I actually fell for the BFS philosophy of community service and idealism completely," explained Julian Palmer '78, a BFS lifer, about his ongoing career focused on "trying to make a positive difference in the world."
Growing up in Brooklyn Heights, he appreciated the almost small town quality of his neighborhood. "It was great to be able to have so many friends and places to see within walking distance," he said. "I have great memories of the beautiful brownstones and hanging out at the Heights promenade enjoying the Manhattan skyline with my friends from BFS." His parents chose the school, he said, because they liked the openness it offered in learning and creativity, and because it was close to home.
His strongest memory of BFS, he said, remains the silence and reflection of morning meetings every day, "even though I was late for them at least half the time," he recalled. "Once I had to clean the graffiti along the stairwells as punishment for being late so often." Favorite teachers include Don Knies, Ron Patterson, Paul Pechter, Martin Norregaard, Dick Beagelman, Mme. Davis, and Ken Lightell among others. "I'm especially grateful to Ms. MacIlnay," he said, "because she convinced me I was a good writer and communicator in 9th grade at a time when I had more than my share of adolescent cynicism and self-doubt." Her influence directly impacted his decision to pursue a life of social action and advocacy, he said.
He entered the school as a kindergartener in the late '60s during the Vietnam War, and even as a child he found the school a refreshing change from the world outside. "It was very exciting to be in an environment where teachers spoke out against the Vietnam War, for civil rights, and embodied ideas like giving back to your community, making a difference, and speaking truth to power," he said. He recalled participating in candlelight vigils to protest the war, and discussing Watergate and foreign policy. School life wasn't all politics and protests, though. "I also have many fun memories of playing on the basketball team as we reversed years of losing records and won the Fieldston Tournament in a dramatic final game in 1978," he said. Not a bad way to end his senior year of high school.
After BFS Julian attended UPenn and spent a semester at the American College in Paris, graduating during the Reagan-Bush years. He then went to work for SANE, a nuclear arms control advocacy group (now known as Peace Action), and for Common Cause, the nonpartisan fair elections advocacy group. "Common Cause is and was the nation's leading voice for open and accountable government," said Julian. "We worked to pass New York City's landmark campaign finance reform law and a tough New York State ethics law during the time I was with Common Cause New York."
Never one to stop learning, Julian then went back to school and earned a Diploma in Social Sciences at Stockholm University and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Committed as ever to making a difference, he next took a position at the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University's School of Public Health. "My job was to present our developmental research about the effects of poverty on children and our policy research about the most effective strategies for preventing or alleviating child poverty." Several of the reports he helped create, among them One In Four: America's Youngest Poor, received national news coverage and helped raise public awareness about the extent of child poverty in the United States.
Most recently he was the executive director of Dads & Daughters, which is "the world's only organization dedicated to promoting the power and potential of father-daughter relationships and making the world safe and fair for our daughters," he explained. The nonprofit organization created by men with daughters provides resources, publications and advocacy to improve the well-being of girls and to motivate fathers to strengthen their relationships with their daughters. "They also mobilize dads as advocates for gender equity in school, in the workplace and in sports," explained Julian, himself the proud father of two daughters.
Today Julian lives in Rockland County, New York with his wife Maria, a child and family therapist who grew up in Sweden. Their daughter Anna was born in Sweden and is about to start high school. Their daughter Sara, born in Brooklyn, is about to start college. Julian is also a certified parent group facilitator for the nonprofit organization Every Person Influences Children (EPIC), which works with groups of adults in schools and communities to help them raise children responsibly. "I went through their training program and I facilitate EPIC workshops here in Rockland County," he said.
His advice to the current generation of BFS students is to embrace their experiences here; the respect for individuality, and the encouragement to make the world a better place. But he adds a word of caution. “Don't expect it to be easy. I still draw on my BFS experience today to help remind me of what's important to me as I balance work, family, community and the pursuit of personal happiness.”
10/1/08