2022 Alumni Association Award Recipients

Geneva Johnson only applied for one job in her life. Fresh out of college, Johnson applied for and got a position as program director of youth activities at the YWCA in Houston. While at that job, she took the advice of her father, who told her to do her best at the present task, and recognition would follow. The man was on to something. Geneva was eventually recruited for a position as the first female senior vice president of United Way America and later became president and chief executive officer of Family Service America. Many years later, she was selected to lead at Mount Mary College’s new (in 2002) Women’s Leadership Institute. Geneva had been chair of the college’s board of trustees when the new president quickly recognized her as the ideal person to head the Women’s Leadership Institute.

Born and raised in Reading, Pa., Geneva earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Albright College in 1951, a master’s degree in applied social administration from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1957, and an executive certificate in management from the Harvard University School of Business in 1979. She worked her way through the United Way organization to become the organization’s first female senior vice president for strategic planning and public policy in 1978.

In 1983 she became president and CEO of Family Service America, which at the time was based in New York City and had about 300 local affiliates offering professional counseling and mental health services to families. Having difficulty recruiting employees to New York City where, among other things, the cost of living deterred potential workers, Geneva moved Family Service America to Milwaukee and built her workforce to about 100 employees.

In 1994, Geneva retired from Family Service America, and swore she never would work again for a salary. So when she was asked to head the Women’s Leadership Institute at Mount Mary College in 2002, Geneva followed the lead of one of her role models, Frances Hesselbein — a former head of Girl Scouts USA and now chair of the Peter Drucker Foundation. When Hesselbein, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, served as president of the foundation, she did so as a volunteer.

Additionally, Geneva has served on many boards, including the Peter F. Drucker Foundation and the National Center for Nonprofit boards. Her current board memberships include The Social Enterprise Initiative at the Harvard Business School, Froedtert Hospital, Leader to Leader Institute and Volunteers of America.

Geneva has received numerous recognitions and awards. In 1985, Savvy magazine named her one of the top 12 nonprofit executive women in America and in 1990 Business Week magazine named her one of the top five best managers in the U.S. social services field. She has received honorary degrees from both Albright College and Alvernia University, and was most recently recognized by Case Western University’s Mandel School of Applies Social Sciences with the Grace Longwell Coyle Award for significant contribution to the social work profession, the community, and to the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

In July 2021, Dwight Davis became an advisor at Bradley Holdings, LLC, an entrepreneurial business development and real estate investment company in Rockford, Michigan. A proud product of the District of Columbia Public Schools, Dwight has spent nearly two decades serving children and families in Washington, D.C., as a fifth-grade teacher, English and language arts coach, assistant principal and principal. While serving Hugh M. Browne Education Campus as principal, his school was awarded the Standing Ovation: Engaging Families During a Year of Change award for innovative work with families. Currently, Dwight serves CityBridge Action Fund as a principal partner.

Dwight is passionate about culturally and contextually relevant teaching and authentic family engagement. Relevant teaching, in his view, “unlocks the hearts and minds of scholars to engage the learning environment and world in more profound ways.” Dwight’s passion for teaching, learning and personal development has led to his selection as a Mary Jane Patterson Fellow, an aspiring principals’ leadership development program that honors the memory of the first African American principal to serve D.C.’s first public school. Prior to becoming a Patterson fellow, Davis was selected as a CityBridge Education Innovation Fellow — a distinguished honor that led him across the nation, from Washington, D.C. to California. Through the program, Dwight learned how to personalize the educational experiences of students and raise achievement levels.

In 2012, Dwight was selected as a member of the inaugural Teach Plus D.C. Policy Fellowship, at which time he had the opportunity to learn about issues relevant to the local communities, city and surrounding states. Dwight worked with elected officials to create solutions on the ground for high-need students. He has also partnered with the Flamboyan Foundation as home visit trainer, attended the Aspen Ideas Festival as an Aspen scholar and worked to align curriculum resources with the Common Core State Standards via the District of Columbia Public Schools Common Core Reading Corp.

