Honor an Unsung Progressive Hero

The second annual Maria Leavey Tribute Award will be presented this year at Take Back America 2008, March 17-19. Many of you responded to our call for nominations, and a panel of judges chose five finalists.

MARIA LEAVEY 2007 TRIBUTE AWARD WINNER

The 2007 Maria Leavey Tribute Award was presented to Ari Lipman. A resident of Cambridge, Mass., Lipman put aside graduate work at Harvard to serve as an organizer for the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, where he mobilized 1,000 volunteers and successfully pressured the political and business elite to enact universal health care in Massachusetts.

Click here to see Ari Lipman’s acceptance speech

Nomination Criteria

In Maria’s memory, the award will honor an outstanding progressive who is:

A Convener who builds connections among diverse members of the progressive movement, cultivating networks of old and new leaders and activists;

A Persistent Advocate who overcomes obstacles and marches forward with an enduring commitment and passion for social justice;

A Selfless Organizer who works behind the scenes without seeking the limelight or credit for his or her efforts, while lending credit to others; and

An Idea Generator who pushes forward creative new ideas, a strong analysis of important issues, or helps build specific new capacities and infrastructure for the progressive movement.

Your nomination form should describe how the nominee embodies these criteria.

MARIA LEAVEY AWARD

The annual Maria Leavey Tribute Award is presented at Take Back America to honor an unsung hero of the progressive movement whose behind-
the-scenes work and selfless service made a big contribution to social justice.

The award commemorates the life and selfless service of Maria Leavey — the quintessential unsung progressive hero. An organizer with extraordinary talent. A behind-the-scenes force with an uncanny ability to connect rising young talent with Washington leaders. A tireless advocate who often worked without claiming credit or even compensation.

Sadly, after years of selfless service to our progressive movement, Maria passed away on December 31, 2006, at the all-too-young age of 52.

We continue to commemorate Maria's life and spirit, and honor the legacy that she left behind by recognizing other unsung progressive heroes who follow in her footsteps. We cannot have enough Americans striving to be like Maria.

Maria never held a staff position with a major organization or media outlet. Still, while working out of her small apartment with an outdated computer, she managed to build contacts at the highest ranks of Washington's political circles and champion the growth of progressive media, from the burgeoning ranks of progressive radio to the emerging blogosphere.

Maria helped assemble the Campaign for America's Future's historic Progressive Media Row at the Take Back America conference. She was a passionate progressive who understood the importance of talent, humor, a good conversation and a warm meal.

Please join us and help to honor Maria's memory, cherish the work of those tireless organizers who are still with us, and light a fire under the rest of us.

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Nomination rules and process

  • Nominations must be received before 11:59 ET on January 30, 2008
  • The validity of nominee qualifications must be verifiable by Campaign for America's Future staff.
  • If selected as the winner, nominees must be available to attend Take Back America 2008 in Washington from March 17 to 19 to accept his or her award. (Travel and accommodations will be provided.)
  • A panel of Maria's family, friends and colleagues will review all nominations and select award finalists by early February 2008.
  • Award finalists will be published on the Campaign for America's Future website, and everyone interested will be able to vote to select the award winner.
  • The award winner will be selected and notified before the end of February.
  • No relatives of staff or board members of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future may be nominated.
  • Your nomination form should address how the nominee fits each of the criteria for this award.

Broadcast