March 24, 2009

Cooley Professors, Staff Member, Honored for Service

Professor Nancy Wonch

Cooley Law School Professor Nancy Wonch, Grand Rapids Head of Public Services at the Law Library Aletha Honsowitz, and Assistant Professor Stevie Barachkov at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus have been honored with the Great Deeds Service by the law school’s Center for Ethics, Service, and Professionalism.

The award is given each year to a faculty or staff member who has exhibited an outstanding dedication to community service throughout the year. Nominations were received from students, staff, faculty, community leaders, and people whose lives have been touched by Cooley employees. Winners are selected by a committee comprised of previous winners and members of Cooley's Professionalism Team.

Professor Nancy Wonch, at Cooley’s Lansing campus, has been with Cooley since 2002 as part of the Professionalism Department. For the past several years she has served as chairperson of the Lansing Education Advancement Foundation (LEAF), an organization dedicated to supplementing the education of Lansing School District students through scholarships and grants

Aletha Honsowitz

Professor Wonch chaired the Citizen Bond Forum and co-chaired the bond campaign in 2004 to build the first new school in Lansing in 30 years. She is president of Advent House Ministries, a faith-based homeless shelter in Lansing. Professor Wonch also serves as a volunteer horse-feeder at Beekman Therapeutic Riding Stables, where she not only supports the stable in offering therapeutic recreation for residents living with multiple disabilities, but where her close attention to detail saved a horse from a potentially deadly illness in 2008.

Aletha Honsowitz won the award for Cooley’s Grand Rapids campus. As coordinator of the campus’ participation in the Heart of West Michigan United Way campaign, Ms. Honsowitz has led the staff to a 100 percent participation rate each year since the campus opened in 2003. The campaign has also exceeded the campaign’s monetary goals each year.

Ms. Honsowitz also organizes the participation of students, faculty and staff in the local annual United Way Day of Caring. She is the past treasurer of the Cooley Alumni Association Board of Directors, and was chair of the Cooley Alumni Association Special Events Committee from 2004-2007. She also has served on the board of directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Lansing, was a 2006 Athena Award nominee, and was named a Woman of Achievement at the 2007 YWCA Tribute Awards.

Assistant Prof. Stevie Barackov

Professor Barachkov, in 2008, raised $800 on behalf of a Pontiac Northern High School student in need. She also organized and launched a Prom Dress/Tuxedo Drive to benefit students at Pontiac Northern High School. The program collected 80 dresses for the 2007 prom and 161 dresses and eight tuxedos for disadvantaged students wishing to attend Pontiac Northern's 2008 prom. She also facilitated the donation of jewelry, shoes, purses, and tuxedo money for the project.

Professor Barachkov has organized drives to generate winter clothing, books, grocery store gift cards, backpacks and school supplies for homeless children in Macomb and Oakland counties; books for impoverished children in Pontiac, Mich.; clothing for disadvantaged students needing to meet Pontiac Northern’s new dress code in 2007; and teddy bears, healthy snacks, and donations to CARE House, a facility providing services to children who are victims of abuse. Professor Barachkov participated personally in the drives as well, donating money and supplies to the various programs.

In 2007, Professor Barachkov, along with two of her Cooley classes, adopted a family and supplied the family’s Christmas dinner and all gifts on their wishlists.