Written by NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America Honors Resident Leaders with Prestigious Award
The Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership recognizes people who bring neighbors together for improvements, change
Washington, D.C. — NeighborWorks® America honored five resident leaders with its 2025 Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership. The honorees, who come from across the country, inspire their neighbors and lead their communities in promoting improvements and change, in preserving local culture, and in ensuring their communities are safe and healthy places to call home. The awards will be presented in a ceremony on Oct. 31 during NeighborWorks America’s Community Leadership Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“The Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership honors community leaders who represent the very best of our communities – the very best of all of us,” said Marietta Rodriguez, NeighborWorks America’s President & CEO. “I admire them and am inspired by the work they do – not just today but all year long, because these leaders are a true testament of the human spirit. When facing challenges, they leaned in to make positive change for their communities.”
2025 Award Honorees
Chester Dewitt, Providence, Rhode Island, nominated by One Neighborhood Builders, increased health and community connection through the Bike Distribution and Repair project. The project was funded through the Nine Neighborhood Fund, a participatory budgeting project led by One Neighborhood Builder’s place-based initiative, Central Providence Unidos. The initial program plan was to distribute 50 bikes, helmets, and coordinate bike repair workshops for low-income residents of two target zip codes served by One Neighborhood Builders.
Through Dewitt’s tenacity and community connections with additional stakeholders including recreation centers and libraries, he distributed 75 bikes and provided repair training to more young people through a partnership with Providence Bike Collective, a worker-run community bike shop. Dewitt’s role as the vice president of Chad Brown Alumni Association, a collective of former residents from the Chad Brown Housing Projects and surrounding neighborhoods, was important to the program’s success.
“Chester is the type of leader who is constantly implementing projects, and identifying new needs within his community, meaning he doesn’t stop to celebrate his accomplishments. This award will provide an opportunity for Chester to slow down and see that his accomplishments are recognized and appreciated by the greater community,” said Dominique Resendes, Associate Director of Community Infrastructure.
