Awards

Charles Ansbacher Award

The Charles Ansbacher Award for Culture and Community honors the memory of Maestro Charles Ansbacher, who was named the “unofficial ambassador of America’s music” by President Bill Clinton. This award honors an individual who exemplifies community involvement by addressing the needs of underserved areas of culture and society.

Byron Rushing is being honored for advocating policies that preserve the history and promote the rights of our society’s most disadvantaged populations, including the African-American and LGBT communities.

The Honorable Byron Rushing is the second recipient of the Charles Ansbacher Award for Culture and Community. The award is in recognition of his appreciation for culture and active engagement in the community. Rushing first became interested in community engagement in the 1960s when he was an influential participant in the Civil Rights Movement, working with local Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) chapters on voter education campaigns in Boston and New York.

From 1972 to 1985, Rushing was the President of the Museum of African-American history in Boston, where he helped empower Massachusetts’ African-American population through public education and the preservation of culturally important historical sites.

Since 1982, Rushing has served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 9th Suffolk District and is presently the Majority Whip. One of the most senior members of the House, he has fought for expanded rights for minorities, women, and the LGBT community. For his admirable actions as both a politician and community leader, we are proud to present, with endorsement by Swanee Hunt, the Charles Ansbacher Memorial Award to Byron Rushing, a man who embodies the spirit of both culture and equity of the award’s namesake.

Investors in America Award

The Investors in America Award acknowledges groups and individuals who use enterprise, vision, and creative public/private partnerships to bring new civic assets to our nation’s cities.

David M. Schwarz is being honored for constructing some of our country’s most recognizable architectural endeavors with his company, David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc. Schwarz’s projects are always aesthetically-pleasing, suited to the clients’ needs, and above all, sustainable.

David M. Schwarz earned his Master of Architecture from Yale University and his B.A. from St. John’s College. Following work with various firms, he founded David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc. in Washington, D.C. in 1976. His portfolio consists of notable projects from across the U.S. that have been seen as major infrastructure investments in health, education, culture, and sports. His firm has been responsible for some of the country’s most prized architectural accomplishments, including the Ballpark at Arlington, the Cook Children’s Medical Center of Fort Worth, and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center of Nashville.

Schwarz has served on the boards of many prominent organizations and is a founder of the National Building Museum’s Vincent Scully Prize. As one of the country’s leading figures in architecture, he understands the importance of culture and environmental stewardship, and works to include elements of heritage and sustainability in all of his projects. Schwarz is a distinguished architect who understands the value of place-making and has designed projects investing in infrastructure of value to the American community.

Founders Award for Civic Leadership

The Founders Award for Civic Leadership acknowledges groups and individuals of national stature for his or her contributions to the stewardship of communities.

Thomas E. Lovejoy is being honored for bringing climate change and the vulnerability of the world’s tropical rainforests to national attention. Lovejoy, an accomplished conservation biologist, is often credited with coining the term “biological diversity.”

Thomas E. Lovejoy traveled to Brazil in 1965 as a graduate student to conduct one of the first studies of the effects of habitat fragmentation in the Amazon. This led to what is now the largest long-term experiment in the history of landscape ecology, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, which has produced invaluable data on the severe risks posed by habitat destruction and climate change.

In 1973, Lovejoy was named the director of the conservation program of the World Wildlife Fund. He served until 1987 at which time he became the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Affairs for the Smithsonian Institute and a protégé of Dillon Ripley. Lovejoy has lent his expertise as an environmental advisor to a number of influential organizations including the Inter-American Development Bank.

Lovejoy has played a fundamental role in bringing the vulnerability of the Amazon rainforest and the dangers of climate change to international attention, most notably through his work with David Attenborough on the PBS series Nature. For years he was the lone voice measuring the impact of climate change and habitat destruction on biodiversity. Today, Lovejoy is celebrated for his pioneering work in this emerging field and his noble devotion to the protection of the world’s most vulnerable natural habitats.

Founders Award for Civic Leadership

The Founders Award for Civic Leadership acknowledges groups and individuals of national stature for his or her contributions to the stewardship of communities.

Bonnie Burnham is being honored for dedicating her career to preserving historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world. Burnham is President of the World Monuments Fund, which has worked at more than 500 sites in 91 countries.

Bonnie Burnham began her career as a supporter of cultural heritage with the International Foundation for Arts Research in New York. Appointed as the executive director in 1975, Burnham took on the seemingly insurmountable task of manually compiling the Art Theft Archives temporarily housed in the New York Explorer’s Club, her desk down the hall from the life-sized, stuffed Polar Bear.

