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Seven Grads Receive Alumni Service Awards

The George Washington Alumni Association and GW President Steven Knapp honored seven recipients of Alumni Outstanding Service Awards at an April 29 ceremony on the University's Foggy Bottom campus.

The 2010 award recipients are:

J. Zoë Beckerman, LAW JD '05, SPHHS Cert '05 Mitchell E. Blaser, GWSB BBA '73 Weston D. Burnett, LAW JD '75, LLM '83 Dawn B. Duquès, GSEHD BA '69 Steven D. Frenkil, CCAS BA '74 David C. Karlgaard, SEAS DSc '74 Michael P. Akin, CCAS BA '03, GWSB MBA '07 * * 2010 Jane Lingo Alumni Outstanding Service Award Recipient

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The Alumni Outstanding Service Award (previously the Distinguished Alumni Service Award) is given to graduates who advance the mission of the University through dedicated volunteer efforts in support of its programs, thereby ensuring the University's impact on its community and future generations of students.

The 2010 Alumni Outstanding Service Award Recipients:

J. Zoë Beckerman, LAW JD '05, SPHHS Cert '05, is a partner at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, specializing in government grants, corporate and business law and health care law, with an emphasis on federally funded programs. She also is the managing principal of FT Solutions, the firm's consulting arm. She is a policy expert on Head Start, and helps the Head Start community strategize about government and legislative affairs issues. Mrs. Beckerman is a Recent Alumni Trustee at GW.

Mitchell E. Blaser, GWSB BBA '73, is one of the founding executives of Ironshore, a Bermuda-based specialty Property & Casualty Insurance company formed with $1 billion in private equity capital in late 2006. Mr. Blaser is currently the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Ironshore and chief executive officer of Ironshore Bermuda. In these roles, he oversees the Bermuda operations and all of the nonunderwriting functions of the Group. Mr. Blaser is chair of the GWSB Board of Advisors and has previously chaired the Parent's Council.

Weston D. Burnett, LAW JD '75, LLM '83, is the managing partner of Cohen & Burnett, PC. He advocates a multidisciplinary approach in his business, using integrated strategies from estate, income, business and financial planning to help clients realize financial and life goals. After completing his JD, Mr. Burnett joined the Navy as a judge advocate, and retired from the Navy as a senior captain in 2000. Mr. Burnett is immediate past president and executive committee member of the Board of Directors of the GW Law School Alumni Association, Law School Dean's Fund chairperson, and a member of the GWAA Board of Directors.

Dawn B. Duquès, GSEHD BA '69, is the chair of GW's National Council of Education and Human Development and a trustee of Columbia University's Teachers College. Dr. Duquès' doctoral research examined university trustee recruitment and orientation. She has written articles on the subject, including two for Trusteeship Magazine, and does consulting to assist other boards improve in those areas. Dr. Duquès is presently spearheading the construction and design of a new hotel that she and husband, Ric, who she met at GW, are building in Madison, Conn.

Steven D. Frenkil, CCAS BA '74, a partner at Miles & Stockbridge PC, specializes in employment and education law. He advises management throughout the country in a wide range of employment, labor, and higher education law issues. Mr. Frenkil provides strategic advice to decision-makers, handles sensitive investigations, and defends employers in court and before administrative agencies throughout the country. Mr. Frenkil serves on the GW Alumni Association Executive Committee as vice president for Student-Alumni Initiatives.

David C. Karlgaard, SEAS DSc '74, is the co-founder of PEC Solutions, a government information technology services company. Mr. Karlgaard's career as a technology entrepreneur exemplifies the success that can come from combining knowledge of engineering principles with business acumen. After working as an electrical engineer at various U.S. government research laboratories and as vice president of Computer Sciences Corporation, Mr. Karlgaard and two partners co-founded PEC Solutions in 1985. Mr. Karlgaard is a member of the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science National Advisory Council.

The Jane Lingo Alumni Outstanding Service Award (previously the Jane Lingo Distinguished Alumni Service Award) honor has been presented annually since 2008 to a faculty or staff member who also is a GW graduate, and who consistently advances the mission of the University through dedicated volunteer efforts in support of its programs. It commemorates the service of Jane Lingo, CCAS BA '46, an alumna, staff member, and friend, who was a lifelong participant in The George Washington University family until she passed away in 2007.

The 2010 Jane Lingo Alumni Outstanding Service Award Recipient:

Michael P. Akin, CCAS BA '03, GWSB MBA '07, is the assistant vice president of Government, International and Community Relations at GW. He oversees the University's relations with government agencies, embassies, business and cultural organizations, other universities, civic associations and community groups. Mr. Akin leads the Community Core Group, a multidisciplinary planning group of senior GW officials tasked with ensuring that the University's community efforts are coordinated and comprehensive. In 2006, he received the GW Award, the University's highest honor.

For more information on the GW Alumni Service Awards and the GW Alumni Association, please visit alumni.gwu.edu/awards.