criminal Defense Division. After graduation, Ava hopes to work as a public defender in state court. Taier Perlman '14 SUNY at Binghamton Taier Perlman came to law school with a solidified commitment to public interest work gained through five years of diverse work experiences. She worked as a disability advocate for Social Security Disability benefit claimants; was a client advocate specialist at a non-profit grant foundation; assisted two small business owners through a landlord-tenant dispute; interned at a New York City Councilmember's office; and volunteered at the 18th International HIV/AIDS Conference, and two NGO's in Kisumu, Kenya. Taier spent her 1L summer with the New York State Attorney General's Tobacco Compliance Bureau where she helped in an arbitration hearing with Big Tobacco companies in a dispute over the Master Settlement Agreement. She spent her 2L summer with the Alaska Department of Law assisting attorneys in the Human Services, Torts and State & Labor Affairs sections with a variety of legal issues, such as due process rights in the administrative law context, and the application of CERCLA liability provisions in preparation for a multi-party mediation regarding the clean-up of a toxic site in rural Alaska. During law school, Taier enjoyed a judicial externship with the State Supreme Court which exposed her to the diverse docket of claims brought against the City of New York and its many agencies. In Brooklyn Law School's Mediation Clinic Taier was able to mediate disputes between pro se litigants in the Kings County Civil Court House which has spawned her appreciation for the benefits of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). She is currently Co-President of the ADR Society and a member of its Competition Team. Taier is also presently participating in the Advanced Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy Clinic offering pro bono legal counseling to a variety of start-up businesses including many with inspiring public service missions. Dacia Read '14 Columbia University, B.A. in Urban Studies, May 2008 Dacia's commitment to advocating for and protecting juveniles' rights to safety, education and defense grew out of the 10 years she spent teaching, mentoring and learning from students in under-resourced schools in Providence, RI and NYC. While at Columbia University, Dacia spent academic years and summers teaching students in Columbia's Talent Search and Upward Bound programs; taught weekly decision-making workshops in NYC high schools; and researched and wrote a senior thesis on the relationship between small schools co-housed in a large school building in the South Bronx. From 2008-2010, Dacia served as New York City Program Manager for Peer Health Exchange, Inc., working with public high school administrators to provide a comprehensive health curriculum to students in 32 high schools across Manhattan and the Bronx. Before arriving at BLS as an entering-Sparer in 2011, Dacia returned to her home in Providence, Rhode Island as an Americorps VISTA at Providence Summerbridge - the same organization she worked at when she began her work with youth as a middle school math teacher during high school. Dacia currently volunteers with formerly incarcerated youth through a weekly program run by the Children's Aid Society and serves as a suspension advocate for students through the Suspension Representation Project at BLS. Kristopher Reichardt '14 Cornell University, M.I.L.R. in Collective Representation and Dispute Resolution, May 2011; B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations, May 2006 Kris Reichardt is interested in labor and employment law, the expansion of workers' rights and conflict resolution. After graduating from Cornell University, Kris received a commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. Driven by an inner passion for public service, Kris spent four years in the Persian Gulf and Iraqi coastal waters assigned to various patrol craft – coordinating with Iraqi military forces, conducting maritime security, and fostering community relationships. He has interned for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Labor-Management Center at Dowling College, and with several labor mediators and arbitrators. In 2011, while studying towards a Masters in Labor Relations, Kris was a graduate teaching and research assistant for the Department of Labor Law, History, and Collective Bargaining at the NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations. His research focused on 20th Century public-sector working class history, NYS fiscal and education policy, and various conflict resolution systems. Since starting law school, Kris has volunteered for the Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office (CLARO), devoted to assisting pro se litigants who are being sued by creditors or who have other consumer debt issues. Kris has interned with a major public sector teachers' union and private law firms advocating workers' rights and employment law. He has recently interned with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 29 in Brooklyn. Andrea (Claire) Rogers '14 Portland State University, B.A. in Arts and Letters, Women's Studies Concentration, May 2006 Nutan Sewdath '14 St. Johns' University, B.A in Government and Politics, Minor in Philosophy of Law, Minor in Women & Gender Studies, May 2010; Queens' College, M.A in Urban