Awards, Nov 01, 2007

The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas:

American Indians. Ecotrust (Portland, Ore.) has presented its 2007 Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership to Roberta Conner, director of the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute (Pendleton, Ore.). Ms. Conner was honored for her work to preserve the cultural interests of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes. This $25,000 award recognizes an American Indian leader who works in conservation or community development in the region stretching from Alaska to California.

Education. The 2007 Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education, awarded by the McGraw-Hill Companies (New York) to honor individuals dedicated to improving education in the United States, has been presented to three winners, who each received $25,000:

— Lois B. DeFleur, president of the State U. of New York at Binghamton, who has overseen a general-education program to help undergraduate students understand other cultures and learn foreign languages.

— Reynauld Smith, a teacher of social studies and American history at Eastern High School (Washington), who integrated the school’s Model United Nations program into his Advanced Placement American history curriculum and has organized class trips to Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Portugal.

— Vivien Stewart, vice president for education at the Asia Society (New York), for her efforts to encourage Chinese-language instruction and develop a network of national and state education leaders to expand international programs nationwide.

Microfinance. The Grameen Foundation (Washington) has presented its Susan M. Davis Lifetime Achievement Award to Sam Daley-Harris, founder and president of Results (Washington), an international advocacy group that operates projects aimed at ending hunger and poverty. One such effort that he directed, the Microcredit Summit Campaign, succeeded in supplying 100 million of the world’s poorest people with opportunities to start their own businesses and provided other financial and business services. The award carries a $5,000 grant that will be divided between the Results Educational Fund and the Microcredit Summit Campaign.

Social services. The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty (Grand Rapids, Mich.) has presented its 2007 Samaritan Award to the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches (Batesville), in recognition of its work to create safe and permanent homes for abused or neglected children. The award carries a $10,000 cash prize.