A long time resident of Newark with a long and productive involvement in the cultural life of the city.  She served as the first director of cultural affairs for the county of Essex, among the many long lasting programs she initiated was the creation of the Newark Arts Council.
 
Another first was as the first executive of the Newark Boys Chorus School.  When she retired after fifteen years the school's population had doubled and had a million dollar endowment.  She was the first chair of Newark's Landmark Commission serving sixteen years.  
 
A founding member of the Newark Landmarks Committee, she has served as its president for most of it's fifty years overseeing the nomination of seventy six sites and six districts to the State and Federal Register of Historic Places.  As president of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Board of Managers she has guided the landmark cemetery into a beautiful and vibrant place in the community.
 
In appreciation of her efforts, she was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from NJIT and has received two "Keys to the City" for her dedication to the preservation and promotion of Newark's rich history.