Social Capitalists
Honoring Community Social Capitalists is a major focus of this event. A Community Social Capitalist is a volunteer who impacts the lives of others by leveraging their personal and professional network to make a difference. Recipients may have mobilized a group to volunteer, or organized an event in their neighborhood, or brought a diverse group to work together on a common issue. Honorees personify the spirit of strengthening communities through civic engagement.
Some Social Capitalists are company leaders who are fostering an ethic of civic engagement in their company or are helping to build the capacity of important community-based organizations; some are co-workers who are inspiring their peers to give their time to help the community; and some are non-profit leaders nominated by a company for their exemplary community work.
Too often, these people are not recognized for their powerful acts of community-building. SCI seeks to change that! Find out more how you or your company can honor a 2008 Community Social Capitalist from your network.
Community Social Capitalists who have been named were honored at the 2008 SCI Social Capitalist Luncheon. They include:
David M. Abromowitz Nominated by Goulston & Storrs
David M. Abromowitz is a partner in the law firm Goulston & Storrs and a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is being recognized for his significant contributions through housing and economic development policy. Over the past 25 years he has worked on projects around the country involving housing and historic tax credit investment, public housing revitalization, assisted living, land trusts, shared-equity homeownership, multifamily rental housing, and many other projects.
Mr. Abromowitz is a past chair and founding member of the Lawyers’ Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing and Homelessness and of the American Bar Association’s Forum Committee on Affordable Housing and Community Development. He serves on boards for organizations including the National Housing and Rehabilitation
Association, YouthBuild USA, The Equity Trust, Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly, and B’nai B’rith New England. He co-chaired the Housing Policy Working Group of then Governor-elect Patrick.
The New Jersey native received his BA magna cum laude from Princeton University and his JD magna cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Cathy Downs Nominated by the Boston Globe
Cathy Downs has been a community builder throughout her 40 year career with the Boston Globe. In 2003, she moved from the Advertising Finance Management Department to become the Manager of the Boston Globe Foundation and Community Relations. In 2004 Ms. Downs was instrumental in developing and coordinating the award-winning citywide high school newspaper, Boston Teens in Print. Her leadership of the teen writing program has garnered the paper two Newspaper Association of America fi rst place awards. She also a founding member of the Neighbor To Neighbor Committee, which connects Globe employees and local Dorchester organizations through an annual grant program and reception at the Globe. She also provides ongoing support for the Globe’s flagship community partners.
Ms. Downs has served as the co-vice president of the Greater Boston Corporate Volunteer Council and President & Chair of the Columbia Point Association. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for Artists For Humanity.
Ms. Downs resides in Revere with her 14 year-old daughter, Isabella.
Kevin Noyes Nominated by Danversbank
Kevin Noyes joined Danversbank in 1999 as the Branch Administrator and in 2001 transitioned to his current role as the bank’s Compliance and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Officer. As CRA Officer, Mr. Noyes acts as a Community Relations Officer, responsible for the managing the bank’s philanthropic efforts. Those duties have recently been augmented with the establishment of the Danversbank Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Over the years, Mr. Noyes has conducted a number of drives at the bank, including an annual effort to collect teddy bears for the Department of Social Services, one to collect school supplies for the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, and one every holiday season to collect gifts for children in need. Additionally, Kevin coordinates a Danversbank employee charitable giving campaign every year.
Mr. Noyes’s community efforts extend to volunteerism, as well. Danversbank employees are asked to spend three paid workdays per year volunteering, and Kevin encourages participation by planning group volunteer events that the staff can do together.
Jennifer Price Nominated by Andrew & Melora Balson
Jennifer Price currently serves as the Principal of Newton North High School. In her role she oversees approximately 2,000 students and 400 faculty and staff members. Jennifer is passionate about ensuring that all students at Newton North have equal access to an excellent education. She is the mother of a three and six year old and a 5th year doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In her spare time (of which there is very little) she plays on a women’s flag football team, lobsters, and chases after her little ones.
Ms. Price leads Newton North with a broad vision of the role that schools play in building a strong community. Her inclusive and engaging leadership style has helped unite school and community stakeholders around the goal of high quality education for all students.
Keyna Samuel Nominated by DotWell
Keyna Samuel exemplifies the type of quiet community activist that is making a real difference in Dorchester, the community in which she lives and works. First, this single mother of three is active close to home in her children’s parent-school associations. As a longtime Dorchester resident, she is also treasurer of her local civic association. This role builds on her staff position with the Codman Square NDC’s financial literacy initiatives.
Ms. Samuel is also a stand-out volunteer with the Boston EITC Coalition at the DotWell free tax sites. In addition to lending her strong financial skills and MPA credentials to the volunteer team and tax clients, she has leveraged her social capital to recruit other volunteers for the program. “I told them it was a lot of fun and it was a lot of work as well. But volunteering really makes you feel good.” She juggles all of this activism with parenting by “doing laundry between 9 p.m. and midnight.”
Next: Honorees
