2022 Citation Award Winners

Dr. Clarion Johson ’72, former Global Medical Director of ExxonMobil, is a graduate of the Yale University School of Medicine and a board-certified doctor of internal medicine, cardiology, and occupational medicine. While at ExxonMobil, Clarion oversaw and ensured the delivery of travel medicine to the many employees who were engaged in exploration and production in challenging environments in Africa, the CIS, China, and Southeast Asia. While on active duty in the U.S. Army, Clarion also trained as a microwave researcher at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. His outstanding career has led him to presently serve as Vice Chair of the Advisory Board and Chair of the Nomination Committee at the Yale School of Public Health and is a member of the Yale Healthcare Conference Advisory Board. In addition to those roles, he sits on the Boards of the Milbank Memorial Fund, the de Beaumont Foundation, Bon Secours Mercy Hospital System, Archdiocese of New York’s Care health system, and Friends of the National Library of Medicine.

Clarion has been recognized for his work with the following awards: the Presidents’ Award from the Oil and International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association and Oil and Gas Producers for contributions to health (2013), Society of Petroleum Engineers Award for Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social responsibility (2012),a medal from the French Army’s Institute DeRecherche Biomedical for Project Tetrapole (2011). In January 2020, he was honored with a lifetime appointment as a National Associate of the National Research Council. In retirement, Clarion has also gone back to clinical practice, volunteering one day a week at the Mercy Health Clinic Volunteer Medical Providers, a free clinic in Maryland. The clinic recently received the 2022 Montgomery Serves Award and named their Volunteer Group of the Year.

While leading the incredible professional life outlined above, Clarion has also made ample time for his philanthropic passions, which include Sarah Lawrence. While a student he was captain of the men’s basketball team and student body president, roles he shared, laid the foundation for his successful career. He has been a trustee for 14 years, serving on the presidential search and inauguration committees for current President Cristle Collins Judd. Clarion continues to volunteer during his Reunion years, share career advice in articles, and mentor students.

After Sarah Lawrence College, Gail Twersky Reimer ’72 went on to change the very way that American Jews think about their history. After teaching literature at Wellesley College, influenced by her year as a fellow at the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College, she refocused her attention on Jewish women in history. She first conceived and co-edited two pathbreaking anthologies of Jewish women’s writings: Reading Ruth: Women Reclaim a Sacred Story and Beginning Anew: A Woman’s Companion to the High Holy Days. The success of these anthologies led her to pose the question, “how will Jewish women in this country be remembered for their contributions?”. That question, as well her personal history of being a daughter of Holocaust survivors, then led her to found the Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA), the first organization dedicated entirely to Jewish women’s history. Anticipating the changes in how people would be accessing and creating information and documentation in the future, Gail pioneered the creation of a virtual archive, harnessing new technology to gather and make available online a massive compendium of records and stories documenting Jewish women’s lives and experiences. Under Gail’s leadership, the JWA became a leading center for education, influencing how countless organizations and archives tell the story of American Jews, and an acclaimed model in the global movement to revolutionize history – to redefine what deeds matter and whose thoughts and voices count. While working with the JWA, Gail also stepped into filmmaking and was the Executive Producer of Making Trouble and directed and produced In the Footsteps of Regina Jonas. For these lifetime achievements, Gail has been recognized by The Forward, Women’s E-News, Auburn Theological Seminary, Hebrew Union College, and the American Jewish Historical Society.

Emily M.D. Scott ’02 is a notable queer and genderqueer Lutheran pastor and church planter, and author. Her book, For All Who Hunger: Searching for Communion in a Shattered World, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, and her writing has appeared in the New York Times and the Christian Century. She is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and received their Alumni Award for Distinction in Congregational Ministry in 2016.Emily is currently serving as a pastor of two congregations: St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and Dreams and Visions, in Baltimore. She is working on the partnership of these two congregations as they share a building, pastoral staff, and commitment to their neighborhood, city, and the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to this role, Emily served as the founding pastor of St. Lydia’s Dinner Church in Brooklyn where worship is over a full meal. Emily led the congregation in activism, combating police brutality, and advocating for affordable housing by partnering with organizations such as Faith in New York. She was formerly the director of worship at the Riverside Church and co-founded Music That Makes Community, a non-profit organization working with ecumenical communities and leaders to empower and liberate communities’ spiritual life through singing. Her classmate and nominator for the award, Mariah Marlin-Warfield ’02, shares “At every turn, Emily’s work makes the church a force for racial justice and a welcome home for LGBTQ+ individuals… She is Sarah Lawrence leadership at its best!”

Mark Kaplan ’87 has been a Sarah Lawrence leader and volunteer in many capacities. He served on the Alumni Council from 2014 to 2020, volunteered as Class Correspondent, was (and is!) a Reunion volunteer, and is currently an active regional volunteer. After graduation, Mark spearheaded the Young Los Angeles Alumni Group and in 2015 launched the very successful “Conversations with Alumni” series in Los Angeles, in which he interviews fellow alumni about their lives since graduation. Over the pandemic, he hosted mini-Reunions virtually that allowed alumni from all class years to form connections and have great conversations. This engagement work is a continuation of work he started in College, where he greatly expanded the SLC/NYC program, bringing students to theater shows and museums in the city. Additionally, he created an independent theater group on campus called “30 Minutes From Broadway”, in which non-theatre students had the opportunity to do theatrical productions on campus.

His classmate and nominator Jillana Devine-Knickel ’87 shares that “events and programs he has created made my life at Sarah Lawrence and after more enriching, more memorable, and more fun…Mark Kaplan is the epitome of a Sarah Lawrence doer and more than deserves this recognition.” Dylan Brody ‘85, a fellow alumnus and nominator, continues, “Mark is always willing, at the ready, and never says no… Mark has been, and remains, one of the most decent, caring people that I interact with in Hollywood. His understanding of the value of service to others, alumni, colleagues, friends, and professional acquaintances exemplifies exactly the sort of behavior that deserves this award.”