Affairs, May 2011. Born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Queens, New York, Nutan understood the importance of being a voice for others and was determined to give back to her underserved community. As a community organizer during her undergraduate career, she helped develop and promote the needs of her community through SEVA, a South Asian grassroots community organization. Pursuant to obtaining her Masters' in Urban Affairs at Queens' College, Nutan attended SUNY Buffalo Law for her first year of law school, where she was a member of the Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal and winner of the 2012 New York Redistricting Project sponsored by Fordham University. Prior to transferring to Brooklyn Law, Nutan spent her summer as a Legal Outreach Summer Law Coordinator where she taught her favorite subject, Criminal Law, to rising inner-city high school students at St. Johns' School of Law. Currently at Brooklyn Law, Nutan serves as the Co-President for the South Asian Law Students Association. Nutan has participated in the Uncontested Divorce Pro-Bono Project for Indigent Clients through the Volunteer Lawyers Project at the Brooklyn Bar Association. While continuing to pursue her passion for being a representative for those who need it most, Nutan worked at The Exoneration Initiative through the BLS/ EXI Wrongful Convictions Clinic. Nutan spent her Sparer summer at the Federal Defenders of New York for the Eastern District. Currently, she is a Teachers' Assistant for Prof. Gerald Shargel's Evidence class. She is extremely grateful for her Sparer Fellowship and intends to use this opportunity to fulfill her ultimate goal of providing representation to others through criminal defense work. Peter Travitsky '14 New York University School of Social Work, M.S.W., May 2006 New York University School of Social Work, B.S. in Social Work, May 2005 Before law school Peter was a professional community social worker with senior citizens. All of his clients were low income/low asset, and most had no family to help them out physically or financially. The mission of the agency he worked for was to help people ages 60 and over remain independent in the community. This required engagement with different housing, home care, medical care, and public benefits providers. Peter was also a personal care aide for several years to a man with dementia. He came to law school to become a more effective advocate for all seniors. Peter is dedicated to elder law and disability rights, particularly mental capacity issues, aging in place, and housing and consumer protections. During his Sparer Fellowship summer, Peter worked in Washington, D.C., with AARP Foundation Litigation's Housing, Low Income Benefits, and Consumer Law Teams. In law school Peter has also worked for the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program (now a part of NYLAG); the Office of the Inspector General for the NYS Unified Court System; the Mental Hygiene Legal Service, 1st Department, Guardianship Team; the New York City Civil Court, Consumer Law Clinic at BLS; and the Elder Rights Clinic at BLS—a recently launched collaboration between Brooklyn Law School, South Brooklyn Legal Services, and the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention. Tomoeh Murakami Tse '14 Tomoeh attended Stanford and worked previously as a reporter for The Washington Post. She has worked in law school at Legal Aid Society (Prisoner's Rights Project), Mental Hygiene Legal Service, Urban Justice Center (Mental Health Project), New York Legal Assistance Group (LegalHealth Unit) Johana Vesga '14 University of Central Florida, B.A. Political Science: International Relations, December 2010 Inspired by her experiences as a first-generation immigrant, Johana developed a passion for defending the rights of vulnerable populations as an advocate and activist during her undergraduate studies. While at the University of Central Florida, she joined the Orlando chapter of the Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry. During her time with the organization, she helped organize many different campaigns, which addressed issues that affect farm workers, such as poverty wages, modern day slavery and women's issues. As part of her work with that organization, she became involved in an immigration campaign that brought together ACLU attorneys and community organizers. It was then that she observed how much more could be accomplished when community based organizations and attorneys work together. Spurred by that realization, she decided to apply to law school. Johana is interested in immigration and refugee law. View photos from the Sparer Celebration. Related Links: Law Journals Public Interest Law Curriculum Student Organizations Fellowship Application Pro Bono Brochure Have questions? We have answers. Sparer Fellowship Program Marva Skeene Brooklyn Law School 250 Joralemon Street, Room 800A Brooklyn, New York 11201 Telephone: (718) 780-0351 Why BLS? A wide-reaching curriculum with options for individual focus.


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Viewsonic jumped into the tablet business with not one, but three different products--two for Android, and one for Windows; the Windows version can dual boot Windows or Android. None of the products stands out particularly among the glut of Android tablets, except that they're extremely cost effective.
