The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Alumni Leadership Awards recognize outstanding alums who have continued their commitment to service, and have demonstrated extraordinary achievement, contribution, and/or commiitment to working towards social justice and building stronger communities.
Celebrate our 2023 Honorees!
We were delighted to gather in Boston on February 8, 2024 to honor Dustin LaFont, Derek Qiu, and Macey Amissah-McKinney with 2023 Â鶹ÊÓƵ Alumni Leadership Awards, presented by Truist!
Meet our award winners
Since 1995, more than 125 alums have been honored with the Alumni Leadership Award – Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s most prestigious alumni recognition. These awards honor the accomplishments of Â鶹ÊÓƵ alums who continue to build stronger communities through innovative approaches and addressing critical social problems.
Award honorees 1995-2023
2023
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Derek Qiu (New York ’19)
Consultant at Deloitte
Distinguished Young Alumni Award
Dustin LaFont (Baton Rouge ’11)
Founder and Executive Director of Front Yard Bikes
Alumni Achievement Award
Macey Amissah-McKinney (Sacramento ’13, ’14)
Senior vice president and executive director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sacramento
Staff Alumni Impact Award
2022
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Cadence Pentheny (New Hampshire ’17, ’18)
Community educator at Triangle Community Center
Distinguished Young Alumni Award
Yvonne Garcia (San Antonio ’08)
Award-winning teacher at IDEA Public Schools
Alumni Achievement Award
Michael Stevens (Baton Rouge ’06)
Senior vice president and executive director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Washington, D.C.
Staff Alumni Impact Award
Nicole Tsang (New York ’07)
Senior director of enterprise improvement at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Staff Alumni Impact Award
2021
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Emerald Anderson-Ford (New Hampshire ’09, ’10)
Equity specialist at Â鶹ÊÓƵ; Founder and owner of Communities Reaching for Equity and Diversity
Kevin Dua (Boston ’10, ’11)
Award-winning history teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
Dre Thomas (Los Angeles ’11, New York ’12)
Founder and CEO of Smile on Me
2019
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Matthew Axelrod (Boston ’88)
Partner at Linklaters LLP
Robert Barnett (Seattle/King County ’10)
Co-founder and chief operating officer of The Modern Classrooms Project
Imran Siddiquee (San José/Silicon Valley ’08)
Communications director at MediaJustice; Collaborator at South Asian American Digital Archive in Philadelphia
Laura Toni-Holsinger (Boston ’04)
Executive director at United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County
Alissa Ziemianski (Cleveland ’99, Seattle/King County ’00)
Operations and marketing director at Chico Natural Food Cooperative
2018
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Beth Bryant (Boston ’04)
Vice president, strategy at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Maggie P. Chang (New York ’07)
Co-founder, art director and producer at Rising Earth: Human Impact Education; Co-founder and program director at Orange Giraffe Project
Michael Mandel (Chicago ’97)
Immigration lawyer at Kauff, McGuire & Margolis, LLP; Co-chair of the advocacy/media committee at American Immigration Lawyers Association’s New York chapter
Jay Patel (New York ’10)
Co-founder and vice president at Village Energy
Melissa Urbain (San José/Silicon Valley ’06)
Language arts teacher and instructional coach at San José Unified School District; Representative of California Teachers Association State Council
2017
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Beth Marco Bayouth (Chicago ’02)
Director of strategy and development at Big Citizen HUB
Dan Foley (New York ’09, ’10)
Vice president and executive director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Jacksonville
Brent Holsinger (Boston ’04)
Founder and president of On the Road Collaborative
Mubarak Lawrence (Philadelphia ’11)
Co-founder and vice president of Rising Sons, Inc.
Alex Peay (Philadelphia ’10, ’11)
Founder and president of Rising Sons, Inc.
Whitney Parnell (Washington, D.C. ’11, ’12)
Co-founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps
2016
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Rahn Dorsey (Boston ’90)
Chief of education at City of Boston
Jade Elias (New York ’07)
Chief program officer at Red Hook Initiative
Bethiel Girma Holton (Boston ’06, ’07)
National director of student engagement at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Gina Massuda Barnett (Chicago ’97)
Chronic disease prevention and health promotion unit director at Cook County Department of Public Health
Chris Osgood (Boston ’95)
Chief of streets for City of Boston
2015
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Dr. Hyung “Harry” Cho (Greater Philadelphia ’03)
Director of quality and patient safety at Mount Sinai Hospital
Jeff Lafata (Boston ’00, ’01)
Founder and executive director of Empowering People for Inclusive Communities (EPIC)
Marion Mollegen McFadden (Columbus ’95)
Deputy assistant secretary for grant programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Kate Morgan (Greater Philadelphia ’07, Care Force ’08)
Head of corporate social responsibility, North America for SAP
Davier Rodriguez (San Antonio ’10)
Co-founder and coordinator of DREAMzone at Arizona State University
2014
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Alen Amini (Columbus ’10)
Dean of students at Lakeside High School
Thea DeRosa (Columbia ’01, ’02)
Vice president of programs at Cleveland Foodbank
Anuj Gupta (Boston ’97)
Executive director at Mt. Airy USA
Laura Hamm (New York ’05, ’06)
Executive director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Baton Rouge
Sean McDevitt (Boston ’02)
Senior director of alumni and career services at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Jay Thompson (Philadelphia ’03)
Senior director of new site operations at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
2013
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Angel Charles (Boston ’97)
Principal of Dennis C. Haley Pilot Elementary School
George Deveney (Greater Philadelphia ’03)
Senior director of new site development at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Mario Fedelin (San José/Silicon Valley ’04, Greater Philadelphia ’05)
Program director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Los Angeles
Aaron Marquez (Boston ’03, ’04)
First Lieutenant of United States Army Reserve; Co-founder of ServeNext
Alejandra St. Guillen (Boston ’96)
Executive director at ¿Oiste?
