Distinguished Highlander Alumni Hall of Fame
The Distinguished Highlander Hall of Fame was established in 2015 as a way to recognize significant achievements of Baldwin High School alumni who have excelled in their personal and professional lives. Inductees become part of a permanent exhibit at Baldwin High and are on display to inspire future generations of students. If you would like to nominate an alum for the Distinguished Highlander Hall of Fame, you can do so on our online nomination form.
Ms. Adriane Aul
BHS '96, HOF '17 |
After completing studies at Allegheny College and University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, she returned to Pittsburgh and delved deeply into community revitalization efforts. In December 2004, Adriane joined the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group and managed the Vacant Property Working Group. She organized a mayoral candidate’s debate in 2005; joined the Clean Pittsburgh Commission; became program coordinator for Pittsburgh Weed and Seed; volunteered for Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group; joined PUMP (Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project); and was a Pittsburgh Magazine "40 Under 40” honoree. Adriane passed away in 2007 at the age of 28, but her powerful dedication to the Pittsburgh community lives on through the many lives and agencies that she touched in such a short time.
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Sgt. Alexander Bennett
BHS '60, HOF '15 |
For nearly five decades, Alexander Bennett served Baldwin Borough in significant ways: as mayor for 16 years, as councilman for 22 years, as officer with the borough's police force for 27 years (promoted to sergeant in the mid-1970s), and member of the Baldwin-Whitehall Friends of the Theater Arts, among other responsibilities. He teamed with the Baldwin Historical Society to salvage a historic log cabin and relocate it to municipal property, where it could be restored to its original condition from the 1880s. The cabin is now open to visitors. He served as president of the Allegheny County Mayors Association, on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Mayors Association, and is a regular organizer and participant in Baldwin-Whitehall community events. Watch: Mr. Bennett's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Ms. Kathleen Nord DePuy
BHS '59, HOF '15 |
Kathleen Nord DePuy has served on Whitehall Borough Council since 1990. Over her career, she has served in executive roles for the Allegheny County Borough Association (president), TriState Business of Education Association (president), Pennsylvania State Boroughs Association (first and second vice president), Allegheny League of Municipalities (director), and Cloverleaf YMCA (director). A retired business teach from South Park High School, Ms. Depuy continues to serve her community of Whitehall through volunteer and recreational activities. Watch: Ms. Depuy's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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U. S. Senator Orrin Hatch
BHS '52, HOF '15 |
Orrin Grant Hatch is an American attorney, retired politician, and composer who served as a United States Senator from Utah for 42 years (1977–2019). He is the longest-serving Republican U.S. Senator in history and the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Utah. Hatch chaired the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions from 1981 to 1987. He also served as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 2001 and 2003 to 2005. On January 3, 2015, after the 114th United States Congress was sworn in, Hatch became President pro tempore of the Senate. He served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 2015 to 2019. Hatch led the efforts to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and he retired in January 2019. Watch: Senator Hatch's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Mr. Edward Helbig, Jr.
BHS '69, HOF '15 |
Mr. Edward Helbig spent 30+ years dedicated to the success of students in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District. Mr. Helbig served as assistant coach for the outdoor track and field program (1976-1993) before coming head coach in 1994 (he was the indoor track and field coach at the same time). Additionally, he was an official with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and director of the Tri-State Track & Field Coaches Association, among many other responsibilities. He ran the Baldwin Invitational, the South Hills Classic, and was director for the WPIAL's AAA team championships and AAA Southern Qualifier individual meet. In additional to the Distinguished Highlander Hall of Fame, Mr. Helbig was inducted into the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association (PTFCA) Hall of Fame in 2013.
Watch: Mr. Helbig's Hall of Fame acceptance speech. |
PA Senator Pam Iovino
BHS '74, HOF '20 |
Senator Pam Iovino began a career in public service shortly after graduating from Gettysburg College in 1978. Her tenure in the Navy included tours as a missile maintenance officer, anti-terrorism intelligence watch officer, network warfare program manager, commander of the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center Pittsburgh, and congressional liaison in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy before retiring in 2003. Following her service in the Navy, she was nominated by President George W. Bush and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In that role, she served as the chief advocate for all legislative matters on Capitol Hill for our nation’s 25 million veterans before returning to Pennsylvania in 2009. In 2019, Senator Iovino won a Special Election to fill the 37th Senatorial District seat. Now a Pennsylvania State Senator, she represents the 260,000 constituents of the 37th Senatorial District, which includes Whitehall, where she was born and raised. Watch: Senator Iovino's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Shawn Kelly, PhD
BHS '92, HOF '15 |
Dr. Shawn Kelly is an electrical and biomedical engineer and Senior Systems Scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Research Biomedical Engineer with the Department of Veterans Affairs. After earning three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined CMU in 2011 and designed circuits for neural stimulation and recording, as well as wireless power and data telemetry. Now, Dr. Kelly develops technologies for medical devices, including stimulation and recording circuits, wireless power, and implantable device packaging technologies. He has worked on a retinal prosthesis to restore sight to the blind for over 20 years, and patented a low-power neural stimulation architecture.
