• Member Awards
• Public & Private Sector Awards

THE 2020 RICANNE HADRIAN AWARD RECIPIENT:

Yahaira Objio, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) - 

Yahaira is the director of Resident Services at IBA. Two years ago, she moved to Massachusetts from Puerto Rico where she worked as a social worker for 17 years. Since she began working at IBA as a Resident Services Coordinator in 2019, resident engagement has increased by 100%. She helped to launch the Resident Ambassador Program, an initiative to build residents’ leadership skills while they help others in their community.

During the pandemic Yahaira organized IBA’s wellness calls to residents to ensure that they had the resources to cope with the effects of COVID-19. Under her leadership, IBA was able to provide access to remote and onsite programming under strict COVID-19 safety protocols. She has ensured that weekly food distributions were coordinated; residents could pay their rent online; and those who lost jobs could file for unemployment benefits and rent assistance. She helped to coordinate a vaccination clinic which benefited not just IBA residents but the surrounding community.

Her commitment to community engagement is evidenced by her ability to motivate her team to be “out there” connecting with the community, doing outreach in innovative ways and engaging IBA residents in important civic conversations.

Working at IBA allows Yahaira to continue practicing her vocation - working for equity and social justice as well as maintaining a direct connection with her culture and her Hispanic roots. She is currently studying at the Institute for Non-Profit Practice to continue developing her leadership skills.

THE 2020 RISING STAR AWARD RECIPIENTS:

Joselyn Feliciano, CEDC - 

Joselyn, who was born and raised in New Bedford, started at the CEDC as an AmeriCorps Member in 2013 and now is a full-time staff member. She has helped to create a community garden and the “Love the Ave” campaign, a neighborhood beautification effort. In 2019 she became CEDC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site coordinator. She oversees the preparation and filling of over 1600 tax returns each year bringing back 3 million dollars to the local economy. During the pandemic, Joselyn managed an emergency aid program to disburse privately funded stimulus payments to ITIN taxpayers shut out from the federal stimulus payments. Throughout her tenure at the CEDC, Joselyn has been eager to learn new skills and to develop efficient systems to manage complex programs.

Liam Gude, Hilltown CDC - 

Liam has called Western Mass, and specifically the Hilltowns, his home since he moved from Martha's Vineyard to attend UMass Amherst. He became a board member of Hilltown CDC three years ago. When the owners of a local market decided to retire and sell their business, Liam volunteered to lead a public process to identify a buyer. He formed committees and scheduled meetings. The process included a financial analysis of the business and business plan development. The process was a success and a new owner now operates the market and it is better than it was before. He is now leading Hilltown CDC in forming a racial equity and justice project, engaging the community in a racial equity dialogue, and is working with people of color to establish a BIPOC-owned business in the Hilltowns. As a board member he strives to see the CDC move towards bold local and regional action on economic democracy, racial equity, and climate change solutions.

Miriam Ortiz, Just-A-Start - 

Miriam has served as JAS's Director of Education and Training for two years, after serving as the director of Workforce Development for the year prior. In her current role she oversees job training programs that train adults - mostly immigrants and people of color - for jobs in the Life Science and Information Technology field. She also oversees the organization’s YouthBuild program, which prepares out-of-school youth for careers in the construction and customer service fields. Miriam has increased the scale and enhanced the impact of these programs, raised their profile, and forged new partnerships that set the programs up to deepen and broaden their impact. Because of her leadership, these programs are both student-centered - supporting them in every possible way - and data-driven - holding Just-A-Start to high standards. Throughout her career, Miriam has built strong managerial, strategic, and operational competencies in her work with underserved populations, including mixed-status immigrant families, adult learners, and young parents. Originally from Mexico, and a resident of Hyde Park, Miriam has a personal commitment to working with people in her community with a strengths-based approach to remove individual and systemic barriers to educational, social, and economic mobility.

MEMBER AWARDS

The Ricanne Hadrian Award:

This award is for a CDC project manager or organizer who meaningfully engages local residents in building economically and racially just communities.

Ricanne Hadrian was MACDC's Deputy Director for housing and community reinvestment until her death in October 1996. She also designed the community organizing initiative, RHICO, name in her honor.

The Richard Smith Award:

MACDC presents this award to a CDC staff person or board member who exemplifies outstanding commitment, leadership and achievement on behalf of the statewide movement.

Richard Smith was the Executive Director of the Fitchburg CDC. He worked tirelessly on behalf of his organization and his community. MACDC has presented this award in his memory since 1992.

The Rising Star Award:

This award is presented to Executive Directors, staff or board members that are 40 years old or younger who have demonstrated their potential, outstanding innovation, leadership and achievement in community development.

PUBLIC & PRIVATE SECTOR AWARDS

Excellence in Community Development:

MACDC presents the Excellence in Community Development Award to an individual or agency from the public sector that has provided exceptional support and leadership for the community development movement in Massachusetts.

The Jeffrey Graham Award:

This award is presented to a person or organization from the private sector that has provided exceptional support and leadership for the community development movement in Massachusetts.

Jeffrey Graham was a community reinvestment officer who demonstrated a genuine commitment to supporting CDCs and their communities. In 2002, MACDC named this award in Jeffrey's memory.