RE LOG - Spring 2017

2 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 In this issue of the RE Log magazine, we celebrate just a few of the many in our Ransom Everglades community who are following the words of Paul Ransom and putting more into the world than they take from it. They are, in many ways, unsung heroes. Headlines rarely come to those who spend their lives trying to improve circumstances for the financially stressed, forgotten, under-resourced or sick. Yet at Ransom Everglades, such efforts stir pride. They matter. They are vivid expressions of our core mission, energizing all of us who devote our lives to guiding students, preparing them to succeed in college – and life. We start with Willy Foote ’86 , who left a job on Wall Street and a chance to attend Harvard Business School to assist rural farmers worldwide who struggle to make ends meet. Willy’s company, Root Capital, not only loans money so that farmers get paid on time, but also provides much needed job training, equipment and counsel on environmental best practices. When he travels around the global to meet his business partners, he is as likely to spend the night in a hammock as a Hilton. We feature Wendell Graham ’74 , a Miami-Dade County Court judge for nearly a quarter of a century who has made it his personal mission to ensure that everyone who sets foot in his courtroom is treated with respect and the highest level of professionalism. Judge Graham cites some amazing mentors: he learned under the late Janet Reno and, as a youngster, studied violin at the academy created by locally renowned civil rights leader Ruth Greenfield, mother of our 2017 Commencement speaker Timothy Greenfield- Sanders ’70 . We highlight the achievements of Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber ’85 , who has used her passion for scientific inquiry to devise a methodology for those at risk for suicide – a methodology now used by governments and agencies around the world. Dr. Posner’s interest in the serious issue was aroused when, as a young professor at Columbia University, she undertook a study of adolescent suicide, discovering a need in identification and prevention. Her findings led her to create the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, which has helped to save countless lives and spared families heartbreak and suffering. From the Pagoda Making a difference in the world