Officer Fanone Letter to GOP House Leadership
Dear Incoming Speaker and Leaders of the US House Majority,
As we approach January 6, 2023 — the two year anniversary of the insurrection — we write to you to express our growing distress over the indisputable escalation of political violence in this country. As American veterans, active duty service members, law enforcement officers, and military family members from all stripes, we share a deep love for our nation and a firm belief that our elected leaders have a duty to improve the lives of all people. We implore you to use your new positions as members of House Leadership to honor our dedication and service to this country by denouncing political violence and holding members of your conference accountable to their oath of office.
We ask you to respond to this letter and assure the over one thousand undersigned individuals that you will:
1. Issue a public and unwavering statement condemning political violence in all of its forms;
and
2. Promise to hold members of your conference accountable for endorsing violence or espousing violent rhetoric towards those who disagree with them politically.
Elected officials should never amplify language or take actions that put the lives of their constituents, their peers, and public servants at risk. However, over the last several years, incoming members of your conference have called for former Speaker Pelosi’s execution for treason, shared antisemitic messages on Holocaust Remembrance Day, and called it a “normal tourist visit” when violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol — just to name a few examples.
This dangerous rhetoric has consequences. In recent months, it fueled an armed attack on an FBI office in Ohio, an assassination attempt on the former Speaker of the House and her family, bullets fired at a school board members’ lawn signs, and death threats that led a gay mayor in Oklahoma to quit his job. It is the same rhetoric that emboldened the January 6th rioters who nearly killed Capitol Police officers using a “Blue Lives Matter” flag pole and tasers, and officers who served that day continue to suffer the impact of violent rhetoric and threats on a daily basis.
Two years later, tens of millions of Americans now believe force is justified to restore Donald Trump to the presidency and politically-motivated attacks are on the rise. These beliefs are being reflected by the votes and stated positions of elected members in your conference: including 147 members of Congress who voted against the results of 2020’s free and fair election, all but 35 House Republicans who voted against the January 6th Commission, and 21 Republican members who voted against Capitol Police officers receiving a presidential medal of freedom.
Earlier this week, members of the House of Representatives took their oath of office. As American veterans, active duty service members, and law enforcement officers, we have each taken an oath to defend this country against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Each person who has signed this letter has served our country in defense of democracy, freedom, and justice for all. Even years after we take off the uniform, that oath still carries weight, and we feel that it is our duty as Americans to continue to uphold it and defend our democracy. That is why it is so outrageous to see elected officials allow the oath and the constitution to be denigrated by those who are only interested in grabbing power.
You represent people from across the country and have pledged to serve them no matter their skin color, religious beliefs, political affiliation, economic status, sex, or gender. Whether or not we agree politically, those of us signing this letter look like the Americans you represent.
Leader McCarthy and Republican House leadership, you said you couldn’t “control” the “fringe members” of your party on January 6th, 2021. These members are no longer merely a fringe — they have taken the reins of the Republican House conference, and will have unprecedented influence in the 118th Congress. You have a duty to reject the dangerous rhetoric and action that could lead to further political violence here at home. The communities we represent are demanding action and leadership. Our futures, and our children’s futures, depend on it.
Signed,
Michael Fanone
Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former Washington, DC police officer injured during the January 6 Capitol insurrection
Lois A. Lommel
Shelley Abbate
Robert Adams
Sarah Adrian
Terry Akana
David Van Aken
Dennis Alanen
Ron Alberty
Douglas Albrecht
Gary Albright
Melody Alexander
Eugene Alfano
Jeffrey K. Allen
Kimberly Allen
Richard Alloway
Choky Alvarez
Bruce Alvers
Cristina Amarillas
Joseph Amato
David Amrod
Vacilio Anaya
Thomas Anderson
John Andreykovic
Gerald Antich
Kristy Apjoke
Kenneth Apostol
Susaan Aram
Charles Arenson
Joseph Armstrong
Robert Aro
Glory Arroyos
Moira Ashleigh
Susanna Askins
Irene Aylmer
Laurie Azzoto
Stu Backstatter
Matt Badri
David Bailey
Stephen Bailey
Jeffrey Bains
Barbara Baird
Susan Balaban
Melanie Baldi
Karen Ballard
Lamar Banks
Benjamin Barajas, Jr.