2012
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Christina Cotto (Rhode Island ’01, ’02)
Program director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rhode Island
David Hureau (Boston ’98)
Lead designer and manager at StreetSafe Boston; Co-founder of Villages Without Walls
Molly Ola Pinney (Seattle/King County ’01)
Founder and CEO of Global Autism Project
Katie Provencher (Boston ’04)
Director of community engagement at Urban Edge
Matthew Stahl (Boston ’98)
Principal of Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School
2011
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Tina Fernandes (Washington, D.C. ’02, ’03)
Program director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Washington, D.C.
Melissa Kim (Chicago ’00)
Director at North 5th Street Revitilization Project
Seth Marbin (Seattle ’99)
Human resources business partner at Social Responsibility, Google, Inc.
Sherry Mattson Noud (Boston ’95)
Social worker/homeless services at Fairfax County Public Schools
Meghan Trombly (Seattle ’03)
Director of program operations at Strong Women, Strong Girls
2010
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Alison Coleman-Hardy (Boston ’92)
Director, homelessness prevention programs at City Mission Society
Andrew Fairbairn (Boston ’92)
Founder and director of SEO London
Zach Maurin (Boston ’03)
Co-founder and executive director of ServeNext
Jason Waite (Columbus ’01)
Director of service impact at Â鶹ÊÓƵ – leading and deploying Whole School Whole Child service model
Eric Wobser (Cleveland ’02)
Executive director at Near West Community Development Corporation
2009
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Sean Shirley-Davidson (Chicago ’95)
Education reform leader at Neighborhood House Charter School
Sara O’Brien (Columbus ’95)
Entrepreneur and community activist at BreastFest and Tyanna Barre O’Brien Breast Cancer Foundation
Neil Batiancila (Greater Philadelphia ’00)
National service leader and innovator at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Greater Philadelphia
Emily Cherniack (Boston ’01)
Coalition builder and community organizer at Be The Change, Inc.
Nicole Yongue (Boston ’05, ’06)
City Heroes program innovator and youth activist
2008
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Toby Chalberg (San Antonio ’99)
National service leader at AmeriCorps Alums
Chris Corneille (Greater Philadelphia ’00)
City Heroes program innovator and developer at Â鶹ÊÓƵ
Tony Jordan (Columbia ’93)
Founder and chief visionary officer of AWOL, Inc.
Adero Robinson (Columbus ’96)
Youth development specialist at United Way of Central Ohio
Kyle Wedberg (Boston ’97)
Education leader at Recovery School District of New Orleans
2007
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Jennifer Jarrell (Greater Philadelphia ’99, ’00)
Co-founder and program director of Indian Valley Boys & Girls Club
Elizabeth Nielsen (Greater Philadelphia ’98, San José/Silicon Valley ’99)
Mentor and service program innovator at Â鶹ÊÓƵ San José/Silicon Valley
Tondalaya Shepard-Turner (Boston ’94)
Director of community service at Mount Sinai Health System
Rachel Solotaroff, M.D. (Rhode Island ’94)
Medical director at Central City Concern Health Services
Chi Tschang (Rhode Island ’99)
Founding principal of KIPP Academy Fresno
2006
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David Bredhoff (New York ’05)
Co-director at Sudan Freedom Walk
Noelle Celeste (Boston ’93)
Community activist at Children First of Cleveland and Summer on the Cuyahoga
Monica Eav (Greater Philadelphia ’01, ’02)
Advocate of immigrant and international human rights
Veronica Nyhan Jones (Boston ’88)
Organizer at Wold Bank Conference on Poverty and Exclusion of Roma People
Sarah Roberson (San José/Silicon Valley ’97)
Leader and founder of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Little Rock
2005
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Christopher Brown (Boston ’00)
Innovator and mentor at Â鶹ÊÓƵ and NFTE Incubator Program
Wyneshia Foxworth (Greater Philadelphia ’97, ’98)
Leader and mentor at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Greater Philadelphia
Steve Ginsburg (Boston ’95)
Co-founder of HartBeat Ensemble
Eliza Goodwin (Rhode Island ’95)
Executive director and community organizer at Southside Family School
Christopher Murphy (Boston ’88)
Founding executive director of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Washington, D.C.
