Watching Over Rwandans: A Memoir

Ilene Sheffer was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and earned her bachelor of arts degree from Hunter College in New York City with a major in sociology and a minor in elementary education. She earned a master of arts in teaching and a doctorate in educational administration from Western Michigan University. Dr. Sheffer taught elementary school in New York, Philadelphia, and Michigan. She was a community school director, secondary school principal, a community college dean of admissions, and Vice President for Community Services and Development at Southwestern Michigan College, and the Vice President of Public Affairs and University Advancement at Indiana University South Bend. In retirement, Dr. Sheffer is the chief campaign strategist for the new Ronald McDonald House Michiana. Michael Snyder earned a bachelor's degree in music, with a concentration in vocal performance, from The Catholic University of America, and a master's degree in liberal studies from Indiana University South Bend. A lyric tenor, he continues to concertize and also teaches singing. His short stories, articles, arts reviews, and commentaries have appeared in numerous journals, magazines, and newspapers. Watching Over Rwandans is his first book. He is president of From the Prairie Publications, Inc., in South Bend, Indiana.