Every year, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) presents four awards, recognizing recipients for their talent, contribution, and impact in our community. We love our work, but there is something particularly special about recognizing folks for their dedication to enriching our community.
Igor Gorin Memorial Award
The Igor Gorin Memorial Award was established in 1987 by Mary Gorin as a fitting way to honor the memory of her husband, Igor Gorin, a world-renowned opera singer. This unrestricted award is given out each year to help a gifted vocalist poised to begin a successful career in opera with expenses associated with hiring accompanists and coaches, and auditioning as they transition from school into professional careers. The prize for 2020 was $10,000.
Held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, this Fund has awarded more than $306,000 to 44 individual young artists since 1993. Today, the Igor Gorin Memorial Award is one of the most prestigious and the largest of its kind in the country.
We are happy to announce the 2020 Igor Gorin Memorial Award Recipient is tenor and second-year Adler Fellow, Christopher Oglesby.
Christopher made his San Francisco Opera house debut as Dancaïre in Carmen and this year, he will make his role and company debut as Boris in Kát’a Kabanová with West Edge Opera. An active soloist and recitalist, Oglesby has performed with the Utah Symphony, Dallas Puccini Society, and in the Schwabacher Recital Series at San Francisco Opera. He holds Bachelor of Music degrees in Vocal Performance, Choral Education and Band Education from Lee University and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas and is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant
Diane Lynn Anderson Memorial Award
The award was established in memory of Diane Lynn Anderson to recognize those who exemplify the same qualities she possessed: active acceptance, respect, compassion, devotion, and caring for people with disabilities. Nominees may also include volunteers, organizations or programs that have established advocacy services and/or increased community resources for people with disabilities. The 2020 Diane Lynn Anderson Memorial Award recipients are Dr. Fabi Hirsch Kruse and Dr. Stephanie Z.C. MacFarland.
Dr. Fabiane (Fabi) Hirsch Kruse, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has worked for over 25 years helping people recover their speech, language, and communication skills after strokes and other injuries to the brain. Dr. Hirsch Kruse received her clinical master’s degree from the University of British Columbia and her doctorate from the University of Arizona. She co-founded Friends of Aphasia, a Tucson-based nonprofit organization aimed at improving both the quality of communication and quality of life for individuals living with aphasia, a communication disorder that robs people of their ability to speak, understand, read and/or write.
Dr. Stephanie MacFarland is the Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies, College of Education, The University of Arizona. She has taught in the field of moderate, severe and multiple disabilities, including deaf-blindness and autism spectrum disorders while advocating for systems change and inclusive educational best practices for over 35 years. She is the Director of the Teacher Preparation Program in Severe and Multiple Disabilities, and Director of Project FOCUS, an inclusive college program designed to support accessibility for students with intellectual disabilities to academic courses, internships, and campus life in order to increase each student’s self-determination and employability.
Civic Leadership Award
Since 2016, the Civic Leadership Award has honored individuals who have helped others by giving of themselves to make Southern Arizona a more inclusive and welcoming place to live.
Congratulations to this year’s Civic Leadership Award Recipient, Shay Beider! Shay has been recognized as a pioneer in the field of
Integrative Medicine for the last 20 years. She is the founder and Executive Director of Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK), a non-profit organization that enhances well-being, minimizes suffering and facilitates healing for children with special medical needs and their families.
ITK is renowned for spearheading a new wellness model called “Health-caring,” which focuses on the Whole Child—healing the mind, body and spirit, the Whole Family—parents, siblings and children with special health needs are included in the treatment model, and the Whole Community—networks of support and integrated communities are provided. The program has been shown to significantly improve pain management and psycho-social outcomes of critically ill children.
Buddy Amos Founders Award
The Buddy Amos Founders Award is presented annually to the founder of a nonprofit organization who demonstrates inspirational leadership in the areas of community service, philanthropy, mentoring, collaboration, or systems change that reaches beyond the organization.
We are so excited to celebrate the 2020 Buddy Amos Founders Award recipient, Leza Carter. Leza is the founder of Tucson Village Farm, a working urban farm built by and for the youth of our community. Leza’s background in school gardens inspired the innovative farm-to-table program designed to reconnect young people to a healthy food system, teach them how to grow and prepare fresh food, and empower them to make healthy life choices. Tucson Village Farm stands today as a testament to Leza’s vision to create an easily accessible urban space where youth can get out on the earth and be active in their bodies through participation in food production, preparation, and consumption. Each year, the Farm delivers 55,000 hours of hands-on healthy living and agriculture education to over 14,000 youth.