Prior to his teaching career, Dwight played both professional and semi-professional basketball within the U.S. and abroad. He earned a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in education from Princeton Theological Seminary, a certificate in teaching from Princeton University’s program in teacher preparation, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, history and education from Albright College. Dwight also completed a certificate program in reading and literacy at George Washington University and a certificate in leadership from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Since graduating from Albright, Dwight has been a dedicated alumnus, serving as a member of the Task Force on Admission Retention and Financial Aid for the Commission on the Future of Albright College in 2000, as a speaker at the Coleman Scholarship luncheon in 2009, and at the spring baccalaureate service in 2015. Dwight was also honored in 2009, when he was named a member of the men’s basketball All-Century Team and inducted into the Albright Athletics Hall of Fame. He was featured in “Faces,” an Albright Admission publication in 2010, and in The Albright Reporter in summer 2014, when he was one of three teachers to visit President Obama in the White

House. Dwight currently serves as a member of the Society of Black Alumni, and served as an Albright trustee from 2016-2020, sitting on the Student Affairs Committee and the Commencement Speaker Advisory Group.

This May, Dwight’s eldest son, Dwight Isaiah, will be graduating from Albright College with a bachelor’s degree in music. Currently, Dwight lives in Washington, D.C., with his loving wife Kenya Khalelah and their four sons.

Vicki Lins is an award-winning marketer with more than 25 years of experience in the media, technology and telecom sectors. She provides expertise in building and distinguishing brands, a strong track record of strategic market development and growth, and an in-depth understanding of the transformational impact of technology on media, advertising and consumer engagement. Since December 2015, Vicki has served as the president and chief executive officer of Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), the industry-leading marketing organization focused on strengthening the pay-television business model and enhancing consumer experience across media landscapes. In this role, Vicki leads the industry-wide collaboration between content providers and distributors to market the benefits of the streaming TV viewing experience. She also serves on the board of the CTAM Educational Foundation, which oversees the widely-acclaimed Cable Executive Management program at Harvard Business School.

Prior to joining CTAM, Vicki was the executive vice president and chief marketing officer for United Way Worldwide, and spent 15 years with Clear Channel Outdoors rising to the position of executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Additionally, she spent 15 years at Comcast and Canoe Ventures, the industry’s advanced television consortium, where she led marketing, most notably launching the Comcast Spotlight brand, pioneering Video On Demand advertising solutions and developing an industry-wide consumer brand for interactive TV. Previous to Comcast, Vicki headed marketing and communications for Adlink, introducing strategic marketing initiatives and building partnerships that accelerated revenue growth.

Her career success has been recognized with numerous awards for breakthrough marketing efforts with recognition by Multichannel News. She has been included on WICT’s Women to Watch list, and appeared on the industry’s list of Most Influential Women. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Commonwealth University Brandcenter, and is active in numerous professional and social impact organizations.

Vicki received a master’s degree in communication management from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Albright College. In 2016, Vicki served as the first Executive-in-Residence at Albright College, when she spent two days on campus, speaking to classes, participating in open discussions, and presenting an Experience Event lecture, titled “Leadership in a Change Environment: Challenges, Opportunities and Insights.”

Vicki is married to Brian D. Bubb, Esq. ’85. They currently reside in Mount Kisco, N.Y. and have one son, Boden.

Samuel R. Zeiser, a native of Jim Thorpe, Pa., graduated from Albright College in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in urban affairs. As a student, Samuel was a member of the pre-ministerial fraternity, Kappa Tau Chi. He continued his studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary (now United Lutheran Seminary) in Philadelphia, where he received a master of divinity degree in 1977.

After seminary graduation, Samuel served five congregations. From 1977 to 1979, he was parish worker at St. John-Resurrection (now St. Stephen) Lutheran Church in Syracuse, NY. Ordained in 1979 by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, he returned to Pennsylvania to serve as pastor at St. John Lutheran Church, Nanticoke. In 1984 he became pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Johnsonville. His next pastoral charge (1998-2002) was Bethany Lutheran Church, West Reading. In 2002 he became senior pastor at Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown, where he served until his election as bishop of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod in 2008. When elected synod bishop he was serving a second term on the synod council. With its headquarters in Allentown, the synod comprises 14 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. One of 65 synods in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, it is made up of 250 congregations, more than 300 ordained leaders, and approximately 125,000 baptized members. Samuel retired as bishop at the end of 2020.

Throughout his pastoral work, Samuel pursued graduate studies, earning a master of sacred theology degree from the Lutheran seminary in Philadelphia in 1989, and a doctor of philosophy degree in Religious and Theological Studies from the Casperson School of Graduate Studies at Drew University, Madison, N.J., in 2001. From 2001 until 2005 he was a part-time instructor in the Religion Department at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Prior to his election to the office of bishop, Samuel served as a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in the Moravian-Lutheran dialogues that led to a full communion relationship with the Moravian Church in America. While bishop, he served on the boards of trustees of Muhlenberg College, Moravian Seminary, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He also visited and preached at congregations of the Lutheran World Federation in Germany, Slovenia, Tanzania and Argentina.

