2023 Awardee Announcement
The O2 Sabbatical Award honors dedicated Bay Area nonprofit executive directors with an essential three-month break for rest and renewal. Sabbaticals also provide opportunities to empower leadership throughout an organization. The result is stronger and more resilient teams better prepared to partner with their communities to create positive change.
We are thrilled to announce these extraordinary executive directors as our 2023 awardees:
- Kimberly Alvarenga, CA Domestic Workers Coalition
- Kelly Carlisle, Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project
- Lauren Hall, Delivering Innovation in Supportive Housing
- Susun Kim, Contra Costa Family Justice Center
- Laura Valdez, Dolores Street Community Services
- Christopher Verdugo, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus
- Sarah Ching Ting Wan, Community Youth Center of San Francisco
Please join us in congratulating these visionary leaders who are strengthening our communities. They are supporting families affected by domestic violence and abuse; providing high-quality, permanent, and supportive housing to address homelessness; advocating for the rights of domestic workers; educating and uplifting youth through urban farming; promoting collective power among low-income and immigrant communities; creating extraordinary music to celebrate and inspire activism for the LGBTQIA+ community; and building community among culturally diverse youth to develop critical life skills.
The 2023 O2 cohort are changemakers who represent and serve diverse communities across the San Francisco Bay Area. For the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for nonprofits, and these leaders have stepped up with incredible commitment and resolve. Their sabbaticals will provide them with the rest they need to recharge and return to their organizations with renewed energy and vision.
Since 2015, O2 Initiatives has been proud to award 37 exceptional Bay Area executive directors with sabbaticals and to support our incredible nonprofit community. O2 Sabbatical award alumni are trusted partners in awardee selection, mentorship, peer-to-peer engagement, and the strategic direction of the program.
We invite you to learn about the 2023 O2 Sabbatical awardees and their inspiring stories on our awardees page.