Awards

 Partners for Livable Communities honors the leaders and communities that shape a livable, sustainable and equitable America

Download "Celebrating Champions of Livability" event program

Partners for Livable Communities (Partners), a Washington-based nonprofit, announces “Celebrating Champions of Livability,” a national awards program recognizing 23 individuals, four organizations and two communities for their role in shaping a more livable, sustainable and equitable America. Partners hosted all honorees and their guests for a luncheon and awards presentation at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on November 12, 2018.

“Celebrating Champions of Livability” recognizes national leaders who have embodied the time-tested elements that Partners has woven together to define livability since its founding in 1977. Those elements of livability include: concern for older individuals; equal opportunity for all; amenities, arts and culture as assets; innovative economic development strategies; and bold municipal leadership.

“We will pay tribute to the women and men who are creating livable communities for all,” said Robert McNulty, president and founder of Partners. “Their extraordinary work has set the standard by which civic leaders and policymakers in both the public and private sectors can initiate and carry out community improvement strategies.”

For 40 years, Partners has celebrated the leadership of people, institutions and partnerships that have discovered unique assets that communities can build upon to become a more livable place.

“Celebrating Champions of Livability” will be emceed by Peter Harkness, founder and publisher emeritus of Governing magazine, and the Honorable Glenda E. Hood, who served as Florida Secretary of State and was the first female mayor of Orlando.

America’s Most Livable Community Award

• Boise, Idaho
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Bridge Builders Award

• World Central Kitchen and José Andrés, Chef/Owner, ThinkFoodGroup, and Founder, World Central Kitchen

Investor in America Award

• John Taylor, President and Founder, National Community Reinvestment Coalition
• Omaha Public Schools Foundation

Leader for a Livable, Equitable and Sustainable America

• Nancy LeaMond, Executive Vice President, Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, AARP
  
• Honorable Henry L. Marsh, III, Former Mayor, Richmond, Virginia, Former Virginia Senator, and Civil Rights Activist
• Honorable William K. Reilly, Former Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency, and Former President World Wildlife Fund
• Ronald Lee Fleming, Urban Planner and Designer, Preservation Advocate, and Environmental Educator and Critic
• Robert Grow, CEO, Envision Utah
• Daphne Kwok, Asian American and Pacific Islander Advocate
• Honorable Parris Glendening, Former Governor, State of Maryland
• Honorable Glenda Hood, Former Mayor, Orlando, Florida, and Former Secretary of State, Florida
• Carol Bebelle, Co-Founder and Executive Director,  Ashé Cultural Arts Center
• Neal Peirce, Urban Affairs Journalist
• Jeremy Nowak, Founder, The Reinvestment Fund (In Memoriam)
• Jane Chu, Former Chair, National Endowment for the Arts
• Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Principals, DPZ Architects
• William Struever, Principal, Cross Street Partners

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award

• Honorable Jacob Day, Mayor of Salisbury, Maryland
• Tina Shelvin Bingham, Executive Vice President, McComb-Veazey Neighborhood Coterie
• Severine von Tscharner Fleming, Director, Greenhorns

John Parr Award

• Tyler Norris, Chief Executive, Well Being Trust

Culture Builds Community Award

• EYA LLC and City of Alexandria Archaeology
• Rondell Crier, Artist

Ageless America Award

• Sandy Markwood, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Area Agencies on Aging

About Partners for Livable Communities
Since its founding in 1977, Partners for Livable Communities (Partners) has helped communities set a common vision for the future, discover and use new resources for community and economic development and build public/private coalitions to further their goals. Partners promotes livable communities through technical assistance, leadership training, workshops, charrettes, research and publications. Partners is a nonprofit focused on improving the quality of life and economic and social wellbeing of low- and moderate-income individuals and communities.

Partners for Livable Communities
1429 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-887-5990 x 108
www.livable.org

Investors in America Award
 

Janet W. Thompson is honored for her expertise in community development, engagement, and reinvestment in nonprofit and financial management. As Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, community consultant to Morgan Stanley, and former Corporate Directorof Community Reinvestment at Citibank, her spirit and leadership has propelled public and private community engagement for more than 35 years.

Founders Award for Civic Leadership 
 

James O. Gibson is honored for his leading advocacy in urban revitalization, community development, and race relations. His demonstrated commitment to social equity for more than three decades on issues ranging from civil rights to economic opportunity has provided critical progress for our country’s social fabric.

Lifetime Achievement Award 
 

Tersh Boasberg is honored for his revolutionary advocacy of historic preservation, land use, and environmental law, and as founder of Preservation Action, a national grassroots lobby. His active leadership in Washington, D.C. zoning battles has provided regional growth through the protection of historical beauty for our future.