The Gallery of Success celebrates outstanding professional achievement, inspiring students toward their future.

Beasley School of Law

Nadeem A. Bezar
JD ’91

Nadeem A. Bezar, a partner at Kline & Specter, is a distinguished and highly skilled attorney who has secured numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements. He is also an active participant in both the legal and educational communities. His practice focuses on catastrophic personal injury cases, as well as those involving child abuse, human trafficking, sexual assault and Title IX violations on college and university campuses.

While renowned for his courtroom expertise, Bezar has also earned a reputation for the genuine empathy he extends to his clients.

Over the years, he has secured significant financial recoveries for hundreds of clients and received a collection of heartfelt letters and keepsakes from those he has helped.

In just one year, Bezar secured more than $100 million in arbitration awards and settlements, primarily in cases involving sex trafficking and the abuse of minors. Notably, in February 2024, he obtained a $24.5 million arbitration award against North American Motor Inns on behalf of two teenage girls who were victims of human trafficking and forced into prostitution at a Philadelphia hotel.

Most recently, in October 2024, he achieved a $9.4 million settlement from a child welfare agency and a hotel on behalf of a woman who was sexually abused and trafficked as a teenager. That same month, he secured an $8 million settlement for two girls—one of whom tragically died—who suffered physical and sexual abuse after a child welfare agency placed them in a home with a known child sex offender.

College of Education and Human Development

Sharmain W. Matlock-Turner
BSEd ’97

Sharmain Matlock-Turner is the CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC), where she has led transformative work in Philadelphia since 1999 as the first woman to head the organization. Under her leadership, UAC has become a powerhouse for change, uniting over 50 partner organizations to improve the quality of life for underserved communities, address poverty and support wealth-building initiatives. Matlock-Turner’s tenure has seen UAC successfully manage over $1 billion in public and private funds, driving impact through youth development, economic inclusion, community safety and nonprofit capacity building.

Matlock-Turner serves as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where she formally served as deputy chair. She is a founding member of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors and co-founder of the Civic Coalition to Save Lives.

She also co-founded and is president emeritus of the West Oak Lane Charter School. She serves on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, PECO, Uplift Solutions, Entrepreneur Works, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

Her recent honors include the Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania award, the 2023 Philadelphia Award and the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO Award. A Philadelphia native, Matlock-Turner remains dedicated to empowering communities and creating sustainable opportunities for future generations.

College of Liberal Arts

Hon. Marlene F. Lachman
BA ’68

Judge Lachman was elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 1995 and reelected in 2005 and 2015. Before going on the bench she served as prothonotary of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and assistant deputy general counsel, Office of General Counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Judge Lachman formerly practiced as a civil litigator at Bernstein, Bernstein and Harrison and at Mesirov, Gelman, Jaffe, Cramer and Jamison in the areas of medical malpractice, products liability and general commercial litigation. 

She has been active in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American Bar associations, having served on the Board of Governors and as chair of the YLS of the Philadelphia Bar Association and in the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

 Judge Lachman has also served as a hearing panel member for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board, and as parliamentarian of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks. 

She is involved in numerous professional and civic organizations and has served on various boards including the boards of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Gratz College, Board of Visitors of the Temple College of Liberal Arts and the University of Pennsylvania Law Alumni Board of Managers. 

Judge Lachman is a frequent lecturer on trial practice. In the Court of Common Pleas she organized the training program for new judges, and chaired the Judicial Education, Civil Rules and Access to Justice committees.

College of Science and Technology

Dr. Colleen A. Edwards
BA ’80

Colleen Edwards, MD, is a recently retired hematologist with over 30 years of experience treating benign and malignant hematology as well as an instructor in medical education. Her expertise includes treating chronic leukemia and lymphoma, sickle cell disease and hemophilia.

