Elmwood Franklin School will proudly welcome alumna Lindsay Acker '12 as the graduation speaker at the Class of 2021 commencement ceremony on June 9.
 
Lindsay Acker '12 (she/her) is a talker and listener, and she comes from long lines of the same. She recognizes herself as a composition of the people, relationships, and communities that pour into her, and she tries to bring that melody with her every day and everywhere she goes. Her relationships, experiences, and studies have led to a passion for transformative and restorative justice, working to reimagine the systems that uphold domination and punishment into ones that thrive on equitable collaboration and accountability.

These passions, in turn, brought her to the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition. At ECRJC, Lindsay's role as the program and case coordinator encourages and supports accountability and healing in communities in Buffalo, NY, through community circles and restorative conferencing. Lindsay also volunteers at the Third Space Initiative at United States Heartland China Association. Here she uses her facilitation and circle keeping-skills rooted in Indigenous practices to create an equitable and empathetic space, undermining conventional power dynamics and advancing the practice of intercultural engagement. Her enthusiasm for the transformative power of stories includes a passion for theater, and in non-Covid times you can find her attending, teaching, acting, or working on and off stage.

Lindsay is a proud 2012 EFS grad and graduated valedictorian from Williamsville South High School in 2016. Following high school, she attended Eastern Mennonite University, earning her Bachelor's degree in Peacebuilding and Development in 2020. Lindsay completed her Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation in 2021 from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University.

Elmwood Franklin School will proudly welcome alumna Carolyn Sufrin ’89 as the graduation speaker at the Class of 2019 commencement ceremony this June.
 
Carolyn Sufrin, MD, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and an obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in family planning at Johns Hopkins University. She has worked extensively on reproductive health issues affecting incarcerated women, from providing clinical care in jail, to research, policy, and advocacy. Her work is situated at the intersection of reproductive justice, health care, and mass incarceration, which she examines in her book, Jailcare: Finding the Safety Net for Women Behind Bars.

Carolyn's current research activities include collecting data on pregnancy outcomes in prisons and jails across the country, treatment of opioid use disorder in pregnancy in jails, and how incarceration affects abortion access. Her work has been published by and featured in numerous scholarly and popular outlets, including NPR and the New York Times. Dr. Sufrin also serves on the board of directors of the National Commission on Correctional Health care as the liaison for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  

A graduate of Elmwood Franklin School, Carolyn earned an MD from Johns Hopkins, a PhD in medical anthropology from University of California at San Francisco, an MA in cultural anthropology from Harvard, and a BA from Amherst College.  

Elmwood Franklin School will proudly welcome alumna Lauren Gioia ’90 as the graduation speaker at the Class of 2018 commencement ceremony this June.
 
Lauren joined Sotheby's in 1998 and has been in the art market ever since. She was appointed Director of Sotheby’s Press Office, Americas in 2010, and in 2015, Lauren was promoted to Sotheby's Worldwide Director of Communications. During her tenure, Lauren has been responsible for the promotion of numerous historic auctions, including the sales of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, The Magna Carta, and The Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection.

As Worldwide Director of Communications, Lauren oversees a network of more than 20 international press officers operating in more than ten countries and travels extensively to support Sotheby’s auctions, events, and initiatives. Lauren's responsibilities include all corporate communications connected to Sotheby’s obligations as a public company, as well as the execution of Sotheby’s social media strategy.
 
A graduate of Elmwood Franklin School and Nichols School, Lauren earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Elmwood Franklin School will proudly welcome alumna Liz Lewin ’01 as the graduation speaker at the Class of 2017 commencement ceremony this June.

Liz re-joined the WKBW Channel 7 Eyewitness News team in June 2016 as a multimedia journalist/reporter. She had previously freelanced at the station before taking a job in Boston. Liz has a background in public speaking and in the past worked as a communication specialist in the City of Buffalo with the Mayor's Office of Communications.

A graduate of Elmwood Franklin School and Buffalo Seminary, Liz earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University in New York City. Liz attended Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications where she studied broadcast journalism and is currently enrolled in the Multidisciplinary Studies program at Buffalo State College.

Elmwood Franklin is excited to welcome back 19 alumni this summer as counselors and counselors-in-training! 

There is a sizable group of alumni and students who are making a family tradition out of an Elmwood Franklin education. This group makes up a valuable resource for Elmwood Franklin’s future. Not only are their families shaped by the school, but the school is inevitably shaped by their families.
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Five alumni in the Class of 2016 are either the second or third generation in their family to graduate from Elmwood Franklin School.