(Vol. 114 No. 1) Text (PDF) - Spelman College: Home

Greer Geiger, C’76skipping his Health Careers Summer Program and going toBoston’s New England Deaconess Hospital and doing biochemicalsynthesis in a project designed to identify patientsat risk for breast cancer, instead. Her professional trainingwhich, in addition to Harvard included the University of Californiaat San Francisco and Johns Hopkins, has involvedextensive research on corneal diseases and retinal surgery.“I really enjoy the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ aspect of retinawork, which involves a constant struggle to come up withan explanation for apparently inexplicable cases of visionloss,” said Dr. Geiger.Greer Geiger, M.D., C’76Greer Geiger is chairperson of the Ophthalmology Sectionof the National Medical Association and president of theAlabama Academy of Ophthalmology. She routinely volunteersfor public health projects and mentors countless Birminghamstudents.“Counselors and instructors at Spelman took interest inyour capabilities, sometimes those you didn’t realize youhad,” said Dr. Geiger, who earned her medical degree atHarvard. “I have followed that example when I talk to students,and I also tell them their education is the ticket tohaving choices in life.”Dr. Geiger, whose father, Gus, operated a medical practicefor many years in Atlanta, is on the Board of the JeffersonCounty Medical Society and the Health DepartmentBoard. The senior Dr. Geiger and his wife, Dorothy, were1950 graduates of Morehouse and Spelman.“I take public health related issues very personallybecause many of our patients aren’t educated about whatthey’re doing healthwise, and we’ve got to be their advocates,”she said. “The quality of care affects the quality oflife. We owe it to our patients to provide better educationabout their choices.”Dr. Geiger’s own mentor — the late Dr. Henry McBay, aMorehouse chemistry professor and teaching legend —always urged her to try more challenging experiences. LikeSondra Rhoades Johnson, C’76After taking 20 girls on an overnight visit to Zoo Atlanta,Sondra Rhoades Johnson came to a revelation that wouldlead her to a more committed involvement with Girl Scouts,whom she later served as board president in Atlanta.“The animals in the Zoo had better housing and bettermedical care than the 20 girls — who were sponsored bythe Atlanta Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 BlackWomen,” she said.Ms. Johnson, whose professional career includes managementinformation systems positions with IBM and Coca-Cola and a stint as Fulton County’s tax commissioner, hadalready developed an impressive list of volunteer activitiesbefore being chosen as CEO of the Girl Scout Council ofSt.Croix Valley (St. Paul, Minnesota). She had held boardpositions with the YWCA, the Atlanta Preservation Center,the National Black Arts Festival and Exodus Cities inSchools and memberships in Leadership Atlanta, LeadershipGeorgia and Leadership America.Her signature program with the North Georgia GirlScout Council was the Juvenile Justice Program, whichsought out those girls who had run-ins with the law andwere considered unruly by parents and teachers to see ifinvolvement in Girl Scouting would make a difference intheir lives.“We have to be able to create programs to meet theneeds of a girl, regardless of what her life situation may be,”said Ms. Johnson. “I have seen the potential of what thisprogram can be. If you’re going to have long-term change,you have to lay the foundation.”Although she only arrived in St. Paul in 1998, theDetroit, Michigan, native has raised two-thirds of the $11million capital fund campaign goal for the Council and hastaken on the co-chairperson’s role in the St. Paul AreaUnited Way agency campaign for 1999-2000.Josephine Harreld Love, C’33A child prodigy who began giving piano concerts at 12 yearsof age, Josephone Harreld Love, the daughter of noted composerand African American music scholar and former SpelmanGlee Club director Kemper Harreld, was a co-founder14S P E L M A N M E S S E N G E R