NPHS Reunion Interview: Marc Lerner, Class of 1969. "I was told Woodstock was where kosher chickens were raised, not my social consciousness"

Marc Lerner in high school

Where do you live now and where have you been living the past 50 years?

I live in a home on the campus of University or California Irvine in a community built to assist faculty to afford housing in southern. California.  We are between Los Angeles and San Diego, and a few miles from Newport Beach, CA (the “OC”).  I have lived only in cities associated with my training in pediatrics (Rutgers / New Brunswick), New York City (Mount Sinai School of Medicine), Toronto (Hospital for Sick Children), Boston (Boston Children’s Hospital) and then moved to Mission Viejo and Irvine in California. 

Tell us a little about your career.

I am an academic pediatrician at the University of California, Irvine (UCI).  I specialize in development and behavior, and have worked with children surviving extreme prematurity, experiencing learning disabilities and most recently in the area of autistic spectrum and related disorders.  My UCI research focuses on ADHD and the relative impact of medication vs. behavioral treatments in children. Our team worked to create long acting ADHD treatments (Concerta, Strattera, Adderall XR, etc.). I spent five years as the medical officer for Orange County, CA, schools and am the current Chair of the  Council on School Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

What was your sense of community at NPHS?  And who or what influenced you the most?

I was an immature, socially ineffective student and part of a fairly invisible group of great guys who enjoyed each other and a range of activities (cross country, band, etc.).  I was influenced by some of the bright students from our class (Kevin Ashley stands out) and felt supported by some of our great teachers (Evelyn Abrams) but the biggest influence was Mr. McKenna, our biology teacher and cross-country coach.  Mr. McKenna made a strong impression on our class one day when his lesson was disrupted by a large fly in the classroom.  As I recall, he would shoot rubber bands at sleeping students and on this day, he loaded up, took aim and took out the fly in one shot.  I enjoyed the class, admired Coach and left high school with the plan to become a high school biology teacher.  I recall fondly hanging out in the locker room with my cross-country teammates. We had more fun than should be allowed for a team with a 1-16 dual meet record (all of our real track athletes in the fall were on the soccer and football fields).  But I was so grateful to have an excuse to avoid being home after school.  I was proud to join my teammate, Carl Christiansen (the flying NPHS Norweigan) as a member of our team’s 1000 mile (run in practice) club, which was recognized with a t-shirt and a life time of knee pain. 

How did growing up at a child of the 60s – and all the social baggage and impact that it may have entailed – impact you at the time and in your young adult years? 

I totally missed any action as a child of the sixties.  I was told that Woodstock was the area where kosher chickens were raised, not my social consciousness.  As a college freshman, I found a voice and in April 1970, participated in protests that led to the shutdown of Rutgers following the US invasion of Cambodia.  I came back to NPHS, met with a few teachers and then with students to share our passion to end the war in Vietnam.

Explain why you and your wife Karen were in Vietnam in 2016 (see photo below).

We were on a medical mission to Vietnam for Project Vietnam.  The goal of the organization is to support change on behalf of children’s health. Nearly 100 children had cleft lip and palate repairs by our team as they trained Vietamese surgical teams at Military Hospital 175  in Ho Chi Minh City.  We delivered educational programs for Vietnamese physicians, psychologists and educators at the Children’s Hospitals in the North and South, and at the teachers college on ADHD, ASD and learning issues.  We then visited a series of small schools for disabled children and met with child advocates.  Quite an experience (and great food!).  

Marc and Karen Lerner, Hoàn Kiem Lake, Hanoi, March 2016