Karen Barbarotto
Donna Barrett
Anthony Barron
Beverly A. Barry
Sheila Barry
Darnell E. Barsness
Bob Bates
Patrick Beaudry
Carol Becker
Joan Beer
Julie Beer
Steven Begnoche
Gayle Bell
Linda Bell
Marshall Bell
Ana Belle
Emilia Bellone
Victor Bencomo
Derek Benedict
Michelle Benes
Alan Benford
Woodrow Bennett
Faith Benson
Raymond Berrios
Robert Beverly
Donald Biehl
Harriet Bing
Burt Binner
Mimi Biskus
Paul Blackburn
Richard Blair
William Blair
Glynden Bode
Colleen Boland
George Bond
Lauren Bond
Norm Bonin
Tracey Bonner
Ehren Borg
Laurence Boswell
Martin Bouffard
Cathy Bovey
Annita Bowman
Nancy Boyd
Sandra Brady
Dianne Bragg
Jennifer Brandon
Daniel L. Breen
Ron Bridges
Angela Bridgewater
Roselie Bright
William Briscoe
Devin Brizendine
Blaise Brockman
Geoffrey Brown
Lawrence Brown
Linda Brown
Lyn Broyles
John Bryan
Diana M. Brunswig-Bosso
Kathleen Bryson
Jean Buchanan Andrews
Roslynn Budoff
Tammy Jo Bullock
Dennis Burdick
Frank Bures
Jeff Burns
Shelley Burton
Lawrence Buszkiewicz
Michael Butler
Terrence Butler
Luc Van Buynder
Leanne Bynum
Charles Byrne
Nick Byrne
Shelley Byrne
Diane Cahill
Andrea Cain
Leslie Calambro
Allan Campbell
Richard Campbell
Ronald Canfield
Ernest Canning
Rick Canning
Kevin Cannon
Roel Cantu
Mark Cappetta
Jered Cargman
Craig Carlson
Dennis L. Carlson
Elizabeth S. Carlson
Jim Carnal
Beth Carpenter
Robert Carreon
Tom Cashman
David Casker
Edward Ellery Castell
Vincent Castellano
Susan Castelli-Hill
LeeAnn Castorena
Margaret Cathey
Jeanine Center
Elizabeth A. Chacich
Douglas Chalmers
Cynthia Chambers
Philip Chapman
Regina Charles
Rutherford Charlot
Melvin D. Cheitlin
Robert Chenoweth
Deborah Lee Chill
Sharon Chilton
Meg Chrisler
David Christman
Phyllis Chu
Robert Clark
Sandra Clark
Jane Clevenger
William Cloninger
Ann Cobb
Terry Cobb
Michael R. Coe
Dean Colbert
Marleen Colbert
Jackie Cole
Tracy Lynn Cole
Kelley Coleman-Slack
Matthew Coleman
Stephanie Colet
Andrew Colletto
Belinda Colley
Trevor Combs
Phyllis Comeaux
Kate Considine
Ed Conyers
Carol Cook
Deb H. Cookingham
Thomas Cope
Emanuel Corley
Chris Cormack
Roberta Corona
Louis Cowen
Joe Cox
Louis Russ Crafton
Stephen Craig
Connie Cranford
Donald Crawford
Jan Crawford
Valerie N. Crawford
William Crosby
Juan Cuenca
Britni Cuington
Judith Culp
George Cundari
John Curtiss
Brenden Czech
Richard D’Arezzo
Erik Daarstad
Mali Dahl
Debra Daigneault
Carleen Daly
Ann Marie Damian
Katherine Dander
Eric Daniels
June Davenport
Gamin Davis
Milton Davis
Ryan Davis
James Dawson
Carol Dearborn
Sarah Dearing
Terri Decker
Carol D. Deem
Tony DelGrosso
John DeMeritt
Daryl Denning
Lisa Deville
Natashja Dewolf
Joan DeYoung
Rey Diego
Phillip Dilley
Patricia Dishman
Alan Dolit
William Donahue
Karen Donaldson
Page Donkle
