Youth Group Leader Wins Gardner Award

Dorothy Stoneman, founder of YouthBuild U.S.A., is the recipient of this year’s John W. Gardner Leadership Award for non-profit leadership. The award is presented annually by Independent Sector, a Washington group that represents charities and foundations.

Ms. Stoneman started YouthBuild U.S.A. two decades ago with an educational program in East Harlem that eventually grew into a national network of alternative schools aimed at helping dropouts and other youths earn high-school diplomas and learn construction skills. The students use their newfound skills to renovate run-down buildings, turning them into homes for poor people.

The award comes with a $10,000 prize and a bust of Mr. Gardner, a founder of Independent Sector.