As a Senior Program Officer for the California Democracy program, Catherine is e
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Apr 05, 2013
Hot off the heels of Irvine’s 2013 Leadership Awards announcement, nominations are pouring in for the class of 2014. We can’t wait for the review process to start. Year after year we are wowed by the innovative nominees and how well they are addressing important challenges in their communities.
But it looks like we’ll have to wait just a few more days as we have extended the nominations deadline to April 10. If you haven’t yet nominated that terrifically effective leader who wows you, now is the time.
The $125,000 Leadership Award advances the work of individuals and small teams who are implementing innovative and effective solutions to significant state issues. Nominees may be working in any field - such as education, health, public safety, economic development or the environment - and in the public, private or nonprofit sector. We seek nominees who have demonstrated inclusiveness and leadership in their fields and whose work is ready to be shared with policymakers and other practitioners.
We have simplified the application to make it easier to nominate someone for a James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. The application has two parts:
Alex Barnum was a Communications Officer at The James Irvine Foundation from 200
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Mar 07, 2013
The 2013 Leadership Award recipients are making headlines. In the month since the awards were announced, media outlets across the state have been spotlighting the work of these extraordinary individuals who are advancing innovative solutions to some of California’s biggest challenges.
Vida en el Valle, a weekly Spanish language paper serving the San Joaquin Valley, profiled recipientsAida Cardenas (Building Skills Partnership, Los Angeles) and José Quiñonez (Mission Asset Fund, San Francisco), noting that both "have dedicated a substantial part of their lives helping others build their own."
The San Francisco Chronicle featured an op-ed by Quiñonez describing how Mission Asset Fund, through its Lending Circles program, helped a low-income family establish a credit score, build assets and start a small business.
Jim is Irvine’s CEO. A native Californian, he is passionate about the Foundation
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Feb 04, 2013
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards. The awards recognize Californians who are implementing innovative, effective solutions to critical state issues. This year’s recipients are particularly collaborative in their approaches and excel at building upon the resourcefulness and determination of California’s residents to improve the future of our state.
They are:
Aida Cardenas, Building Skills Partnership, Los Angeles — Aida leads a unique labor-management collaboration that is increasing opportunity for thousands of low-wage workers while improving the competitiveness of their employers.
Karen Christensen, Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, Capitola — Karen is bringing together landowners, environmental groups and government agencies to craft innovative solutions that protect water and other natural resources.
Stuart Cohen, TransForm, Oakland — Stuart champions innovative regional planning to create affordable, vibrant communities that improve our quality of life and help the environment.
Jeff Oxendine, Health Career Connection, Oakland — Jeff leads efforts to strengthen California’s health workforce and expand opportunity for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds to launch rewarding careers in the state’s growing health industry.
José Quiñonez, Mission Asset Fund, San Francisco — José helps low-income families build assets and establish credit scores by turning informal lending practices into recognized financial activity.
Jill Vialet, Playworks, Oakland — Jill offers a unique approach to recess at hundreds of California elementary schools that improves student learning and behavior, and reduces bullying.
Alex Barnum was a Communications Officer at The James Irvine Foundation from 200
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Jan 14, 2013
Five years ago, John Carlon and Tom Griggs were recognized with a James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award for their innovative work restoring the river ecosystems of the Central Valley while improving protection of populated areas from potentially devastating floods.
Increasingly, farmers are pulling back from the region’s rivers, unwilling to risk planting in these flood-prone areas. Carlon and Griggs’ nonprofit, River Partners, is demonstrating that restoring these areas to their native habitat makes sense for a variety of reasons, including better absorbing flood waters, reducing erosion, conserving wildlife and filtering pollutants.
Now, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that River Partners is leading the “largest, most sophisticated effort yet” to restore the Central Valley’s river corridors. Here is an excerpt from the front-page article:
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As a Senior Program Officer for the California Democracy program, Catherine is e
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Jan 08, 2013
Today we kick off an exciting month for the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards. We are pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the 2014 Leadership Awards. And in just a few short weeks, we’ll announce the recipients of the 2013 Leadership Awards. It’s going to be a celebratory, inspiring month!
