Elsa M. Núñez, president of Eastern Connecticut State University, received the Transforming Lives Award from Hartford-based Family Life Education during its 25th anniversary gala on Nov. 3 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
In accepting the award, Núñez talked about the challenges and struggles that Latinos have faced in Connecticut and the impact that education can have on a person’s life. “When someone in a Puerto Rican family, an African American family, or an inner-city student from a low-income family is the first family member to attend college, it not only transforms one life,” she explained. “Graduating from college tells a student, ‘Yes you can.’ It tells his or her family, ‘We are strong.’ It tells an entire neighborhood, ‘We can succeed.’ It is like a pebble tossed into still water — it ripples and ripples and ripples, until it reaches all shores.”
Family Life Education Board President James Shortley said Núñez “is a vigilant advocate for children, especially closing Connecticut’s achievement gap. She is an outstanding role model for young girls and young women served by Family Life Education.”
Family Life Education is an independent, nonprofit organization that empowers inner-city families in the Hartford area through partnerships with corporate, civic and social organizations.
JUDGE MURPHY HONORED
The Connecticut Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section has recognized Judge Maureen M. Murphy at the organization’s eighth annual diversity awards dinner recently at Amarante’s Sea Cliff in East Haven.
Judge Maureen Murphy was selected as this year’s honoree because of her commitment to serving those who have historically been underserved, ensuring equal protection under the law for all people and for her pioneering work as an LGBT civil rights advocate.
CANTOR ADDRESSES TRADEMARKS
Michael Cantor, co-managing partner of Hartford patent-trademark law firm Cantor Colburn LLP, spoke at the Seoul International Trademark Forum on the issues of ‘use’ and ‘intent to use’ in the establishment of trademark rights in the United States. An audience of 250 trademark practitioners from South Korea and around the world attended the forum.
The event was presented jointly by the International Trademark Association and the Korean Trademark & Design Association (KOTA) at the COEX Intercontinental Seoul.
FAMILY PHYSICIANS PICK WINAKOR
Ross Winakor, a family physician at Mansfield Family Practice, has been installed as president of the Connecticut Academy of Family Physicians. He is on the medical staff at Windham Community Hospital in the town’s Willimantic section. He also acts as consulting medical staff at Natchaug Hospital in Mansfield and at Mansfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Mansfield.
The Connecticut Academy of Family Physicians is a professional medical society dedicated to maintaining high standards of family medicine representing 600 family physicians, residents and medical students.
