URDT Remarkable Women Award
As part of International Women's Day, URDT recognized 20 women who contributed vital to the growth and development of URDT and ARU.
Silvana Veltkamp
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It could be said that without Silvana AFPF, URDT and ARU may not have ever been created. Silvana was a co-founder of AFPF in 1981, and served as the organization's first Executive Director from 1981-1997. She was the first Secretary of the Board of URDT and authored the organizations working documents. She is credited as a co-founder of URDT and ARU. Silvana previously had worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization at the UN. She officially retired from her work in 2007 to return to Italy.
Martha Dolben
Martha, now Chair Emeritus, has been integral to fostering the unique partnership between AFPF and URDT/ARU. She assumed her role as an AFPF Board Member in the early 1980s and went on to serve as Board Chair and Executive Director. In her time in AFPF leadership, Martha grew average annual fundraising from a few thousand dollars to more than $500,000. She has pioneered in sponsoring URDT's and ARU's commitment to women's learning and leadership, and in 2008, she received the Unity College Women's Environmental Leadership Award.
Dr. Susan Warshauer
Susan was the first Vice Chancellor of ARU (2009-2011). Susan is a Social Psychologist who has spent her career helping organizations hone leadership skills in their employees. Her particular interest in helping women develop their full leadership potential led to her work with ARU.
Patricia Seybold
Patty has been a supporter of URDT and ARU for over 20 years. She has been a member of the ARU Council since 2006, and was instrumental in moving ARU from a vision to a reality. Patty also published a book in partnership with leaders at URDT, It Takes a Child to Raise a Village, capturing the stories of URDT Girls' School students. Recently, Patty's hometown paper, The Boothbay Register, published an article about her work, and the honor received from URDT.
