Comcast NBCUniversal Leadership Awards Recognize Outstanding City Year Alumni

BOSTON, July 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- City Year, a national education organization that unites young adults for a year of service in high-need urban schools, presented Comcast NBCUniversal Leadership Awards to five City Year alumni who served in Boston, Columbus, Philadelphia and San Antonio and are continuing to make a difference in their communities. Held at Northeastern University's Matthews Arena on Tuesday, July 14^th, the awards ceremony was attended by more than 1,400 City Year staff and AmeriCorps members. Comcast NBCUniversal is presenting sponsor of the awards.

"Since our partnership began 14 years ago, it has been amazing to see City Year grow from 700 corps members in 13 cities to nearly quadruple that size today," said Charisse R. Lillie, Vice President of Community Investment for Comcast Corporation and President of the Comcast Foundation, who spoke at the event. "The five honorees have demonstrated incredible leadership, generosity and tenacity. They serve as an inspiration to us all, and we look forward to seeing the great progress that City Year continues to make to promote community service, build tomorrow's leaders and empower students across the country."

For the past 25 years, City Year alumni have been making a difference in their communities, both inside and outside of the organization. Since 2005, Comcast NBCUniversal has recognized more than 50 City Year alumni leaders. This year's leadership award winners are:

• Dr. Hyung (Harry) Cho, City Year Greater Philadelphia '03, Director of Quality and Patient Safety at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, for his exceptional commitment to reducing medical cost of care and increasing quality and patient safety in New York City.
• Jeff Lafata, City Year Boston '00, '01, Founder and Executive Director of Empowering People for Inclusive Communities (EPIC) in Massachusetts, for his inspiring leadership through empowering youth and young adults with disabilities to find their voice and become active citizens in neighborhoods throughout Greater Boston.
• Marion Mollegen McFadden, City Year Columbus '95, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., for her tireless advocacy of people and communities with inadequate, unaffordable, or insecure housing.
• Kate Morgan, City Year Greater Philadelphia '07, City Year Care Force '08, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, North America, for SAP in California, for her outstanding leadership in the field of corporate social responsibility and mobilizing thousands of volunteers to strengthen local communities through employee engagement.
• Davier Rodriguez, City Year San Antonio '10, Co-Founder and Coordinator of DREAMzone at Arizona State University in Arizona, for his relentless commitment to building inclusive communities as an active citizen, student, teacher, and campus community leader to affect social change in Arizona and its diverse populations.

Previous award-winning City Year alumni now include: a mayor; a medical director who runs a clinic serving low-income and homeless families; an immigration rights lawyer; four corporate social responsibility leaders; six community and economic development professionals; seven school principals and educators; 13 City Year staff; and 23 executive directors and nonprofit leaders, including 11 who founded their own organizations.

Comcast NBCUniversal is City Year's Leadership Development and Training Partner. Comcast NBCUniversal supports City Year's leadership development programs, is the National Opening Day Sponsor, Presenting Sponsor of the National Leadership Summit, Presenting Sponsor of City Year's annual training academy, and a multi-site team sponsor. Comcast NBCUniversal donates significant communication and broadcasting resources to help City Year raise awareness about its mission and focus areas by reaching more young people across the country through cable and Internet. Comcast NBCUniversal's investment in City Year makes it possible for thousands of corps members to help improve the lives of students while creating sustainable solutions for social change.

About City Year: City Year is an education-focused organization founded in 1988 dedicated to helping students and schools succeed. City Year partners with public schools in 26 urban, high-poverty communities across the U.S. and through international affiliates in the U.K. and Johannesburg, South Africa. Diverse teams of City Year AmeriCorps members provide high-impact student, classroom and school-wide support, to help students stay in school and on track to graduate from high school, ready for college and career success. A proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network, City Year is made possible by support from the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals. Learn more at www.cityyear.org. 

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SOURCE City Year

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