Watch Dr. Kelly's Hall of Fame acceptance speech. |
Mr. Gregory Kraus
BHS '93, HOF '15 |
As a student at Baldwin High School, Mr. Gregory Kraus was Saludatorian of the Class of 1993, a member of the National Honor Society and a National Commended Student. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1997 and then cross-commissioned into the United States Navy and served as a Navy Seal for nearly six years. After leaving the Seals, Mr. Kraus was employed by Blackwater and served two rounds in Iraq. He then was employed with the Secret Service before serving with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Search and Rescue Team. In 2009, Mr. Kraus was severaly wounded while training army soldiers in Kabul, Afghanistan. After recovering from his injuries, he resumed his position on the Search and Rescue Team and continues to serve our country in this capacity today. Watch: Mr. Kraus's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Mr. William Lambert
BHS' 76, HOF '15 |
Mr. William Lambert is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of MSA Safety Inc. Mr. Lambert joined MSA Safety in 1981, and under his leadership the company expanded its global footprint and leveraged its best-in-class technologies to become a worldwide leader in supplied-air respiratory protection systems, industrial head protection, gas and flame detection technology, and fall protection systems, serving the oil and gas, mining, construction, utility and municipal fire service markets. Mr. Lambert is also on the Board of Trustees of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) and serves as Chairman of the Senator John Heinz History Center of Western Pennsylvania, Chairman of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and serves on the business board of advisors to Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. Hr earned an MBA at Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.
Watch: Mr. Lambert's Hall of Fame acceptance speech. |
Mr. Edward Lutz
BHS '59, HOF '17 |
In his junior year of high school, Mr. Edward Lutz helped establish the first printing program at Baldwin High. After serving as an apprentice at Reliable Printing Company, he started K&L Printing while still a student at Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 1967, Mr. Lutz founded the first computer typesetting business in Pittsburgh, Cold Comp. Inc., where he worked until he retired in 1994. The sports library he started at Baldwin High (which contained many books for which he personally set type) was renamed the Lutz Sports Library in 1991. Mr. Lutz has served and volunteered for many organizations, including Little Sisters of the Poor, Special Olympics, Baldwin-Whitehall Athletic Booster Association and Lee Memorial Hospital (in Ft. Myers, FL.). |
The Honorable Paul McNulty
BHS '76, HOF '15 |
The Honorable Paul McNulty is the ninth president of Grove City College. In 2005, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. McNulty to the position of Deputy Attorney General, the second in command at the U.S. Department of Justice and the Chief Operating Officer of the department’s 100,000 employees. He also served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia four four years and was a leader in our nation’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Mr. McNulty also worked for more than 10 years as a senior attorney in the U.S. Congress, including as Chief Counsel and Director of Legislative Operations for the House Majority Leader, Chief Counsel for the House Subcommittee on Crime, and Counsel for the House Ethics Committee. For seven years, Mr. McNulty led the global corporate compliance and investigations practice for Baker & McKenzie, one of the world’s largest law firms. He was named by Ethisphere magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” for the past two years. Watch: Mr. McNulty's acceptance speech
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Margaret Shandor Miles, PhD, FAAN
BHS '55, HOF '17 |
A pioneer in pediatric nursing, Dr. Margaret Shandor Miles was an early researcher on the suffering of bereaved parents of critically ill children and on mothers of children with HIV. Her leadership in launching the Society of Pediatric Nurses shaped the field for generations of nurses. Now professor emerita at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, she was one of the first pediatric clinical nurse specialists in the 1960s. Her research instruments (particularly the Parental Stressor Scale: NICU), have been used by investigators worldwide. She served as founding president of the Society of Pediatric Nurses and was honored as a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing in 2013-the highest honor offered by the AAN (less than 100 nurses have earned the distinction). She’s authored books, chapters, been published in research and clinical articles, and earned more than two dozen grants for nursing projects throughout her career.
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Mr. James Nowalk
BHS '70, HOF '15 |
Mr. James Nowalk has 27 years experience as an elected municipal official, serving 10 years on council and 17 years as mayor in Whitehall Borough (he was named Mayor of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Mayors Association in 1999). His interest in politics began when he was a government major at the University of Notre Dame and continued through Duquesne Law School. Mr. Nowalk's first job was with Allegheny County where he served for seven years as an assistant county solicitor and then three years as the executive director of the county’s four nursing homes. He has been a member of the Executive Board of the Pennsylvania State Mayor’s Association for 16 years, serving as president for four years and the board member overseeing the education portion of the Annual Conference for the past 13 years.
