July 14, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
The award: The John W. Gardner Leadership Award, which recognizes a person working in or with nonprofits whose leadership has been transformative and who has organized people, institutions, or causes that improve people’s lives
Who gives it: Independent Sector, a coalition of charities and foundations; Mr. Gardner, who was considered an architect of President Johnson’s Great Society programs, was the founding chair of the organization.
The winner: Constance Rice, one of the founders of the Advancement Project, a civil-rights organization that draws together representatives of law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, former gang members, and local residents to deal with gang violence
Why she won: Diana Aviv, chief executive of Independent Sector, says Ms. Rice was selected for her ability to work with disparate groups of people. “This was a candidate who was seen as able to transcend communities, economic status, and sectors, and bring people together in a way that matters to everybody,” she says.
Plans for the future: Ms. Rice says she wants to focus her efforts on human trafficking. “It’s getting bigger and bigger every year in L.A. County,” she says.
Her most significant achievement: Making it possible for the Los Angeles Unified School District to build 147 schools in needy communities after none had been built for 30 years. Conditions were so bad that many children had to sit on the floor all day. Ms. Rice sued the State Allocation Board in California, arguing that it had not disbursed enough money to overcrowded Los Angeles schools. She won $1-billion for school improvements.
How she planned her career: “There’s no script, there’s no playbook,” she says. “You’re flying the plane while you’re building it.”
