Carol Schaefer Human Services Award
Carol Demuth Schaefer is a retired psychotherapist who maintained a private practice in Ridgewood, N.J. and was a clinical instructor at the Yale Child Study Center where she supervised and taught master level social workers and psychologists. Still active in the field, she is a member of the Executive Council of the Yale Child Study Center.
A first generation college student, Carol graduated from Ramapo College in 1984 and received the President’s Award of Merit in 1997. She currently serves on the Foundation’s Board of Governors. In 1987 she instituted the Carol D. Schaefer Human Services Award to encourage students to continue with graduate studies in the mental health field. Carol is extremely grateful for the opportunity and encouragement she received at Ramapo as a returning student and wanted to pass that opportunity on to others going into the mental health field.
Given her continued interest in mental health and healing, Carol also serves on the Board of PerDev Perceptual Development Center in New York City, which diagnoses and treats individuals with learning differences.
Because of Mrs. Schaefer’s interest in and love of music, she is on the Board of the New York Philharmonic and Chair of the Patron Program and Patrons Tours since 1995. She also serves on the Board of The Little Orchestra Society in New York, which engages audiences of all ages in live music experiences.
Carol is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hackensack University Medical Center and she and her husband Chuck are committed to making a difference by advancing research and treatment in heart disease by instituting a fellowships program for the Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension Programs.
Carol and Chuck have been married for 60 years and reside in Franklin Lakes, N.J. They are the parents of three children, Carolyn Weininger, Charles Schaefer and the late Betsy Fitzmaurice, and three grandchildren, Rachael Weininger, Zachary Fitzmaurice, and Katherine Fitzmaurice. Making a difference is the family mantra and Ramapo certainly has done that in Carol’s life.