The young Karabelle Lastique lived in central Harlem with her mom Frances, seven blocks up from the bright lights of 125th Street. But Frances had tuberculosis, and Karabelle also spent considerable stretches of time living with her nearby Aunt Singie while Frances was recuperating in sanatoria.

Karabelle had no siblings. Her elementary years revolved around her best friend June Lundy. The two met in first grade at the Annunciation Church school on 131st Street and would be constant companions over the next eight years, both in school — they could not have been closer alphabetically — and out.

The pair delighted in taking excursions around Manhattan, classic Brownie cameras in hand. At first, Karabelle and June stayed relatively close to home, taking neighborhood “adventure walks” through St. Nicholas Terrace Park, right next to the City College campus.

“We snapped photo after photo, season after season,” remembers June.

The range of their adventure walks would expand over time, to more downtown sites like Grant’s Tomb, Riverside Church, and the Columbia University campus.

“We also got closer to the West Side Highway to get views of New Jersey and Palisades Amusement Park,” says June. “Eventually we walked less and took subways and buses to parks, museums, and other budget-friendly places.”

Karabelle and June would both excel in primary school, and they would never forget dedicated teachers like Sister Rosalita, the very gifted story teller they had in fourth grade.

The pair would go on to different high schools after Annunciation, but they kept in close touch. Both would continue to do well academically, and both would end their student days with doctorates.

Karabelle grew up in Harlem, the daughter of a single mom from South Carolina. Mother Frances had to leave school after only a few grades to work as a domestic. She did everything she could to make sure her daughter never had to cut her schooling short. Karabelle would win a full scholarship to Cornell, where she earned multiple degrees, including a doctorate in child development.

Along that academic way, Karabelle married in 1969 and had two kids in short order. In 1975 she brought her young family down to Washington and began working as a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health. But a stint a few years later as a congressional fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science would change the course of Karabelle’s career.

Karabelle found Capitol Hill — and the challenge of forging public policy that treats all families with dignity — simply irresistible. She would spend the rest of her life battling politically for the nation’s most vulnerable, early on as the staff director of the House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families and later as director of public policy for the Child Welfare League of America.

In 2001, Karabelle’s advocacy broadened. She began the first of two terms on the Maryland State Board of Education. This state school board service would involve Karabelle in the National Association of State Boards of Education. In 2008, her school board colleagues nationwide elected Karabelle the NASBE president.

Higher education engaged Karabelle as well. At her death, she was beginning her second term as a University of Maryland College Park Foundation trustee. Earlier she had served as the president of the Terrapin Club, the volunteer group that funds scholarships for University of Maryland student-athletes.

Until the very end, Karabelle did not let her cancer slow her down. She continued advising with leading national nonprofits like Parents as Teachers, where she served as board president, and Catholic Charities USA.

Karabelle leaves behind husband Sam, son Nick, daughter-in-law Ixchel, and grandkids Pablo and Bianca. Her oldest son Tony, an MIT-trained computer engineer, died in a 1995 auto accident. The annual Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest honors his memory.

Donations in Karabelle’s honor can be made to the endowment for the University of Maryland's Karabelle Pizzigati Initiative on Children, Youth and Families. Contributions should be payable to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, 4603 Calvert Road, College Park, MD 20740.