Virginia Donohue
Anne Dorsey
Jimmy Doty
John Doucette
John Doyle
Kay Drache
Hilary Draper
Joel Drembus
Edward Drinkwater
David Dubin
Norm Dufresne
Judy A Dugan
Barbara Duin
Douglas Dunkle
Christopher Dunn
Bethany Anne Dusenberry
Stephen W. Dutschke
Ruth DuValle
John Dwyer
Marshall Van Dyke
Dr. William Skip Dykoski
Debbie Earley
Steve Easley
Lawrence G. East
Curtis Eaton
Suzi Eberhard
Richard Eckberg
Dan Eckes
Sabrina Eckles
Susan Eckstein
Lynn Eddy
Dawn Ehli
Elizabeth Eisenbeis
Elizabeth Eldridge
Richard Eldridge
Greg Elems
Sofia Elias
Jacqueline Eliopoulos
Jane Ellis
Jennifer Emerle-Sifuentes
Ralph Emerson
Lynda Erickson
Heather Ervin
Douglas Estes
Chris Evans
Eugene Ansel Evans
Kevin Ewing
Gill Fahrenwald
Rita Fahrner
Lorna Farnum
Ashley Farreny
Craig Farrow
Wendy Fast
Valerie Favazza
Ann Feeney
Arthur Rolland Fellows
Paula C. Fenda
Craig Ferguson
Yvette Fernandez
Stephen Ferris
Ruth Fichter
Ed Fiedler
Robert Fields
Mary Finch
Jeannie Finlay-Kochanowski
Jim Finley
Milena Fiore
Harris Fishkin
Karen Fisk
Stan Fitzgerald
John Fitzpatrick
John Flagler
Eugene Flannery
Esther Flicek
Thomas Fordham
Hal Forsen
Martin Forster
Suzanne Fossett
Travis Foster
Paul Fox
Tess Fraad
Carrie Frail
Pamela Francis
Merrill Frank
Lynn A. Franks
Ann Friedman
Querido Galdo
Barbara Gale
Dick Gallien
Maria Garcia
Ked Garden
Peggy Garner
Edward Gastel
Tom Gauntt
James Gayther
Richard Gebo
Don Geckle
Carol E. Gentry
Astrid Gerjets
Randy Gerlach
James Gholson
Jay Gilbert
Neil Gilfillan
Eileene Gillson
Victor Gin
John E. Glebs
Tom Glenn
Sharon Glidden
Julie Glover
Irene Gnemi
Terry P. Gomoll
Avrum Goodie
Dale Goodin
Michael Gordon
Roy Gordon
Hugh Gose
Julianne Gould
Kyle Gracey
Suzann Graf
Leslie Graff
Antonnette Graham
Angela G. Grattan
Robert Green
David Greenfield
Allison Greenlief
Kathy Grieves
John P. Grillo,
Carol Grimm
Larry Gruis
David Gross
Mark Grzegorzewski
Desiree Guerrero
Steve Guntle
Maxwell Guttman
Paul A. Hagedorn
Edward Haggard
Virginia Hagler
Kelly Hairgrove
Bonnie Hale
Jim Haley
Geoffrey Hall
Johnny Hall
Michael Halloran
Sarah Hamilton
Michael K. Hampu
Edward Handley
Laura Hanks
Charles Happel
Hal Harder
Aram Haroutiounian
Lawrence Harper
Joel Harris
Patricia Harris
Shirlene Harris
Alan Hart
Betty Hart
Jana Harter
Jessica Harvey
Marie Hauke
Nancy Havassy
Kari Hayes
Paul & Kathleen Helbling
Karen Hellwig
Skyleigh Heinen
Jerome Henehan
Philip Henke
Michael Herbert
Mary Herk
Birgit Hermann
Sandra L. Herndon
Stephen Herring
Daniel Hicklin
Laurence Hiner
Kevin Hines
David G. Hinkes
Nancy Hinson
Rich Hladky
Phillip Hlavac
William Hoffer
Gene Hoffman
Tom Hogan
Grant Holland
Carol Holler
Garry Holley
Jessica Holman
Richard Holodnak
Bill Holt
Arthur Homewood
John Honor, Jr.
