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SEMERAD ROGER D. SEMERAD Roger D. Semerad, a creative corporate and public sector executive, as well as an artist, craftsman, model train and car buff, sailor, hockey player and storyteller, died on October 13, 2012 from complications of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Mr. Semerad concentrated his career on improving public school education with the goal of producing what he termed a more "agile" workforce for America. He served four US Presidents - influencing the course of education and labor policy. As a senior executive at American Express and RJR Nabisco and as a senior consultant at IBM he directed innovative corporate philanthropy programs to inspire reform in public education. Mr. Semerad co-authored several books including: Workforce 2000, Workforce 2020, and Reinventing Education. He served on numerous boards including those of the Hudson and Brookings Institutions. He was the founding Chairman of 70001 Ltd., a youth employment organization that was highly successful in developing public/ private partnerships in over 30 states to help thousands of disadvantaged "at risk" kids get GED degrees and the necessary social and job skills to lead productive lives. At the Republican National Committee Mr. Semerad served as Executive Secretary of the innovative Policy Advisory Councils and as Executive Director of the 1980 Republican Platform Committee that under his leadership held hearings around the country in preparation for the Convention that year. Mr. Semerad played 30 years of ice hockey and coached youth teams in the Washington area. He was a devoted "car guy" collecting and restoring exotic automobiles and he founded the Gunston Hall Antique Car Show that became a major regional annual event. As a model train aficionado he constructed intricate railroad layouts wherever he lived - ultimately donating his life's work to the Piedmont Railroad Club to be used in their restoration project of an historical train station in Remington, Virginia. Mr. Semerad came to Washington in 1966 as a Fellow with the US Office of Education where he conducted the study that led to "dyslexia" being defined and named as a learning disability. He was a member of the Metropolitan Club, served in the US Army Reserves and was a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Kate Semerad of Washington, DC, their daughter Samantha Guerry, her husband Bill, and a grandson Will of Bethesda, MD. His sister Deane Pfeil, her husband Jeff, and many nieces and nephews also survive him. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations in his memory be made to the TurnFirst Foundation, founded by his daughter as an on-line site assisting newly diagnosed MS patients (www.turnfirst.org). A memorial service will be held at Christ Church Georgetown at 3116 O St., Washington, DC on November 2, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.
Published in The Washington Post on Oct. 17, 2012 |