Felice Nudelman and Tom Ehrlich honored with ADP Spirit of Democracy Awards

By Jen Domagal-Goldman, National Manager, American Democracy Project

Felice Nudelman and Tom Ehrlich, Spirit of Democracy honorees

The ADP/TDC 2012 national meeting marked the 10th annual meeting of the American Democracy Project. In commemoration of this event, we honored two individuals who played — and continue to play — pivotal roles in the founding and future of ADP.

Felice Nudelman, in her previous role as the Executive Director of Education for The New York Times Company where she was responsible for developing and overseeing education initiatives, including The New York Times Knowledge Network, was a co-partner with George Mehaffy and AASCU in creating the American Democracy Project in 2003. Her involvement in the deliberations and discussions which lead to the founding of ADP was crucial.

Tom Ehrlich was a a Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching when George Mehaffy and Felice Nudelman called him up to get input and advice for AASCU’s new American Democracy Project. He thought ADP sounded like a “great idea” and was thrilled to help. Tom was the keynote speaker at the first ADP meeting in 2003; he also suggested the ADP campus audits and reading circles — two early ADP implementation strategies on our campuses. Tom and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching were also our national partners in ADP’s Political Engagement Project.

To honor Felice and Tom, we created a “Spirit of Democracy” award, one that will be given infrequently to individuals whom embody ADP’s commitment to prepare the next generation of informed, engaged citizens for our democracy.

“Felice and Tom were not only critical to the creation of the American Democracy Project but valued collaborators and staunch champions of our collective commitment to education for democracy.  I’m thrilled that we could recognize Felice and Tom with Spirit of Democracy awards and I am deeply honored to call them both friends,” said George Mehaffy.

Thank you, Felice and Tom for your commitment to ADP and the important work that we all do together!