2009 Recipient: Dr. Erica Spatz

Erica Spatz, Vanderbilt Posse 4 (New York, ’97) is the 2009 recipient of the Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award. Erica was born and raised in Staten Island, New York. Very much the product of her parents Donna and Gene, both educators, Erica flourished in the city’s public school system. She attended Curtis High School, one the city’s most racially integrated schools on Staten Island’s North Shore. It was here that Erica first became engaged in the community. Recognized for her outstanding leadership, Erica was awarded a Posse Scholarship in 1993 to attend Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, where she majored in human and organizational development and completed her premedical studies. Following her experience at Vanderbilt, Erica attended medical school at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. While there, she focused her attention on global healthcare and spent part of her time working in Kenya administering care for an underserved community. Eventually Erica returned to New York City and completed her residency training in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Erica was involved with projects to provide better diabetes care to the Bronx’s large urban and immigrant population. She is currently a scholar at Yale School of Medicine in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program where she is studying health care research and policy. Erica aims to improve the quality of care in cardiovascular disease prevention amongst underserved urban populations.

About the Ainslie Award

When Posse was a fledgling, grassroots organization it got lucky—Michael Ainslie came into its life. In that serendipitous encounter, he recognized the potential of what Posse could eventually become. In 1994, Michael became Posse’s first board chair. Under his leadership Michael worked with staff, scholars, colleges, universities, donors, and community leaders to help Posse become what it is today— one of the most comprehensive and successful college access and youth leadership development programs in the united states.

After making certain that Posse was standing on its feet, firm, solid, established, and recognized, and after 13 years at the helm of the national board of directors, Michael stepped down.

As a tribute to his accomplishments Posse established the Ainslie Fund: a $1 million fund—in honor of Michael. The fund will permanently endow a portion of the alumni program at The Posse Foundation and institute in perpetuity, The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award.

The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of a Posse Alumna/us each year with a prize of $10,000. The prize will go to a graduate who has achieved success and given back to the world— just like Michael. Michael is the very embodiment of the values we seek in our Scholars and Posse will forever be indebted to him.

Each year, a Posse Alumna/us is recognized as an honoree at Posse’s annual gala. The Ainslie Alumni Achievement is now a second phenomenal opportunity for outstanding Alumni to be recognized.