Jean Hopkins
Linda Howard
Myrell Howardsr
Benjamin Hubbard
Gary Hudson
Leon Huntsman
Russ Hutchins
Fred Huxley
Cornelius Devlin III
Gordon Parker III
Neil Infante
Michael Irick
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Sasha Jackson
Harvey Jacobson
Gerard Jameson
Jessica James
Janice Jamison
Donna Janovsky
Erv Janssen
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Lawrence Jasud
Patricia Jean
Gary Jenneke
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George Jivelekas
Allan Johnson
Bettemae Johnson
Charles Johnson
Paul Johnson
Richard Johnson
Peter Jokinen
Gary B. Jones
Jay Jordan
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Ronald Juhre
Jolayne Justice
George Kahlandt
Ira Kalmus
Karen Kapes
Arlene Kaplan
Gregory Kapphahn
Larry Karchmar
Robert Kasvinsky
Don Kauffold
Donald Kaufhold
Michael Kavanaugh
Greg Kay
Rebekah Keim
Charlotte Keller
Bryan Kelley
Dorinda Kelley
Cathleen Kelly
Elizabeth D. Kelly
Ervin Kelman
Dawn Kempf
Dawn Kenyon
James Keough Jr.
John Ketwig
Charles Key
William Keys
Rilriia Kilurden
Larry Kimball
Bill Kingston
Susan Kirby
John Kirchner
Dave Kisor
Arpad Kiss
Lee Kissinger
Timothy Klucinec
Elena Knox
Mark Knudsen
Isa Kocher
Josef Koeppl
Fred Koster
George Kramer
Dennis Kreiner
Evan Krichevsky
Charley Kuhn
Susan Kutz
Robert Kyle
Darrell La Lone
James Laliberte
John Lamb
Lena Lambert
Doug Landau
Kenn Lane
Maryann LaNew
Joel F. Larson
David Lavender
David A. Lawrence
Harlan Lebo
Dennis Ledden
Christopher Lee
Ricky B. Lee
Virginia Curtis Lee
Howard & Arlene Leiter
Lewis Lenzi
Juan Leopold
Bob Leppo
Elisha Lepucki
Howard Lepzelter
Ron Leurquin
Mark Levin
Michael Lewandowski
Howard Lewis
Jim Lewis
Kaneisha Lewis
Dennis Leyer
Sharon Lieberman
Judith Lienhard
Nancy Linder
Bill Lindner
Judith Lindquist
George Lloyd
Lakiesha Lloyd
Linwood Lloyd
Gina LoBiondo
Carole Logan
Leilani Logan
Peter Look
Edgar Lopez
Peggy Lopez
Lanelle Lovelace
John Loventhal
Erma Lowe
David Lucier
Richard Lynch
John Lynn
Kevin Macdonald
Wendy Ann Mackey
Scott MacLeod
d’Anne Y. MacNeil
Stephen MacNish
Ron MacQuarrie
Angelo Madrigale
Michael Magri
Carolyn Maguire
Diane Maldonado
Lilith Maltbie
Louis Marks
David Marlow
Aaron Marquez
Camilo R. Marquez
Veronica Marshall
Linda Martin
Mary Martin
Nancy Martin
Linda Martinex
Linda Martinez
Lorraine Martinez
Wil Martinez
Steve Marvin
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James Mather
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Joyce Mattoon
Carol A. May
Dana May
June Mays
John Mayall
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Carole McAuliffe
Lawrence McBee
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Susan McClure
Daviann McClurg
Stan Mccoy
James McConnell
Gary McDonald
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Shirley McKean
Bud McKinley
Larry McLaughlin
Michael McMahan
Marilyn McMullen
Robert B. Medeiros
Richard Mell
Jonathan Melle
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John Messer
Bill Metzger
Debra Metzger
Steve Metzger
Ari Meyer
Colonel Meyer
Robert Meyer
John Michalik
Desiree Middleton