The E70 is 7-inch Android tablet that will ship in March, running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the newest mobile OS from Google. It's powered by a 1-GHz single core processor. The screen resolution is only 800 x 480, but it costs just $169!
The ViewPad 10E is a 10-inch Android tablet, and like its smaller cousin, it's got just enough juice to make it a viable Android tablet. At $279, it is not a terrible deal. Its resolution is 1024 x 768, and it uses IPS technology for a wider viewing angle. But this tablet, which ships at the end of January, isn't running Android Ice Cream Sandwich yet.
[ Interested in Windows? Read Microsoft Unveils LTE Windows Phones At CES. ]
The ViewPad 10E, like the E70, runs on a single-core processor. Both devices have mini-HDMI, micro and mini-USB and microSD ports, and 1.3-MP front-facing and 3-MP rear-facing cameras. It will cost $279.
Finally, the ViewPad 10pi is a 10-inch Windows tablet, which includes a Viewsonic user experience on top of the normal Windows user interface (you can jump to a regular Windows UI at any time). The product makes use of Swype for text input. This is a dual-boot machine: you can run either Windows or Android on it.
The hardware includes an IPS display at 1280 x 800 resolution, it uses the Intel Oak Trail processor, running at 1.6 GHz, and includes 2 GB of memory and 64 GB of SD storage. It includes the same dual cameras as its Android brethren. The cost: A whopping $849--the price for the "special" Oak Trail processor and extra storage. It will be available at the end of January.
The Enterprise Connect conference program covers the full range of platforms, services, and applications that comprise modern communications and collaboration systems. It happens March 25-29 in Orlando, Fla. Find out more.


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Nuance acquires Vlingo to deliver Siri-like intelligent voice interfaces
In a press release, Nuance Mobile's senior vice president Mike Thompson said that "virtually every mobile and consumer electronics company on the planet is looking for ways to integrate natural, conversational voice interactions into their mobile products, applications, and services," and said the acquisition of Vlingo would "accelerate the pace of innovation to meet this demand."
Nuance did not specify the terms of the acquisition. Vlingo, incorporated in 2006, is a closely held company backed by Charles River Ventures, Sigma Partners, Yahoo and AT&T, and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to voice to text capabilities, Vlingo maintains an "Intent Engine" to parse what a user says and determine the desired actions, which is more compatible to Apple's Siri technology than the raw speech recognition tools offered by Google, Microsoft, and Nuance itself.
Thompson said the industry has been "inspired" by the introduction of services such as Apple's Siri (which incorporates Nuance voice recognition technology) and his own company's Dragon Go mobile app that delivers voice based search (below).
Vlingo chief executive Dave Grannan added that "Vlingo and Nuance have long shared a similar vision for the power and global proliferation of mobile voice and language understanding," adding that "as a result of our complementary research and development efforts, our companies are stronger together than alone. Our combined resources afford us the opportunity to better compete, and offer a powerful proposition to customers, partners and developers."
Nuance had previously sued Vlingo over patent infringement, losing one case in August before maintaining that it had additional legal action planned against the company.
Back in May, Apple was reported to be working closely with Nuance to license its technology for continued use in Siri, which it had acquired the previous year. It was rumored that Microsoft "had been pushing Apple hard" to use its own Bing voice recognition technology within iOS 5.
Apple ultimately delivered Siri using Nuance technology in its back end, causing lead developers from both Microsoft and Google to first describe Siri as nothing new and not the right direction for mobile devices, then backpedal with claims that they were actually ahead of Apple in voice assistant technologies, despite Apple's implementation being clearly superior at the moment.
Vlingo and Dragon Go are frequently cited among the short list of apps that are comparable to Siri, although Vlingo is often noted as having less accurate recognition capabilities, while Nuance's own app is aimed more at searching for information rather than integrating deeply into device features to perform functions such as Siri's ability to send messages to family members, manage appointments, and interact with other apps such as Find My Friends.


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This Week in Recipes
Published: Last Updated:
GalleryThis Week in Recipes
Take a look at all the recipes from our week in the slideshow, or head straight to what looks tasty below.
