UMass Amherst Alumni Association
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Making a Difference at Ground Level
For Charles D. Hadley ’64, ’67G; Bill Knecht ’65; and Keith Liederman ’84, life in the Big Easy hasn’t been so easy since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005. Longtime residents of New Orleans and leaders in their community, they anticipate that it will take 10 to 15 years for the city and neighboring parishes to truly recover. Still, they are seeing signs of progress, especially with the help of groups like our alumni volunteers that recently spent a week in New Orleans rebuilding homes.
Keith Liederman ’84 is the executive director of Kingsley House, the oldest settlement house in the South. Founded in 1896, the agency provides a comprehensive continuum of early childhood education, youth, family, adult and senior supportive services.
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| Keith Liederman '84 speaks with alumni volunteer Denny Bro '74 |
Originally from Malden, MA, Liederman studied political science while at UMass Amherst. He went on to earn a master’s degree from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York. His work with child protective services in Massachusetts eventually led him to the doctoral program at Tulane University School of Social Work in 1994 and his current position with Kingsley House.
Following Hurricane Katrina, the agency was the first to open a Resettlement and Recovery Center in the Gulf Coast, helping over 3,000 families with immediate recovery needs as they returned to the devastated area. It also reopened the city’s first child care center, adult day health care center, and senior center and was one of the area’s first mental health care providers on the ground. “About 50% of our fellow agencies that provided social and human services were never able to come back following the storm. And then with child care it’s even worse; we are down to about 40% of our pre-Katrina child care and early childhood development capacity in the city,” said Liederman. “Despite a significant increase in our staff size here at Kingsley House, as well as the enhancement of staff resources at many of our fellow human services agencies, collectively, we are still not able to meet the full spectrum of needs in our recovering metropolitan area community.”
One of the biggest concerns for Liederman is the lingering effect of the storm on children and young adults referred to as the ‘Katrina Generation.’ “We’re working with almost two hundred 5-18 year olds daily, providing tutoring, mentoring, substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, and a lot of recreational activities—really critical services that kids need in order to stay out of trouble and in positive and productive places,” said Liederman. “On a positive note, these are pretty durable kids both emotionally and physically. They’ve been through a lot and had to grow up a lot quicker than would otherwise be the case, but they’re amazingly resilient and quite capable of handling difficult situations.”
Liederman credits his UMass Amherst experience with helping him develop the independent learning skills he’s had to employ in his daily work. “The other thing about UMass,” he noted, “is that you really learn how to live, work and appreciate the many strengths of people of diverse races, cultures and ethnicities, which is exactly one of the truly great characteristics that we have here in the city of New Orleans. UMass definitely helped provide me with a solid foundation from which to continually grow my knowledge, skills and abilities and now be in a position to assist in the recovery, rebuilding and healing of one of our nation’s most historic cities.”
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Bill Knecht ’65, is the chairman of the board of ERACE, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between people of all races and, ultimately, to erase racism. The group facilitates multi-racial discussion about racism and race relations and increases awareness through a bumper-sticker campaign that has distributed over 150,000 ERACISM bumper stickers across the country and overseas. He also maintains a private practice providing individual, marital, and sex therapy.
A native of Somerset, MA, Knecht studied psychology while at UMass Amherst. He was drafted in 1965, choosing to enlist in the Navy. “When I was at UMass my studies mostly pertained to human resources,” said Knecht, “but the Navy saw psychology and put me on a 48-bed, locked psychiatric unit. I didn’t know anything about psychiatry, but when they locked the doors, you learn pretty quickly. Basically, that experience became my career.”
After serving at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital for three years, Knecht was in Viet Nam for a year on a Hospital Ship, worked in community mental health in Philadelphia, and then attended the Tulane University School of Social Work to earn his master’s degree in 1973. For the next twenty years he worked at the Manchester Mental Health Center in New Hampshire until 1993 when he was able to satisfy his love for New Orleans, and move to the city to coordinate a hospital pain management program.
“Each person that lived through the storm continues to deal with it on a daily basis,” said Knecht. “In addition to personal loss, many people are affected by the destruction that is still evident around the city and the slow recovery process. They used to call this the Big Easy, but for those people who lived through Katrina, it’s not the Big Easy anymore.”
Yet, the city has been enveloped with a new enthusiasm since the New Orleans Saints won a spot in the upcoming Superbowl. The mantra of “who dat” can be heard everywhere you go. “There were grown men crying at that game,” said Knecht, “not just because the Saints were going to the Superbowl, but because it’s like vindication in some sense. We’ve been through so much and it really is an emotional response for the city as a whole.”
Knecht has maintained his UMass Amherst connection by serving as an Alumni Admissions volunteer for the past 10 years. “I have very fond memories of UMass Amherst,” he recalled, “especially the fourth floor of Wheeler dormitory. We became very close over the years.”
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Hadley has been the president of the Southern Political Science Association and editor of the American Review of Politics. In addition to his long teaching and administrative career in New Orleans, he has lectured in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, and Hungary. He has authored numerous books including Political Parties and Political Issues: Patterns of Differentiation Since the New Deal and Transformations of the American Party System: Political Coalitions from the New Deal to the 1970s (a Book of the Month Club selection in its 1st edition) and Women’s PACs: Abortions and Elections (with Christine L. Day, a colleague who succeeded him as department chair after his retirement.) He continues to teach for gratis in Europe, principally at Charles University in Prague, as well as the Universität Innsbruck, Austria, this past fall.
According to Hadley, political cronyism and incompetent management have hampered the city’s recovery thus far. With no overriding public or government plan to rebuild the city and its neighborhoods, the recovery has primarily moved forward thanks to the efforts of charitable groups, faith-based initiatives, and volunteers. “The City Counsel is finally getting serious,” said Hadley. “They dedicated the funds to establish an Office of Inspector General to look over the shoulder of everyone in city government to make sure everything is honest. I think that’s a monumental plus.”
As a member of the New Orleans Coalition, a bi-racial organization promoting good government by endorsing candidates or positions it considers most beneficial for the city, Hadley remains hopeful for the future. “I try to be a good citizen and contribute however I can, like leading New Orleans Recovery Tours for volunteers who stay at my church,” said Hadley. He’s also helped found and has been involved in his Irish Channel neighborhood association to preserve historic architecture. For fun, Hadley, “hangs around Deutsches Haus and volunteers in its annual 5-weekend Oktoberfest, rides in the Krewe of Endymion, kept alive the Krewe of Coleen (started by his friend and noted children’s author, Coleen Salley) as its last Captain, and rides in the Mystic Krewe of Druids.”
Hadley still values the solid academic foundation he received at UMass Amherst. He is a Life Member of the Alumni Association, having served on its Board of Directors and as a past New Orleans Alumni Club leader. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Friends of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries and has been an Alumni Admission volunteer from its inception in 1980.
By Elena Lamontagne
February 3, 2010
