2007-08 Elected Officers
Boca Raton Branch, NLAPW

PRESIDENT
Pat (Patricia) Wilson
Art & Letters

Phone: 561-395-6454
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Pat has been a pen woman for over 27 years, serving in many capacities, including that of immediate past treasurer of the Florida State Association. A society columnist and freelance writer, Pat is an award-winning photographer and poet, as well as a former communications teacher. She has twice been nominated by former students for inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Outstanding Teachers and holds a Congressional Award from former Florida Congressman Dan Mica for her work in Palm Beach County’s Private Sector Initiative. Pat was named “Florida’s Pen Woman of the Year” in 1993 and listed as one of the Outstanding Young Women of America.

1st VICE PRESIDENT
Program Chair
Julie Malear
Art & Letters

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Julie Malear Web Site

A former president of the Boca Raton Branch, Julie has remained an active member, working in many capacities over the years. Indeed, in 2005 she won the Florida State Association’s Individual Achievement Award as the Pen Woman who has accomplished the most in her profession over the last two years. At one time, Julie operated an art shop, doing everything from signs on billboards to portraits, book covers and designing doll furniture. She has worked in all phases of the newspaper industry: layout, editing, hard news, features and cartoons. She has written for many slick magazines, has had her profiles included in an encyclopedia, many true crime stories in magazines and paperbacks, and has been included in an anthology. Julie is the author of the hardback true crime book Shattered Bonds. Her latest book, More Precious Than Rubies, will be in bookstores by late August 2006.

2nd VICE PRESIDENT
Membership Chair
Diane Brenda Bryan
Letters

Phone: 561-487-2653
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An actor for many years in New York who previously had an acting company in Long Island, Diane likes to think of herself as a “processor of words.” She is the author of two novels, Soldier of God and Journeys, and is currently working on her memoirs. She is in demand as a guest speaker by bookstores and area organizations, and for many years also has chaired the Boca Raton Writers’ Roundtable. As an editorial consultant, Diane enjoys working with and helping other writers.

TREASURER
Dori Popenoe
Art

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A past president of the Boca Raton Branch and the Westport-Kansas City Branch, Dori is another dependable member of this organization. In addition to previously serving as Art Chair and Yearbook/ Scholarship Chair, she served as the Yearbook Awards Chair for the Florida State Association’s 2005 Conference in Gainesville. After living in Kansas City for 40 years, she moved to Boca Raton in 1993, and continues to be active in her branch’s activities. Dori is a portrait artist and a teacher of art and framing.

RECORDING SECRETARY
Elizabeth (Bette) Kozarek
Letters

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Bette began her career as a newspaper reporter after graduating from college. She has worked in the newspaper field for 50 years, taking time off only to be a stay-at-home mom when her children were small. She continues to write personality profiles for the branch newsletter, The Pen & Palette, as well as freelance with her theater and business reviews.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
Myra F. Levick
PhD, ATR-BC, HLM
Art & Letters

Phone: 561-682-0114
Fax: 561-470-1417
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Web Site: Children at Risk

Dr. Levick is a psychologist and art psychotherapist, who has held many positions in the Pen Woman organization. In addition to her duties as Corresponding Secretary, she also serves as Parliamentarian for both the Boca Branch and the Florida State Association. She is an exhibiting painter and author of three books on art therapy and numerous published articles. At the 1997 NLAPW Florida State Conference, she received the First Place Letters Award for her book, See What I’m Saying, What Children Tell Us Through Their Drawings. Moving to Florida in 1986, she established and directs the South Florida Art Psychotherapy Institute, through which she does consultation and evaluation, lectures at universities here and abroad, and conducts seminars. Dr. Levick was a founder and first president of the American Art Therapy Association and director of the first art therapy program leading to a master’s degree at Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia. She is currently directing and coordinating a new post-master’s certificate program in art therapy at the Christine E Lynn College of Nursing on the Florida Atlantic University Campus.

2007-08 Appointed Officers

ART CHAIR
Phyllis Emmett
Art

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A transfer from the Fairfield County Connecticut Branch, Phyllis is actively involved in the Boca Raton Branch as Art Chair. She is certified to teach art and has been exhibiting and selling her watercolors for a number of years. As a small business owner, she hand-painted large murals for professional portrait studios, some as large as 10 feet long and 8 feet high. One order was for 50 winter scenes to be delivered in one month's time. Having relocated to Florida, she is now enjoying a more relaxing lifestyle.

LETTERS CHAIR
Carol White
Letters

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Carol White has been a member of the Pen Women for five years. Her short stories and articles have been published in magazines and newspapers throughout the country. A novel that she co-wrote is currently under consideration by a branch of Doubleday Publishing. She is an award-winning and published poet, and a member of the Poets of the Palm Beaches. She won third place in the 2005 Jane R. Harwood Memorial Poetry Contest. Carol is involved in community theater as a playwright, producer, actress, director and costumer. Photography is one of her hobbies, and Carol recently had an exhibit of her work at the Delray Libray. Although she calls herself a “very amateur painter,” Carol loves to collect art.

EDITOR
Sandra (Sandy) Wesley
Letters

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A recently retired journalist, Sandy likes to keep her hands busy by doing volunteer work and some freelance writing. This made her a natural to become the editor of The Pen & Palette, the Boca Raton Branch newsletter. She also does newsletters for other non-profit groups.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CHAIR
Jo Jo Harder
Letters

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Jo Jo juggles several careers while traveling the globe as a flight attendant. After joining the airlines at age 19, Jo Jo graduated from the University of Minnesota, modeled, wrote and started a fashion business in New York. Her intimate apparel, marketed with the “JoJo” label, sold in foreign countries as well as high-end department stores. It is now part of a permanent collection at Goldstein Museum of Design in St. Paul, Minn.

Jo Jo is currently working on a beauty book and contributing to Odyssey Couleur Travel Magazine. She also has written a fashion and style book for dogs. As a marketing tool for the book, Jo Jo created “America’s Top Dog Model Contest,” which is now in its second year and has its own web site.