Watch: Mr. Nowalk's Hall of Fame acceptance speech. |
Regis O'Keefe, MD, PhD
BHS '77, HOF '20 |
Dr. Regis O’Keefe is the chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine where he oversees 80 faculty members and over 550 employees that provide more than 190,000 patient visits and 17,000 surgical procedures a year. In addition to his administrative leadership, Dr. O’Keefe is a leading surgeon in musculoskeletal oncology and adult reconstructive surgery of the hip and knee. Dr. O'Keefe completed studies at Yale University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He served as chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Rochester from 2006 to 2014, then served in leadership positons of many of the major national orthopaedic organizations. He has served as President of the Orthopaedic Research Society and President of the American Orthopaedic Association. He has been a leading researcher in the United States and over the course of his career, Dr. O’Keefe has received more than $20 million in funding from the National Institute of Health. He has over 280 publications. This marks a second major BW accolade for him, as he was inducted into Baldwin’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1977. Watch: Dr. O'Keefe's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Ms. Michelle Rogan-Finnemore
BHS '81, HOF '15 |
Ms. Michelle Rogan-Finnemore is a New Zealand-American science administrator, and currently the Executive Secretary of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP, an international association which brings together the National Antarctic Programs that make up its members. Ms. Rogan-Finnemore was the manager of Gateway Antarctica, the center for Antarctic Studies and Research, before taking on role of executive secretary of COMNAP in 2009. She has twice wintered in Antarctica with the U.S.A. Antarctic Program has been a delegate or head of delegation to eleven Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. In recognition of her Antarctic service, Ms. Rogan-Finnmore was awarded the U.S. Antarctic Service Medal twice (1990 and 1992). Finnemore Peak was named after her in 2005 by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names. In 2014, she received the Christchurch City Council Civic Award for her contributions to Antarctic Science.
Watch: Ms. Rogan-Finnemore's Hall of Fame acceptance speech. |
Mr. Doug Strott
BHS '83, HOF '20 |
As a teenager, Mr. Doug Strott was diagnosed with Scheuermann’s Disease, an affliction attributed to uneven growth in the spinal vertebrae. Mr. Strott’s challenges with the disease fueled a passion to help others with the same diagnosis, so he created a website to offer information to others with the disease. The website connected Doug to a global network and resulted in the founding of the Scheuermann’s Disease Fund in 2012, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those diagnosed with the spinal deformity. Since its founding, the Scheuermann’s Disease Fund has supported individuals living with the disease on six of the world’s seven continents. One of the Fund's most notable accomplishments is the development of an International Doctor Database of practices that specialize in Scheuermann’s Disease. Never having forgotten his roots, Mr. Strott chose purple as the official color of the Scheuermann's Disease Fund, a constant reminder of his connections to Baldwin-Whitehall. Watch: Mr. Strott's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Ms. Heather Tomko
BHS '06, HOF '20 |
Ms. Heather Tomko's educational journey took her to Carnegie Mellon University, where she double-majored in mechanical and biomedical engineering, and then to the University of Pittsburgh, where she now works as outreach coordinator as she pursues a master’s degree in public health. Ms. Tomko was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that weakens muscles throughout the body and caused her to start using a wheelchair at a very young age. She has become one of the most notable advocates for people with disabilities in the city of Pittsburgh. She received the University of Pittsburgh Dick Thornburg Disability Service Award, given to a student whose service had a significant impact on the lives of children and adults with disabilities; and founded Accessible YOUniverse, an organization that gives voice, inclusion, and representation to Pittsburgh residents with disabilities. Described as unstoppable, Heather was named Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania and Ms. Wheelchair USA. Watch: Ms. Tomko's Hall of Fame acceptance speech.
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Mr. Dennis Yablonsky
BHS '70, HOF, '15 |
Mr. Dennis Yablonsky became the Chief Executive Officer of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development in 2009. He was founding CEO of the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, revolutionary models for the focused growth of technology companies. During his service as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (2003-2008), Mr. Yablonsky played a lead role in the development and implementation of an economic stimulus program that featured over $3 billion of investment in the Commonwealth’s infrastructure. At the time, he helped develop the governor’s $650 million energy fund designed to reduce dependence on foreign oil and grow the energy economy in Pennsylvania. Dennis spent the first 24 years of his career working for and leading two successful software companies: Cincom Systems in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Carnegie Group in Pittsburgh. At Cincom Systems, an independent software company based in Ohio, he progressed through the company’s organization to eventually become chief operating officer and to help grow the company into a $125 million global organization.
Watch: Mr. Yablonsky's Hall of Fame acceptance speech. |