Mary Tyler Moore gets compliments for many reasons— as America’s sweetheart ofTV, film and stage (seven Emmys, three Golden Globes) and 15 years of tirelesslychairing the International Juvenile Diabetes Foundation—but at a recentWashington gala where she was an honoree, the actress was startled when anonlooker praised her superb posture.

“Oh that’s thanks to my mother,” said Mary,” and some whacks on the back.”

Ms. Moore, accompanied by husband Dr. Robert Levine, was in fromManhattan to be honored as one of the “Women who Paved the Way” at Womenof Washington’s Tenth Anniversary Gala at the Four Seasons in mid-November.

Founded by Gail Berendzen, wife of former American University PresidentRichard Berendzen, Women of Washington has inspired three affiliatedCalifornia groups in Los Angeles, Orange County and Pasadena, many of whomwere among the 700 guests at the gala. The group gives women of every age, race,and interest the chance to meet and support one another, both personally and professionally.It’s done through networking, mentoring, and providing forums wherewomen can learn from experts in various fields. The group’s success has surprisedmany- but not Gail; she believed. GailBerenzden and her husband Richard (thenPresident of American University), weresterling assets on the Washington socialscene, both likable and universally popularmembers of academia, when their worldsuddenly came crashing down over a decade ago.

It began with outraged complaints to the police department about a mysteriousseries of pornographic phone calls, naughty-little-boy dirty remarks that cameout of nowhere, the man’s voice unidentifiable to the woman on the other end ofthe line.

Police surveillance led to the unthinkable: the calls came from the home ofRichard Berendzen, the prestigious president of American University. Who in thataugust household could be making them? The answer soon shrieked from the newspapers:the university president himself, the self-confessed obscene caller, guilty.

At the trial, revelations of the severe abuse he had suffered as a child mitigatedhis punishment. On the condition that he undergo therapy, he was given two suspended30-day jail sentences.

His devastated wife Gail, a teacher whose acclaimed teaching methods havebeen the subject of several documentaries, and who has been the recipient of countlessawards and honors as well as the respected board member of a wide scopeof foundations, had entered a new category: shamed, half of a pariah couple.

Many wives would have simply left town to avoid the whispering and surreptitiousglances. For Gail, (if she had ever considered it) the option was soon unnecessarythanks to the surge of women who rallied to help, sustain and encourage her.The power of that support, in what would have been an hour devoid of hope,plus a suggestion from her husband, led to Gail’s founding the nonprofit Womenof Washington. So, out of what seemed a beginning-of-the-end scenario, emerged agreat good for many others.

Judy Woodruff, CNN’s prime anchor and senior correspondent, emceed theevening gala. Other honorees included Bernadine Healy, former director of theNational Institutes of Health before her recent brief stint as head of the AmericanRed Cross and Diane Rehm, the host and executive producer of the “DianeRehm Show” ( with a million listeners across the country tuning ineach week.) The National Journal has called her “the class act of theradio world,” saluting her skill in presenting world-class guests. Though strickenwith spasmodic dysphonia in 1998, a neurological condition that affects speech, sheovercame it, and focused attention on this little-known disorder through articles andher biography Finding My Voice.

Honoree Deborah Szekely, though best known as a pioneer in the mind/bodyfitness field through the spas she founded, (Rancho La Puerta in Baja California,Mexico, and The Golden Door in Escondido, California), also founded theEureka Communities, a national organization that helps disadvantaged childrenand families by working directly with community-based organizations servingthem. Washington’s own Dorothy Height, chairwoman and presidentemerita of the National Council of Negro Women, was honored for a half centuryof leadership in the struggle for equality and human rights.

After a proclamation by Mayor Anthony Williams declaring it “Womenof Washington Day” and lauding the group’s work, came a very special momentin the evening when Richard Berendzen spoke.

Berendzen, an astrophysician, is currently a full-time professor of astronomyat American University. Because of his eloquence and the brilliance of his presentations,his classes fill rapidly, with a huge overflow that cannot be accommodated.He is also president of the D.C. Space Grants Consortium, a nationwide groupthat helps fund the study of space.

The crowd at the gala was deeply moved when he spoke, paying tribute ina loving and appreciative speech to his wife of 37 years, who rose to thunderingapplause in acknowledgment of the ground she has covered and the good shehas wrought.