Appetizers & Condiments
- Sopa de Albóndigas de Pollo (Chicken Meatball Soup)
- British Bites: Bap
- Beer-Steamed Mussels with Bacon
- Brown Sugar-Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheddar Croutons
- Creole Sauce
- DIY Sesame Sticks
- Gluten Free Hush Puppies
- Lemon-Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Crispy Potatoes
- Shrimp Fried Rice with Nam Prik Pao and Crispy Lemongrass
- Shrimp Saganaki
- Momofuku-Style Bo Ssam, But With More Hocks and Trotters
- Steamed Walleye with Tatsoi, Ginger, and Scallions
- Double Ginger Cookies
- Chocolate Roll (a.k.a. giant Yodel)
- Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
- Tele-Graham Crackers
- Peanut Butter and Banana Pie
- Grape Sorbet
- Pecan Stuffed Apples with Caramel Sauce
- Pumpkin Spice Palmiers
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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As a National Historic Landmark, Auburn has quite a story to tell. It was the first major building in Natchez to follow an actual architectural plan. In the years leading to the Civil War several Natchez homes emulated the style of Auburn's facade. The home's spiral staircase stands entirely unsupported, a feat unmatched even in modern buildings. These points introduce you to the dramatic story of Auburn itself.
Adults - $15
Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 11:00 AM-3:00 PM with the last tour at 2:30 PM. Closed on Sunday, Monday, and Friday. If you wish a tour at other times, please call 601-870-9202 and we will try to accommodate
Tour prices
Children (6 - 18yrs)- $10
Children under 6 - Free
Tickets may be purchased at the door of Auburn with Cash or Check only
Adults - $15
Before the time of the great steamboats, Lyman Harding set out for Natchez from Massachusetts. Lyman found wealth and success in Natchez. Levi Weeks was employed by Harding to design and build Auburn, the first home built in Natchez according to an architectural design.
After Harding's death, Dr. Stephen Duncan and his wife, Catherine, moved into Auburn.
Besides being a Doctor of Medicine, Duncan became president of the Bank of the State of Mississippi, helped establish Trinity Episcopal Church. He expanded Auburn and even built a Greek Revival style billiards parlor next to the home for the entertainment of gentlemen.
After the Civil War, Auburn remained in the Duncan family until 1910, when Dr. Duncan's heirs donated the home and 210 adjacent acres of land to the city of Natchez, to be used as a public park. The contents of the house were sold at public auction. Few of those items would ever return to Auburn.
Levi Weeks, a young cabinetmaker, carpenter and builder who also claimed to be an architect, was employed by Lyman Harding to design and build Auburn Mansion in 1811. Weeks describes the home in a letter to a friend:
"The body of the house is 60 by 45 feet with a portico ...supported by 4 Ionic columns with the Corinthian entablature ...the house two stories with a geometrical staircase to ascend to the second story. The site is one of those peculiar situations which combines all the delight of romance, the pleasures of rurality and the approach of sublimity."
In the 1830's, Dr. Stephen Duncan added the two symmetrical wings, which greatly expanded the interior space. These wings now hold the library and gift shop on the main floor and two of the bedrooms upstairs. The first floor also holds an office, dining room, parlor, sitting room, and large hallway. The second floor consists mostly of the four bedrooms, with another parlor and hallway. Porches set off both floors front and back.
But of course, the single most striking architecture of the home is the graceful curve of the spiral staircase, completely unsupported to the second floor.
Restoring the interior and exterior of Auburn Mansion is a constant process. As all the original funishings were sold by the City in 1911, period furniture is sometimes donated to this historic home. We are constantly trying to locate pieces original to the "Duncan" period of Auburn.
A window in the upstairs parlor was walled up years ago, but has now been reclaimed.
The Kitchen building, ca. 1830, with enslaved quarters on the second floor, is now restored as far as the structure is concerned.
While doing some restoration to the dining room, we uncovered, under 3 coats of wallpaper, painting of flowers directly on the original plaster which could date close to 1812
Any donations for our constant restoration projects would certainly be appreciated by the Auburn Antebellum Home members who are all volunteers and receive no tax dollars from the City of Natchez, who owns Auburn. Checks may be sent to Auburn Antebellum Home, P.O. Box 18006, Natchez, MS 39122. A receipt will be sent upon request. All donations to Auburn Antebellum Home are tax deductible as we are a 501c3 non profit corporation.