- Rex Miller
John W. Miller
Judith Miller
Lee Miller
Maria Miller
John Millett
Augusto Millevolte
Richard Minnick
Faith Mishina
JJ Mistretta
Angela Molihan
Angela Montalvo
Peggy J. Moody
Jerry Moore
Linda Moorman
Thomas Mora
Mary More
David Morell
Dan Morgan
Donald Morgan
Linda Morgan
Peter Morgan
Jeffery Morgenthaler
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Kerry Morrison
Jorge Morros
Jack Mortenson
Jack Andrew Morton
Mike Morucci
Moises Motalvo
Tara Mudry
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James Mulcare
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Dacia Murphy
Thomas Murray
Tracy Musgrove
Michelene Mychel
Wanda Myers
Joseph Nadeau
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Peter Nelson
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Thomas Newton
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Eric Noderer
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Thomas Nulty
Denise Nutt
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Bob O’Neil
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Lynn O’Shea
Leonard Obert
Linda D. Obetts
Kevin O’Halloran
Michele Ohmes
Jacqueline Okoh
Lori Olcott
Signa Oliver
Abraham Omorenimwen
Kathy Oppenhuizen
John Ordway
Gordon Oreskovich
Kevin John O’Rourke
Victor Ortega
Susan Osada
Marge Othrow
Constance Otten
Laurence Overmire
Lawrence Owen
Bruce Painter
Jessica Palenchar
Paul Palla
Marco M. Pardi
Edward Parrales
General Parton
Tony Pascarella
Marilyn Patterson
Chester Payne
Rex Payne
Susan Peirce
Peter Pelayic
Carol A. Peluso
Rick Penquite
Dominic Percopo
David Perkins
Sally Perkins
Erik Peterson
Janet Peterson
Vic Peterson
Saundra Petrella
Don Pew
Charles Phillips
John T. Phillips
William Phillips
George Pickett
Mark Pinter
Jawara Pittman
Kelly Place
Raymond Plasse
Kathy Plourde
Joseph Pluta
Robert Poach
Bill Polfus
Jim Pounds
Norman Du Pont
Lynn Pooley
Nancy Pooley
Bob Prescott
Nora Privitera
Gregory Probst
A.R. Puccio
Nicole Punday
Julie Putney
Theresa Quarles
George Quasha
Michael Quinn
Steve Racchini
Robert Racine
John Rainey
Tara Rainson
Rachel Rakaczky
Mary Lou Ramirez
Emily Randles
Nancy Randolph
Ralph Rauscher
Dale Ray
JoAnna M. Redman-Smith
James Rees
Mykel Reese
Edward Reichman
Alan Rein
Edward Rengers
- Carlene Reuscher
Lisa-May Reynolds
Kate Richman
Ron Richter
Gerard Ridella
Patty Ridenour
Richard Ringel
Matthew Rivera
Rob Jenkin
Earl Roberts
Darrell Robinson
Ingrid Rochester
Timothy Roehl
Rigel Rohr
RoseMaria Root
James Rootes
David Rose
Michael Rose
Art Rosenberg
Zachary Rosenberg
Kristin Rosenqvist
Doris Rosenthal
Isadore Rosenthal
John Rosing
Donald Rothberg
Janet Rountree
Frances Rove
Laurie Rowan
David Ruffner
Donald Rumph
Christie Ruppel
William Ryerson
Garth Saalfield
Ariella Safer
Gary Sanders
Deborah Santone
Thomas Sarelas
Albert Sargis
Michelle D. Sarnoski
Diana Saxon
Joe Scarpaci
Jane Schmit
Erica Schmitt
Michael Schmotzer
David Schogel
Lee Schondorf
Terrance Schrammen
Marc Schulkin
Dwayne G. Schultz
Richard Schwarze
David Sealander
Kerrie Sedillos
Louise Sellon
Stephen Serafino M.S.
