BERWYN, PA, May 22, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Evelyn P. Mahairas (nee Poestges), Ph.D., with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Mahairas celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Utilizing an extensive educational background, Dr. Mahairas was appointed by the National VA in Washington, D.C. to be one of twelve national directors of the Interdisciplinary Training Program at the VA Medical Center in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Through the medical center's affiliates, she became a clinical adjunct professor at the Thomas Jefferson University Medical School from 1987 to 1990. There, she was also a member of their consortium with Crozier-Chester medical center, Widener College, and a Quaker retirement community in southern Chester County, Kendall-Crosslands. Later, she shifted to the position of clinical professor at Temple University Medical School.
When the Geriatric Education Center in Pennsylvania was established between Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Mahairas was featured as faculty for joint educational programs. Her teaching role in conjunction with the medical school affiliations was teaching family therapy to psychiatric residents and teaching gerontology to medical students. Her role at Coatesville Medical Center was teaching the staff and health care teams how to work together in teams in the field of geriatrics and health care. As such, her funding supported stipends for psychology interns on the doctoral level, social work interns on the master's level, occupational therapy on a master's and bachelor's level, and nursing on a master's level. She held weekly seminars and involved professional staff to teach clinical topics or team development topics. Eventually, her teaching extended to workshops, seminars, and full day programs. Notably, she has conducted workshops, served as a consultant and delivered research papers locally, nationally, and internationally in Puerto Rico, Canada and England.
Working in a number of settings throughout her career, Dr. Mahairas started out as a psychiatric social worker for the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene in 1954. She also served as a director of social service for Wives Self Help/City Police and Fire Counseling Service in Philadelphia, PA. She served as the resident family therapist for police and fire personnel families. Outside of her primary endeavors, she was the co-editor of "The Aging Veteran: Interorganizational Relations," "Team Training and Staff Development in Geriatrics" and "Gerontology and Health Care Team Development." She has contributed numerous articles to various scholarly journals in her area of expertise as well.
Affiliated with the National Association of Social Workers, Dr. Mahairas also served in multiple capacities for the organization on local and state levels over the years. She acted as chair of the Brandywine chapter in Pennsylvania, during which time she organized sponsorship of a conference on Violence in the Family, which was held at Bryn Mawr College. She was also on the board for the Pennsylvania chapter, vice president, and program chair. Later, she became the doctoral representative on the Pennsylvania chapter. Additionally, she was recruited into the doctoral program of the graduate school of social work and social research in 1979. As a founding member of the Delaware Valley Geriatrics Society which eventually became the Eastern Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society, she served on the board for many years and, as education chair, organized continuing education credits for attending professionals at their meetings and eventually became president.
Dr. Mahairas served as chair of the Professional and Organizational Development (SPOD) section of the American Society for Public Administration. She was also a longtime member of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, the American Gerontological Society of America, the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the Social Work Registry and the Academy of Certified Social Workers. She also served as secretary and president of Sigma Phi Omega, the National Honor Society in Gerontology and Higher Education.
Involved in her local community for decades, Dr. Mahairas was a longtime member of the Lake Champlain Committee, an environmental organization; helping to prevent installation of cooling towers for a nuclear power plant from being established on the lake. She has been an elder, trustee, head usher, and historian of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Berwyn, PA, since 1987 and played keyboard for the Praise Band for over 20 years. She previously served as the founder of the Head Start program in West Springfield, MA, and as secretary of the Social Action Committee. Dr. Mahairas served as EAP counselor at the Coatesville VA Medical Center, Chester County, Pennsylvania, from 1995. Upon retiring in 2005, she continued as an EAP counselor in private practice until 2009; including grief counseling. She also served as a consultant for the local Red Cross and tri-state region in mental health counseling and teaching Psychological First Aid. She served on a Mediation Team for the Donegal Presbytery, Lancaster, PA; as a consultant and workshop leader in conflict management and decision making; 2006-2010. She is Past President of the Great Valley Women's Club and on the board since 2006. This is a social and philanthropic group that awards a scholarship to a graduating female senior; rotated annually across three local high schools in the Valley Forge area of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Acquiring a Bachelor of Arts degree in clinical psychology from Queens College, now part of CUNY, in 1954, Dr. Mahairas was placed on the dean's list and received academic Psi Chi recognition, the National Honor Society in Psychology. She became a certified teacher through Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts, in 1974. She earned her master's degree in social work in 1976 from The Ohio State University College of Social Work in Columbus, OH. She was awarded her ACSW in 1978. She received her Doctor of Philosophy from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania in 1986 and ultimately was awarded a diplomate by the American Board of Examiners in clinical social work. She also became certified in EMDR techniques for trauma victims in 1998. Born in New York City, Dr. Mahairas has long been married to her husband C. Gus Mahairas since 1954. She has four daughters: Pamela Linda Susko, Janet Susan Pollan, Karen Lee Chiappetta, and Evelyn Jean Richter; and seven grandchildren: Matthew Phillip Susko, Jonathan Timothy Susko, Katherine Leigh Pollan, Dennison Tyler Richter, Lindsay Nicole Richter, and Natalie Marie Chiappetta.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Evelyn P. Mahairas (nee Poestges), Ph.D., has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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