On UCLA Alumni Day, the university will honor seven outstanding alumni with UCLA Awards at a ceremony on campus on Saturday, May 16. The UCLA Awards are bestowed by the UCLA Alumni Association. The tradition, which began in 1946, pays tribute to alumni who show outstanding achievement in their professional fields and whose contributions to society demonstrate a commitment to excellence, said Julie Sina, associate vice chancellor of Alumni Affairs.
“It is an exceptional challenge to select winners for the UCLA Awards because we have so many extraordinary alumni,” Sina said. “The stories of alumni service are remarkable.”
Henry Waxman | Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year Award
Waxman, who retired in January after 40 years in Congress, represented California’s 33rd Congressional District, which includes UCLA. His career highlights include fighting to secure millions in funding to combat the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, enacting laws that reduce tobacco use and save lives, and playing a key role in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which established new programs to reduce air pollution, acid rain and prevent further depletion of the ozone layer. As a watchdog, he launched investigations of White House ties to Enron, contract abuses in Iraq by Halliburton and through Congressional hearings, held BP accountable for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He has also been a tremendous advocate for UCLA, where he earned his B.A. in political science in 1961 and his law degree in 1964.
Nancy Halpern Ibrahim | UCLA Award for Community Service
Halpern Ibrahim is the executive director Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, a nonprofit providing housing, health, education and employment to low-income families in South Los Angeles. She joined Esperanza in 1995 as the founding director of health programs and designed Esperanza’s model Community Health Promoters Program, which has graduated 438 bilingual community health promoters during the past 19 years. As executive director, Ibrahim leads a staff of 30, addressing five major program areas: affordable housing, health, environmental justice, economic development, and art and culture. Halpern Ibrahim’s efforts have been central to pioneering environmental health strategies in the region. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1980 and her master’s in public health in 1993.
Kathleen Dracup | UCLA Award for Professional Achievement
Dracup is an educator, researcher and clinician with nearly 50 years of experience in cardiovascular nursing. She is recognized nationally and internationally for her investigation in the care of patients with heart disease and the effects of this disease on spouses and other family members. She has tested a variety of interventions designed to reduce the emotional distress experienced by cardiac patients and their family members and to reduce morbidity and mortality from sudden cardiac death. She was the first nurse researcher to study the effects of incorporating families into the care of patients in the intensive care unit and her research resulted in changing policies related to visiting hours in adult ICUs across the United States. She was a professor and held an endowed chair in the UCLA School of Nursing prior to serving as Dean of the School of Nursing at UC San Francisco, which was ranked the number one school of nursing during her tenure. Dracup earned her master’s in nursing in 1974.
Anita Ortega | UCLA Award for Public Service
Ortega was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department in March 1984, and is currently a captain and the commanding officer at Recruitment and Employment Division. She was also the first Afro-Puerto Rican to serve as an area commanding officer in the LAPD. Prior to her appointment to the rank of captain, Ortega worked a variety of patrol, investigative and staff assignments. While earning her degree in psychology, she was part of UCLA’s 1978 national championship basketball team, arriving as a walk-on from Los Angeles High School, and was recognized as an All-American. In 1979, she represented Puerto Rico in the Pan Am games and played professionally as an all-star in the now-defunct Women’s Basketball League. Ortega received her bachelor’s degree in 1982.
Ann Wang and Jessica Willison | UCLA Award for Recent Graduate Achievement
A tag-team winner. Wang and Willison are co-founders of socially-conscious start-up Enrou, an online marketplace that aims to create a positive social, financial and sustainable impact on global communities through consumerism. In October 2014, Wang, who is and chief executive officer, and Willison, the chief communications officer, represented Enrou and were named winners of the “$400,000 Pressure Cooker” pitch competition held during the Forbes Under 30 Summit. Just a few months earlier, the pair, who both graduated in 2013, had completed StartUp UCLA’s 10-week summer program for entrepreneurial students and recent graduates. At Enrou, Wang, who studied international development, focuses on making sure the product has a positive impact on global communities, and Willison, who got her degree in communications, makes sure that the products are both fashionable and sustainably produced.
Albert Aubin | UCLA Award for University Service
Aubin has been a part of UCLA for nearly half of the university’s existence. He began working for UCLA in 1967 while working on his doctorate in education, and joined what is now the Career Center in 1981. Aubin was extremely active in Staff Assembly, and was a key participant in the development of the UC-wide policy that defined the status of domestic partners and extended benefits previously limited to married couples. He played a key role over the years in the Professional Awards Task Force, the Dependent Care Task Force, the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Disabilities, the LGBT Campus Resource Center, the University Credit Union, and the Black Staff and Faculty Association, and was involved in the development of many organizations and services supporting historically underrepresented students, staff and faculty. Aubin received his Ed.D. in 1971.
