JUDGE TEODOSIO WINS DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN AWARD

A portion of the Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity Purpose reads, “To understand that wisdom be vouchsafed to me; to welcome the opportunity of contributing to the world’s work in the community where I am placed because of the joy of service…”

Perhaps that passage, more than anything else, best describes Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio’s philosophy in her 25 years of legal service, the past eight years of which have been spent on the bench. It was because of her program innovation and community-mindedness that the Alpha Gamma Delta International Chapter was compelled to name Judge Teodosio as one of four Distinguished Citizen Award winners. She was cited for her work in the field of Government/Law. The Munroe Falls resident received the honor at the fraternity’s international convention held June 22-25 in Indian Wells, CA.

According to the Alpha Gamma Delta guidelines, the Distinguished Citizen Awards are given to fraternity alumna who have made outstanding contributions and achievements in their professions, given outstanding volunteer service in their community or religious faith and demonstrated in their personal lives the possession of high ideals.

Linda Tucci pledged The University of Akron’s Omega Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta in 1977 following her graduation from Canton’s Glenwood High School. She graduated summa cum laude from the UA in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. She was accepted into the university’s School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctor in 1982.

Judge Teodosio remained active in the Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity following graduation, serving as the Omega Alumnae Chapter’s president, permanent secretary, treasurer and altruistic chairperson. She also served as president of its House Association and sat on the Board of Directors. Judge Teodosio’s service to the local chapter earned her the Sheila Danilov Award for outstanding alumnae service and two awards for service from the international fraternity.

Judge Teodosio is the first member of UA’s Omega Chapter to win the Distinguished Citizen Award, which has been bestowed to AGr alumnae annually since 1959.

Judge Teodosio worked in private practice, served as Magistrate with Akron Municipal Court and as staff attorney for the Ninth District Court of Appeals before her election as Judge of Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court in 1997. She was elected to her current position as Judge of the Summit County Juvenile Court in November 2002 and began her administration of the Court in January 2003.

In her tenure, thus far, Judge Teodosio’s innovative programming at the Court has received praise and, in one particular instance, national attention. Judge Teodosio’s Crossroads Program has been recognized as a viable model for its treatment of youth suffering from co-occurring disorders and its collaboration with area agencies. This specialty docket of the Juvenile Court deals with youth that have an affective mental health disorder such as major depression and bipolar disorder, are substance dependent or both.

In the past year and a half, Judge Teodosio has been invited to speak to national audiences in New York, Bethesda, Santa Monica, Boston, Denver, Hershey, PA and to a national teleconference sponsored by the GAINS Center.  In December 2005, Crossroads was recognized as The Program of the Year in by the Summit County Mental Health Association and it received The Friend of the Family Award from the Ohio Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in Dublin, Ohio in April 2006.

Judge Teodosio was also cited for many other programs she has initiated at the Court, such as the Teen Court, the expansion of the Court library and Project: Greenhouse Affect, which introduces detainees to the methods and skills of gardening and landscaping.

Her community involvement is extensive. Judge Teodosio has served as a member or volunteer for over 50 civic and professional organizations, boards and committees, including President of the Board of Governors for the Akron Bar Association Foundation and The University of Akron School of Law Alumni Association. She has also been a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board, the Catholic Youth Organization, First Friday Club of Greater Akron and the county’s Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board.

In recognition of her community service, she has been recognized as the Public Official of the Year for both District 2 (Summit County) and the State of Ohio by the National Association of Social Workers, received the Award of Achievement from the Six District Educational Compact and was the recipient of the Harold B. Stubbs Humanitarian Award for Government. Previously, she has been named Business Person of the Year by the Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce and one of the most influential women in Northeast Ohio by Northern Ohio Live magazine.

Still, when she got word of the Alpha Gamma Delta recognition, she was more than a little surprised.

“Alpha Gamma Delta’s Distinguished Citizen Award is one of those honors that other people get. I never dreamed that I’d be chosen,” said Judge Teodosio. “I was honored and humbled at the same time. To be a part of such an amazing list of women who have won this award in the past is something I’ll cherish forever.”