NeighborWorks honors four resident leaders with Dorothy Richardson award

NeighborWorks America named four community leaders from Massachusetts, Virginia, California and Iowa as recipients of its annual Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership on Sept. 14, 2026. The recognition comes as the nonprofit spotlights resident-led civic action during America250.

Why it matters: - The award spotlights residents who are shaping housing, food access, disaster recovery and neighborhood amenities in their own communities. - NeighborWorks America is using the honorees to underscore resident leadership as a model for community problem-solving during America250. - The recognition ties current local work to Dorothy Richardson’s 1960s fight against disinvestment in Pittsburgh, which helped inspire NeighborWorks’ national model.

What happened: - NeighborWorks America announced four recipients of its annual Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership on Sept. 14, 2026. - The honorees are Felix Colon of Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Carmelita Wood of Charlottesville, Virginia; Olivia Gomez of Planada, California; and Margaret J. Wright of Des Moines, Iowa. - Colon was nominated by NewVue Communities, Wood by Piedmont Housing Alliance, Gomez by Self-Help Enterprises and Wright by Neighborhood Finance Corporation. - NeighborWorks America President and CEO Marietta Rodriguez said the honorees show what happens when residents step forward to lead and turn ideas into action.

The details: - Felix Colon founded Meek and Humble Ministries, which cooks and delivers about 80 hot meals three times a week to individuals and families in need. - Colon became a volunteer resident leader in 2020 after taking over outreach for another local organization whose director was at high risk during the pandemic. - Colon later launched his own ministry to keep feeding unhoused neighbors and partnered with nonprofits, a local restaurant and a church that provide kitchens. - NewVue’s Francisco Ramos said Colon goes to people where they are and aims to humanize unhoused individuals and families. - Carmelita Wood has worked for more than a decade to keep Fifeville affordable and became neighborhood association president after becoming a homeowner with support from Piedmont Housing Alliance. - Wood helped shape a land use plan that removes exclusionary single-family zoning and helped advance 2023 zoning reforms that add bonus density for affordable housing. - Wood founded an anti-displacement group and is pushing for a grocery store in a neighborhood described as a food desert. - Piedmont Community Land Trust director Luis Oyola said Wood balances behind-the-scenes work with public advocacy. - Olivia Gomez is a lifelong Planada resident and serves on Self-Help Enterprises’ Board of Directors. - Gomez acted as a bridge between neighbors, public agencies and nonprofit partners, echoing Richardson’s approach to community organizing. - After a flood devastated Planada in 2023, Gomez led volunteer response and recovery efforts, worked with the Sheriff’s Department to reopen the community after evacuation and pushed state legislators for recovery funding. - Those efforts helped secure long-term housing stability for 45 families, and Gomez continues to work with county and state agencies on flood prevention. - Self-Help Enterprises President and CEO Tom Collishaw said Gomez’s roots in Planada run deep, from growing up at Bear Creek farm labor housing to helping her parents build a home through mutual self-help housing. - Margaret J. Wright leads in Des Moines through the King-Irving Neighborhood Association and the Near Northside Neighbors Leadership Teams. - After a YMCA branch closed in 2021, Wright pushed for a replacement gathering place and changed early plans that did not meet residents’ expectations. - The $22 million Reichardt Community & Recreation Center opened this spring with the city’s only indoor pool, a track, a basketball court, an innovation lab and a community kitchen. - Wright developed cooking classes at the center to build connections and reduce isolation. - Neighborhood Finance Corp. executive director Stephanie Murphy said Wright made it her mission to elevate community voices and ensure the center met neighborhood needs. - NeighborWorks said the award honors Dorothy Mae Richardson, who organized neighbors, bankers and government officials in Pittsburgh in the 1960s to repair homes and save a neighborhood from neglect. - NeighborWorks says that effort led to Neighborhood Housing Services of Pittsburgh and became the basis for the NeighborWorks model expanded nationwide. - The organization says America250 is part of its effort to highlight residents and neighbors who built communities from the ground up. - NeighborWorks says its network includes nearly 250 nonprofits in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Native lands. - The organization said its network and NeighborWorks America attracted an additional $74 of investment for every dollar received from Congress in fiscal 2025. - More information is available in NeighborWorks America’s announcement.

Between the lines: - The honorees reflect a broad view of resident leadership, from meal delivery and anti-displacement work to flood recovery and neighborhood facilities. - NeighborWorks is linking the award to a larger civic message: local residents are not just beneficiaries of community development, but active shapers of it. - The timing around America250 suggests NeighborWorks wants to place neighborhood-level action inside a national story about democracy and civic participation.

What's next: - NeighborWorks will continue highlighting resident-led community action as part of its America250 programming. - The honorees are likely to remain visible in ongoing efforts around housing stability, neighborhood investment, disaster recovery and community amenities. - NeighborWorks will keep using the Dorothy Richardson award to elevate local leaders whose work can be replicated in other communities.

The bottom line: - NeighborWorks is framing resident leadership as a practical force for housing stability, public trust and neighborhood resilience.