Community Shares of Wisconsin will celebrate the work of community leaders and organizations who are “advancing social and environmental justice in our community” at the annual Community Change-Maker Awards on Thursday, Sept. 19.
This hybrid event, which will take place both in person at Union South and online, will honor the following leaders:
- Mary Berryman Agard, the president of the Bayview Foundation and a board member of the Madison Senior Center Foundation, will be honored with the Liesl Blockstein Community Leadership Award.
- Brandi Grayson, an inspiring leader who founded Urban Triage in 2019 to address issues such as state violence, mass incarceration, housing shortages, and police brutality, will be honored with the Sally Sunde Family Advocate Award.
- Maria I. Rodriguez, who has been a dedicated member of the ACLU of Wisconsin board since 2021 and has a 30-year career at Milwaukee’s Housing Authority and as Director of the Election Commission where she has worked to improve housing and ensure fair elections, will be honored with the Linda Sundberg Civil Rights Defender Award.
- Michele Erikson will be honored with the Community Shares of Wisconsin Lifetime Achievement Award. Since 1985, Erikson has worked in literacy at the local and state level as a tutor, board chair, workforce development director, English language instructor, and executive director.
At the event, Community Shares of Wisconsin Collaboration Awards, which “recognizes CSW member nonprofits that demonstrate the power of collaboration with their coordinated efforts to lead impactful social justice change within our community,” will be presented to the Tenant Resource Center and Legal Action of Wisconsin.
Tickets purchased in support of this event, which is presented by UW Credit Union, will help Community Shares award $6,000 in donations to local nonprofits. Each of the six award winners will select a nonprofit to receive a $1,000 donation.
Tickets are a suggested donation of $50. To purchase tickets or to sponsor the event, click here.
