Official District Governor Visit
Aug 12, 2020 12:15 PM
District 7475 Governor Dr. M. Ann Walko
Official District Governor Visit

Dr. M. Ann Walko has been a life -long educator with over fifty years of teaching and administrative experience. Currently a professor in the School of Education at Kean University in Union, NJ, she holds a B.A. degree in Elementary Education from Kean University as well as a Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Kean with additional work at Temple University. She held a National Science Foundation Grant in Mathematics at the University of Delaware, received an Arbitration and Negotiations certificate from the Rutgers Labor Center and a Doctorate from Rutgers University. She teaches on both the graduate and undergraduate divisions at the university where she also held a number of administrative posts. Before joining the faculty, she served as the Executive Assistant to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and serves on a host of committees to help make Kean an environment for student learning. She was also honored as the Distinguished Alumni of the year in 2017. 

Ann is a national and international speaker and workshop presenter in the areas of educational topics, the education of women in other cultures, the role of women in the military, ethnicity, leadership, public affairs and the media, and aerospace education. She served as an ambassador to China on several occasions speaking on behalf of women’s issues and education. She has been to Russia to view the Space Program at Star City sponsored by the World Aerospace Congress. 

Her work with UNICO includes serving as the first female president of the Plainfields’ Chapter, first female to serve as the First Alternate Deputy District Governor for District X as well as serving on the national level as the Membership and Retention Officer, Scholarship Committee, the Ella Grasso Awards Committee, Marconi Awards Committee and chair of the Armed Services and the Americanism committees. She was the recipient of the Plainfields’ Chapter Americanism Award, and the District and National Americanism Awards. Moving through the chairs as 1st, 2nd and Executive Vice-President of UNICO, she became only the second female to serve as National President in 98 years of UNICO’s founding. 

As a Rotarian, she has been a Paul Harris Fellow for a third time and presented with the Four Avenues of Service Award from international. In addition to her work as an Assistant Governor, she served as the President of the Watchung Warren Club. Ann has worked with others on the Vocational Assembly events, the District Assembly and District conferences as well as 

participating in International conferences. Ann has also served for several years as the Director of the Membership and Public Image Committee and the Awards and Recognition Committee for the district. She is also a member of the PETS Committee where she served as secretary. 

A high-ranking officer for the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the United States Air Force, Ann has garnered the highest awards leading to the rank of Lt. Col. She has also embarked on training in the area of Homeland Security and has completed training in the area of Weapons of Mass Destruction given by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology under the Department of Homeland Security and the Union County Division on Homeland Security in conjunction with the National Preparedness Consortium having completed a course dealing with Critical Infrastructure Key Resources Awareness. 

As a community leader, she has been cited for her work from the Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs, the Child Placement Review Board for her advocacy on behalf of the children of New Jersey-to name a few. She is the only female in the State of New Jersey to receive the Minuteman and Minute Woman statues for her work on behalf of veterans. 

She is listed in Community Leaders and Noteworthy Americans, Personalities of America, the Book of Honor, Who’s Who in American Women and the International Who’s Who of American Women. 

Due to Covid 19 this year's visit will be virtual so please watch your email for instructions on how to log in.