Each year the Leadership Awards recognize four to six leaders who are tackling big issues in California and offering breakthrough solutions that can contribute to a better future for our state. We welcome nominations of leaders from all corners of the state and from any field – such as education, health, public safety, economic development or the environment – in the public, private or nonprofit sector.
Past recipients have worked on issues as diverse as providing mental health care for returning veterans, building vibrant communities for seniors, reducing youth recidivism and installing solar panels in low-income communities. What these leaders have in common is that they are advancing innovative, effective solutions to significant issues in California.
Please take a moment to tell us about someone who is improving California and nominate him or her for a 2014 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. The deadline for nominations is April 5, 2013.
Alex Barnum was a Communications Officer at The James Irvine Foundation from 200
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Oct 28, 2012
The Center for Land-Based Learning recently graduated the first class of 20 students from its six-month California Farm Academy, the latest of Craig McNamara’s innovative efforts to increase the ranks of young farmers in California.
As the 2012 Leadership Award recipient notes, the state must attract more of these young farmers or risk losing valuable agricultural land from production. And fortunately, the center is having little trouble attracting applicants, thanks to “a growing interest among young people in organic farming, farmers markets and the slow-food movement,” according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.
Since McNamara’s appointment as president of the state Board of Food and Agriculture in 2011, his impact on a range of agriculture-related issues in California has been growing, the Times article notes. Here is an excerpt:
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Alex Barnum was a Communications Officer at The James Irvine Foundation from 200
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Oct 10, 2012
Walk into Vaughn Next Century Learning Center and don't be surprised to hear the mostly Latino students conversing in Mandarin. After all, Vaughn's students are expected to take four years of the Chinese dialect, in addition to mastering English and Spanish, before they graduate.
It is just one of the ways this school in the low-income community of Pacoima, in the San Fernando Valley is defying expectations and preparing its students to thrive in an increasingly global economy.
A recent article in the Los Angeles Daily News focused on Yvonne Chan, Vaughn’s principal and the recipient of a 2007 Leadership Award. It describes her 20-year journey of taking Pacoima schools from failing to flourishing. Here is an excerpt:
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As Director of the California Democracy program, Amy leads strategies aimed at i
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Aug 16, 2012
Tim Carpenter, a 2011 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipient and founder of EngAGE, is featured in a New York Times article, one of its “Fixes” series, which looks at solutions to social problems. The feature also includes the Irvine Leadership Award video about Tim’s work. The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards recognize and support Californians who are advancing innovative and effective solutions to significant state issues. To learn more about Tim and other Leadership Award recipients’ effective approaches, visit here. To receive updates about Leadership Award alumni and their work, subscribe to Leadership Award News.
Alex Barnum was a Communications Officer at The James Irvine Foundation from 200
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Jul 15, 2012
At her nurse-run health clinic in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, Patricia Dennehy is offering a model solution to a major dilemma. Within the next two years, some 4 million state residents who currently lack health insurance will be seeking new providers. Yet a growing shortage of primary-care physicians means many of them won’t find the care they need.
Dennehy, who received a 2012 Leadership Award, is proving that nurse practitioners — nurses with advanced training and graduate-level degrees — can help fill that gap. Her innovative approach to providing health care for San Francisco’s poor was the focus of the cover article in California Health Report’s inaugural issue. Here is an excerpt:
Alex Barnum was a Communications Officer at The James Irvine Foundation from 200
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Jul 02, 2012
Dori Rose Inda, recipient of a 2011 Leadership Award, has been improving the lives of workers in the Pajaro Valley for a decade. She and her colleagues at the Watsonville Law Center developed an effective way for agricultural and other low-income workers with job-related injuries to access medical care. The model, which connects to the existing workers’ compensation system, would save taxpayers an estimated $100 million each year if it were expanded statewide.
On the heels of publishing a comprehensive replication manual for the program, Rose Inda spoke with Watsonville Patch about her journey and goals. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
Hot off the heels of Irvine’s 2013 Leadership Awards announcement, nominations are pouring in for the class of 2014. We can’t wait for the review process to start. Year after year we are wowed by the innovative nominees and how well they are addressing important challenges in their communities.
