Image of Jim Withers speaking

Exemplary Leaders

Read our case studies by clicking on the link attached to the award recipient’s name.

Note: A case study has not been conducted on every award recipient. 

2023, Exemplary: Kakenya Ntaiya, Founder and President, Kakenya's Dream, for her powerful advocacy for girls' health and human right.

2020, Exemplary: Gisele Barreto Fetterman and Leah Lizarondo, Co-founders, 412 Food Rescue, for their deep commitment to social justice and their innovative approach to addressing critical challenges in our community and beyond. 

Click here to view award ceremony.

2019, Exemplary: Grant Oliphant, President, The Heinz Endowments & Maxwell King, President and CEO, The Pittsburgh Foundation, for their investment in human capital, equal opportunity, diversity, civil discourse and for their courageous leadership, locally and nationally, in advocating for social justice and marginalized populations.

2018, Exemplary: Paul O’Neill , 72nd Secretary of the U.S. Treasury (2001 to 2002), CEO of Alcoa (1987 to 1999), for his remarkable career of leadership in government, private business, and the nonprofit sector.

2017, Exemplary: Dr. Jim Withers, Founder, Operation Safety Net and Street Medicine Institute, for his selfless efforts through Operation Safety Net which have saved lives and conveyed a message of hope to the most marginalized and isolated members of our community.

2016, Exemplary: Susan Collin Marks & John Marks, Search for Common Ground, for their leadership in Search for Common Ground, an international conflict mediation organization that uses innovative methods to promote peaceful resolutions of conflicts around the world. 

2015, Emerging: Julie Butcher Pezzino (Grow Pittsburgh) & Andrew Butcher (GTECH), for their strong commitment to helping to make our region a vibrant and welcoming place for a new generation of community-minded leaders.

2015, Exemplary: Sandra Taylor, CEO, Sustainable Business International LLC, for exemplifying the Institute’s core values of integrity and accountability in a variety of leadership positions spanning government, industry, and the nonprofit sector.

2014, Exemplary: Bill Strickland, CEO, Manchester Craftsman Guild, for his demonstration of genuine compassion and empathy for people in need, the ability to harness the best ideas and talent from all three sectors in our economy – Nonprofit, For-Profit, and government, and his commitment to tangible results and proven outcomes, not just lofty rhetoric or vague ideals.

2013, Exemplary: Mark Nordenberg, Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh, for his outstanding leadership and stewardship at the University.

2012, Exemplary: Bill Drayton, CEO & Founder, Ashoka, for his role as a thought leader and his work of bridging business interests with social goals through Ashoka.

2011, Exemplary: Thad Allen, US Coast Guard Admiral (retired) for his effective leadership during times of turbulence or crisis, such as Hurricane Katrina and the federal government’s response to the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

2010, Exemplary: Kathleen Hower, Co-founder & Executive Director, Global Links, for her efforts to donate unused medical equipment to people who need it most.

2009, Exemplary: Coleen Rowley, FBI Whistleblower for her courage to in bringing some of the pre-9/11 lapses to light and for bravely testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee about some of the endemic problems facing the FBI and the intelligence community.