Couple Recognized for Work With Children

Studio City residents Joan and Albert Lizer, volunteers for 15 years at North Hollywood’s Dubnoff Center for Child Development and Educational Therapy, are the recipients of the “Angels Over L.A.” award for their work with emotionally troubled children.

Albert Lizer, a wine and spirits importer, is president of the center’s board of directors and raises funds for the facility, which serves 110 children with special needs.

“I feel we need, more than ever, to help children in our society,” he said in an interview last week. “It’s very rewarding when you see positive things happening.”

Joan Lizer is a reading tutor at the center who “never gives up on a student, no matter who else has,” according to her nomination papers. She’s a former teacher who has worked with learning-disabled children for 35 years.

“She has a knack for working with children that need help,” Albert Lizer said.

Coincidentally, the Lizers and the center both celebrated their 50th anniversary last year.

The award was presented by the Los Angeles Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families to candidates meeting one of six criteria.

The Lizers qualified under criterion No. 2, that they contribute to the healthy development of young people through excellence in education, recreation, the arts, social services and child care.