Special Events
Besides being a premier historic attraction for Natchez, Auburn is also a beautiful and convenient location for special events. Weddings, receptions, bridge club meetings, and tea parties have all been held in this antebellum home. Call for availability and price quote.
Once you've taken the tour, we invite you to browse our gift shop for china tea pots and cups, fine linens, books and souvenirs for folks of all ages
For hotel accomadations near Auburn, please click on the following link: http://www.hotelscombined.com/Place/Auburn_Mississippi.htm


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Family Portraits
Other Disciplines:
Art & Landscape Photography
Commercial Photography
Wedding Photography
My name is Liam Kidney and I am an Irish Wedding photographer for the past twelve years based in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. I am passionate about all aspects of photography. As well as wedding photography I also love Wildlife, Landscape, Sport, PR and Portrait photography. I also teach photography and run photography courses throughout the year in Athlone.
With my wedding photography I mix modern contemporary photojournalistic styles with the more traditional styles which produces a unique mix of beautiful portraiture and spontaneous documentary-style photography that will truly capture every moment of your day.
I have won many IPPA Awards over the last twelve years including the "Winner of the 2015 IPPA Best Classic Wedding Portfolio" and "Winner of the 2015 IPPA Best Classic Wedding Single Image" awards.
By investing in the talent and expertise of an IPPVA photographer or videographer you are insuring that careful planning goes into unobtrusively capturing the key moments, people and atmosphere of your big day.
When you engage the services of an IPPVA photographer or videographer you will be working with someone who upholds the strictest professional standards, who deals fairly and honestly with you, and who strives to create images that you will cherish for years to come.


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After a tremendous, though work, Sabayon5 is eventually here with a joint release of GNOME and KDE editions. Dedicated to those who like cutting edge stability, out of the box experience, outstanding Desktop performance, clean and beauty. Sabayon 5.o (five-point-ooh!) will catch you, anything that could have been compiled, has been compiled, anything cool that could have been implemented or updated, it's there: you will find outstanding amount of new applications and features, like XBMC 9.04.1 (formerly known as Xbox Media Center), KDE 4.3.1, GNOME 2.26, E17, Linux kernel 2.6.31 and so forth.
So, come on, go catch it, it's half a DVD away from you!
Before Installing, Please run the Update Installer button within the Installer for last minute fixes
- Visual Tours:
- Take a Tour - Booting (GNOME)
- Take a Tour - Installer (GNOME)
- Take a Tour - Booting (KDE)
- Take a Tour - Installer (KDE)
- Distribution Features (based on Entropy Branch 5):
- Less than 2GB size (1.6GB for Sabayon5 GNOME x86)
- Based on new GCC 4.4.1 and Glibc 2.10
- Shipped with Desktop-optimized Linux kernel 2.6.31
- Providing extra Server-optimized and OpenVZ-enabled kernels in repositories
- Installer now available in multiple languages
- Complete Ext4 filesystem support (used by default)
- Complete Encrypted filesystems support (via dmcrypt, available in the Installer)
- Featuring X.Org 7.5 and up-to-date FLOSS, NVIDIA, AMD video drivers
- Containing GNOME 2.26 (2.28 ready) and KDE 4.3.1
- Outstanding 3D Desktop applications (Compiz, Compiz Fusion and KWin) working out of the box
- Bringing Entropy Framework (Package Manager) 0.99.3
- Shipped with OpenOffice 3.1 productivity suite, Multimedia applications
- Transform Sabayon into an full-featured HTPC Operating System (Media Center) using XBMC
- Shipped with World of Goo Demo - best 2D game ever!
- Sexiest Skin ever! (Ian Whyman rocks)
- Ready for Sabayon 6 (someday!)
