Members of the two families have generously contributed to sustaining and enhancing UMB through philanthropy, advocacy, strategic leadership, and more.
The University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation Distinguished Service Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of volunteers who have substantially contributed to enhancing and sustaining the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). The 2025 honorees will be recognized April 22 during the Celebrating Excellence: Honoring Service, Philanthropy, and Volunteerism event at M&T Bank Exchange.
THE ATTMAN AND LEVITAS FAMILIES
Leonard and Phyllis Attman
Gary Attman, JD ’79, and Patricia Attman, MD
Wende Attman Levitas and Michael Levitas
The Erin Levitas Foundation
The Attman name is famous in Baltimore thanks to Attman’s Delicatessen, but its reach extends far beyond the deli, and the family has a longstanding and multigenerational relationship with the University of Maryland broadly and UMB in particular. The Attman family has strengthened UMB’s institutional growth and furthered the University’s mission through its leadership, philanthropy, and engagement. The Attmans’ influence and involvement span generations, from business leadership to academic contributions to philanthropic giving.
Family members are proud UMB staff and alumni and have served on boards and advisory committees of several of the University’s schools or departments, advocated for funding and policies that advance UMB’s priorities, and led generous philanthropic efforts for numerous initiatives and funding priorities across campus. The Attman Family is a powerhouse of philanthropy and strategic leadership whose support spans multiple schools and initiatives, helping to advance medical care, innovation, legal education and advocacy, trauma research, and community health programs.
At the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), Leonard and Phyllis Attman have generously supported the areas of greatest need, endowed faculty positions, unique programs, and, most significantly, the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where they are members of the Shock Trauma Life Partners program. FutureCare, which was co-founded by Leonard and his nephew, Gary Attman, JD ’79, is one of the region’s largest health care providers and has contributed generously to UM Medicine and supported the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law’s Business Fellowship Program by annually hosting a student as a summer business fellow.
At Maryland Carey Law, Leonard and Phyllis Attman were actively involved in the effort to connect the Erin Levitas Foundation with the law school. Their daughter, Wende Attman Levitas, and her husband, Michael, launched the foundation to honor the memory of their daughter, Erin, who tragically died of cancer in 2016. Erin was poised to join the Maryland Carey Law community and bring her many talents to the legal profession.
Together with Leonard and Phyllis Attman, Wende and Michael Levitas were involved in the foundation’s decision to make a transformational commitment to endow the Erin Levitas Initiative for Sexual Assault Prevention, a unique program within the law school’s renowned Center for Dispute Resolution, and have supported the initiative while the endowment grows. Students and faculty from the University of Maryland School of Social Work also participate in this program. (Learn more about the foundation at erinlevitas.org.)
Gary Attman and his wife, Patricia Attman, MD, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UMSOM, have made significant philanthropic contributions to Maryland Carey Law and the UMSOM Dean’s Academic Development Fund, Medical School Teaching Fund, and Health and Wellness Conference Fund.
Dr. Attman was named Resident of the Year in psychiatry when she graduated from the residency program at the University of Maryland Medical Center. She went on to have a successful private practice, then entered academia and served as the UMB Student Counseling Center’s clinical director. In that role, she helped hundreds of students in the seven schools overcome the stresses and challenges of graduate/professional school and proceed to commencement.
Gary Attman, who is the president and CEO of FutureCare, was an editor of the Maryland Law Review when he attended UMB’s law school. More recently, he has been a member of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, serving as vice chair, treasurer, and Finance Committee chair. Mr. Attman also serves on the UMSOM Board of Advisors, where he is an active advocate for medical research and education.