Summary: Leslie Radcliffe understands leadership as service. And she’s committed to serving her neighbors and community. Learn more about this resident leader and why NeighborWorks America will honor her with the Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership. 

Most Black Americans know the history and the legacy of June 19, 1865, the day Union troops finally reached Galveston, Texas, announcing that enslaved people had been freed – a full two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The celebratory day, which became known as Juneteenth, became a federal holiday in 2021. At that time, only 37% of American adults knew what the holiday meant.

Marietta Rodriguez presented this speech at the 2024 National Interagency Community Reinvestment on March 7 as part of a session entitled “A New Landscape for Community Impact.” 

Imagine a neighborhood. ANY neighborhood. A neighborhood that you live in, a neighborhood that you grew up in or a neighborhood you've visited. 

While NeighborWorks America officially got its start 45 years ago, the first big NeighborWorks Training Institute (NTI) wasn't held until 1987, with the goal of offering affordable housing and community development staff a concentrated way to learn more about the things they knew — and the things they didn't. NeighborWorks' classes helped staff hone their skills and do more. So many people — 79,000 both inside the NeighborWorks network and out of it — have attended NTIs and stand-alone courses since NeighborWorks started keeping track in 2003.

While NeighborWorks America officially got its start 45 years ago, the first big NeighborWorks Training Institute (NTI) wasn't held until 1987, with the goal of offering affordable housing and community development staff a concentrated way to learn more about the things they knew — and the things they didn't. NeighborWorks' classes helped staff hone their skills and do more. So many people — 79,000 both inside the NeighborWorks network and out of it — have attended NTIs and stand-alone courses since NeighborWorks started keeping track in 2003.