Paying It Forward

WAA honors third group of outstanding young alumni.

Forward Under 40 cover

At seventeen, Angela Rose ’02 was kidnapped near her home, bound, and sexually assaulted — a crisis that would have broken many people. But she took that pain and turned it into a movement. As a UW-Madison student, she sought out student organizations that work to combat sexual assault, and though she found a variety of services, she didn’t find the group she was looking for.

“There was a lot of great one-to-one counseling for victims, but nothing that did grassroots organizing or that tried to engage men in the effort to stop sexual assault,” she says.

In response, Rose founded Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE), a grassroots organization that spreads awareness of sexual assault and promotes measures to aid victims. Ten years later, PAVE has now established chapters in fifty-five cities in three countries.

Rose is one of twelve UW-Madison graduates honored with 2010 Forward under 40 Awards. These outstanding graduates live the Wisconsin Idea — the 106-year-old guiding philosophy behind UW outreach efforts to help people in Wisconsin and throughout the world. Rose is joined by Aaron Bishop ’94, ’95, MS’00; Phillip Chavez ’94, JD’98; Jerry Halverson ’94, MD’99; Megan Johnson ’00; Britt Lintner ’92; Brian Riedl ’98; Elsworth Rockefeller MA’06; Susanne Rust MS’99; Ahna Skop PhD’00; Chad Sorenson ’99, MS’01, MBA’02; and Nelson Tansu ’98, PhD’03.

Ever since the Wisconsin Alumni Association created the Forward under 40 award two years ago, great things continue to happen: 2008 and 2009 award winners have heard from former classmates and professors inspired by their stories, and some have returned to campus to speak with students.

One of them is 2009 honoree Neil Willenson ’92, founder and CEO of One Heartland, a charitable organization for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Willenson was invited to be the featured speaker at the 2009 winter commencement ceremonies. Another 2009 recipient, Leslie Goldman ’98, was so moved by the efforts of fellow honoree Janet Olson ’92 to rescue animals that she wrote an article about Olson and got it published in a national magazine.

Current award winners are being featured in Forward under 40 magazine, mailed in March 2010 to eighty thousand UW-Madison alumni. The publication is part of a special issue combined with Badger Insider, the magazine exclusively for Wisconsin Alumni Association members. In addition to receiving Forward under 40 and Badger Insider, WAA members can take advantage of a variety of benefits such as access to the UW Libraries database, event discounts, and more.

For profiles and photographs of this year’s winners, and for information on nominating a UW graduate for next year’s awards, visit forwardunder40.com.

Published in the Spring 2010 issue