2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
James DeBord ‘87—Non-profit Health Sector Community Leader
James DeBord was named the President of Schreiber Pediatric in 2012. Prior to James’ arrival Schreiber’s life-changing healthcare services had been in jeopardy for many years due to the low reimbursement rates from Medicaid and the growing demand from the under-served pediatric patient population across central Pennsylvania. After the organization experienced more than 20 years of budget deficits and two year wait lists for services, James led efforts to bring every budget into the black starting in year one and drastically reduced wait lists from two years down to no more than weeks or days in some cases. Schreiber recently underwent a successful $15 million dollar expansion and renovation project to better serve the 4,000+ children and adolescents they see every year. The project was achieved without taking on any long-term capital debt.
In 2020 James worked to establish an endowed graduate scholarship at Penn State which was created to foster diversity in the field of speech language pathology. Among other accomplishments during his time at Schreiber, James established the first-ever Schreiber Endowment Fund, which is designed to lessen the burden of annual fundraising for the Center in the coming years. James has also expanded the Schreiber clinical team and streamlined administrative operations during his tenure.
Prior to his arrival at Schreiber James worked with various organizations and public officials including the Annenberg Challenge and former Pennsylvania Governors Ed Rendell and Tom Wolf.
James and his wife, Anne Louise, are the proud parents of three adult children— Andrew, Meredith, and Matthew.
Juan Hernandez-Dosch ‘11, Ph.D.—Materials Scientist
Juan (JJ) Hernandez-Dosch is a materials scientist with a strong background in polymer chemistry, 3D printing, and dynamic materials. He earned his B.S. in Materials Science from MIT and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he discovered a novel light-triggered reaction—thioaminal exchange—and led pioneering research in degradable plastics. With his professional experience spanning industry and academia, he has authored eight peer-reviewed publications, launched five products, filed two patents, directed over $1 million in research funding, and managed teams of over 15 people across six countries. A skilled mentor and educator, JJ has taught students in the US, China, and Taiwan and is recognized for his attentive teaching style. Most recently he moved to Minnesota with his wife, Emily, and their energetic dog, Winnie. In his free time he likes to hike, watch anime, and listen to radio show Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.
James Lockey ‘64—Physician and Scientist, Pulmonary and Environmental Medicine / Public Health Sciences
Dr. James Lockey is a Professor Emeritus (tenured) and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences and Internal Medicine (Pulmonary) at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has received numerous research grants and has published numerous scientific and review articles and book chapters in the field of occupational and environmental lung disease and public health. The scientific data generated from his research has been used to establish environmental and occupational exposure guidelines for various physical and chemical agents including amphibole asbestos, flavoring agents used in consumer microwave popcorn, and cancer risks in fire fighters.
Dr. Lockey has received two presidential appointments (executive branch) to national committees, including the National Advisory Boards on Radiation and Worker Health, the Department of Defense – Defense Health Board, and Armed Forces Epidemiological Board. He received the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine award for Excellence in Education for Research in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2020). He is the former Director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Division, Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, and ex-officio member of the Resident Advisory Committee.
Dr. Lockey is active in his church and has a closely knit family including his wife, five children and seven grandchildren. His cherished personal achievement is the establishment of a 250-acre certified hardwood tree farm, “Blue Stem Reserve,” near Cincinnati. The farm serves as a teaching resource for local school children about the importance of forest and wildlife conservation and forest restoration.
Yentli Soto-Albrecht ‘11—Physician Scientist-in-Training Against ALS
Yentli Soto-Albrecht is an 8th-year MD-PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Penn). She earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Princeton University and worked at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard before joining Penn. She completed her dissertation in the Douglas Wallace lab, where she uncovered aspects of mitochondrial function that limit SARS-CoV-2 replication and demonstrated that subtle mitochondrial variations in the host can cause differences in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis.
Yentli served as president-elect, president, and past president of the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) from 2021 to 2024 and most recently contributed as vice-chair of the APSA Diversity Summit Implementation Taskforce. During her five-year tenure at APSA, she supported the creation of a virtual national research program and an interactive session series for dual-degree program applicants, both of which have seen more than three successful iterations and benefited over 5,000 participants. She actively mentors undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds who are interested in medicine and research.
In honor of her father, “Brother” Frank Albrecht, who died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in August 2024, Yentli has redirected her focus toward neurodegeneration research. She has attended six neurodegeneration conferences, consulted with over 40 field experts, and developed five research projects. Her mission: leverage her physician-scientist training to cure familial ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and eliminate these diseases from her family tree.
Peter Stoltzfus Berton ‘86—Organist, Church Musician and Music Educator
Peter has honed an extraordinary career as an organist, church musician and music educator, and serves currently as Director of Music and Cathedral Arts at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, Vermont. He holds degrees from The University of Michigan School of Music and the Yale University School of Music. Integral to his training was serving as Assistant Organist at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit; Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven; and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York. He was co-organist of Otterbein United Methodist Church, Lancaster, while a McCaskey senior.
Prior to his appointment in Burlington in 2024, he served for ten years as Founding Executive Director of The Choir School of Newport County, Newport, Rhode Island. With that group he led educational tours to New York City, Washington, D.C., England, and Argentina. Concurrently he served as adjunct music faculty of St. George’s School, Middletown, Rhode Island. Earlier, he led intergenerational choral programs with concert series at churches in West Hartford, Connecticut; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Brooklyn Heights, New York.
He is active as a composer (published by Oxford University Press, and self-published) and has served on the faculties of four American Guild of Organists summer camps. He has concertized widely in the United States, and in England, France, and Latvia. His several CDs have been re-released on Apple Music. He has two musical daughters (ages 13 and 18) and lives with his wife of 21 years in Rhode Island. The family also includes a cat, a dog, vast numbers of plants and model trains—a favorite hobby. He’s also a runner (Galloway method) and has completed two marathons and several half-marathons.