Did you know that the iconic image of the healthy, happy baby with the sparkling eyes and the inquisitive look on Gerber baby products grew up to become a high school English teacher? That’s right!

The name of that irresistible baby is Ann Turner Cook. She was born on November 20, 1926, the daughter of Leslie Turner, a syndicated cartoonist who drew the comic strip Captain Easy for more than a decade. In 1928, when Ann was only five months old,  the Gerber company announced they were seeking images of a baby to use on the packaging of their upcoming line of baby foods. Artist Dorothy Hope Smith, a neighbor of the Turner family, submitted a charcoal sketch of Ann, promising to finish the drawing if it was selected. Smith’s drawing competed with thousands of entries, including many elaborate oil paintings, but the judges fell in love with this baby’s cherubic face and, when choosing it as the winner, insisted that the simple illustration remain a sketch. The image was trademarked in 1931, and it has been used on Gerber baby food packaging ever since.

When she grew up, Ann attended the University of South Florida and other post-secondary schools, where she studied education, English, and journalism. She earned several degrees, including a Master’s degree in English Education. After completing her education, Ann became a teacher at Oak Hill Elementary in Tampa, Florida, later transferring to the English Department at Madison Junior High School. In 1966, she accepted a position at Hillsborough High School, also in Tampa, where she taught literature and creative writing. In 1972, her students dedicated their school yearbook, the Hillsborean, to their beloved teacher, who had personally sponsored the book. In it, her students described her as “a teacher who really communicates with the students,” and who, “without any complaints, has stayed late, worked nights, and with quiet efficiency supported her staff in their monumental task.”

Ann’s career as an educator spanned twenty-six years. After retiring, this talented teacher became a successful novelist. A member of the Mystery Writers of America, she is the author of the Brandy O’Bannon series of mystery novels set on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The adventures of Florida reporter and amateur sleuth Brandy O’Bannon are described in Trace Their Shadows, published in 2001, Shadow Over Cedar Key, published in 2003, and Micanopy in Shadow, published in 2008.

Missouri’s Kathryn Sansone: Former teacher, fitness trainer, and author. Photo credit: Kathryn Sansone. Photo credit: Kathryn Sansone

Many fine classroom teachers also established themselves as successful businesspeople. One of these is Kathryn Demmas Sansone, an elementary school teacher in Missouri who also has a national following as a certified fitness trainer.

Kathryn was born on Jan. 1, 1962 in St. Louis, Missouri. As a young girl, she attended Clayton High School. Following her high school graduation in 1980, she attended first Texas Christin University at Fort Worth, and then St. Louis University. There she earned her degree win Elementary Education in 1985. She then taught fourth through sixth grade for four years at oak Hill/Villa Duchesne.

Kathryn captured national attention for her heartwarming and hands-on approach to managing motherhood and life. She is best known for being celebrated by Oprah Winfrey as an “unforgettable mom.” The former teacher went from being a member of the talk show host’s audience to being a featured guest on the television show. She was interviewed by Oprah for Mother’s Day 2003 in O, the Oprah Magazine. In addition, Kathryn has published a book, Woman First, Family Always, which became a top-1000 seller on amazon.com. A mother of ten, she has been interviewed for Inside Edition and magazines such as Parents, Fit Pregnancy, and Child. Furthermore, she has been honored as Chief Everything Officer by America Online. She also serves as a member of the President’s Physical Fitness Council and as a delegate of the Global Wellness Summit.

Kami Cotler is probably best known for her role as Elizabeth on the hit show The Waltons. After ten years on the program, she became a teacher and principal in California. Photo credit: MeTV.

I often discover dedicated educators who have also earned acclaim in Hollywood. One such teacher is Kami Cotler, who is known to many as the actress who played Elizabeth Walton on the television series The Waltons.

Kami was born on June 17, 1965, in Long Beach, California. Kami was only seven years old when she landed the role of the youngest Walton child on The Waltons. She spent ten years of her childhood on the show, and she has returned to Hollywood to portray Elizabeth in each of the show’s reunion movies. In addition, she occasionally makes speeches and personal appearances.

As a young woman, Kami earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. Once she completed her education, she launched her career as an educator at a small rural school in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville, Virginia. There she taught for ALPHA, an interdisciplinary alternative program designed to assist at-risk high school students.

In 2001, Kami returned to California where she accepted a position as a teacher at Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, a suburb of Los Angeles. She taught ninth grade there. In 2004, the former actress became the Co-Director of the Ocean Charter School, a position she held until 2007. That year she inaugurated her own business as a consultant. Later she served as the Principal of Environmental Charter Middle School located in Los Angeles County. The school is part of a network of free public schools in underserved communities of south Los Angeles that prepares students for four-year college. The school’s instructional program offers a focus on experiential learning and uses the environment to engage students and prepare them to become leaders in their communities. Kami has also served as a Board Member of the American Montessori Society.

To learn more about this remarkable educator, see this interview published by MeTV.