Individual Winners
Thennie Freeman, Associate Director, Office of Youth Programs, DC Department of Employment Services
For nearly 14,000 of the District’s youth, the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) is a gateway to enriching and constructive summer work experiences. However, thanks to the tireless efforts of Thennie Freeman, it also became a right of passage, a way to gain confidence, and learn critical leadership skills for a lifetime.
While DC Government has made significant investments in MBSYEP, the sheer scope and intensity of the effort makes it unlike any other program in the District. Processing 23,000 applications, distributing 10,000 transportation subsidies, and engaging 700+ host-employers takes a dedicated team, and a fearless leader.
With Ms. Freeman as the driving force, MBSYEP has continued to flourish and grow on an annual basis, achieving double-digit decreases in attrition, while introducing new partnerships with financial institutions, such as the Office of the Controller of the Currency, an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
This collaborative effort included a $3.5M donation, the largest ever in the program's 40-year history, and helped employ an additional 80 youth through a pilot internship using all federal dollars. Working on behalf of the youth, she negotiated that all 80 salaries were at $20/hour, which was $7 above the minimum wage at that time. Additionally, youth received a week's worth of professional attire, a daily lunch stipend, and transportation coverage.
At the end of that summer, Comptroller Joseph Otting’s team fell in love with the youth so much that he had personally written to other agency department heads within federal government, urging them to join the partnership. In 2021 the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) team announced four new federal partners, with a total investment of nearly $5 million in federal dollars to employ close to 800 youth over the next 5 years.
Under Ms. Freeman’s leadership, MBSYEP became more intentional about promoting financial literacy and empowerment. A privately-funded grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE) – to the tune of $780,000 over 3 years – allowed DOES to refine strategies for helping individuals to enroll in a direct deposit system, and leverage targeted financial education to support the appropriate banking products for youth.
Youth and their families now have access to financial literacy training. Under the auspices of the “Young Money Managers” program, for example, older youths are invited to train younger youths on the importance of financial literacy. Over 5000 young adults went through the program.
MBSYEP has since been recognized as a national best practice, replicated in other populous cities including St. Louis, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and Newark.
“What makes Ms. Freeman even more special is the deep reservoir of love that she has for the youth of this City,” says Delano Hunter, Director, DC Department of Recreation and an MBSYEP alum.
Program alums readily recount how she went well beyond the call of duty to motivate them, stay connected, and make sure they are doing OK. One summed it up as, “She is like a second Mom.”
Anthony Hall, Community Response Team Director (ret.), DC Department of Behavioral Health
When Mayor Muriel Bowser charged the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) with strengthening the District’s support systems for adults experiencing psychiatric emergencies, Anthony Hall rose to the challenge.
Leading a multidisciplinary effort, Mr. Hall designed and launched the Community Response Team (CRT) in July 2019, ensuring 24/7 access to community-based behavioral health services citywide.
The goal of the CRT was to improve efficiency and response time to critical incidents, provide co-response and intervention support to partner agencies, and promote community education and wellness. Today it stands at the frontlines of the District’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis and recidivism, using culturally-sensitive and trauma-informed standards of care.
Mr. Hall is recognized for being a change agent in the field of behavioral health. Just a year before setting up the CRT, Mr. Hall successfully established an innovative Pre-Arrest Diversion Program, working with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) to divert low-level criminal offenders with behavioral health needs away from the criminal justice system, and towards direct care services.
As a result of these efforts, approximately two-thirds of the participants were able to access social services or move to a higher level of care, while dozens were connected to housing opportunities. “Perhaps most importantly, the participants have found a trusted ally in government with whom they can discuss challenges or celebrate successes,” says Kelly O’Meara, Director of the Strategic Change Division at MPD.
Mr. Hall attributes much of his success to grassroots engagement in support of a more holistic client intervention. Case in point, while leading the Mobile Crisis Program, he sought to expand the scope and quality of behavioral health services by fostering dialogue and providing training on critical incident management, suicide assessment, and community-based intervention tools to local partners and interested citizens.
The Community Response Team was built on these best practices, consolidating the Mobile Crisis Team, Pre-Arrest Diversion Program, and support services to the District’s homeless population. Growing from a staff of 11 to over 60 employees in the first six months, the team already served more than 5,000 people.
Improved patient care and expanded service offerings proved especially invaluable during the COVID pandemic, propelling the District towards becoming a model for clinical care and service delivery in behavioral health.
For a change agent like Anthony Hall, that is just the beginning. “Seeing the daily impact of this work represents one of the most humbling and enriching experiences of my life, and for that, I remain inspired to push for the betterment of the program and our system,” says he.