Minimum requirements:
- an i686-compatible Processor (Intel Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Celeron, AMD K6-2, Athlon)
- 512Mb RAM
- 9 GB of free space
- A X.Org supported 2D GPU
- a DVD reader
Optimal requirements:
- a Dual Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or better, AMD Athlon 64 X2 or better)
- 1024Mb RAM
- 20 GB of free space
- A X.Org supported 3D GPU (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA) (esp. for XBMC)
- a DVD reader
Resources for Sabayon Linux 5.o GNOME and KDE:
Kernel Configuration:
- Sabayon 5.o x86 kernel config
- Sabayon 5.o amd64 kernel config
Packages list:
- Sabayon Linux x86 5.o KDE Packages
- Sabayon Linux x86-64 5.o KDE Packages
- Sabayon Linux x86 5.o GNOME Packages
- Sabayon Linux x86-64 5.o GNOME Packages
Download sources
Our Mirrors Page:
- http://www.sabayon.org/download
- Sabayon Linux x86 5.o KDE Torrent Download
- Sabayon Linux x86-64 5.o KDE Torrent Download
- Sabayon Linux x86 5.o GNOME Torrent Download
- Sabayon Linux x86-64 5.o GNOME Torrent Download
Digg It!


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Measuring Displacement Using Accelerometers
EP Editorial Staff | March 1, 2008
How competent is competent? More importantly, how much might it actually cost your operations if you were to entrust your pumps to the wrong shop?
While it's the easiest vibration parameter to understand, it's also been the most rarely measured one. That's all about to change, with loop-powered displacement sensors now offering a simple, continuous way to get the job done.
Clearing up misconceptions
Regrettably, over time there has been a common misconception that measuring displacement using an accelerometer is not possible or leads to erroneous information. In reality, accelerometers have long been used to measure displacement. It is, however, important to understand that displacement measured with an accelerometer is not the same displacement measured with shaft riders or eddy current-style vibration transducers.
Eddy current probes are precisely thru-hole mounted into a mechanical casing and measure two very important shaft parameters.
- First, eddy current probes indicate the location of the shaft relative to the casing. This is crucial in sleeve bearing applications because it tells the operator where the centerline of the shaft is relative to the casing.
- Second, eddy current displacement measurements indicate the amount of 1x rotational vibration. From this measurement, it can be determined if the shaft vibration is within acceptable limits.
If an operator looks at the vibrational spectral content measured with a displacement probe, it is possible to see higher order harmonics of the shaft. These levels, though, are typically very small in amplitude due to the natural inclination of rotating machinery to dampen and attenuate vibration displacement levels at higher frequencies. Other uses of eddy current probes are to monitor shaft eccentricity or, in the case of probes positioned in the axial direction, to monitor case thermal expansion.
While all of these measurements are useful, they are not the same as a casing vibration measurement made with an accelerometer, then doubly integrated electronically to determine the level of machine displacement. Despite eddy current probes being widely used in sleeve bearing applications, a great majority of field machinery employs roller element bearings. Usually it is neither possible nor practical to mount an eddy current probe on this type of machine. Since the shaft is held tightly in place by a roller element bearing, an accelerometer mounted on the case will detect the force exerted on the bearing by the rotating mass.
Deriving benefits
The benefits of using accelerometers to sense machine vibrations through casing measurements are well known. They have been in general practice for generations of equipment.
Typically, accelerometers internally generate an output voltage proportional to g's, with 100mV/g being the common reference value. After the accelerometer output signal is received by the measurement instrumentation, the acceleration signal is converted to either velocity or displacement. Depending on the preferred measurement parameter chosen by the plant reliability engineer, the velocity and displacement characteristics are trended against time to indicate when the machine condition has changed enough to warrant special attention or preventive maintenance. While this method is effective, it requires a high degree of instrumentation to accomplish the desired goal of averting machine failure.
The measurement instrumentation involved is usually a spectrum analyzer that collects, conditions, manipulates and displays the data. This raw accelerometer data then is frequently transferred to a software database package that offers significant additional analytical capabilities and record keeping. Considerable resources can go in to the measurement instrument, training personnel in its proper use, interpretation of the data and ongoing software updates. Nevertheless, this approach has been successfully implemented in thousands of plants over the last several decades and has saved industry countless dollars in unscheduled downtime and costly repairs on large, critical machinery.
On the other hand, there remains a large amount of unmonitored plant machinery that could benefit from vibration analysis. Unfortunately, the costs associated with using highly trained staff to collect hundreds—perhaps thousands— of data points makes such widespread analysis impractical, especially when the increased demand on personnel to "accomplish more with less" is taken into account.
