The Manheim Township Alumni Association has named the 2021 recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award. The winners are Maribeth Bisienere, Class of 1979; Dr. Suzanne Landis, Class of 1970; and Aaron Pallas, Class of 1975.

The 2021 winners were asked to submit a video message to be presented to graduates on June 3. This year's winners will be invited to an in-person reception next year.

Bisienere is the senior vice president of resorts, transportation, premium services, security, and the food and beverage line of business for the Walt Disney World Resort. Previously, she was the senior vice president of Walt Disney World Parks and animals, science, and environment, overseeing all four theme parks. She was closely involved in various redevelopment and expansion projects, as well. During her more than 20 years with Disney, she has held leadership positions in diverse businesses across the organization.

Among her community involvements, Bisienere has served as executive champion for the Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Diversity Resource Group and launched the inaugural International Women's Day conference at Walt Disney World Resort.

She attended Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania and completed the Hotel General Managers Program at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Landis has worked to train young physicians, to reorganize primary care services to better suit the needs of elderly patients and their families, and to design and implement a structured charity care program for low-income uninsured persons.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Landis completed an internal medicine residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then worked for the National Health Service Corps. Landis obtained a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Fellowship.

She joined the faculty of UNC in 1986 and is a tenured professor emeritus. She currently works with the new internal medicine residency program at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville.

Pallas is the Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology and Education and chair of the department of education policy and social analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. He has also taught at Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Northwestern University, and he served as a statistician at the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education. He has also served in a variety of capacities in professional organizations.

He attended the University of Virginia and received his doctorate in sociology from Johns Hopkins University.

For information on making a donation in honor of one of the Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, email administrator@mtef.net.