Others attest to his relentless pursuit of excellence. “Anthony Hall is a true public servant who is led by his desire to help others… He is a 24/7 clinician that takes his duties EVERYWHERE he goes – on vacation, at the movies, at the barber, at a stop light. It is in his DNA,” says Director of the READY Center, Kwasi Apraku-Gyau. “There is no one more deserving of this award.”
Shae Harris, Senior Strategy and Project Manager (ret.), Office of the City Administrator
When it comes to reforming our legal system to ensure justice and equity for all, DC residents have no better champion than Shae Harris.
It is this passion for helping others, and especially the traditionally-underserved Black community, that fueled her work for some high-profile initiatives, including the first Women’s Empowerment Conference at DC Jail, the Unity Summit, and the Resources to Empower and Develop You (READY) Center.
As the Policy Advisor, and later Senior Strategy and Project Manager, for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice (DMPSJ), Ms. Harris played an integral role in standing up the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE). The office’s strategic direction, work plans, staffing, and operations were all under Shae’s purview. This imaginative new approach to foster community-based approaches to combat violence and address grief and trauma caused by these occurrences continues to have a reverberating impact in DC communities.
While at DMPSJ, Ms. Harris also served as a project manager and liaison for as many as six DC Government agencies under the umbrella of public safety and justice. Her leadership and energy were instrumental to the success of several key projects, including:
- Launch of the inaugural Women’s Empowerment Conference inside the DC Jail, which came to fruition in November 2019. Mayor Bowser, CNN Commentator Angela Rye, and a host of other influential women attended the event to help address gender responsiveness, especially in correctional settings
- Establishment of The READY Center, which serves as a one-stop shop for returning citizens. The Center has become a symbol of how the government can de-silo work and collaboratively assist residents. This reintegrative infrastructure connects recently-released residents with social services, job opportunities, and other critical resources. As of 2021, the initiative serviced over 2,500 men and women coming from DC Jail and the Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Initiation of the Unity Summit, a multi-agency effort that, for the first time, brought together 150+ frontline staff and contractors supporting intervention services. The two-day annual conference ensured this dynamic group feels valued, prioritizes wellness, and works collectively to combat violent crime in our City.
Her ability to bring stakeholders to the table did not go unnoticed. “Ms. Harris is a proven leader in not only the local government sector but also nationally, as a criminal justice reform expert,” said Tony Lewis Jr., a re-entry expert, and advocate for children with incarcerated parents.
She is a sought-after panelist and lecturer at prominent events, where Ms. Harris provides guidance on policy and communications strategies, and strategic engagement. However, it is her leadership by example that truly raises the bar for how local governments can collectively advance communities plagued by historic divestment.
“With a deep understanding and appreciation for how opportunity, exposure, and education helped change my life’s trajectory, I have worked diligently to increase the probability that others can have those same chances,” says Ms. Harris.
Indeed, thanks to heroes like Shae Harris, our communities can finally begin to heal and look to the future with hope.
Gail Kohn, Age-Friendly DC Coordinator, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Gail Kohn dedicated her life to working with seniors. Back in the day, she jokes, she considered seniors to be anyone over 50! Now, as a senior herself, she hopes to reshape common perceptions about growing older in Washington, DC, making it a great place to work, live, and play for residents of all ages.
As the Age Friendly DC (AFDC) Coordinator at the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Ms. Kohn has been relentless in ensuring that DC Government agencies and community partners are connected to senior service programs and providers across the City. Indeed, AFDC initiatives represent investments of thousands of people, ranging from Mayor Bowser to university presidents, healthcare workers, faith-based leaders, small business owners, public housing managers, neglected seniors, and more.
A shortlist of Gail Kohn’s accomplishments include:
- Identifying and recognizing over 70 Age Friendly businesses that do a particularly good job of serving older adults
- Partnering with local academic institutions to offer graduate-level academic programs and continuing education to seniors
- Inspiring a series of wellness and social activities, such as a gardening scheme at local K-12 schools, that created social spaces for connection and learning
- Championing the ‘Safe at Home Program’ that provided security cameras and interiors modifications for the elderly and disabled residents
- Creating and expanding opportunities for volunteerism by and for seniors in DC
Arguably, her most enduring legacy is that of helping to guide policy change and implementation that upholds equity of services, and the dignity of all the DC residents, regardless of their age group. She was instrumental in connecting Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) to realistic outcomes with clear accountability metrics and data. Ms. Kohn also expanded the framework and measurements of AFDC to include social isolation and resilience.
