Englewood has long been home to individuals whose vision, resilience, and dedication have shaped the fabric of the community. Extraordinary Englewood is a series dedicated to celebrating these remarkable residents—leaders, innovators, and everyday heroes whose contributions have left a lasting impact. From trailblazing entrepreneurs and passionate educators to tireless activists and cultural pioneers, these stories highlight the people who make Englewood extraordinary. Through their journeys, we uncover the spirit of the town—one defined by perseverance, creativity, and a commitment to making a difference. We have selected three people from the 2019 edition of the book to highlight here.

As excerpted from the book Extraordinary Englewood by Hillary Viders.

Norman Davis has had an enormous influence on the city of Englewood for many decades. He came to Englewood in 1963 with his wife, Ann, and his sons, Oliver and Roland, “because it was convenient to Manhattan, where I was working,” but he soon realized that it was an extraordinary place to live and be involved in.

Davis attended Harvard University as a history major. After graduation, he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

In 1952, Davis joined Schroders, Inc. in New York City, where he managed investment portfolios for 35 years and also served as vice president for a number of years.

When Davis arrived in Englewood in 1963, it was a very tumultuous time. There was civil unrest, the downtown area was in disrepair and retail stores were hurting from competition from nearby malls. So, amongst his many contributions, Davis set about improving the financial outlook of the city by cofounding the Englewood Economic Development Corporation with Edward Baczewski, who was then president of the Englewood Chamber of Commerce.

Davis also did a huge amount of volunteer community service, including serving on the board of the Community Chest of Englewood, the Social Service Federation, the Parent Teacher Organization Council, the Financial Advisory Committee and the Democrats Municipal Committee.

Because of the work he did for these organizations, Davis was elected to the Englewood City Council, where he served as councilmember at large from April 1977 through December 1979, and Englewood City Council president throughout 1978 and 1979.

Davis also served as president of the John Harms Center for the Arts (now the bergenPAC) from 1984 until 1988, and was a member of the Englewood Board of Education from 1990 to 1994.

In the last few years, Davis retired as president of the Englewood Historical Society and as secretary of Englewood’s Rotary Club.

Read the full interview in the book, Extraordinary Englewood.

Professor Will Lee, an Englewood resident for the past 34 years and currently a professor at Yeshiva university, has dedicated his career to teaching and furthering education, as witnessed by his having received the Distinguished Professor Award for distinguished teaching three times in five years. Both Lee’s academic work and his work as a local preservationist reflect his belief that history does and should continue to contribute to our lives today.

Born in Amarillo, a small city in the Texas panhandle. On the maternal side, his great-grandfather, a real estate developer, and his uncle, a carpenter as well as a gunsmith and locksmith, built the house he grew up in, as well as his grandparents’ house next door. His grandmother, after serving as president of her national sorority, entered into a partnership with her father to buy houses and fix them up, then rent or sell them. His grandfather started out as a cowboy on the largest ranch in Texas, the XIT, co-founded a bank, and then sold insurance.

On his father’s side, his great-grandfather was the first dentist in Pennsylvania to use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in dental work as an anesthetic, and his grandfather was a treasurer of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the founding member of a related company. So Lee has inherited his urges to restore, to build, to contribute, to break new ground, and to take the lead.

Having earned a bachelor’s degree at Dartmouth as a Phi Beta Kappa National Merit Scholar, a master’s degree at Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, and a Ph.D. at Yale as a Kent Fellow and a Prize Teaching Fellow, Professor Lee taught at Colby, Tufts, and Harvard before migrating to the Yeshiva College English Department in 1983. For six years, he was director of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program. He played an active role in developing a new curriculum for Yeshiva College and served on the Steering Committee for the Middle States Commission to prepare for the university’s 2012 reaccreditation review.

Lee has taught critical theory, Victorian studies, British literature, and world literatures. In recent years, his research has extended into local history: the architectural and social history of Englewood, as well as the history of Yeshiva University.

He is well known for his published work about the Victorian William Morris, one of his role models as a community builder, historic preservationist, and poet.

Lee helped found the Englewood Historic Preservation Advisory Committee and has served as its chair from its inception. He also serves on the Bergen County Historical Preservation Advisory Board and the Board of the Englewood Historical Society. He coedited Englewood: Historical Sketches and was recently appointed the municipal historian of Englewood.

Read the full interview in the book, Extraordinary Englewood.

Irmari Nacht is an internationally recognized artist who specializes in recycled and multi-dimensional sculptures made from a variety of materials. Her pieces are featured in several corporate and public collections, such as AT&T, PSE&G,, ADP, the Newark Museum, International Museum of Collage, Bowdoin College, the Jimmy Carter Museum, the Cleveland Institute of Art, Rutgers University, and Yale Art Museum.

Nacht has received two NJ State Council on the Arts Fellowships in Sculpture and two Puffin Foundation grants for “Who Am I?” an interactive project where the viewer becomes part of the artwork.

Nacht’s work has been exhibited in every major museum in New Jersey, including the Newark Museum, NJ State Museum, Morris Museum, Montclair Art Museum, Noyes Museum, and has been featured in solo shows at the Atrium Gallery, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Intermezzo Gallery, bergenPAC, Brooklyn Library, N.Y. and Carter Burden Library, N.Y.C.

Several universities and colleges have bought Nacht’s work for their collections. They are used for exhibition and also as teaching aids for students.

Nacht has made artist books throughout the years but in 2007 she began working steadily on the “SAVED” series, which she is presently continuing.

These book works are in many collections and have recently been shown at the Belsky museum, Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, M.A., Doverodde Book Arts Festival, Denmark, Westport Library, Conn., NJ State Museum, Newark Museum, WAH Center N.Y., June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Maine, University of Northampton, U.K., Wiener Library , London, Carter Burden Gallery, N.Y.C., and in solo shows at the Atrium Gallery Bard College of Simon’s Rock, M.A., Intermezzo Gallery, bergenPAC, Brooklyn Library, N.Y., and Carter Burden Gallery N.Y.C.

Read the full interview in the book, Extraordinary Englewood.

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