Induction Class of 2007

Class of 1963

Gwen graduated from Finneytown in 1963. At Finneytown she served on Student Council, was in Y-Teens and played in the band and accompanied the Concert Choir. She was on the newspaper staff and participated in GAA and Escapades (the precursor to the musical and theater program).

After graduation from Finneytown, Gwen majored in education at Miami University and taught Special Education after graduation.

She moved to Huntington Beach, CA, in 1977. There she worked for the Orange County Probation Department. She held the title Director for Program Planning and Research.

“As a criminal justice researcher she thought to survey the recidivism rate of juvenile offenders. At her instigation, the department studied more than 3,000 new juvenile cases in 1987 and 1988 to see what happened to those kids,” read her obituary. “The results shows that 8 percent of them got in serious trouble again and again.”

Gwen helped to create what is now known nationally as The 8 Percent Solution, an early intervention program started in 1994 for kids 15 or younger and their families. She co-authored the book The 8 Percent Solution: Preventing Serious, Repeat Juvenile Offenders.

In 1994 she was selected as Orange County (CA) Woman of Achievement of the Year. In 1999, she was selected as California’s Probation Employee of the Year, a top honor bestowed by the chief probation officers of California. In 2002, posthumously, she was given The Richard A. McGee Award by the American Justice Institute for her pioneering and outstanding contributions to criminal justice research.

Gwen died on May 2, 2001, in California.

Class of 1978

Bill was Vice President, Legal, for Convergys Corporation. He was responsible for managing global labor and employment legal matters, including global relationships with outside legal counsel, and providing legal support to Convergys U.S. and international Human Resources teams, as well as for overseeing Convergys U.S. Affirmative Action program. Mr. Ford reported to William H. Hawkins II, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Convergys, which was located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Carleton College and his law degree from Duke University School of Law.

While at Finneytown High School, Bill was active in football (sophomore to senior year) and was named MVP, Captain, 1st Team All League, and a Cincinnati East-West All Star (1977). He played basketball his junior and senior year and was named Captain. He was a member of the National Honor Society and was F-Club president.

Mr. Ford has been active in coaching youth in a variety of sports. He is past president and officer of the Windwood Swim and Tennis Club, former board member of Kids Helping Kids, and former planning commission member for Butler County, Ohio.

He and his wife, Jill, reside in West Chester, Ohio.

Class of 1985

Laura graduated from Miami University with a B.S. in Elementary Education and earned her Masters in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado graduating summa cum laude. She began her teaching experience in Kings Mills, Ohio. She has taught kindergarten through 8th grade with 12 years of regular education and 6 of gifted education.

Laura earned a certificate in gifted education from the University of Denver and part of a second Master’s degree from Regis University. She started a science camp for girls called Mindscapes, headed curriculum committees, run science fairs, accompanied countless musicals, attended space camps for teachers, developed multiple staff development in-services, and presented at three National Science Teacher Association conventions. Science is her specialty.

She says the pinnacle of her career took place in October 2000, when she was surprised with the Milken Family Foundation’s National Award for Teaching Excellence. She was honored for her innovative and enthusiastically presented teaching methods. The $25,000 award came with a trip to an educator’s conference in Los Angeles in 2001. “It changed my life, and it opened up more doors than I could have imagined,” she said.

In response to the Milken Award, she was recognized in 2001 by the Colorado State Senate and House of Representatives as an excellent educator. Since receiving the award she has attended many conferences and meetings with government officials, state board of education members, and other state education officials.

All-Star Instructor

Burt was an English teacher at Finneytown from 1977-1998, earned his B.A. in English from Wilmington College in 1967 and his M.Ed. in Special Education from Xavier University in 1970. He has taught English, Speech, and Theatre in both public and private schools for the past 38 years. He directed theatre at Finneytown High School for 25 years and was the former director of Theatre at Oxford Talawanda High School from 1970-1976.

In 1986, Mr. McCollom’s theatre department was recognized as a national Center of Excellence by the National Council of Teachers of English. He is the recipient of the Wilmington Theatre Award and a past recipient of the Friend of Education Award by the National School Public Relations Association for work with hearing impaired students. He has taught English as a Second Language at International Language Plus.

He is an active member of the Greater Cincinnati area community theater as an actor, director, and producer. He is a multiple Orchid Award winner for excellence in performance and direction in local community theatre. He is represented by the Heyman Talent Agency having done work in print advertising, voice-over, and industrial film and TV commercials. Most recently, Mr. McCollom has appeared in the independent film Beowulf, Prince of the Geats by local director Scott Wegener.

Burt and his wife, Michelle, the former assistant principal at Finneytown High School and principal of Finneytown Middle School, live in College Hill.

Class of 1966

Beth has a 20-year history as a critical care nurse. She was head nurse of the coronary care unit at Parkridge Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was also certified as a critical care specialist and worked at Providence Hospital here in Cincinnati.

She has a 25-year career as a piano instructor and is currently an instructor at the Cincinnati Music Academy in Kenwood. She has taught hundreds of students ranging in ages from 5 to 70, and recently two of her students have been gold medal winners (the highest in the State of Ohio) in the Royal American Conservatory practical examination results.

Beth is an active member of the Ohio Music Teachers Association. She recently performed with nine other teachers (Chopin and Debussy preludes) for a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House. She has also composed many pieces and arranges music for her church.

While at Finneytown, Beth was in the Girls Chorus, Concert Choir, Escapades and National Honor Society. She received the Chopin Piano Award and a scholarship to DePauw University. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati Nursing program and magna cum laude from Southern University in Tennessee.

Class of 2000

Ross has been dedicated to public service on a local, national, and global level for the past ten years. His passion for social justice was born out of his involvement throughout high school and college with community organizations in Cincinnati’s impoverished inner city.

Throughout high school, Ross taught GED classes at a homeless shelter, tutored in an after school program, mentored youth, led affordable housing construction crews, initiated service programs, and directed a youth summer program. His deep involvement with the community continues to shape his public service work today.

While an undergraduate at Miami University, Ross developed new civic engagement programs and advocacy organizations to mobilize fellow students around various social issues and engage them in social change efforts. Specifically, he initiated and coordinated 20 service-learning weekend trips for over 300 students to learn about issues of race and poverty in Cincinnati’s inner city. On an international level, Ross’s work with Amnesty International for eight years led him to coordinate two national human rights delegations to Latin America and to participate in the International Human Rights Exchange in South Africa.

In 2004, Ross graduated summa cum laude from Miami University with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies focused on public policy and social inequality. After graduating, Ross worked with America Coming Together to register, educate, and mobilize Democratic voters in Ohio for the 2004 presidential election. Ross then conducted research on civic engagement for the Charles F. Kettering Foundation and served as a consultant on a local political campaign.

A 2003 Harry S. Truman Scholar, member of the USA Today All-USA Academic First Team, and NYU Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship, Ross is currently studying in the Master of Public Administration program at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Ross is conducting policy analysis and research for New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding. Ross hopes to build a career of revitalizing struggling urban neighborhoods, ultimately in his hometown, Cincinnati.