Lifetime Achievement

Alice G. Thompson In 1981, Alice became the first African American woman in the role of a Manager at Boysville of Michigan, an organization serving delinquent boys. She worked at Boysville until the late ’80s, when she was recruited to be Deputy Director of Diversified Youth Services. Alice worked for Diversified through the mid-’90s, concurrently serving as an adjunct professor in the WSU School of Social Work (SSW).

In a fortuitous move in 1994, Alice became CEO of Black Family Development, Inc. (BFDI), where she remained as the CEO for 26 years. This iconic nonprofit social service agency was founded to serve the unique needs of African American youth and their families. Alice bolstered BFDI’s annual budget from $1.2 million to $29 million in her first six (6) years as the CEO, as she helped to establish one of the first Care Management Organizations in Wayne County, and added two (2) subsidiaries, BFDI Educational Services, Inc. and BFDI International Training Institute, Inc. BFDI Educational Services, Inc. is now a nonprofit managing Hope Academy (PreK-8 public charter school), and BFDI International Training Institute, Inc., provides training both locally and nationally. Under her leadership, BFDI was selected as one of 10 sites nationally for an Obama Foundation grant (My Brother’s Keeper). Alice’s proudest achievement is the growth of BFDI’s capacity to provide comprehensive social services to the children and families of Detroit and Wayne County, and being at the table when Hope Academy was established as a public charter school in 1998.

In August 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Alice to serve as a member of the “Growing Michigan Together Council 2023 PreK-12 Workgroup”.
Alice serves on many Boards.

Just Lead Racial Equity In Leadership

La June Montgomery Tabron, President and Chief Executive Officer of W.K. Kellogg Foundation. This award is given to an individual in a leadership role in business, municipal or nonprofit organization who has made an impact towards racial equity. As the first woman and first Black Chief Executive Officer of the one of nation’s largest private foundations, Tabron has embedded equity across the foundation, advancing racial equity and racial healing to develop youth as leaders and engage communities in solving their own problems. Tabron chairs the Foundation’s Trust and is on numerous boards including the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Bronson Health Care Group.

Young Leader (Up to age 30)

Kaila Page, Community Partnerships Manager of City Year. Page advocates for education equity and the advancement of Detroit youth through her role working with Detroit Public School students through City Year Detroit. Her deep-seated belief in the potential of every Detroit young person has made a significant impact in the community, helping create a new generation of young leaders of color.

Just Care® Racial Equity in Health Care

Authority Health in Detroit. This award recognizes an individual or organization that has demonstrated commitment to correcting health disparities within minority populations. Authority Health’s three-year training program is unique in the country in teaching medical residents how to better serve different racial and cultural communities.

Just Place® Racial Equity in Public Spaces and Hospitality

Detroit People’s Food Co-Op (DPFC). With this award, we celebrate an individual or organization that has demonstrated significant leadership and impact for ensuring our public spaces are vibrant, welcoming and accessible for all. DPFC demonstrates and advances racial equity as a Black-led, community-owned grocery store, created through years of careful community engagement and planning to provide improved access to healthy food, food education, and food related jobs to Detroit residents.