50 Bay Area Non-Profit Leaders Honored by The Marin Founder’s Celebration

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(Newswire.net — April 30, 2016) — The second annual Marin Founders Celebration (MFC) will be held on Sunday May 1, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM at the Buck Institute Novato.  MFC is an annual event to publicly acknowledge and celebrate the people who have founded nonprofit organizations.  

The event is the brain-child of Novato Businesswoman Jacqueline Janssen, Mary O’Mara, co-founder and executive director of MarinLink, and Marinda Freeman, president of MF Productions.

Janssen believes that nonprofits have a great impact on the world, and that nonprofit founders, who often work in anonymity, should be recognized for the contributions they make.

“This is to celebrate the founders of Marin’s nonprofits who have given so much to our community who make it a great place to live in,” said Janssen.  

Marin Nonprofit Founders provide services for people in health care and other social services, education, art, science, environmental awareness and much more. Founders notice, empathize, envision, inspire, organize, manage, teach, lead and persist. Communities benefit from founder’s insight, foresight and courage.

The Honorees of this year’s MFC event are:

JuanCarlos Arauz – E3: Education, Excellence & Equity

Zara Babitzke – Ambassadors of Hope & Opportunity

Bernice Baeza – Lark Theater

Bernice Baeza – Novato Theater

Kathy Berger – Canal Alliance

Nora Bookoff – Mill Valley Seniors for Peace

Tom Boss – Film Night in the Park

Mrs. P.D. Browne – Sunny Hills Services

Terry Di Martini – Marin Child Care Council

Judy Edgar – 10,000  Degrees

Freida Engel – Mill Valley Seniors for Peace

Phyllis Faber – Marin Agricultural Land Trust MALT

Mimi Farina – Bread and Roses

Sister M.  Gervaise Valpey – Dominican Sisters of San Rafael

Mother Mary   Goemaere (Posthumous) – Dominican Sisters of San Rafael

Marty Griffin – Marin Audubon Society

Anna Halprin – Tamalpa Institute

Heidi Hilenbrand – Lark Theater

Deb Hubsmith – Marin County Bicycle Coalition

Dr. Ali  Kianfar – International Association of Sufism (IAS)

Heidi Kuhn – Roots of Peace

Kiki LaPorta – Sustainable San Rafael & Sustainable Marin

Donna Lemmon – Integrated Community Services

Marilyn  Levin Nemzer – Global Book Exchange

Caroline Livermore – Marin Art & Garden Center MAGC

Marika Love – Joy of Learning

Mary Ann  Maggiore – Five4Five

Sally Mastuishi – Next Generation Scholars

Kathleen McNeil – Godmothers of Timothy Murphy School

Lucy Mercer – Throckmorton Theatre

Harry Moore – Sustainable Marin

Richard O. Moore (posthumous) – Mill Valley Seniors for Peace

Kate Munger – Threshhold Choir

Dr. Angha  Nahid – International Association of Sufism (IAS)

Dolly Nave – Marin Bocce Federation and “Angel of Albert Park”

Leona Norman – Marin Ballet

Mother Louis O’Donnell (Posthumous) – Dominican Sisters of San Rafael

Ann O’Hanlon – O’Hanlon Center for the Arts

Dick O’Hanlon – O’Hanlon Center for the Arts

Robert Plath – Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance

Sister Mary Maurice Powers (Posthumous) – Dominican Sisters of San Rafael

Rachel Naomi  Remen MD – Institute for the Study of Health and Illness at Commonweal ISHI

Gladys Smith – Marin Art & Garden Center MAGC

Sue Spofford – Sustainable San Rafael

Ellen Straus (posthumous) – Marin Agricultural Land Trust MALT

Kenji Treanor – Next Generation Scholars

Bill Usher – Mill Valley Seniors for Peace

Larry Vargo – Mayflower Chorus

Tom Wilson – Canal Alliance

Cecilia Zamora – Latino Council of Marin

 

 

The Marin Founder’s Celebration (MFC) is an annual event to publicly acknowledge and celebrate the people who have founded nonprofit organizations.  Nonprofits improve quality of life, connect people to each other, offer people opportunities to volunteer, engage us in civic issues and they save counties money. The event honors 50 nonprofit founders each year. To nominate an organization and its founder, go to http://marinfounders.org/submit-founder/