Special Recognition
D. Jean Ortega-Piron
Addison Trail High School
Class of 1974
Ms. Jean Ortega-Piron began her career in human services in
1980 as a law clerk for the Illinois Department of Mental Health and
Developmental Disabilities. From 1980 to 1987 she served in a variety of
attorney positions for that agency, including General Counsel. She was appointed
guardian of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on
September 3, 1996. She spearheaded a reform for the office of DCFS that created
the office of the guardian that would advocate for the wards of the state at the
executive level. In this position she is the court appointed legal guardian of
all abused and neglected children committed to DCFS. She currently serves as the
legal guardian for over 24,000 children and serves as a policy formulating
executive manager.
Conrad Chao
Addison Trail High School
Class of 1974 - UPDATE INFO CLICK HERE
Conrad Chao is conducting biomedical research
on the fetal brain where he is searching for causes of such congenital brain
disorders as cerebral palsy. He has received grants from the National Institute
of Health and the American Heart Association. He is currently using his
expertise as a perinatologist networking with neurological researchers to
further advances in this field. Conrad has been featured in Who's Who is Science
and Engineering and recently was asked to review grants for the National
Institute of Health.
In his position as director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Subspecialty Training
Program at UCLA he also teaches and supervised medical residents and fellows
(post-doctoral specialists). He has written numerous articles in clinical and
scientific journals.