Peter is the founder and director of the Center for Progressive Leadership, a national training institute dedicated to developing the next generation of progressive leaders. Peter leads CPL's fundraising and organizational development efforts and directs CPL's outreach and partnership development with other progressive nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining CPL, Peter was the President and founder of the Empowerment Group, Philadelphia's largest minority entrepreneurship training organization. Peter was also the Executive Vice-President of the I Do Foundation, and CEO of Image Contractors. For his leadership in the nonprofit sector, Peter received the Eugene Lang Community Service Award in 1999 and was selected for Fast Company Magazine's 2002 “Fast 50,” which honors 50 leaders from around the world who are reshaping their sectors.

2003 - 2005

No Winner

 

 

Co-founder: Beyond NCCC
Current member: AmeriCorps Alums Leadership Council

Diana Epstein is a third year doctoral fellow at the RAND Corporation. She earned a master's degree in public policy from UC Berkeley, where she did her thesis on access and student support services at California community colleges. At RAND her project work includes investigating governance options for the Los Angeles Unified School District, evaluating a non-profit principal training program, analyzing the use of interim and formative assessment systems in California school districts, and studying the policy consequences of political polarization. Prior to graduate school she served in the AmeriCorps NCCC as both a Corps Member and a Team Leader at the Charleston campus. She currently lives in Santa Monica, CA and spends as much time as possible hiking, biking, and skiing.

 

Advocate: Affordable Housing

Founder: Intergenerational Community Unity Organization (ICU)

Over the last ten years, Vernell Robinson has worked to create self- supporting opportunities in economic advancement for members of her community.  Vernell enlisted in AmeriCorps in 2004 and 2005 to address affordable housing issues facing her community. Serving as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat for Humanity-NYC she volunteered in a non-profit environment which allowed her the opportunity to learn, gain experience and express herself in a more proactive and responsive manner. It was Habitat's stance on homeownership for low income families living in substandard housing that directed her energy around affordable housing.  This experience lead her to develop the Intergenerational Community Unity Organization (ICU) in her community. The ICU serves as the catalyst for informational seminars and community service opportunities that connect / inform low income residents about housing and economic issues.

As a requirement for completing the service year, she created Dollars & Sense, a community service project that addressed economic disparities within low income communities throughout NYC.  Beyond her term of service, Robinson built on the success of Dollars & Sense program by creating the AmeriCorps Hospitality House. Obtaining a four apartment building near the Far Rockaway beaches, the AmeriCorps Hospitality House was born. The house serves as a home away from home for relocating AmeriCorps participants and visiting alumni. The AmeriCorps Hospitality House also serves as the headquarters for the continuation of the Dollars & Sense program and creation of other community development programs.  Robinson continues to build affordable housing partnerships and engage all five boroughs to collaborate in affordable housing efforts in New York City.  Neighbors empowering neighbors is the legacy Robinson hopes to leave behind.

 

Founder: Sunflower County Freedom Project

In less than ten years since his AmeriCorps service, Chris Myers Asch has launched two service initiatives: the Sunflower County Freedom Project and the U.S. Public Service Academy. Based in Sunflower, Mississippi (population 696), the Freedom Project is an intensive after-school program that prepares rural teenagers for success in college. Following students from seventh grade through high school graduation, the Freedom Project provides academic enrichment, leadership development, and educational travel opportunities yearround. The organization rehabilitated half a block in Sunflower to build the LEAD Center, a 7000-square-foot study center that houses classrooms, a library, a theater, and a martial arts training area. Asch ran the Freedom Project from its inception in 1998 until 2006.

After witnessing the failures of public leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Asch wrote a proposal to create the U.S. Public Service Academy, a four-year, federally-subsidized college modeled on the military service academies. Students will receive an intensive undergraduate education focused on public service and leadership development. Following graduation, they will serve for five years in education, health care, emergency management, or other public service fields. In less than two years, the idea has earned support across the country and on Capitol Hill. The U.S. Public Service Academy Act, sponsored by Senators Hillary Clinton and Arlen Specter and Representatives Chris Shays and Jim Moran, now stands before the U.S. Congress. Continued support and action are expected in 2008.

 

 

Over five years ago, Van Bokkelen Elementary School in Severn, Maryland was placed on the Maryland State Department of Education's takeover list for its low test scores. Realizing that parent involvement was a key factor in making the necessary changes to keep the school from being taken over by the state, Rhonda Ulmer, an AmeriCorps alum and PTA President of Van Bokkelen Elementary was accepted in the Maryland Parent Leadership Institute (MD-PLI).

 

As a result of the dedication of Van Bokkelen's PTA and school staff, within the span of five years, the school has gone from being on the state's school takeover list to making adequate yearly progress for three years in a row. This innovative approach to school-community partnerships was honored in 2007 by receiving the PTA's highest national award—the Phoebe Apperson Hearst-National PTA Excellence in Education Partnership Award. Rhonda's application of the best practices of volunteer management to promote parental involvement is now recognized as a national model for schools and PTAs across the country.