Aspire CEO Honored For Leadership by the James Irvine Foundation

In August, Aspire CEO Don Shalvey was honored as one of the first-ever recipients of The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. The award celebrates individuals who have demonstrated ingenuity, dedication, and efficacy as they make a significant difference for California's future. Shalvey joins a select group of six other leaders, who collectively won $775,000 to apply lessons in addressing the state's most critical social problems.

"The Leadership Award recipients all faced long odds and created significant change by focusing on what works," said James Canales, President and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation. "But they also share a confidence in society's capacity to address problems that might seem unsolvable. We encourage all California's leaders, whether elected officials or community leaders, to learn from these successful strategies as they tackle our state's ongoing challenges."

After going through a rigorous four-month selection process, Shalvey was awarded $125,000 for his entrepreneurship and effectiveness in advancing the quality of public school education in California. The selection committee noted Don's reputation as a respected public educator, and his warm open manner which has helped to foster constructive dialogue between people on both sides of the charter school issue.

"Everyone is seeing the art of possibility,"

said Shalvey. "If we at Aspire can create a long-lasting institution that focuses on underserved kids and gets them to graduation, we will have had an impact. I'm honored by this award and grateful for the grant as it will allow us to continue to cultivate our leaders and grow our organization."

A unifying theme among the recipients was their work in underserved communities. The seven recipients have worked to improve the prospects of minority youth in the juvenile justice system, schools in low-income neighborhoods, economic opportunities for low-income individuals and families, and water quality along California's coastline.