by Jeffrey Stanley

Growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Debra Stalk '78 never imagined she would one day attend a Quaker school. But a close relative knew about BFS and urged Debra to apply. To Debra and her mother, attending such a recognized independent school seemed out of the question. And then another ‘push’ came along. Through a program called A Better Chance, which refers academically talented students to private schools, Debra did apply to Brooklyn Friends School and was accepted.

“My mother loved the school and the opportunity it afforded me,” Debra recalled, “especially because we came from such an underprivileged background.” Debra’s mother, a Mohawk, had only obtained an eighth grade education on the Kahnawake reservation in Quebec, Canada, so she was proud to see her daughter enrolled in such an acclaimed New York City school.

“BFS was a very different school from the Catholic school I came from,” said Debra. “I came from an environment that was very structured to one that was very liberal and independent.” She remembers feeling intimidated at first by her outspoken classmates and teachers but quickly grew to enjoy the school’s unique atmosphere. “I felt different from others when I arrived at BFS because of my heritage and socioeconomic background, but I left feeling on equal ground and prepared to face the world.”

She continued: “No one, faculty or students, was afraid to share their feelings, opinions or politics on any subject. This created an interesting learning environment.” Debra remembers how English teacher Patricia McIlnay Lea emboldened her self-esteem and taught her to successfully express her ideas; Spanish teacher Henrietta Canovaca made her work hard but also offered unwavering support. “She made me fell important, not just one of many.” Biology teacher Ron Harning stressed the importance of tolerance and diversity. Frank DePalo, physical education teacher helped her find strength in the face of personal difficulty. “I am forever indebted to these individuals,” she said

After graduating from BFS, Debra attended Dartmouth College for three years before a family crisis forced her to withdraw from school and return to New York City. She completed her BA in psychology at NYU and received a Master’s in public health from CUNY. Today she works at NYU School of Medicine as director of the medical school’s ethics course, Scientific Integrity and Responsible Conduct in Research. She is also Director of Administrative Services for Graduate Biomedical Sciences, supervising the PhD and MD-PhD programs as well as overseeing the medical student honors program and the summer undergraduate research program.

Another important role Debra has undertaken at NYU is that of founder and director of the Native American Mentoring Program at the medical school. “Since its inception in 2000 we have matriculated four Native American students into medical school and two into our PhD Program,” she said, pointing out that less than 1% of all applicants to medical and graduate schools are Native American and that an even a smaller percentage actually complete these programs. Her goal is to increase the numbers of Native Americans in science.

Debra’s passion for preserving and celebrating her heritage doesn’t end at the office. She has been a Native American dancer since before her days at BFS and has been a member of the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers since she was 16. “This organization promotes cultural awareness and raises monies to provide scholarships to Native American students in college,” she explained.

The Crown Heights neighborhood of her youth was racially diverse and Debra credits that early multicultural experience as a strong influence on her career goals. “The Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Library were my backyard. I spent a tremendous amount of my time alone in these three places reading, drawing and walking my German Shepherd, Sparkie. Anyone who knew me back then knew I did not go anywhere without my dog.”

Today Debra lives in the Poconos with her partner Maria and four children. The commute to New York City every day is a long one but she’s willing to make the sacrifice so that her children can experience country life. “We have deer and wild turkeys in our back yard,” she said proudly, not to mention their seven cats, two dogs and a turtle. Debra makes sure though that life in the mountains doesn’t isolate her children from the world’s problems. Together they participate in the New York City AIDS Walk and the Traumatic Brain Injury Walk in Pennsylvania. They also dance together at Native American pow-wows throughout the U.S.

Her advice to the current generation of BFS students is to take part in as many activities as possible, but she particularly stressed that they should try the things for which they hold no interest. “These were some of my greatest learning experiences,” she said, “and the lessons learned are not recognized until many years later.”