Loop powered vibration sensors
In recent years, there has been increasing interest in loop powered vibration sensors, which are powered from 24 volt supplies and output a 4-20 mA signal. The advantages of using 4-20 mA vibration sensors are simplicity and cost-effective continuous monitoring. They take the same accelerometer-based vibration signal discussed above, internally process that signal using one of several detection schemes (rms, peak, peak-to-peak, or true peak) and convert it into a 4-20 mA signal that is proportional to either acceleration or velocity. This signal is then routed to a much more common piece of process equipment, such as a PLC or plantwide DCS system.
So, instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on sophisticated instrumentation, a plant can invest about $300 per data point and obtain continuous real time data on any piece of equipment. That means a facility can now monitor many more pieces of equipment— more cost-effectively than in the past. Considering the investment in capital equipment, this can be a very small price to pay for continuous operating information on a critical pump or fan stationed remotely in the plant. Even a higher priced analytical system does not offer 24/7 protection, and it usually requires human interpretation.
Today's technology
While all of the loop powered vibration sensors up to this time based the 4-20 mA output signal on acceleration or velocity, measuring displacement with a 4-20 mA sensor is now an option. With no cabling and no instrumentation before it is converted to displacement, the cleanest signal is possible (where cleanest is defined as the least amount of electrical, thermal and cable noise before conversion). As previously mentioned, in traditional walk-around vibration systems, it is standard practice to convert the accelerometer signal to displacement after the signal reaches the measurement instrumentation. The result often seen in this data has been characterized as 'ski slope,' where low-frequency signals are lost in the integration process.
When an accelerometer is mounted on the machinery, the processing is performed right at the point of data collection. As a result, it is possible to control the entire measurement and integration process to a much greater degree than was possible before. The acceleration signal coming from the sensing crystal is first conditioned, that is, made readable by subsequent measurement amplifiers. Once amplified to an acceptable level, the signal is passed through a double integrator, which is similar in design to a low pass filter. This AC signal, representative of the machine displacement, is fed into the averaging circuit, converted to the required DC value and passed out of the sensor as a 4-20 mA signal. Now, data screens for process control machinery can be calibrated in mils displacement in the same manner that vibration velocity signals have been recorded with previous generation sensors.
Expanded opportunities
Through simplicity and the low cost of continuous monitoring, direct reading, accelerometer-based 4-20 mA displacement sensors expand the opportunity to use vibration monitoring within a plant. Fans, for example, offer a significant benefit from this technological improvement. When an accelerometer is sensitive to velocity, the overall vibration level can be dominated by blade pass frequency. Vibration readings of a fan and a pump in terms of velocity are shown in Fig. 1.
By utilizing a sensor based on displacement, the high blade pass frequency (relative to 1x vibration) is attenuated in the signal resulting in a monitoring system that is focused on the rotational (balance) component of the system. The vibration readings of a fan and a pump in terms of displacement are shown in Fig. 2.
Loop powered 4-20 mA displacement sensors also can improve pump monitoring, because the pump vane pass frequency can dominate a spectrum. Velocity sensors may be blind to changes in rotational speed vibration—thus, velocity may not be the ideal measurement parameter. Conversely, 4-20 mA sensors mounted on fan pillow blocks or pump housings can output directly to process control points, providing operators with never-before-seen information on their machines.
While measuring displacement is useful in many instances, most reliability engineers and maintenance managers realize that a single measurement focused on a single parameter (acceleration, velocity or displacement) is only a small part of a comprehensive predictive maintenance program. The choice of available sensors for measuring vibration is constantly changing. Advances in technology enable us to increase the measurement range of sensors; the bandwidth, both low-end and high; and ability to resolve low level signals in the presence of high signals like imbalance. The recent acceptance of loop powered 4-20 mA vibration sensors continues to expand the capability of predictive maintenance and real-time monitoring. Displacement-based accelerometers are the latest addition to the arsenal of vibration measurement tools and provide an easy to understand measurement with the capability to unmask hidden problems. MT
Renard Klubnik is an applications engineer with Wilcoxon Research, Inc., based in Germantown, MD. Telephone: (301) 947-7968; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com