37th June Dwyer Castano Veritas Awards Luncheon was September 29

Essex Fells Country Club played host to the 37^th Annual June Dwyer Castano Veritas Awards, and this year’s honorees and previous years’ award winners all came out to celebrate the professional excellence of alumni.

This year’s winners were thoughtfully selected by the Veritas Committee among an impressive list of nominees.

Elizabeth Chalas Berman ’84 was presented her award for Excellence in Hispanic Community Outreach. Liz is President and CEO of Continental Food and Beverage Company who graduated with a degree in Education from Caldwell University. After graduating from Caldwell, Elizabeth taught English as a Second Language in a public school for 15 years. She joined her family’s business, Continental Food and Beverage Inc. in 1998 and created their community outreach platform. Her role is to help support mission-driven local, national and international organizations and her company and family have organized volunteers to remediate lead contamination sites in the Dominican Republic and have helped create a network of temporary nursing clinics in poor communities.

Kelly Tallio ’85 was presented her award for Excellence in International Dental Care. Kelly has a shared dental practice in Rio Grande, NJ. She graduated from Caldwell with a BS in biology before going on to earn her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School in 1989. She then served as a Dental Officer in the US Navy for 5 years which included two overseas deployments aboard the destroyer USS Yellowstone. She served during Operation Desert Storm and provided dental care to multiple units afloat as well as civilian and government patients. After her Navy service, Kelly practiced general dentistry as an associate in Cape May, NJ, before opening her own comprehensive, ADA accessible practice in 1999 where she continues to practice today.

James R. Adams ’04 was presented his award for Excellence in Clinical Laboratory Science. James is the Director of Laboratory Programs and Services at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, and he graduated from Caldwell with a BS in biology before earning a degree in clinical laboratory science and an MS in health sciences from the University of Medicine and Dentistry. James has worked in both hospitals and private reference laboratory settings. He served as president of the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science – New Jersey and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and AABB. He received the Top 40 Under 40 Award from ASCP in 2018.

Among this year’s guests were Caldwell University president Jeffrey D. Senese, Ph.D., members of the Dominican Council, members of the Veritas Awards Committee, this year’s winners, previous winners, and community members who were there to support the winners and Caldwell University.