Those who know her well say Ms. Kohn has a ‘magical’ ability to attract and inspire individuals to go above and beyond. This is probably best exemplified by AFDC’s effort (and success) in adapting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) challenging performance indicators for Age Friendly Cities.
“DC is different and works by a higher standard in response to a number of opportunities,” says Ms. Kohn. “AFDC also created a more inclusive and broad-based process to ensure that we were truly hearing about and addressing the needs of seniors across DC.” At the end, the AFDC Task Force added six components, including: Emergency Preparedness and Resilience; Abuse Neglect & Fraud Financial Security; Life Long Learning; Public Safety and Caregiving.
As a result of Ms. Kohn’s tireless outreach and partnership-building, DC became a global model for Age Friendly Cities. More than that, AFDC not only thinks about today’s needs, but looks to explore DC’s demographics for the next thirty years, making certain that today’s investments are paying long-term dividends.
Dr. Sheila Jones of the DC Department of Human Services sums up, “I admire Ms. Kohn for her consistency in being a ‘super-achiever,’ a champion for District seniors, and an accomplished professional who always strives to exceed expectations.”
Kasey Maria Yturralde, Ph.D., Forest Health, and Community Outreach Specialist, District Department of Transportation
If you ever considered what it takes to educate our future generations about the conservation of our natural environment, including the need for tree coverage in densely-populated cities like Washington, DC, you will understand the importance of Dr. Kasey Yturralde’s work.
“I connect people with trees,” says Dr. Yturralde, explaining her creative efforts to engage the wider community in the stewardship of the District’s ~ 170,000 public trees, ensuring that the benefits of trees are promoted across all eight wards.
As the Forest Health and Community Outreach Specialist for the Urban Forestry Division (UFD), Dr. Yturralde worked tirelessly to organize the inaugural Arbor Day Festival in 2019. The City-wide event brought together DC Government agencies, nonprofits, volunteer groups, and a federal agency, to expose residents to the sheer diversity, and the necessity, of trees for a better quality of life in DC. In 2019 UFD received the Mid-Atlantic Chapter International Society of Arborist Gold Leaf Award for Outstanding Arbor Day Activities.
Passionate about promoting early childhood awareness, Dr. Yturralde collaborated with the DC Public Schools’ Inaugural Adopt-a-School Program to partner UFD with Ketcham Elementary School, located in Anacostia. While there, she coordinated a myriad of learning activities, such as tree scavenger hunts, tree planting, and later helped organize a 9/11 Memorial tree planting on behalf of a Ketcham student and teacher.
“Each day I come to work brings a new opportunity to enhance our urban forest and improve the lives of District residents, which is pretty much the best job anyone could ask for,” she says.
Under Kasey Yturralde’s leadership, UFD also undertook major efforts to study the health of the District's urban forestry, while growing capacity to make evidence-based decisions that increased DC’s resilience to climate change and other stressors. Among other things, she led the first large-scale forest census of the District of Columbia with the U.S. Forest Service. This inventory improved our understanding of the species composition and age of our forest across Washington, DC.
In addition, Dr. Yturralde initiated the District’s first participation in a national program, aimed at the early detection of destructive non-native bark beetles. She applied for, and secured, federal dollars that fully funded the District’s participation in this study. This monitoring project revealed the presence of thirteen new species in the District, ten of which were non-native. Conducting such research is valuable, as it restricts the establishment of harmful insect species in our urban forest, which could potentially increase the mortality of urban trees, or even wipe out an entire tree species from the City.
“Dr. Yturralde is one of the most gifted leaders with whom I have had the pleasure of serving, and her efforts to address a legacy of social and environmental injustices have made significant strides in solving this extraordinary and significantly difficult problem,” says Earl Euster, Associate Director and State Forester at UFD. “She embodies a passion and dedication that is unparalleled both in the field of urban forestry, as well as across the District Government.”
Team Winner
Language Acquisition Division Team (LAD) DC Public Schools
Back row (from left to right): Rosanna DeMammos, Ivy Chaine, Salem Lemma
Middle row (from left to right): Margaret Miller, Elba Garcia (holding a photo of Mr. Jose Garcia who passed away due to the COVID pandemic), Asuncion Alvarado
Front row (from left to right): Jo-Ann Perez Ramirez, Vicki Javier
For the linguistically and culturally diverse students and families coming into contact with DC Public Schools (DCPS), the support of the Language Acquisition Division Team (LAD) is a lifeline.
Across the population of 50,000 students served by DCPS, one out of every fifteen has limited English proficiency, while every tenth student is Linguistically and Culturally Diverse (LCD). In the last 5 years, the LCD student population in the District has doubled and continues to increase at an annual rate of 2 percent. The LAD team, led by Elba Garcia, is a vocal advocate for this vulnerable community, striving to close the opportunity gap, while ensuring that language is not a barrier for parental involvement in their children’s education.
