His focus has been on assisting refugees by leading resettlement efforts in the church community in greater Philadelphia.
JENKINTOWN, PA, July 03, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- William Erat has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
With more than 40 years of professional experience, Mr. Erat has served in his post retirement career as the chief recruitment officer for Erat Enterprises, his unincorporated entity, since 2011. In this role, he has used his expertise in working with volunteers to provide resources, including materials and personnel, to families and organizations in need. His focus has been on assisting refugees by leading resettlement efforts in the church community in greater Philadelphia. Erat served on the founding Board of Feast of Justice, a group providing food for the needy in Northeast Philadelphia. He has taught English as a second language and recruited others to do this at Welcome Home, Philadelphia. Currently he leads FARM, the Faith Alliance for Refugees in Montgomery County, and he continues to co-lead a yearly Oktoberfest event, raising money for disaster response, and playing accordion in Happy Henrik's Musikanten. Prior to his post-retirement career, he served as the executive vice president and executive director of Liberty Lutheran from 2001-2010, as executive director of Lutheran Children and Family Service of Eastern Pennsylvania from 1985 to 2008, as director of children's services for Lutheran Social Services of New England (Ascentria Care Alliance), formerly known as the Lutheran Service Association of New England, from 1974 to 1985.
Intending initially to pursue a career as a nuclear physicist, Mr. Erat obtained a full scholarship to attend Valparaiso University as the first in his family to attend college. However, while studying, he found that he had a passion for psychology and switched majors, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in that field. He also had a religious experience and felt called to the ministry, so he studied at Westfield House of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, completing a degree for a Master of Divinity in 1966. He continued his studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, receiving a Master of Divinity in 1969. He was accepted into the doctoral program of Social Psychology at Boston University, earning an MA in psychology in 1971. Continuing doctoral studies, he completed two years of internship at a VA hospital and at the Brockton District Court in Massachusetts, working with veterans as well as school children. Later in his career, Mr. Erat returned to his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his Master of Science in organizational dynamics in 1999.
In 1973 he wrote a grant proposal to help deinstitutionalize juveniles, and simultaneously started a foster care program still active today, during which time he and his wife Linda served as foster parents themselves to 19 teenage boys. After he was ordained into the Lutheran ministry in 1975, he and his wife also became deeply involved in refugee resettlement in New England, as well as with refugee minors without families. One of them who lived with them now bears their name. Upon relocating to Pennsylvania, he became active in a similar manner with refugees, overseeing the only resettlement program in PA for refugee youth. Concrete work and family trumped his PHD completion.
For his efforts in the field, Mr. Erat has been recognized on numerous occasions, including with an Organizational Dynamics Master's Project Research Distinguished Award in 2000, for his paper "They May Be Business, Too, But Non-Profits Are Community." In his free time he has enjoyed singing with the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale for 32 years, which named him Man of the Year in 2015. Mr. Erat is the proud father of three boys, has 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He is an accomplished homebrewer and avid gardener.
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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