Awards, Jun 23, 2005

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

Arts. Americans for the Arts (Washington) has presented its 2005 Selina Roberts Ottum Award, which recognizes exemplary local arts leadership, to Jill McGuire, executive director of the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. The group also presented its 2005 Michael Newton Award, which recognizes leadership in supporting the arts through a united arts fund, to Glen F. Hackmann, chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Performing Arts Fund of Greater Milwaukee. The 2005 Public Art Network Award, which recognizes innovative and creative contributions to the field of public art, went to the Public Art Fund (New York).

Health. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) has named the African Medical and Research Foundation (Nairobi, Kenya) as the recipient of the 2005 Gates Award for Global Health, which includes a $1-million prize and recognizes a group that has made a major and lasting contribution to global health. AMREF was honored for its wide-ranging programs, which deal with such issues as clean water and sanitation, emergency relief, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The award is administered by the Global Health Council, in Washington.

The California Wellness Foundation (Woodland Hills) has presented its Champions of Health Professions Diversity Award to three Californians for their successful efforts to strengthen community clinics and diversify the health-care work force in the state. The winners, who will each receive $25,000:

— Elia V. Gallardo, director of government affairs at the California Primary Care Association (Sacramento), for her work to advocate public policies that increase access to high-quality health-care services.

— Sherry M. Hirota, chief executive officer of Asian Health Services (Oakland, Calif.), for her work to promote linguistically and culturally competent health services.

— Martin Waukazoo, chief executive officer of the Native American Health Center (Oakland, Calif.), for his work to transform a small community clinic into a large health-care center serving urban American Indians.

Humanities. The Lannan Foundation (Santa Fe, N.M.) has presented its $350,000 Prize for Cultural Freedom to the author Cornel West, a professor of religion at Princeton U. (N.J.), for his outspoken criticism of social injustice in the United States and around the world. The prize recognizes individuals “whose extraordinary and courageous work celebrates the human right to freedom of imagination, inquiry, and expression.”

Public service. Independent Sector (Washington) has presented its 2005 John W. Gardner Leadership Award to Ronald Grzywinski, chairman and chief executive officer of the ShoreBank Corporation (Chicago). The award, which carries a $10,000 cash prize, recognizes Mr. Grzywinski’s work with ShoreBank, the country’s first community-development corporation, and his dedication to transforming neglected urban and rural areas into thriving communities.