Palm Beach Illustrated September 2022

In 2019, this magazine launched its Education Awards to recognize the outstanding people, programs, and institutions in Palm Beach County’s academic community. It started as a small endeavor with an awards ceremony and panel discussion highlighting issues and opportunities in education. To maximize reader engagement, we presented the final-ists for the coveted Educator of the Year Award in a September cover story—a tradition that continues today. Four years later, with the help of sponsors Schumacher Automotive Group and Tree of Life Foundation International, the Education Awards have doubled in reach, and we have added both a new recognition category and a cash award for the winning educator. I urge you to meet the six finalists—including cover star Pranoo Kumar Skomra—in “Making the Grade” on page 63. Each of these individuals deserves…

ALL LOVE WHO: Selfless Love Foundation WHAT: Fifth Annual Gala WHERE: The Breakers, Palm Beach HIGHLIGHTS: More than 200 friends of the foundation flocked to the annual fete, where Champagne, dancing flowers, and Patrón Tequila tastings kept the evening of fun and philanthropy going. EVENING ON ANTIQUE ROW WHO: Young Friends of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County WHAT: Twenty-Seventh Annual Evening on Antique Row WHERE: Antique Row, West Palm Beach HIGHLIGHTS: Six blocks of the iconic South Dixie Highway strip were reserved for the sophisticated street party, complete with bites, entertainment, antiques, and fine wares. EMERALD AWARDS WHO: Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida WHAT: Ninth Annual Emerald Awards WHERE: Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach HIGHLIGHTS: Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida honored Kathleen R. Crampton, Grace Kurian, Kim Jones, Verdenia Baker, and Sharon Bush for their strong…

Yachts are a dime a dozen around Palm Beach, but not all quality vessels are relegated to a fate as purveyors of leisure. Just ask sisters Angela and Kari Rosenberg, who repurposed a 65-foot Grand Alaskan trawler for the sake of marine science research. The Rosenbergs founded the West Palm Beach–based Angari Foundation in 2016, with the goal of developing a global commu-nity around marine and environmental sci-ences. The R/V Angari is a crucial player in the sisters’ mission. Around $1 million and four months went into the purchase and refitting of the vessel, which included “converting the living room into a laboratory, setting up a dive center with a compressor and gear, upgrading all the navigation and communication electronics, and installing a larger generator to support high-powered research equipment,” Angela…

Sometimes, the most heartbreaking experiences of our lives spark our greatest moves for good. This was the case when Palm Beacher Samantha Marulli created the Jessica Marulli Memorial Scholarship in honor of her late sister. Months after a picture-perfect wedding at St. Edward’s, where she served as eucharistic minister, Jessica was diag-nosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She passed away in 2016. Samantha launched the scholarship fund in 2018—on what would have been Jessica’s forty-second birthday—with a Bruce Sutka–designed evening at Marulli’s parents’ home on the island; more than 250 guests attended, raising $250,000 in one night. “The inspiration for launching the foundation came as a collective effort between my father and [me], celebrating not only Jessica’s legacy, but her vigor for our youth to become leaders through education,” says Samantha. Funded…

1. There’s a lot to love about your local library, not the least of which is its abundance of educational programs—all available for free. Send kiddos to the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach Afterschool Homework Help Center, where certified teachers assist with homework, projects, and test prep (there are free snacks, too). Teens can also take advantage of STEM programs, a homework center, or SAT and college prep workshops in partnership with Path to College. But learning doesn’t stop when school’s over: The Career Online High School program gives qualified adult learners the opportunity to earn a diploma and career certificate online. (wpblf.org) 2. West Palm Beacher Elizabeth Bornia founded the Communication Arts Academy, South Florida’s first independent program for fourth through eighth graders interested in communications, to introduce…

For more than 30 years, Jim Cummings has been working tirelessly to help children in Kenya gain better access to education. But he’s also connecting those students with kids here in Palm Beach County. “We’re in it together. What happens there impacts us, and what happens here impacts people there,” he says. “It’s to our benefit to build up and invest in Kenya.” Cummings’ passion for education and appreciation for Kenyan culture began when he spent time teaching in the country after graduating from college. “When I came back to the States, I started telling stories about this extraordinary experience and eventually developed a desire to give back to the community that launched me on this career,” he says. It’s a career that brought Cummings to Palm Beach County, where he has taught…