Awards, Jun 04, 2009

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

Arts. The McKnight Foundation (Minneapolis) has presented its 2009 Distinguished Artist Award to Bain Boehlke, an actor, director, and founding artistic director of the Jungle Theater (Minneapolis). The award, which carries a $50,000 cash prize, recognizes working artists who have contributed significantly to the arts in Minnesota.

Criminal justice. The Open Society Institute (New York) has announced its 2009 Soros Justice Fellows, a cohort that includes advocates, economic planners, filmmakers, lawyers, journalists, researchers, and scholars committed to improvements in the U.S. criminal-justice system. Each fellow conducts a one-year to 18-month project and receives a stipend between $45,000 and $79,500. The fellows and the institutions with which they are affiliated:

— Carrie Ann Ahirota, lawyer and advocate, Maui Economic Opportunity (Wailuku, Hawaii)

— Sam Brooke, lawyer, Southern Poverty Law Center (Montgomery, Ala.)

— Khalilah Brown-Dean, scholar, Yale U. (New Haven, Conn.)

— Wyatt Feeler, lawyer, ACLU Capital Punishment Project (Durham, N.C.)

— Renay Frankel, lawyer, Committee for Public Counsel Services (Boston)

— Patrice Gaines, author (Lake Wylie, S.C.)

— Amalia Greenberg Delgado, lawyer, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (San Francisco)

— Clemmie Greenlee, community organizer, Urban EpiCenter (Nashville, Tenn.)

— Catherine Greensfelder, lawyer, National Housing Law Project (Oakland, Calif.)

— Shannon Heffernan, broadcast journalist and producer (Chicago)

— Anita Khandelwal, lawyer, the Defender Association (Seattle)

— Lauren Melodia, community organizer, Center for Community Alternatives (New York)

— Nancy Mullane, broadcast journalist and producer (San Francisco)

— Jessica Pupovac, journalist (Chicago)

— Liane Rozzell, community organizer, Legal Aid Justice Center (Charlottesville, Va.)

— Katheryn Russell-Brown, scholar (Gainesville, Fla.)

— Kristin Traicoff, lawyer, Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana (New Orleans)

Environment. Global Green USA (Santa Monica, Calif.) has announced the winners of its 2009 Millennium Awards, which honor individuals and organizations that promote sustainability and encourage others to do the same.

— California Environmental Leadership Award: Wallis Annenberg and the Annenberg Foundation (Los Angeles), which supports environmental organizations and green projects in Southern California and nationally.

— Green Building Environmental Leadership Award: Marc Nathanson, founder of Falcon Waterfree Technologies (Los Angeles), which creates urinals that do not use water.

— Founder’s Award: Zem Joaquin, founder of ecofabulous.com, which produces reviews of environmentally friendly beauty, fashion, home, kids, and lifestyle products.

— Entertainment Industry Environmental Leadership Award: Jeff Skoll, founder of the Skoll Foundation (Palo Alto, Calif.), which supports social entrepreneurship, and of the Skoll Urgent Threats Fund, which will battle climate change and other serious global problems.

Leadership. Partners for Livable Communities (Washington) has presented its Founders Award for Civic Leadership to Clare Brett Smith, former president of Aid to Artisans (Hartford, Conn.), which helps artisans around the world competitively sell their crafts. Ms. Smith, who led Aid to Artisans for 20 years, was recognized for her contributions to creating jobs and increasing income for craftspeople and for preserving cultural traditions.

Youths. Do Something (New York) has announced the five winners of its 2009 Do Something Awards, which honor young people whose efforts have yielded measurable results. The winners, who will each receive $10,000 for their cause and are eligible for a $100,000 grand prize:

— Marvelyn Brown (Nashville, Tenn.), 24, who talks to young people about how she contracted HIV, and whose speeches have encouraged 200,000 to get tested for the virus.

— David Burstein (Weston, Conn.), 20, who created a youth-run, multimedia, national program to register young voters.

— Maggie Doyne (Mendham, N.J.), 22, who used her savings to create a shelter for children in Nepal who have been affected by a decades-long civil war.

— Eric Glustrom (Boulder, Colo.), 24, who created a program in Africa that gives scholarships, financing, leadership seminars, mentorships, and resources to future social entrepreneurs.

— Darius Weems (Athens, Ga.), 19, who produced a documentary that has raised $1.6-million for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.