Leadership Awards

BNA Leadership Awards recognize neighborhood activists who have worked hard on behalf of a neighborhood issue. The award was meant to recognize people who may or may not have official titles, but who have done this important neighborhood work, perhaps behind the scenes. In 2005, the BNA board expanded the award to people who made contributions to improve or beautify the neighborhoods

Past Leadership Award Recipients:

2002

League of Women Voters/Dottie Blom for starting the BNA

Isabella Callanan, Friends of the Muddy River

Diana Spiegel, Campaign to Preserve St. Aidan’s

2003

Adam Kahn, Chestnut Hill Village Associates

Ponnie Katz, Coolidge Corner South Side

High Street Hill Association for Leverett Pond anniversary

2004

Merelice, White Place Neighborhood Association

Joyce Zak, South Brookline Neighborhood Association

2005

Erin Chute Gallentine, Brookline Parks and Open Space Division

Graffam McKay Neighborhood

Myra Trachtenberg, Coolidge Corner South Side

2006

Carla and Richard Benka

Linda Olson Pehlke, author

Friends of Hall’s Pond

2007

Gill Fishman, Fisher Hill Association

Dennis De Witt

Bernice Wilner, Sheafe, Holly, Heath Neighborhood Association

2008

Greer Hardwicke, Town Preservation Commission Staff

The Coolidge Corner District Planning Council, Co-Chair Arlene Mattison

2009

Joni Burstein, South Brookline Neighborhood Association

Don Weitzman, Fisher Hill Association

Hugh Mattison, High Street Hill Neighborhood Association

2010

Peggy Ueda, Aspinwall Hill Neighborhood Association

Janice Kahn, Chestnut Hill Village Association

Kathryn Kirshner and Dan Saltzman, White Place Neighborhood Association

2011

Nancy Heller and Eunice White, North Brookline Neighborhood Association

Alisa Jonas and Bill Pu, South Brookline Neighborhood Association

Rob Daves, High Street Hill Neighborhood Association

2012

John Bassett, Emerson Garden Neighborhood Association

David Leschinsky, Eureka! Puzzles

South Brookline Senior Social

2013

Lawrence Local Historic District

Ethel Weiss, Irving’s Toy and Card Shop

Kara Brewton, Director of Economic Development, Town of Brookline

2014

Evelyn Roll, North Brookline Neighborhood Association

Chestnut Hill Village Association, Brookline’s oldest Neighborhood Association, incorporated in 1938

2015

David Kleiler & Harold Brown, Coolidge Corner Theatre

Jean Stringham

Sean Lynn-Jones

2016

The Hidden Brookline Committee

Davis Path Special District Zoning Study Committee

2017

Roger Blood

Edward D. McClure

Jessica Stokes

Andrew Pappastergion

2018

Phil Schroeder

Dana Brigham

Harry Friedman

2019

Dean Coady

Jules Milner-Brage

Peter Ditto

2020 through 2023: No Awards Presented due to Pandemic

2024

Joslin Ham Murphy and Richard Murphy

Faith Michaels

Fran Perler

William Smith

Seamus Boshel