CELEBRATIONS
Greenwich native graduates from Vista Life Innovations
Meredith Baber of Greenwich and New York City is among six students who have graduated from Vista Life Innovations — a nationally accredited postsecondary program that supports the personal success of individuals with disabilities.
Baber started at Vista in October 2015 and was a student in the residential transition program, Discover. In the Discover program, students learn the skills necessary to live independently through experiential training in a community-based setting.
Graduation is a significant milestone that acknowledges
the independence and success students have worked hard to achieve in the Discover Program. Baber is planning to join Vista’s long-term community-based program, Engage, to continue to develop herself as she accomplishes new goals.
With campuses in Madison and Westbrook, the nonprofit Vista has been providing services to assist individuals with disabilities for 30 years.
Vista’s mission is to provide resources to help individuals with disabilities achieve personal success. For more information, visit www.vistalifeinnovations.org.
Greenwich resident appointed to Burke Rehabilitation Hospital’s board of trustees
The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital’s Board of Trustees welcomed Greenwich resident Julie Grace Burke to the board at a recent virtual meeting.
Grace Burke has close ties to the hospital. Her mother, Bonnie Grace, was a patient at Burke after experiencing a stroke in 2018. Bonnie Grace and her husband of nearly 51 years, Tom, were recipients of the Burke Award in 2019.
“It means so much to me to join the Burke Board of Trustees because I’ve seen the amazing work of their clinical staff first-hand,” Grace Burke said. “I’m excited to help make the hospital as strong as possible
and bring Burke’s compassionate care to as many people as possible.”
Julie Grace Burke has been a top-ranked residential real estate agent for the past 14 years and currently represents Houlihan Lawrence.
Before taking a decade without working outside the home to raise her young family, she worked in marketing and special events for Nordstrom Inc., helping to open their store in Short Hills, N.J., while also serving as the development coordinator for St. Vincent’s Hospital — Westchester Branch.
Grace Burke serves on the acquisition committee for the Greenwich Land Trust and served as a board member for six years. She was part of the executive committee that achieved accreditation for the organization and was critical to securing the donation and renovation of the GLT headquarters on Round Hill Road.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Julie Grace Burke to the board,” said John R. McCarthy, chairman of Burke’s board of Trustees. “Julie’s track record of success in community involvement, coupled with her undeniable passion for the hospital’s vision and mission, make her the perfect addition to the Burke family.”
Always involved in her community, Grace Burke also spent many years serving on the board of the Cowan Center, the early
learning center at Greenwich Academy; and the PTAs of Brunswick School, Greenwich Academy, Greenwich High School and Putnam Indian Field School.
A graduate of the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, and Dartmouth College, Julie Grace Burke also studied public health and business administration at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She lives with her husband, John, and has two daughters, Anne and Lucy, and one son, Judge.
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital is a not-for-profit, acute rehabilitation hospital in White Plains, N.Y., dedicated solely to adult rehabilitation medicine. For additional information, visit burke.org.
Riverside student graduates from Eastern Connecticut
John Mendoza of Riverside was among the hundreds of students who graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic in the spring 2020 semester. Mendoza graduated with a bachelor of arts in criminology.
Eastern’s 130th annual commencement exercises were held via YouTube on May 19 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the same day the university had originally planned to hold its graduation ceremony at Hartford’s XL Center.
Cos Cob student named to Dean’s List at James Madison University
Cos Cob resident Katherine Walko has been named to the dean’s list at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., for the spring 2020 semester. Students who earn dean’s list honors must carry at least 12 graded credit hours and earn a GPA of between 3.5 and 3.899. Walko is a math major.
Local students graduate from Fairfield University
A number of local students graduated from Fairfield University in Fairfield in May.
Among the graduates are Elizabeth Cavanaugh, Alessia M. Conte and Kimberly Mirabella, of Cos Cob, and Madeleine J. Lerose, of Old Greenwich.
From Greenwich, the graduates included Byron A. Abanto, John A. Adimari, Nina P. Cremonese, Dominique Gambino, William L. Gaynor, Luke Hardin, Elizabeth A. Hutchins, Whitney A. Lynn, Katharine L. Schacter, Alexander Shabecoff and Katherine S. Vitale.
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