Sylvia Simmons Prozan Honored for Her Work in Media and Law

    HILLSBOROUGH, CA, May 25, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sylvia Simmons Prozan 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.

A multi-talented figure whose career spans many fields and areas of expertise, with primary excellence in the law, media, and news, Sylvia Simmons Prozan accrued more than three decades of dynamic experience prior to her retirement in 1988.

Though her ultimate calling came as a practicing lawyer, Ms. Prozan's first passion was in radio; in fact, in high school she was known as "the woman with the radio voice." Her articulate manner of speaking, and the booming bravado behind her words, served her well when reading the morning announcements over the loud speaker in school. In addition, she and another student wrote scripts for the local radio station. This was during the 1940s, a time when women weren't doing much of anything in these professional fields; despite her desire to be in front of the camera or on the radio giving the news, she never thought it was possible as those were jobs for men. However, after graduating high school, Ms. Prozan would carve out a professional path full of accomplishments that exceeded the expectations of her gender, or the other for that matter. In her attempts to land media positions, she encountered numerous incidents of sexism in the television industry, including being told that viewers would never watch her because she was a woman, and some sponsors flat out rejected her candidacy stating, "No woman was ever going to deliver news on my station."

In 1955, Ms. Prozan earned a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Barnard College, where she developed a strong interest in law and politics. Her initial opportunity in television came with NBC in New York as a staff member on a network special series, Producers Showcase. The following year, she was active as the co-office manager for the Adlai Stevenson presidential campaign for Southern California, a post that served as an eye opener for her in terms of the ins-and-outs of the political world and the personalities within it. She continued her higher education and obtained a Master of Arts in History from Case Western Reserve University in 1959, which prepared her for her first television position as Cleveland's weather girl, the first in Ohio and the second in the United States. As a contributing reporter to KQED, she appeared on "World Press," in which she produced human-interest segments highlighting narratives from distinguished professors. Her early aspirations came true in 1968 when she became a television newscaster for the investigative reporting station KNTV in San Jose, which she considers to be the highlight of her robust career, where she interviewed luminaries such as former Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader, former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, former President Ronald Reagan and King Harald of Norway. Ms. Prozan held the position until 1972.

In the midst of her budding career, Ms. Prozan's love for the law kept growing stronger and so she decided to finally pursue it by attending the University of California, Berkeley, ultimately earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1975—at which point she was the oldest student in her graduating class at 42 years old. It didn't take long before she put her studies to the test as a solo practitioner, setting up her law office in Burlingame, California and serving clients from 1976 to 1988. Admitted to practice law by the state of California as well as the United States Supreme Court, she also lent her legal expertise in the classroom through her appointment as an adjunct professor at the John F. Kennedy University School of Law from 1979 to 1982. Over the course of her professional life, Ms. Prozan maintained affiliations with numerous organizations such as the American Association of University Women, Union Internationale des Avocats, San Mateo County Bar Association, Bar of San Francisco, California Trial Lawyers Association, and State Bar of California.

In retirement, Ms. Prozan has enjoyed traveling with her devoted and supportive husband of more than 60 years, Dr. George B. Prozan, a cardiologist, with whom she has four children and three grandchildren. Speaking to future generations of professionals, she reflected on her own early struggles with being a woman trying to build a career—although she often was knocked down, she always got back up. She advised, "Have faith in yourself and keep trying, there is hope."

About Marquis Who's Who®
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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