Ford Foundation Announces 2003 Winners of Leadership for a Changing World Awards
17 Recognized for Outstanding Leadership in U.S. Communities
Research Suggests Nation's Social Justice Leadership Styles Complex but Effective
New York, N.Y.—October 7, 2003. The Ford Foundation today announced the 2003 winners of the Leadership for a Changing World awards. The 17 awardees, selected from a pool of more than 1,300 nominations, represent individuals and leadership teams that are tackling some of the nation's most entrenched social problems. Each will receive $100,000 to advance their work and an additional $15,000 for supporting activities over the next two years. The program also includes a major, multi-year collaborative research initiative that works with awardees to explore how leadership is created and sustained.
"These awards recognize the achievement of remarkable people working to bring positive social change to their communities and beyond," said Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "In celebrating their accomplishments we also seek to illuminate the particular characteristics of effective social justice leadership, which the LCW's collaborative research with awardees is beginning to identify."
The Award and Research Program
Launched in September 2000, Leadership for a Changing World is a program of the Ford Foundation in partnership with the Advocacy Institute in Washington, D.C. and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. The 2003 awardees join 40 previous recipients. By 2005 the LCW will have recognized nearly 100 outstanding leaders and leadership teams not broadly known beyond their immediate community or field. LCW provides financial and other support for their programs and leadership, and engages them as partners in ongoing research about leadership.
"We hope to stimulate a nationwide discussion about the rich array of leadership styles in the United States and increase public understanding and appreciation of the extraordinary accomplishments of these largely unrecognized leaders," said Kathleen D. Sheekey, President and CEO of the Advocacy Institute.
Among 2003 Leadership for a Changing World award winners' achievements: a pioneering partnership integrating the arts and education reform; the first labor union to represent domestic workers and in-home care workers exclusively; a powerful network of immigrant and ethnic newspapers; a program that protects thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs through employee-ownership of companies; courageous leaders who combat hate crimes by promoting democratic values and public discourse; and other impressive accomplishments.
Emerging Research Findings
In addition to making an immediate difference in their communities, the winners have also achieved excellence in their leadership methods.
"As one of our early observations, we're noting what we call the "leadership paradox" of social justice leadership," said Sonia Ospina, co-director of New York University's Center for Leadership Development, Dialogue and Inquiry, which is coordinating the LCW research effort. "This kind of leadership reflects a capacity to pursue and meet imperatives that seem very different: doing the right thing but also being financially viable; rooting oneself in a particular community while reaching out to diverse constituencies; balancing the power of individual vision with the power of the collective process.
"Just as a suspension bridge depends on the tension among its cables, trusses and beams, social justice leadership relies on the tensions that arise around its commitment to democratic principles," Ospina added. "More traditional, hierarchical leadership is also complex, but does not usually address these same tensions. Hierarchical leadership may be able to make decisions faster, but we believe collaborative leadership, in many cases, is more effective over the long run—resulting in deeper, more lasting change, rooted in democracy."
Ospina believes the ongoing LCW research, along with other recent literature on collaborative leadership, will be helpful to other non profit leaders as well as leaders in the business and public sector spheres.
2003 Leadership for a Changing World Award Winners
MEDIA: Leadership for a Changing World awardees, researchers and representatives of the program are available for interviews.—Please contact Deborah Walter at (908) 522-1677 or mediahits@comcast.net
Arnold Aprill, Executive Director
Chicago Arts Partnership in Education
Chicago, Illinois
Eddie Bautista, Director of Community Planning
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
New York, New York
Andrea Cruz, Director
Southeast Georgia Communities Project
Lyons, Georgia
Kehaulani Filimoe`atu, President of the Board; Blossom Feiteira, Manager of Community Services
Hawaiian Community Assets
Wailuku, Hawaii
Diana Spatz, Executive Director; Leilani Luia, Program Coordinator; Heather Jackson, Board Secretary; Sylvia Cabrales, Board Member; Anita Rees, Program Director
Low-Income Families' Empowerment through Education (LIFETIME)
Oakland, California
John Logue, Director
Ohio Employee Ownership Center
Kent, Ohio
Nobuko Miyamoto, Director
Great Leap Inc.
