"Where there is no vision the people perish."
Marciene S. Mattleman Presented the 2007 Philadelphia Award
PHILADELPHIA—Educator, social entrepreneur and civic leader Marciene S. Mattleman has been named winner of the 2007 Philadelphia Award. The prestigious Philadelphia Award, created by Edward W. Bok in 1921, will be presented to Dr. Mattleman on May 4, 2008 at Temple University's Mitten Hall.
"Marciene Mattleman's lifelong passion has been to increase of the educational opportunities for people of all ages, especially youth in the city of Philadelphia. She is a tireless innovator whose work and vision embody the spirit of The Philadelphia Award," said Dr. Happy Craven Fernandez, chair of The Philadelphia Award Trustees and president of Moore College of Art & Design.
Mattleman's most recent accomplishment is as founder and president of ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships, which rallies the greater Philadelphia community to expand after school recreation and enrichment programs for young people. Engaging over 12,000 youth in some of the city's most underserved neighborhoods over the past 5 years, ASAP is the fifth successful non-profit organization that Mattleman has created after serving as a full time professor at Temple University.
During the Wilson Goode administration, she was the founding director of the Mayor's Commission on Literacy. She was the founding director as well of the YET program, Youth Education for Tomorrow, at Public/Private Ventures, which established 30 literacy centers in community-based settings. Then, when now-Gov. Edward G. Rendell was mayor, she created Philadelphia READS. She also started Philadelphia Futures, a mentoring program with college as a goal, which has been replicated in 18 states and for which she was honored at the White House by President Clinton. All of these programs have mobilized and engaged the talents and resources of thousands of volunteers on behalf of young Philadelphians, and these nonprofit organizations are still flourishing.
Mattleman also is the education reporter on KWY Newsradio, Philadelphia's CBS affiliate, where her three features are aired 15 times weekly. She has appeared often on radio and television discussing issues in education and writes frequently for the popular press. She has attained national recognition for her work in expanding access and opportunity for low-income populations.
Dr. Mattleman started as a sixth grade teacher in the public schools and went on to become a professor of English education at Temple University. There she taught prospective teachers and graduate students in the teaching of reading and language arts. Her research focused on factors related to academic success. Mattleman has written more than 55 articles in professional journals, two books (one co-authored) on reading and language activities and has presented many papers at national and international conferences. In 1995, Mattleman was appointed by President Clinton to the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy, an agency authorized by Congress to work with the Secretaries of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services on matters of adult literacy. She served as chair of that group.
An inspiring model of civic leadership, Marciene Mattleman currently serves on the boards of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, the American Red Cross of Southeastern PA, Philadelphia Futures, City Year, the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Audrey Miller Poritzky Fund for Education. Mattleman was elected a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania and currently serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women.
In his support of her nomination, Governor Rendell wrote, "Marciene bestowed upon our city the gifts of vibrant organizations that inspire our children and parents. Philadelphians owe a debt of gratitude for the tireless, persistent and remarkable work of this great Philadelphian."
Ralph Smith, currently Executive Vice President for the Anna B. Casey Foundation, will give the keynote address at the awards ceremony on May 4, 2008 celebrating Marciene Mattleman's civic and educational leadership.
The Award is conferred by the Philadelphia Award Trustees each year:
upon the man or woman living in Philadelphia, its suburbs or vicinity, who during the preceding year shall have performed or brought to culmination an act or contributed a service calculated to advance the best and largest interest of the community of which Philadelphia is the center.
Edward W. Bok was a pioneer in the publishing business and probably best known as the editor of The Ladies Home Journal. Author of The Americanization of Edward Bok, he was a champion of social causes and a generous philanthropist.