Community Activist, Founder of Multi-Service Center, and CEO of Basic Community Health Center to be Honored at UMass Boston’s 2008 Community Breakfast
Founder of the Codman Square Health Center, William Walczak, and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center, Frederica Williams will be honored on March 20th 2008 at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s 22nd annual Community Breakfast for their work to improve communities and organizations within the city. The director of the Boston Globe foundation, Leah P. Bailey will also be recognized at the event for her exceptional service to the communities of Boston.
Walczak, a Savin Hill resident, will receive the Robert H. Quinn Award for Community Service from UMass Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley and Robert H Quinn himself. The award will also be presented to Williams for longstanding community commitment and service for her work transforming community-based institutions.
The Quinn Award, which honors individuals whose outstanding contributions have significantly improved the quality of life in the Greater Boston area, was established in honor of Robert H. Quinn, who served the Commonwealth as speaker of the House of Representatives, attorney general and chair of the UMass Board of Trustees. He is still actively involved with the welfare of the University, and is a practicing attorney and founding partner of Quinn and Morris, LLP.
“UMass Boston is proud each year to recognize the commitment of the residents and business leaders of Boston to building stronger communities,” Chancellor Motley said. Bill Walczak’s dedication to the Codman Square Health Center, and beyond, as well as Frederica Williams’ and Leah Bailey’s emphasis on exemplary corporate citizenship are richly deserving of our recognition and our thanks.”
Dedicated to strengthening medical and other clinical services to local communities, the Codman Square Health Center has seen significant neighborhood development under Walczak’s leadership. Thanks to his initiative, the health center has more than 100,000 annual visits with a budget of more than $17million.
Walczak’s activism has stretched beyond community welfare into the efficient management and networking of non-profits in Massachusetts. He is the founding chairman of the Massachusetts Non Profit Network. Walczak, a UMass Boston graduate, is also the vice-chairman of the UMass Boston Alumni Association.
Frederica Williams was appointed president and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center in 2002. Since that time, the center has grown in revenues by over 60% and expanded its range of services to the community regardless of their ability to pay for services. Williams has overseen the expansion of the center’s infrastructure in terms of improvements in operations, diversification of funding sources, and the development of entrepreneurial activities. She serves as a Board of Trustee for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
Williams is actively engaged in supporting improvements in the health of diverse immigrant populations living in Massachusetts by promoting access to quality, culturally competent health and social services enhanced through education, research and community partnerships. She also participates on several community initiatives focused on providing high quality, reliable and accessible health care and support services to the elderly, disabled, immigrants, children and the uninsured and underinsured.
Leah P. Bailey is Executive Director of Community Affairs and the Boston Globe Foundation. She joined the Globe in 2002 and is responsible for overseeing the distribution of nearly $2 million annually in Foundation grants and corporate sponsorships in greater Boston.
She has addressed several local and national organizations, including the 2006 Hands On Network National Conference, the 2004 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service (Points of Light Foundation), as well as conferences for the Connecticut Council on Philanthropy, the National Conference on Educational Leadership and Associated Grantmakers of Massachusetts. She was a founding member and director of The Aurora Women and Girls Foundation in Hartford, Conn., and served two elected terms on the Wethersfield, Conn. Town Council.