Title
Honoring the Career of Ella M. Bowen, ED.D.
Body
WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia is pleased and proud to honor Dr. Ella Bowen for her several years of civic and community service to the nation's high school and college students and to the citizens and institutions of the City of Philadelphia through her outstanding career in the fields of education, local government, and behavioral health; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ella Bowen was born in Williamston, North Carolina and is the tenth of twelve children born to Richard and Blanche Bowen and, at the age of four, she experienced the death of her mother and was raised by her father and her older brothers and sisters; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Bowen relocated to Philadelphia in 1959, where she attended Penn Treaty Junior High School and graduated from Kensington High School in 1963 and was sent to Maryland State College by her sister, Ann Rubin (a former Camden, NJ Principal), where, in 1967, she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Education; and
WHEREAS, At the age of 26, Dr. Bowen received her Masters of Science in Education and, at the age of 29, she received her Doctorate in Education, from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and for over twenty-five years, she was an educator and served as a Business Teacher at Camden High School, Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Occupational Education Department at the University of Michigan, and Adjunct Professor at Rowan State University; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Bowen's career expanded beyond academia and she served as the Vice President/Marketing and Community Affairs for the Kirkbride Center and Oaktree/Oxford Health Plans, Legislative Assistant to Councilwoman Augusta Clark, Youth Services Coordinating Commission during Mayor Goode's Administration, Senior Assistant Managing Director for Health and Human Services during Mayor Rendell's Administration, Director of Training for Community Behavioral Health, and currently, Director of Community Relations for the Department of Behavioral Health/Mental Retardation Services for Mayor Nutter's Administration; and
WHEREAS, Beyond her professional career, Dr. Bowen has been engaged in numerous community and civic activities, including but not limited to, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Black Family Reunion Cultural Center, National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Special Olympics, Police Athletic League, Philadelphia Fight, and the Philadelphia Prayer and Praise Worship Center Church for the Deaf and Hearing; and
WHEREAS, Due to the obstacles that she faced as a child, Dr. Bowen has devoted her life to educating the young minds of children by encouraging them to overcome negative stereotypes and to live by her motto of “shooting for the stars, even if you hit the trees”; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby recognize and congratulate Dr. Ella Bowen for her several years of civic and community service to the nation's high school and college students and the citizens and institutions of the City of Philadelphia through her outstanding career in the fields of education, local government, and behavioral health.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Bowen, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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