LEAP kicked off its 50th anniversary celebration with a lunch on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at the Inn at Swarthmore, a location picked to honor John S. Bradway, the creator of clinical law school clinics, who grew up there in the early part of the 20th century. Two of LEAP's Executive Directors, Beth Farnbach and David Trevaskis, lived in Swarthmore, and the late Edgar Cahn, whose timebanking youth court in Washington, D.C. inspired the ongoing youth court effort in Pennsylvania today, went to Swarthmore College, adding to the connection. Plus the food is great!
Seated left to right are Bruce Yasgur, retired Central High social studies teacher and Temple Law alum, Sarah Kaufman, the coordinator of the John S. Bradway Philadelphia High School Mock Trial Competition since 2014 (and a Temple Law alum), Roberta West, who worked 25 years at LEAP and ran the program from 2001 to 2014 (Temple Law alum), Beth Earley Farnbach, LEAP's ED from 1975 to 1993, Marcia Halbert, Philadelphia School District Museum Educator whose museum was City Hall and who brought tens of thousands of kids to Court to see live trials (she is also the widow of Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Marvin Halbert, with whom she supported LEAP throughout her career).
In the back row is Briab Pollock, a longtime Fels High School mock trial and debate coach, Ingrid Farnbach, Beth's daughter and a longtime fixture in the LEAP offices as a kid, Linda Hibbs, who ran the Temple-Penn Law joint program in the mid 1990s, behind Linda, partially hidden, is Amy Niedzalkoski, a LEAP Law student and Temple Law alum from the 1990s who taught with Brian Pollock at Fels, Bob Catina, part of LEAP's statewide law-related education training team retired from Pleasant Valley High School but working as a court crier for the Monroe County Courts, David Keller Trevaskis, who worked for LEAP for 17 years and ran the program from 1993 until 2001, Kalli Badolato, a LEAP Law student and Temple Law alum from the 1990s, Alan Liebowitz, a Temple Law alum and retired educator who first got involved with LEAP in the 70's when he was teaching middle school social studies at Roosevelt and took an in-service class, is standing next to Bill Baldwin, who occupies the far right of the back row. Bill is the Deputy Director of Pro Bono Services at the Pennsylvania Bar Association, a Temple Law alum, and a great champion of justice!
It was a wonderful luncheon with stories of how everyone had benefitted from being involved with LEAP. Marcia Halbert captured the spirit of the day when she said, "It was a wonderful celebration, and I was so pleased to see all those friends from a very interesting time in my life."
As the year of LEAP's 50th continues, we hope to have many wonderful celebrations, large and small.