Burnham was appointed the executive director of the World Monuments Fund in 1985. From that point forward, the World Monuments Fund became an invaluable asset in the fight to protect cultural heritage sites worldwide. With the support of major corporations such as American Express, the WMF produces the World Monuments Watch List every two years, identifying cultural heritage sites in danger of being eroded or destroyed. Today, the World Monuments Fund is the leading international voice defending cultural heritage and historic buildings throughout the world, leading hundreds of communities to embrace their heritage and imparting a greater sense of pride amongst residents.

Partners for Livable Communities has selected nine individuals and organizations as well as one city to honor for civic stewardship and innovation. These prestigious awards will be presented by Washington, D.C.-based Partners for Livable Communities at its Partners Honors annual awards program on February 6, 2014.

For the last 34 years, Partners has honored individuals and organizations in recognition of innovative projects and records of achievement that have advanced the principles of livability. This year's honorees represent lifetimes of leadership in their respective fields spanning the arts, historic preservation, architecture, landscape design, environmentalism, social justice, and neighborhood development. Their innovative leadership has made their communities better places to live.

Partners hosts its annual awards ceremony because the efforts of the country's most inspiring civic leaders deserve to be lauded, and their stories and practices spread far and wide.

Partners Honors 2013 Honorees:

The Founders Award for Civic Leadership

For more than 50 years, Americans for the Arts has worked to advance the arts in schools and communities throughout the United States. Their work has resulted in public policy that recognizes the value of the arts in our society and their successes have promoted and protected access to the arts for the whole population. Robert Lynch is the president and CEO.

For nearly 50 years, the World Monuments Fund has worked for the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training. Bonnie Burnham is the president and CEO.

Thomas Lovejoy is an accomplished conservation biologist who is often credited with coining the term “biological diversity.” He is perhaps most famous for bringing the vulnerability of the world’s tropical rainforests to climate change to national attention.

Investors in America Award

David Schwarz and his company, David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc., have constructed some of our country’s most recognizable architectural endeavors in recent years. Mr. Schwarz’ projects are always aesthetically-pleasing, suited to the clients’ needs, and above all, sustainable.

Charles Ansbacher Memorial Award for Culture and Community

Byron Rushing, the director of the Museum of Afro-American History and Second Assistant Majority Leader in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has advocated policies that preserve the history and promote the rights of our society’s most disadvantaged populations, including African-Americans and the LGBT community.

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award

Recently hired as the first female president and CEO of the United Way of New York, Sheena Wright has worked extensively towards improving community livability for the city’s most underserved populations. Prior to joining the United Way, Mrs. Wright spearheaded efforts to revitalize New York’s marginalized communities, as well as help build the first new high school building in Harlem in 50 years.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Henry R. Richmond co-founded 1000 Friends of Oregon in 1974 with then-Governor Tom McCall to defend Oregon’s new land use law. Local governments opposed enactment of the law, but had authority to say what it meant. 1000 Friends won dozens of court rulings in defense of the law while building a coalition of homebuilders, farmers, timber companies, and high tech companies. That broad support was essential for continued legislative support and implementation in 36 counties and 241 cities. Forty years later, the law remains a success - each city has an urban growth boundary (UGB): inside UGBs, higher densities and mixed uses increase housing affordability, transit feasibility, and reduce carbon emissions. Outside UGBs, 25 million acres of farm and forest land -- four times the area of New Jersey -- are limited to farm and forest use.

Entrepreneurial American Community Award

Houston has successfully transformed from a city once reliant on the fossil fuel industry into one of America’s boom towns. With a strong economy and high level of diversity, Houston today has set an example for what America should aspire to in the future.

William H. Whyte Award

Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden co-founded the landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden & Associates in 1977 and have since created a ‘New American Garden’ style of landscape architecture. Their understanding of the strong sculptural relationship between architecture and landscape has helped promote the greening of cities and the has resulted in numerous public health benefits. Lisa Delplace is the principal and CEO of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates Inc.

Bridge Builders Award

For over 40 years, the Inter-American Foundation has helped fund development projects undertaken by grassroots groups and non-governmental organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean with a focus on the inclusion of the society’s most marginalized communities. Since 1972, the IAF has awarded over $680 million in grants that have benefited hundreds of thousands of families throughout the hemisphere. Robert Kaplan is the president and CEO.