Alumni Awards

THE BART LAWSON ALUMNI AWARD FOR SERVICE

Bart Lawson, a 1992 graduate of the Paul McGhee Division at the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS), was a distinguished member of the alumni community of our School. During his lifetime, he made generous contributions to provide financial aid to McGhee students. He served on the Council for the Future of NYU-SCPS, and participated in helping our students better understand the healthcare field through lectures and private conversations. Outside of NYU-SCPS, Lawson dedicated his energies to solving healthcare problems the world over. He was president and executive director of the Greater New York Healthcare Facilities Association, and served on the transition teams of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Governor George Pataki before being appointed to serve on the Governor's Medicaid Task Force. He also served as ambassador–at–large to the United States Grenadian Mission to the United Nations, Grenada. Using his resources and expertise, he worked hard to make the world a better place by dedicating his energies to solving healthcare problems.

Upon Lawson's premature passing, NYU-SCPS established this award to pay tribute to his legacy, and offer the members of the NYU-SCPS community the opportunity to recognize these qualities and dedication to service in others.

2010 Bart Lawson Award Recipients

Jamie Leigh Allen Black--Award for Humanitarianism
Paul McGhee Division (BA 1997)

Jamie Allen Black, along with six other women, formed A More Perfect Union in the belief that the quality of women's relationships directly affects the quality of their lives. The organization works with women recovering from domestic violence, homelessness and drug addiction, training them to think critically about their behavior and teaching them the value of being supportive and supportable positively affects all aspects of their lives—personal, professional, and communal. The organization has touched the lives of thousands of women in the tristate area, creating stronger families and building communities of support.

Black's professional achievements include her role as director of Strategic Fundraising at Hadassah, a women's not-for-profit organization, and as an accomplished voiceover artist who can be heard on commercials and documentaries.

Matt Blesso--Award for Humanitarianism
The NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate (MS 2004)

Matthew Blesso, founder of Blesso Properties, is an innovative and successful real estate entrepreneur with a strong commitment to philanthropy and community reinvestment. Since high school, he has been dedicated to providing support and raising funds for various organizations and communities around the world. His first charitable action was through an internship with Habitat for Humanity in New Jersey. From college onward, he worked with Partners in Reading, the soup kitchen at Hoboken Grace Church, and New York Cares. He was the founding member of the Fourth Arts Block Leadership Board, and is an active board member of Citizen's Housing and Planning Council, The Institute for Urban Design, and the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. To date, Blesso--and Blesso Properties--have donated over $200,000 to various philanthropic enterprises.

Aaron Oliker--Award for Professional Service and Outreach
Center for Advanced Digital Applications (MS 2003)

Aaron Oliker is the owner and director of 3D Technology at BioDigital Systems, LLC, and a graduate of the Center for Advanced Digital Applications (CADA) at NYU-SCPS. He has developed surgical animations for a DVD teaching series on cleft lip and palate surgery for the Smile Train charity.

The Smile Train's Virtual Surgery DVD training videos are the first surgical educational tool to leverage the power of virtual technology and advanced 3-D animation. Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most of these children cannot eat or speak properly. Many are not allowed to attend school and live in isolation. These training modules enable doctors in poor, remote areas to learn advanced cleft surgical techniques from the world's foremost experts in the field. Over 500,000 children in 78 countries have received surgeries through the Smile Train.

Brian Laguardia--Award for Public Service
Center for Global Affairs (MS 2010)

At the NYU-SCPS Center for Global Affairs (CGA), Brian Laguardia studied global problems that he desperately wanted to help alleviate. Although Laguardia came from a strong background in the international non-profit and education sectors, it was his time in the military that was most responsible for his passion for human rights and humanitarian assistance. When Brian returned from Iraq in 2007, after the most deadly year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he reached out to individuals who had been through similar military experiences. Between 2007 and 2010, Laguardia worked as a media spokesman for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a veterans support services coordinator for New York City College of Technology, and a general advocate for veterans nationwide. His mission is to help bridge the civilian/military divide—the disconnect between civilians and their soldiers—which he felt strongly was the greatest cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Laguardia worked with every part of civil society on behalf of veterans. He lobbied with politicians in Washington, D.C., spoke with the public in the New York area, and worked one-on-one with veterans everywhere. He has appeared on television, in public school classrooms, at museums, universities, and often at people's houses.