Olivia Ann Ferrante Recognized for Excellence in Education

Ms. Ferrante is currently active as a publicist for the Animal Umbrella cat shelter

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Apr 17, 2019, 10:01 ET

REVERE, Mass., April 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Olivia Ann Ferrante is a distinguished biographee of Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are chosen from among a pool of the most prominent professionals and are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Currently retired, Ms. Ferrante is an accomplished history teacher who spent over two decades as a teacher for blind students and remains active with the Revere High School as a consultant to the Revere PTA and as a member of the Steven J. Rich scholarship committee. Embarking on her career as the chair of the braille department of the National Braille Press in Boston in 1971, she began her work as a traveling teacher of the visually impaired in 1974. Concluding her career with Revere High School, Ms. Ferrante contributed her skills to over 50 schools across the country between 1974 and 1992.

Visually impaired herself, Ms. Ferrante pursued a career as a teacher for the visually impaired because she felt that her own experiences with her disability would contribute well to her ability to teach students in similar situations. Attributing her success to her parents' encouragement and support over the years, she also feels that she would not have succeeded without the consolation, energy and strength her Catholic faith has brought her. Earning a Bachelor of Arts from Regis College in Weston in 1970, she obtained a Master of Education from Boston College in Newton the following year. Between 1974 and 1982, Ms. Ferrante completed additional postgraduate coursework at Middlebury College in Vermont, Boston College and Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.

A regular contributor of articles to professional journals throughout her career, Ms. Ferrante was notably interviewed on the Turning Point Radio Station. A staunch activist for disability rights and accessibility, she has submitted several proposals to her local government which have been accepted. Ms. Ferrante's proposals have led to significant accessibility increases in her community, including brighter street lights, audio pedestrian signals, a police sub-station in her neighborhood and accessibility for individuals with special needs at the local movie theater, which was the first of its kind in Massachusetts.

Ms. Ferrante has also given back to her community in a number of other ways as well. Currently active as a publicist with the Animal Umbrella cat shelter and the Share Magazine of the Catholic Daughters of America, she has been a lecturer for the Revere Commission on Disabilities, a mentor at the Braille Institute of America and a sponsor for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults since 1995. She is also involved with the Massachusetts Commission on the Blind, Historic Massachusetts, the Catholic League, the Peregrine Fund and the Center for Marine Preservation, among many others. Previously, Ms. Ferrante was active with the National Braille Literacy Project, Birthright International, the Radio Reading Service for the Blind, A Woman's Concern and numerous other organizations.

A lifetime member and vice president of the Revere Society for Cultural and Historic Preservation since 1988, Ms. Ferrante has maintained affiliation with several organizations to remain up to date with developments in her field. A longstanding member of the National Education Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Revere Teachers Association, she also holds membership with the National Catholic Association for Persons with Visual Impairment, the National Writers Union and Amnesty International. For excellence in her career and civic endeavors, Ms. Ferrante was presented with an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and named a Marquis Who's Who Top Professional, Distinguished Humanitarian and Industry Leader in 2018.

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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America^®, Marquis Who's Who^® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America^® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis^® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who^® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.

SOURCE Marquis Who's Who