Dr. Edwards came from rural Pennsylvania to Temple University where she earned a BA in biology. An excellent student, she was awarded both the James A. Harrison Memorial Award in Biology as well as the Alumni Association Outstanding Achievement Award. She attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She was a diplomate in the American Board of Internal Medicine for both medicine and hematology.

Dr. Edwards was an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and at the Ichan School of Medicine in New York.

She was also the co-director of the Hematology Clinic at Mount Sinai. In 2022 Dr. Edwards and her husband established a four-year, full-tuition merit scholarship to support a College of Science and Technology student.

Kornberg School of Dentistry

Dr. Joseph Agris
DDS ’65

Dr. Joseph Agris has attended medical missions around the world for decades, providing basic medical care and much-needed reconstructive surgery to children and adults. He has also provided critical instruction and education to hundreds of physicians and surgeons at various medical institutions throughout the world.

Dr. Agris received his undergraduate degree in engineering from Rutgers University. He is a proud 1965 graduate of the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry where he received a DDS with honors. He is also a graduate of Albany Medical College where he obtained his MD.

Dr. Agris additionally served as a lieutenant commander in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, where he was chief of surgery.

Dr. Agris established the first plastic surgery program at the Federal Correctional Institution in Long Beach, California, in conjunction with the University of California at Irvine. Outside of his medical mission, Dr. Agris is an accomplished author. He also tends to a backyard menagerie that includes miniature horses, deer, black swans, a donkey, two alpacas and a small lake. He resides in Bellaire, Texas and volunteers at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where his wife Terry is a board member.

School of Podiatric Medicine

Dr. Mark E. Pinker
DPM ’82

Dr. Mark Pinker is a leading podiatrist in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, providing expert care to local patients. Raised in Buffalo, New York, he graduated from Canisius College in 1978 with a degree in biology before attending the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine (TUSPM). Dr. Pinker considered multiple medical fields but ultimately chose to pursue his interest in podiatry at TUSPM due to its academic rigor and clinical opportunities compared to other schools.

After graduating from TUSPM in 1982, Dr. Pinker completed a yearlong residency at the Lebanon VA Hospital in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and was the program’s first resident following its establishment. Dr. Pinker later received his board certification in 1989.

Following his residency, Dr. Pinker established his own care practice and now partners with Dr. Mark Golec, a fellow TUSPM graduate, to provide care to patients within the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, area.

He has also assisted nearby hospitals with credentialing of podiatrists and podiatric surgical procedures over the course of his career. He is an active member of the Pennsylvania Podiatric Medical Association and served as president from 1999 to 2000. Dr. Pinker has been an active member of the APMA House of Delegates for 30 years.

School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

Drew Golin
BS ’00

Drew Golin is a leader in workforce empowerment, business development and staffing innovation. Soon after graduating, Golin found his professional and personal calling when he joined his wife, Sara, at her apartment staffing firm. For 17 years, he played a pivotal role in scaling the company into an industry leader before its sale. The hospitality training Golin received at Temple was instrumental in servicing thousands of apartment communities nationwide.

He led teams that trained and placed thousands of people in leasing, concierge and maintenance roles, helping them build successful careers in the multifamily industry.  

Golin then launched a light industrial staffing firm, where he leveraged technology to amplify the voices of frontline workers. He introduced groundbreaking initiatives such as same-day pay and comprehensive training programs designed to help workers thrive. In 2023, he sold the company, further cementing his legacy as a leader in the staffing industry.  Today, Golin serves as chief operating officer of Dealerflex, the premier automotive staffing solution, where he continues to drive workforce development.

Beyond his professional achievements, Golin and his wife, Sara, are proud parents to two children, Robert and Cassidy. Their home is never complete without their two rescue pups, reflecting their deep passion for animal adoption and advocacy.  Golin credits his success to his professor for life, Jeffrey Montague, and legendary basketball coach John Chaney, with whom he worked as a student manager—an experience that shaped his belief in lifting others and surrounding yourself with great people.