2004
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Lourdes Barroso (Columbus ’95)
Leader at Â鶹ÊÓƵ start-up team with four sites
Debra-Ellen Glickstein (Boston ’97)
Community organizer at New York City’s National Service Day
Rebeca Nieves Huffman (Chicago ’98)
President at Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options
Hamilton Simons-Jones (Boston ’97)
Director of community services coordination at Tulane University
Owen Stearns (Boston ’90)
Founding board member of Excel Academy Charter School
2003
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Karilyn Crockett (Boston ’93)
Co-founder of MYTOWN
Kelly Dura (Greater Philadelphia ’99)
Developer at Leadership Curriculum
Mark Payne (Chicago ’96)
Community organizer at Near-West Side Community Development Corporation
J. Carrie Oelberger (Boston ’94)
Founder of Jifunze Project
2002
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Michael Elliott (San José/Silicon Valley ’99)
Advocate at Quality Health Care in Santa Clara County
Sean Holleran (Boston ’95)
Deputy director at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Greater Philadelphia
Jamella Lee (Columbus ’99)
Leader of piloting Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Clinton Democracy Fellowship program
Ted Marquis (Boston ’95)
Director, Care Force at Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Corporate Day Service Model
Steve Stevenson (Boston ’94)
Founder of Off the Streets, Gang Outreach Program
2001
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Tiffany Chiang (Chicago ’95)
Founder of GirlWorld
Elliott Epps (Columbia ’95)
Educator and leader at South Carolina Race Relations
Brendan Hughes (Boston ’94)
Founding director of Peabody Theatre Cooperative
Miguel Quinones (Boston ’97)
Community activist and mentor
2000
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Jim Allen (Boston ’93)
Developer of Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s national technical infrastructure
LaTonya Brown (Boston ’94)
Developer of Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s first evening service program
Bernadette Limosnero (San José ’96)
Leader of national Â鶹ÊÓƵ program
Debie Parker (Columbia ’96)
Leader and activist at Â鶹ÊÓƵ and Democracy Compact
Sarah Price (Chicago ’96)
Advocate for the rights of children experiencing homelessness
1999
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Deb Berman (Boston ’96)
Co-founder and executive director of Camp Starfish
Steve Burritt (Boston ’97)
Developer of middle school drug prevention curriculum
Jenny Gray (Boston ’93)
Community activist at partnering community organizations
Saskia Grinberg (Boston ’92)
Child advocate at Home for Little Wanderers
Albert Moy (Boston ’96)
Co-founder of Hands Across Generations in the Asian Community
1998
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Jim Balfanz (Boston ’94)
Founding co-executive director of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Greater Philadelphia
Taj Mustapha (Boston ’92)
Co-founder of At The Crossroads
Kelly Overton (Columbia ’95)
Director at Youth Voice Radio: On-Air Youth Service Programs
Chris Smith (Rhode Island ’94)
Founder of Geneva Heroes
Renee West (Boston ’92)
Mentor and role model of Â鶹ÊÓƵ AmeriCorps members
1997
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Christine Bader (Rhode Island ’94)
Developer at Phillips Academy Andover Community Service Program
Phil Clawson (Boston ’94)
Activist, commitment to strengthening community relations
Susie Margolin (Columbia ’95)
Founder of Blackfeet Youth Initiative
Kadi Tierney (Boston ’91)
Founding executive director of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Cleveland
Bonnie Villegas (Boston ’93)
Developer at Peace at Home Domestic Violence Curriculum
1996
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Jay Kim (Boston ’93)
National leader and developer at Public Allies
Chad Olcott (Boston ’91)
Founding executive director of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rhode Island
Maritza Rosario (Boston ’94)
Leader at Kaboom
James Willie (Boston ’88)
Champion of national service learning organizations and initiatives
1995
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Spencer Blasdale (Boston ’88)
Leader of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Chicago start-up team
Marilyn Concepcion (Rhode Island ’94)
National spokesperson for national service
Nicole Fyvie (Boston ’93)
Developer of Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s HIV/AIDS curriculum and Red Cross partnership
Stephen Spaloss (Boston ’91)
Leader of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rhode Island, Â鶹ÊÓƵ San José/Silicon Valley and Â鶹ÊÓƵ Philadelphia start-up teams
Andre Thomas (Boston ’92)
Developer of Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s violence prevention curriculum
Please contact Laura Kazanovicz, senior director of national alumni impact, at lkazanovicz@cityyear.org with any questions.
2023 Â鶹ÊÓƵ Alumni Leadership Awards
In 2023, we were thrilled to recognize three outstanding alums who have continued their commitment to service, and have demonstrated extraordinary achievement, contribution, and/or commitment to working towards social justice, and building stronger communities.
Read about our 2023 honorees RSVP for the awards presentation