Salus Lighthouse Award Inaugural Recipient

Inaugural Recipient: The Honorable Risa Vetri Ferman
Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas

Since its inception, Salus University has been dedicated to protecting, promoting, and improving health and well-being through the delivery of outstanding health sciences education, leading-edge research, patient care, and community service to diverse populations in the United States and worldwide. The “Looking Out for Kids” (LOFK) vision care initiative was created in 2007 and is emblematic of the Salus mission to make a difference in the communities we serve in Philadelphia and its surrounding communities. In reflection and recognition of the continuing success of this program, Salus University has created the Lighthouse Award for stellar, selfless, path finding community service. Those nominated are beacons of light and sources of strength in the community in which they live, work, and serve above and beyond their occupations. Annually one or more Lighthouse Award recipients will be nominated, selected and then honored for their extraordinary service that substantially benefits the health and well-being of disadvantaged and underserved children and youth in the greater Philadelphia area.

Salus University is pleased to present the inaugural Lighthouse Award for Community Service to The Honorable Risa Vetri Ferman. This award is presented in recognition of a lifetime of tireless advocacy for and commitment to uplifting all vulnerable children and families in and beyond Montgomery County. This honor is awarded in conjunction with and commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the LOFK program, which provides transformational community-based vision screening and treatment services to economically disadvantaged children.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman is a trial court judge in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. She was elected in 2015 and took the bench in January 2016. She is currently assigned to the Family Division. Prior to her election as Judge, Ferman was elected to two terms as the District Attorney of Montgomery County. As District Attorney, she served eight (8) years as the chief law-enforcement officer of the county.

Before becoming District Attorney, Judge Ferman spent fifteen (15) years working in the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office as a court room prosecutor, specializing in homicide, child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence cases. For six years she served as First Assistant District Attorney, the second in command of the office. Judge Ferman co-founded two nonprofit charities to protect and support abused children, Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center and the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project (MCAP). Judge Ferman wrote two children's books, "The Mouse Who Went Surfing Alone" and "The Mouse Who Beat the Jungle Bullies." Both books were conceived as teaching tools to educate youngsters and their parents about dangers online and how to deal with bullies.