July 2022 | The Humanitarian Brunch Issue
Celebrate our Awardees
Dr. Bradley Ekwerekwu is our Volunteer of the Year

We're excited to announce Dr. Bradley Ekwerekwu as our Volunteer of the Year. Inclusive Communities is fortunate to be just one of many agencies he gives his time. Dr. Brad is the CEO of the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties. He first connected with us in 2015 through his work at Avenue Scholars. Brad would arrange a student delegation to attend IncluCity each year. In 2019, he joined the inaugural cohort of LeadDIVERSITY and now he advises on our curriculum committee for that program. Brad also steps in to facilitate for our Omaha Table Talks when called upon; so he's been involved in every aspect of Inclusive Communities programming! 
The Otto Swanson Spirit of Service Award for Partner of the Year is Pamela Duncan

For the past four years, Pam has worked with Inclusive Communities to improve the accessibility of our events and programs by providing ASL interpretation. Over this time she has become a trusted resource and co-conspirator in equity-building work. Pam helps us stay intentional about inclusion for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. She's also making important strides in the community to build understanding of ASL as bridge for communication between individuals who don’t share a common language. 
Nancy Williams is our Humanitarian of the Year

Nancy is the Co-Founder and President/CEO at No More Empty Pots (NMEP), a grassroots non-profit organization based in North Omaha that supports the development of local food systems, food security, and economic resilience for both rural and urban populations. Under her leadership, the NMEP Feeding Our Neighbors made rapid adjustments to support the community early in the pandemic. The program extended their meal delivery services to provide emergency food assistance to families experiencing pandemic-related economic hardship or illness. It started with them delivering 200 meals per week in March 2020. By August, they'd grown to 3,000 meals per week plus pantry, hygiene, and other relief items to 48 different zip codes across Nebraska and Iowa! We celebrate Nancy's work to develop spaces in which people’s basic needs are met so that they can thrive.
Joyce Cooper is the first recipient of the Mart Sedky Coporate Leadership Award

In 2018, Joyce created the bridge between Inclusive Communities and OPPD that enabled us to launch LeadDIVERSITY. She'd learned that our Ohio affiliate had established a year-long diversity leadership program and saw the value that a DEI program with that time commitment would bring to Nebraska. Joyce understands that a sustained long-term approach is a better way for people to take this information, shift individual mindsets, and apply it to their professional spaces. 

Joyce worked alongside Mart Sedky former Vice President of Human Resources at OPPD to make LeadDIVERSITY a reality. When Mart passed away last September, our community lost a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion. We honor Mart and celebrate Joyce with this new award.
Maddi Intravartolo is causing Necessary Trouble

Since she was seven years old Maddi Intravartolo has been doing acts of service through her art. Maddi is the second Inclusive Communities Necessary Trouble awardee and our youngest awardee in history. 

Each summer for the past five years, Maddi has hosted art shows in her garage, always painting on a theme – dancers, donuts, social justice figures. The money that she raises from the sale of her pieces is then donated in full to a nonprofit or charity organization whose cause she believes in. In 2021, she chose Inclusive Communities, and we were blown away. What resonates with us is Maddi’s goal is to create good trouble. Through her paintings, she has been raising awareness and money in support of crucial causes. We see in her, the evolution of a kind heart and a spirit of activism that we are compelled to encourage. She's the best kind of troublemaker!
Check our website on July 22 for bonus Humanitarian Brunch content!
07/22 at 4pm at The Venue at the Highlander - The Humanitarian Happy Hour Brunch