Keyword Social Advocacy

Rowena, an overworked and underpaid convenience store worker, has not been feeling well lately. She has a lot of bills to pay, her inconsiderate boss has been consistently delayed in giving her salary and the customers are just rude in general. With a lot of these external pressures coming together, she will be forced to unlock her unexpected alter-ego as a defense mechanism. An intense amount of rage and frustration will be released throughout her overnight shift. All hell breaks loose and anyone can be collateral damage.

Sylvia Rosales-Fike is the founder, president and chief executive officer of AnewAmerica Corporation. She has earned the Robert C. Kirkwood Award made to an individual in recognition of outstanding community service, commitment and inspired leadership. Sylvia has spearheaded social and economic development opportunities that empower individuals to improve their economic lives. Her innovative, passionate, and collaborative spirit enables immigrants to bring their own families out of poverty. Sylvia has founded organizations including CARECEN, Community Bank of the Bay, and AnewAmerica and received a San Francisco Foundation award in 2010.

Rita Semel, interfaith pioneer and Jewish activist, is a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards "for her life-long successes in creating healthy, just, and inclusive communities in the Bay Area and worldwide. She builds bridges of understanding between diverse religious and ethnic communities, and brings together the interfaith community to help alleviate poverty and end discrimination. Her catalytic leadership is felt far and wide, from the San Francisco Interfaith Council to the Global Council for the United Religions Initiative. Her legacy will be a more peaceful and compassionate world." - San Francisco Foundation

"Some people are political just because of who you are." - Linda Tillery.

Swords to Plowshares, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2007 Community Leadership Awards (the John R. May Award). Swords to Plowshares is a critical center of support, advocacy, and services for war veterans. It has successfully transitioned from its origins serving Vietnam War veterans to now accommodating all veterans, including those from the current Iraq War. As a leading advocate for homeless and low-income veterans, it transforms national policy and provides comprehensive services, including counseling, employment programs, housing, and legal assistance.

Insight Prison Project, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2005 Community Leadership Awards (John R. May Award) - for its dedication to breaking the cycle of incarceration through effective in-prison rehabilitation programming, and for being a model for catalyzing statewide prison reform.

"Mission Asset Fund's work cuts to the core of the financial pain points families everywhere face." - Sam Ruiz

The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation has earned the John R. May Award for transforming neighborhoods and creating new economic opportunities for low-income communities. EBALDC's innovative projects weave together housing, economic development, and historic preservation, reaching deep into diverse communities. The John R. May Award honors organizational initiatives in response to a significant contemporary problem.

The San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards presents Ravenswood Family Health Center with the John R. May Award for providing high quality, cost-effective healthcare to southeast San Mateo County, and for advocating for the need to address health disparities and inequities. Through its innovative health education programs and Health Navigators outreach, Ravenswood serves as a model for tackling complex community health issues locally and nationally.

Eva Paterson, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2007 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award). Eva has empowered thousands of people to make their voices heard in the critical civil rights struggles of our times. Eva's passionate and longtime commitment to advancing social and racial justice through law and public policy, communications and the arts, and alliance building has had a profound local and national impact. Her vision, coalition building, and tenacity have not only won landmark cases, but have raised the visibility and impact of the justice movement to change the very fabric of our society.

National Center for Lesbian Rights, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2009 Community Leadership Awards (the John R. May Award), for its pioneering spirit and unwavering commitment to advancing the civil and human rights of LGBT people. Its precedent-setting case victories have rewritten laws to change the legal landscape for all LGBT people and families across the nation. Through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education, NCLR advocates on behalf of LGBT people and their families nationwide. For 30 years, NCLR has been at the forefront of pursuing justice, fairness, and legal protections for all LGBT people.

Bishop William Swing, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2006 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award) - for creating a more just and compassionate community. He reaches out across religions and takes risks to push for innovative solutions to social problems. Bishop Swing's perseverance in fighting homelessness, raising HIV/AIDS awareness, and providing equal access to healthcare has left an indelible imprint on local, national, and international communities.

Puente de la Costa Sur, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2004 Community Leadership Awards (John R. May Award) - for its creative, grassroots efforts to provide education, social justice advocacy, direct services, and community connections enabling immigrant men in rural San Mateo County to improve their living and working conditions

Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2008 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award) - for building unity and alliances across traditional racial and gender lines, and for serving as a selfless and inspirational advocate for oppressed peoples around the world.

Brenda Way, founder and artistic director of ODC, is a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation Community Awards "for creating a community hub through dance. She built the largest, most comprehensive contemporary dance center in the nation, and through it she inspires dancers and audiences, cultivates artists, and engages the community. Brenda is a choreographer, writer, and community activist who strengthens our region's cultural connections." - San Francisco Foundation

Mary Lou Breslin, co-founder of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2009 Community Leadership awards (the Robert C. Kirkwood Award) - for making a mark in defining disability rights as a civil rights issue. She is a trailblazer whose grassroots movement has had tremendous impact addressing human rights abuses and neglect worldwide. As co-founder of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Mary Lou was at the forefront of creating the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and the Civil Rights Restoration Act leading to protected rights and enhanced opportunities for us all, not just those with disabilities.

Encore uses the power of personal stories and other communications techniques to challenge conventional thinking about aging and create a new narrative for later life, characterized by individual renewal and social impact.

The San Francisco Foundation 2013 Community Leadership Awards presents Reverend Michael McBride with the John R. May Award, made for initiatives in response to a significant contemporary problem. Reverend Michael McBride has tirelessly sought to address the alarming epidemic of gun violence, leading a local and national push to dramatically decrease gun violence and mass incarceration. He was one of 12 faith leaders asked to meet with and make recommendations to Vice President Joe Biden in order to help shape President Obama's gun violence prevention policy, and was just recently named one of 13 faith leaders to watch in 2013 by the Center for American Progress.

Chinese for Affirmative Action is a recipient of the San Francisco Community Leadership Award for being "a champion against discrimination and for advancing systemic change for a racially just society. With its foundation firmly in the Asian and Pacific American community, its grassroots and policy efforts cross cultures to ensure equal opportunities for communities of color, reduce language barriers, and promote immigrant rights across the Bay Area." - San Francisco Foundation

Michael Morgan, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2006 Community Leadership Awards for making symphonic music essential to the culture of the East Bay community. He is dedicated to minority access to the arts and arts education, visiting 100 schools every year. More than 20,000 public school students received hands-on music education because of Michael's leadership.