Naveed Shah
Debbie Shaffer
Richard Shannahan
Michael Shea
Maureen Sheahan
Diane Sheffield
BC Shelby
Mary Shesgreen
Caren Shiloh
John Shirley
Rebecca Sholes
Michael Sidaway
Michael Sileno
Kim Silva
Margaret Silver
Joyce Simonds
Jeanne Sipahigil
Richard E. Skinner
William Slagle
Julie Slater-Giglioli
Ilaine P. Slemmer
Cathy Sleva
Murray Smart
Barbara D. Smith
Brenda Lee Smith
Debra Smith
Karl Smith
Kevin Smith
Mark Smith
Richard Smith
Ron Smith
Sandra Smith
Scott Smith
Velda Smith
Jon Smitherman
Neil Smolens
Kathleen Snavely
Brad Snyder
Dan Snyder
Scott Snyder
Donald Solomon
Kristen Soothill
James Southerland
Trevor Sparks
Marko Spasojevic
George Spillers
Joseph Spina
Karen Spradlin
Ralph Dalton Sr.
James Stang
Kenneth Steel
A.L. Steiner
James Stephenson
Herb Stern
Douglas Sedon Stevens
Mike Stevenson
Nan Stevenson
Jim Stewart
PJ Stewart
Shawn Stice
Duncan Still
Russell Stone
Edward Stotts
James Stover
Cindy Strand
Tara Strand
Ernestine Stringfield
Tim Stringham
Teresa Strom
Todd Sullivan
George Summers
Bruce Summitt
Clarence Sutton
Patricia Sutton
Diane Swanson
Joanna Sweatt
Harry Swensen
Daniel M. Szetela
Troy Tackett
Robert Tanner
Nancy Tanzi
Dennis Tapley
Colleen Taylor
Melvin Taylor
Sandra Teepell
Robert Tefft
Howard Tempro
Thomas Terry
Jeanne Thatcher
Tobey Thatcher
Dwayne Thomas
Jacob Thomas
James Thomas
Peggy Thomas
Raymond Thomas
Terri Thomas
Stephanie Thompson
Edward Thornton
Joe R. Tilley
Thomas Tizard
Timothy Tompkins
Darlene Torday
Richard Tregidgo
Bart Trickel
Tom Tripp
Rick Trnka
Tracy S. Troth
Mary True
Justin Truong
Marlene Tucay
Rickert Tuck
Kim Turner
Allan Tweddle
Mitchell Tyler-Blood
Calvin Udy
Victoria Urias
Adalberto Valladares
William Vassar
Jose Vasquez
Kevin Vaught
Andres Venegas
Daniel Venzon
Steven Vogel
Marie Wakefield
Dana Wakiji
Leeann Walker
Ralph Walker
Duane Wall
Mark Waltzer
Dona Ward
Doris Ann Ward
Terry L. Warkentine
Gary Warner
William Watts
Sheryl Webber
Richard Weems
Glen Weissman
Susan Welence
Stephanie S. Wellemeyer
Robert Wells
Michael Wendt
Gerald Werhan
Deborah Wertz
Tim Wescott
Joyce Westerbur
Pat Whebbe
Vicki Wheeler
Bruce H. White
Melvin White
Nicholas White
Herman H. Whiterabbit
Jean Eileen Wiant
Jane Wiley
Fallis Wilkerson
Don Wilkinson
Lynn Wilkinson
Benjamin Williams
Jane Williams
Sheila Williams
John Williamson
Andrea Wilson
Linda Wilson
Thomas Wilson
Frankie Winchester
Rebecca Witherington
Kristina Wolf
Frances Woo
Creighton Wood
Harry Woodcock
Aaron Wright
Elizabeth Wyeth
Joseph Yachanin
Jennifer Yamamoto
Marie-Laurence Yans
Yichen Yao
Iris Patty Yermak
John Yohe
Joslynne Young
Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Laura Zahm
Raymond Zahra
Barry Zakar
Bob Zeitlin