Samuel is married to Linda L. (Montgomery) Zeiser. They live in Allentown, Pa., and are parents of a daughter, Samantha ’00 – now a professor of Maryville College, Tenn.

Kat Crossley has been serving Albright College since her time as an undergraduate student on campus. During her college days, she was actively involved in student organizations including everything from the Student Government Association to student-led philanthropy groups and peer orientation. It was not a surprise to anyone when she continued this level of service as an alumna.

Currently working for Vanguard as a digital marketing strategist, Kat has been active as an alumna volunteer since graduating with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 2011. Even while studying to obtain a master’s degree in communications from Villanova University, Kat volunteered to assist with first-year move-in day activities, and as the secretary for the Phi Delta Sigma honorary alumnae society. Kat joined the Alumni Association Board in 2013 and quickly became active as a member of the Alumni Advisory Council to the Board of Trustees, and as a member of the Young Alumni Executive Committee. She recently completed her service as president of the Alumni Association Board, during which time, she led the board to raise over $10,200 toward the college’s Advancing Lives initiative, funding scholarships for students of academic promise. Under Kat’s leadership, the board also raised $20,400 to create the Albright College Alumni Association Board Endowed Scholarship. Additionally, she led alumni board bylaw revisions to create a more active task-force oriented structure.

Additionally, Kat participated as a member of the class of 2011’s fifth and tenth year reunion committees, has been an alumna representative at college fairs, a participant in career development networking events, and an interviewer for the Shirk Scholarship program. Throughout this time, she and her husband, Sean ’11 have consistently supported the college with gifts and pledges to The Fund for Albright, the Alumni Association Board Endowed Scholarship, and other areas of personal interest.

Kat and Sean were married in 2017, and were joined by their first child, Olivia, in September 2020.

After completing a fellowship at Cooper University Health Care, Bryan R. Wilson, M.D. ’11 returned to St. Luke’s University Health Network, where he had completed his residency, to begin a career specializing in emergency medicine. He has been published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine and Advances in Medical Education and Practice, and holds certifications in paramedics, emergency medical services, emergency medicine, EMT – prehospital physician, advanced trauma life support, pediatric advanced life support, advanced cardiovascular life support, and prehospital trauma life support. Bryan has professional and research interests in quality improvement, patient safety, and early identification of trauma patients in the prehospital environment. He currently serves as the medical director for the city of Bethlehem bureau of EMS and the director of the new EMS Fellowship at St. Luke’s University Health Network. In 2015, Bryan received his medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Bryan is a member of the National Association of EMS Physicians Quality and Safety Committee and a member of the NAEMSP Quality and Safety Course Faculty. He chairs the Eastern PA EMS Council’s Quality Improvement Committee and is vice president of the region’s board of directors. He also serves as the clinical advisor to the Northeast Pennsylvania Healthcare Coalition. Bryan also serves his community as a leadership training facilitator for the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, and as a scouter with Eagle Scout status, and volunteer trainer with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). In 2014, Camp Bryan Wilson was named for Wilson at the BSA’s New Rayado Ridge Leadership Camp. He also currently serves as the Boy Scouts of America’s Medical Director of the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.

As an active Albright alumnus, Bryan participated in a pre-med/pre-vet/pre-dental virtual panel (2020), the “Bring Your Own Briefcase” event, hosted by the Experiential Learning and Career Development Center (2017), the Admission Office’s “Science Day” (2013), and as an alumnus representative at multiple Admission college fairs. Additionally, Bryan served as a member of the class of 2011’s fifth year reunion committee. He has provided for the college in his will and established the Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D. Advancing Lives Scholarship fund to recognize the teaching excellence and dedication of Campbell to Albright students. For Science Night in March of this year, Bryan presented “Life on the Front Line: An ER and EMS Physician’s Perspective of How an Albright Education Impacted My Approach to the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

As a Albright student, Bryan was a founding member of Beta Beta Beta, and participated in Alpha Epsilon Delta, Alpha Sigma Phi, Peer Orientation Persons, Residence Life, Honors Club, Ultimate Frisbee and was a Student Ambassador for the Admission Office. He received the St. Joseph Hospital’s Staff Award, the Paul M. Leninger Chemistry Award and the Muhlenberg Goodwill Prize.