LAD’s offices are based in a colorful and inviting Welcome Center, located at the MacFarland Middle School in Petworth. It serves as a one-stop shop for families seeking assistance with enrollment, transcript evaluation, community services, as well as donations of clothing and school supplies. Since 2015, the Center has served over 5,278 families and performed 700+ foreign transcript evaluations.
“I came to the United States after Hurricane Maria forced us off my precious island of Puerto Rico,” writes Seniora Aponte, a mother of two. “I heard about the Welcome Center and immediately made an appointment… I met several Welcome Center employees who helped me with my children, and even [helped] to improve my resume. I was impressed by the way employees respond and their desire to help, which is why I recommended [them] for this Cafritz award.”
LAD’s services are not restricted to the Welcome Center. One of its initiatives, the Language Access Unit (LAU), works with contract interpreters to provide real-time translation services at family events, translates documents, and trains DCPS staff on best practices. To date, the Unit translated over 510 documents into five languages (approximately 4,500 pages) and provided interpretation at 125 school engagements, training over 600 staff in person, and 6,200 online. The initiative drastically increased capacity and awareness within DCPS on the high standards of care for LEP families.
The team was also responsible for the creation of the Annual Back-to-School English Learners’ Fair, tailored to immigrant and LEP families. Although DCPS offered a Back-to-School Fair, the District was not reaching this segment of the population, even while offering interpretation services. LAD partnered with public, private, and civil society organizations to collect donations while offering workshops in multiple languages to as many as 3,000 families. This community outreach was further enhanced through Parent Academy, English classes, and principals' chats with the parents of LCD students.
“The Language Acquisition team impacted thousands of families in the city, and we in DCPS heavily rely on their expertise to better serve the fastest-growing segment of our population,” says Corinne Colgan, Chief of Teaching and Learning at DCPS. “With their passion, persistence, and dedication, they model the multiple ways we can value the cultural land linguistic assets of our recently arrived students and their families.”
19th Annual Cafritz Awards Finalists
Individuals
- Keishaa Austin, Program Analyst, Office of the People's Counsel
- Josh Gibson, Director of Communications and Public Information Officer, Council of the District of Columbia
- Michael Jones, Supervisory Investigator, DC Department of Human Services
- Joy Mayo-King, Social Worker, DC Public Schools-Malcolm X Elementary School
- Latrena Owens, Executive Director, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
- Jacqueline Reuben, Senior Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, DC Health
- Willair StVil, Lead Human Resources Specialist, DC Department of Human Resources
Teams
- DC Department of Corrections - College and Career Readiness and Professional Development Division
Amy K. Lopez, Tiffany Simmons, Tabbitha Burnett, Deborah Miller, Paul Taylor, Marian (Miki) Jost, Dr. Lynnita Thomas, Stephanie Mosley - DC Department of Employment Services - en español Team
Ramón Pérez-Goizueta, Jason B. Bough, Henry Jimenez, Melinda Salinas, Nicolle Rodriguez - DC Department of Energy and Environment - Air Quality Division
Kelly Crawford, Lauren Maxwell, David Dickman, Brittany Whited, Rafiq Jennings, Ryan Insley, Nneka Anosike, Cecille Green, Rama Tangrila, Sarah Kogel-Smucker - DC Department of For Hire Vehicles
Dory Peters, Gerald (Jerry) Kasunic, Michael Tietjen, Camille Patton-Smith, Tyechia P. Scott - DC Department of Healthcare Finance - Long Term Care Administration
Ieisha Gray, Katherine Rogers, Elbridge James, Benjamin Ebeigbe - DC Department of Transportation - PaveDC Team
Ting Ma, Ian Maggard, Blake Holub, Arturo Arias-Fernandez, Andrew Kaufmann, Michaud Gray, Leslie Wood, Cornelious Phillips, Karen Grant, Srinath Ananth - DC Public Schools - Teacher Recruitment, Selection, and Retention Team
Brooke Amos, Nancy Wright, Veronica Alvarado, Pat Cunningham, Sean Elliott, Daisa Gainey, Malinda Inthirath, Melany Justice, Jay Snead - Office of the Chief Technology Officer - Connect.DC Team
Delano Squires, Michell Morton, Adrian Sutton, Andrew Williams - Office of the Deputy Mayor - Office of Out of School Time Grants and Youth Outcomes
Mila Yochum, Renee, Abdullah, Alex Brown, Kevin Cataldo, Debra Eichenbaum, Jeremy Welsh-Loveman
