Katherine Levitan

I had the good fortune to meet Mrs. Levitan when she and my mother, Dr. Jeanne Pizzo, were working with the New Democratic Coalition. A few years later an "Rx Drug Abuse Issue" led to my own brush with the criminal justice system and Mrs. Levitan and her associates handed it brilliantly. I did what I... was mandated to do and, consequently, I do not have ANY criminal record at all. I learned from my mistakes and am now a successful career English educator, complete with a PhD from Mrs. Levitan's alma mater, NYU. I recall observing her in Court. Now that I've been honored by my colleagues as a "Master Teacher" and "Teacher of the Year" several times, I KNOW what peer recognition feels like — and that's what I felt when Mrs. Levitan was arguing a case. She negotiated with the DA's office and then negotiated some more and achieved a plea bargain (Disorderly Person) that was a galaxy away from the original charges, provided I did what I was mandated to do. I did and I can honestly say that without this outstanding attorney, I would have had a Felony record and forever have been ineligible to obtain teaching or administrative credentials. Inspired by her example, I've always out my students or the teachers and administrators I supervise first, ahead of the political miasma the DOE and it's inept Chancellors prefer. Mrs. Levitan taught me me to stand up for children as she does for her clients. I did counseling internship at Covenant House and used the research and reporting skills learned as a Journalism major and a reporter on one of the "top 10" circulating dailies to work around the system. I'm proud of my work in counseling, teacher education and the teaching of English. None of his would have been possiblewithout Mrs. Levitna;s intervention