Release date: 6/22/2023

Contact: 
Kelly Alexander or Lindsay Moore
NeighborWorks America Media
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NeighborWorks America honors top community leaders with resident leadership award

Washington, D.C. — Today, NeighborWorks America President & CEO Marietta Rodriguez announced the 2023 Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership honorees. The five honorees have inspired solidarity in their neighborhoods, effecting needed change and growth while helping sustain and preserve culture and build crucial structures and facilities. NeighborWorks' annual Dorothy Richardson Awards for Resident Leadership will be presented on Oct. 27 at a ceremony during the national nonprofit's Community Leadership Institute (CLI) in San Francisco, California. 

"Our 2023 Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership honorees are creating access to opportunities and helping develop solutions to critical community issues," Rodriguez said. "It is my honor to recognize them and hold them as examples to everyone that we can all inspire and improve our communities — we only need desire and support. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to our network of affiliates who are doing the work in the community and who nominated our honorees."

2023 Dorothy Richardson Leadership Award Honorees

Consuelo Ramirez (Houston, Texas) is helping ensure rights and language justice for Latino immigrants, and elderly and domestic workers in the Northside community. Her power lies in her ability to connect to others and motivate residents to lift up their voices and advocate for themselves and their neighbors. Because of her advocacy during the pandemic to get people engaged civically and participate in the Census, her Census tract had the second highest in participation in Harris County.

Jacklyne Ortiz Velez (Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico) is promoting social inclusion and community resilience for Villa de Mar residents. Ten years ago, Ortiz Velez founded the Community Electronic Library to help combat low literacy rates. She still manages the library, and has organized numerous community events including health fairs, cultural festivals and environmental clean-up campaigns to promote community engagement and social cohesion. Her tireless efforts have significantly impacted the lives of hundreds of individuals in Villa del Mar.

Gladys Muhammad (South Bend, Indiana) is preserving history in her community. Known as a champion for change and a problem-solver in her community, Muhammad led the charge to bring a life-sized interactive statue of Harriet Tubman to South Bend, honoring the Underground Railroad's ties to Indiana and Michigan. She also brings people together to forward initiatives in South Bend, such as a shelter for abused women.

James Page, Jr. (Minneapolis, Minnesota) is empowering communities of color centered in recovery, hope and healing. Page used his own recovery experience to become a mentor, recovery coach and spiritual leader who interrupts negative experiences with support and understanding. He founded the Men's Spiritual Circle at the Cultural Wellness Center in South Minneapolis and leads biweekly support groups. He often uses cards he wrote, which he calls "Spiritual Apples," to help residents focus on positive thoughts, pillars and attributes.

G. Naeema Gilyard (Atlanta, Georgia) is protecting her community from environmental harm due to industrial development. Gilyard has focused her work on her community 20 miles outside of Atlanta, a majority Black, mixed-income, community of more than 800 homes. Partly suburban and partly rural, this community has been threatened in recent years by heavy industrial development. She has spent countless hours leading her homeowner's association, successfully advocating for cityhood for South Fulton, serving on City Council and protecting her residential community from the environmental hazards posed by encroaching industrial development, warehouses and landfills.

Resident leaders like Ramirez, Ortiz Valdez, Page, Muhammad and Gilyard act as positive change agents in their communities, have engaged diverse groups of community residents and have played essential roles in strengthening their communities, which is why the nonprofit chooses to honor leaders from across the country each year. NeighborWorks America's founding story is based on a resident-led, 1968 campaign for better housing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, led by a Black homeowner, Dorothy Mae Richardson, for whom the leadership award is named. She had vision, commitment and endurance, and collaborated with her neighbors to address the history of redlining and disinvestment in their community. NeighborWorks knows that communities are more inclusive, resilient and vibrant when residents are empowered to drive and maintain positive change. That is why NeighborWorks America offers training and development opportunities for local resident leaders to empower them to create solutions to problems facing their communities. More than 16,000 resident leaders have participated in the CLI since its inception. This year's honorees will receive their awards at the event. Learn about past honorees at Dorothy Richardson Awards for Resident Leadership.

About NeighborWorks America
For more than 40 years, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., a national, nonpartisan nonprofit known as NeighborWorks America, has strived to make every community a place of opportunity. Our network of excellence includes nearly 250 members in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. NeighborWorks America offers grant funding, peer exchange, technical assistance, evaluation tools, and access to training as the nation's leading trainer of housing and community development professionals. NeighborWorks network organizations provide residents in their communities with affordable homes, owned and rented; financial counseling and coaching; community building through resident engagement; and collaboration in the areas of health, employment, and education.