The newest inductees to the Shaker Schools Foundation’s Alumni Hall of Fame addressed students during the 39th annual induction assembly Oct. 10 in the large auditorium.
The Hall of Fame comprises alumni who “have made significant contributions to the fields of television, film, journalism, social justice, advocacy, commercial real estate, higher education and diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to the Shaker Schools Foundation. This year, the nine inductees spoke to Shaker students about community, curiosity and the importance of diversity. Shakerite staff spoke with the inductees in the small auditorium before the assembly.
Judge Adam B. Abelson, 2001

“Let curiosity be your superpower.”
Judge Adam B. Abelson has served as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland since 2024. Previously he served as Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Working Group on Building Public Trust in the American Justice System, and on the board of the Job Opportunities Task Force. In February, he issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration from enacting the president’s executive orders to end government contracts deemed “equity-related.”
During Abelson’s high school years he was a member of SGORR, Model UN and the tennis team and played saxophone in band.
Abelson said he wouldn’t be where he is without his curiosity because it helped him keep an open mind. “To do my job well requires that I am constantly learning and curious and attentive to detail,” he said. “Those are all skills that you learned growing up and definitely skills that you learn from teachers here.”
Joanie and Tom Adler, 1958

“I’m very attracted to people who went to Shaker. There’s a difference,” Joanie Adler said.
Back in high school, Mrs. Adler had knee surgery and came to school in a cast. She said she had to move to the front of her classes to elevate her leg. In their favorite class — European History — that seat change put her into the front of the classroom among students whose last names began with A, where she met Tom. They began to talk, and eventually began dating their senior year.
The Adlers have been married for 60 years and still live in Shaker. “It hasn’t been 63 years since we’ve been here, but it’s been a long time,” Mrs. Adler said.
Mrs. Adler began her career as a first-grade teacher before dedicating herself to volunteer work. She said she and a Shaker friend created Harvest for Hunger, which eventually became the Cleveland Food Bank. Mr. Adler co-founded Cleveland Real Estate Partners and has held leadership roles with numerous nonprofits, including Playhouse Square, University Hospitals and The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio.
The Adlers said they were happy to be back at the high school, but they had returned since they graduated because their children graduated from SHHS.
Mr. Adler said Shaker is unique in an unusual way. He said, “When they [city workers] come up my driveway and pick up my garbage can, that’s what reminds me of Shaker.”
Cyrena Davis, 1993

“My Shaker education shaped me a lot.”
Cyrena Davis is an executive at Whiting-Turner, a construction management company with locations across the nation. Davis manages the South Texas region of the company, with offices in Houston and San Antonio. Davis is also an executive leadership member of the Women of Whiting-Turner program, where she promotes female employment in the construction industry.
She said that since moving from Shaker Heights, she has missed the diversity that she grew up around. “I live in San Antonio, and Texas is very different than it is up here. So I think about it [Shaker] a lot for two reasons,” she said. “I think a lot about the difference, the lack of integration and diversity in a lot of the places where I am.”
Growing up and going to school in Shaker Heights shaped Davis. “It really helped open my eyes to the diversity of people — not just race and gender and socioeconomics — but just everyone’s different depending on how you grew up,” she said. “In my career, it helped me be able to communicate and understand and relate to lots of different people.”
During her high school career, she participated in the Theatre Arts program and was a member of the high school Ensemble under the direction of former Theatre Department Chairman James Thornton.
Said Davis, “It’s great to be back.”
Andrew Geronimo, 2001

“It’s amazing that everywhere I go out into the world, whether it’s here in Cleveland or the most prestigious universities in the world, I meet somebody from Shaker there.”
Andrew Geronimo is a civil rights attorney and director of the Dr. Frank Stanton First Amendment Clinic at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. His work focuses on free speech, press freedom and government transparency. He regularly litigates First Amendment cases in Ohio’s state and federal courts and is a frequent commentator on First Amendment issues in the news.
He said his favorite class was Sociology, taught by now retired social studies teacher Terry Pollack. “I just ran into him,” said Geronimo, “and we talked a lot about the world and Shaker and how it was unique. I think it really set me up to to ask those hard questions about every place that I live going forward.” His favorite teacher was Margaret Washington, who retired in 2002. “She was my English teacher in the 10th grade. She challenged me to not be satisfied with what I thought was good writing at the time,” he said. “She really wanted me to support my arguments to show that I’d read the books and to really put more of my thoughts down into paper and to use my voice like that.”
Geronimo said he feels lucky to have grown up in the kind of environment that Shaker provided. “Not every environment is as enriching and as diverse as this environment is,” he said. He continues to live in Shaker and serves on the city’s Community Advisory Group while remaining active in national media law advocacy.
“I think it’s so cool that the Shakerite’s here and exists,” he said. “And I think the student press in particular is a great place for people that are your age to learn how to use their voice and to really find an independent voice that’s not directed by teachers or administrators and really tell your own story.”
Quiana Howard, 1998

