(Picture from Yvonne Bynoe)

First off this week is an annoucement of the "Agent of Change Award" established by activist and writer Yvonne Bynoe in association with Soft Skull Press. You can find out more about her and her books at the links above. As for the award, the first winner, Sandy Shevack, was recently announced:

Sandy Shevack, a long-time community activist from Paterson, NJ is the recipient of the first Agent of Change award. The five hundred dollar grant was established by author and lecture Yvonne Bynoe in late 2005 and the selection process was finalized in April of this year.

Sandy Shevack founded the Juvenile Education and Awareness Project (JEAP) in Paterson in 1983 and currently acts as its Co-Director. The chief mission of JEAP is to acquire and rehabilitate apartment buildings and then provides units as affordable housing to low-income families. One JEAP success story involves a former drug haven that was converted into a day care center for pre-school children in Paterson. The JEAP program also provides local youth with practical skills such as carpentry and also give them the opportunity to learn about issues that impact their community, particularly housing issues.

In making selecting Sandy Shevack, Bynoe said the following, " Of all the applications that were received for the first Agent of Change Award, Sandy's best exemplified a community activist who was working toward sustained and tangible change in his community." She added, "I believe that Sandy's work and commitment and advocacy should be an example to other community leaders."

In other reads check out:

*Untapped: Creating Value in Underserved Markets by John Weiser, Michele Kahane, Steve Rochlin and Jessica Landis, from Berrett-Koehler.

*The 100-Mile Walk: A Father and Son on a Quest to Find the Essence of Leadership by Sander and Jonathan Flaum. More on this book at CSR Wire.