Los Angeles, California
Ken Toole and Christine Kaufmann, Co-Directors
Montana Human Rights Network
Helena, Montana
Wanda Hopkins, Trainer/Advocate; Johnny O. Holmes, Trainer/Advocate; Ismael Vargas, Assistant Director; Julie Woestehoff, Executive Director
Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE)
Chicago, Illinois
Rámon Ramírez, President
Pineros y Compesinos Unidos del Noroeste
Woodburn, Oregon
Abby Scher, Director
Independent Press Association-New York
New York, New York
Marilyn J. Smith, Executive Director
Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services
Seattle, Washington
Sheryl Bell, President; Jon Liss, Director; Silvia Portillo, Health Coordinator; Edgar Rivera, Lead Organizer; Maria Amalia Ruiz, President
Tenants' and Workers' Support Committee of Northern Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Richard Townsell, Executive Director
Lawndale Christian Development Corp.
Chicago, Illinois
Marcy Westerling, Executive Director
Rural Organizing Project
Scappoose, Oregon
Fahari Jeffers and Ken Seaton-Msemaji
Domestic Workers Home Care Center
United Domestic Workers of America
San Diego, California
Lily Yeh, Executive Director
The Village of Arts & Humanities
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
More About Leadership for a Changing World
The 2003 Leadership for a Changing World National Selection Committee
This year's National Selection Committee was co-chaired by Peter Edelman, professor, Georgetown University Law School and Wendy Johnson, former executive director, Southern Regional Council. Members included David Dodson, president, MDC, Inc.; John Echohawk, executive director, Native American Rights Fund; Alice Ito, interview programs manager, Densho Project; Handy Lindsey, president, The Field Foundation of Illinois; Tomas Perez, professor, University of Maryland; Donna Red Wing, national consultant and former director of policy and special initiatives, Gill Foundation; Barbara Schaffer Bacon, project director, Animating Democracy Initiative; Pearl Simms, director, Center for Leadership Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University; Dorothy Stoneman, president, YouthBuild USA; Alfonso Wyatt, vice president, Fund for the City of New York.
2004 Nominations Now Being Accepted
The Advocacy Institute is accepting nominations for the next round of awards. For more information, visit the program's web site at www.leadershipforchange.org or call (202) 777-7575. Information about the program can also be found on the Ford Foundation's Web site.
To be eligible for a Leadership for a Changing World award, candidates must be nominated by someone familiar with their work who can attest to their qualifications. Nominations are reviewed by regional selection committees and site visits to the recommended finalists. A national committee of independent experts in different fields, the Advocacy Institute and the Ford Foundation select the awardees.
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation, and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.
The Advocacy Institute, founded in 1985, works to make a difference around the world by strengthening movements for political, social and economic justice through leadership support, networking and development. With its partners, it helps make democratic institutions accountable. The Institute's actions link it to a global community of grass-roots activists and nongovernmental organizations that tackle critical human rights issues such as gender equity, peace, sustainable development, public health, ending poverty and protecting the environment. www.advocacy.org
The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, established in 1938, offers advanced programs leading to the professional degrees of Master of Public Administration, Master of Urban Planning, Master of Science in Management, and Doctor of Philosophy. Through these programs, the Wagner School educates the future leaders of public, nonprofit and health institutions as well as private organizations serving the public sector. As the largest school of public service in the country, it is committed to preparing people who can translate ideas into action. www.nyu.edu/wagner
For more information on Leadership for a Changing World or to download a nomination brochure, go to www.leadershipforchange.org. Specific questions can be submitted via email (info@leadershipforchange.org), phone (202) 777-7560 or by writing to Leadership for a Changing World, Advocacy Institute, 1629 K St., NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20006-1629.
Contact: Deborah Walter
Leadership for a Changing World, Advocacy Institute
(908) 522-1677 or (908) 400-0641 (mobile)
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.