“I definitely think about Shaker, every day.”
Dr. Quiana Howard is a Clinical Nurse Research Specialist at University Hospitals. She previously worked as an emergency room nurse at UH. She said the cultural diversity she experienced during her time at SHHS helps her treat patients with compassion and empathy.
“Most of my work is in health disparity and health equity, so coming to a school like Shaker – a melting pot of all different types of cultures with people from all over the world – makes me remember to love before I judge people,” she said
After graduating from SHHS, she attended Ursuline College and earned a bachelor of science in nursing. She also earned her master’s degree in nursing from Ursuline College and a Ph. D. in nursing from Case Western Reserve University.
Howard said Bioethics, taught by now retired science teacher Mark Hoskins, was her favorite SHHS class. She also enjoyed her math class, taught by Walter Slovikovski. “My counselor, Mrs. [Eileen] Blattner, was amazing,” she said. “Shaker has a lot of resources, where other students may not have that opportunity.”
She said that her upbringing in Shaker Heights shaped her values. Said Howard, “I had access to a diverse and transformative education that taught me to value inclusion, equity and the power of learning to create opportunity and drive change.”
Melinda Kassen, 1974

“I went to a college where a third of the kids had gone to fancy private schools, and I felt completely prepared.”
Melinda Kassen joins the SHHS Hall of Fame after a 40-year law career devoted to environmental activism. Kassen lives in Colorado and has helped the public by challenging the state’s lack of environmental protection and combating destructive practices.
After graduating from SHHS, Kassen attended Dartmouth University, where she studied environmental law. Kassen praised Shaker for being a community of incredible diversity. According to Kassen, Colorado has a large Hispanic community, but, “I still say to people, Shaker’s the most diverse place I’ve ever lived.”
Kassen said her family influenced her advocacy. “I think I grew up in an activist family – socially engaged, socially active family,” she said.
She said Shaker schools provided “a fine foundation” by giving her all the tools she needed to pursue her goals and accomplish her years of public service.
Robyn Minter Smyers, 1987

“The skills I’ve picked up here at Shaker have really helped me in my career.”
Robyn Minter Smyers is a real estate lawyer and a partner in Thompson Hine’s Executive Committee. She graduated from Harvard University, and later gained her law degree at Yale.
Smyers worked for a national nonprofit that helped develop housing for the homeless. “That experience really taught me to be passionate about how cities work and how physical space, and how real estate, can transform people’s lives,” she said.
She has been around the world, but said that nowhere compares to Shaker. “I spent time working in South Africa on a fellowship,”she said. “It was a very intentional choice to move back home to Shaker.”
Smyers has worked at Thompson Hine for the last 24 years. Recently she worked on the city’s plan to develop the Van Aken district. “It was really a nice experience to be able to represent my beloved city,” she said.
Additionally, she’s helped Cleveland in its $600 million restoration of the West Side Market. Smyers said, “I like to think of the career that I’ve had as being about helping to build community, and that project sort of exemplifies what can happen if a lot of people and a lot of resources come together.”
Brigadier General Jeffrey Watkins, 1985

“I met all these people of different backgrounds, all these people from different areas of the country during my education at Shaker.”
Brigadier General Jeffrey Watkins serves as the Director of the Joint Staff for the Ohio National Guard. In this role, he oversees 17,000 troops. He is a veteran of the Iraq War and has been in the armed forces since 1986. Watkins said he comes from a military family, with his father, grandfather, great grandfather and uncles having served.
“When you got to Shaker, they carved away at the rough edges, developing character,” said Watkins, who credited the values and experiences he learned during his education for preparing him for his military career.
Watkins said that the multicultural exposure he experienced in Shaker was instrumental to his success in life. “I was able to take all that with me and bundle it,” he said. Watkins said he applied these experiences throughout his career in teamwork, leadership and cooperating with foreign nationals.
Of being back at SHHS, Watkins said, “It’s a warm feeling. It’s incredible. It gives you this incredible rush.”
Sports Writing Reporter Sofija Sullivan contributed reporting.