From VCF-
Winner to Receive $15,000 Cash Prize
Nominations are now being accepted for the $15,000 Con Hogan Award for Creative, Entrepreneurial, Community Leadership for 2024.
Now in its tenth and final year, the award is a tribute to Con’s life’s work and commitment to public service. It is intended to encourage and reward leaders who share his vision of a better Vermont—one that places the highest value on the public good—who seize the responsibility for making that vision real, and who mentor emerging leaders.
The prize money provides a unique opportunity for the recipient to nurture and further their leadership capacity and may be spent however the awardee chooses.
In 2023, HB Lozito was honored with the Con Hogan Award. Lozito (they/them) is the executive director of Brattleboro-based Out in the Open, which works to build a multi-issue, multiracial social justice movement of rural LGBTQ+ people.
Through Lozito’s leadership, Out in the Open has expanded what it means to be queer in rural Vermont. For over a decade, Lozito has been instrumental not only in creating safe and thriving places for rural LGBTQ+ people but also in building community, visibility, knowledge, and power, in part by searching out previously uncollected data to support the work.
In accepting the award last October, Lozito traced the development of Out in the Open, noting that it has been a learning process and continues to be. “How do we hold strong to our values and make bold statements and take decisive actions our community needs while also bringing in people who may not share our perspective?” they asked. “How do we support and not alienate our community while creating space for dialogue?”
Lozito acknowledged that people like Con offer paths to answering such questions. “Have a hypothesis, gather data—whether quantitative or qualitative—evaluate, make changes, and repeat. It’s what I’ve been doing for Out in the Open for the past nine years, and it’s exactly what I plan to do for many years to come.”
In addition to Lozito, previous winners are Joe Wiah (2022), Dr. Lydia Clemmons (2021), Jan Demers (2019), James Baker (2018), Holly Morehouse (2017), Michael Monte (2016), and Ellen Kahler (2015). In 2020, the committee extended special recognition to the entire Vermont Department of Health staff for its untiring efforts to keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awardee must be a Vermont resident and nominated by someone else. Nominations will be accepted through the Vermont Community Foundation until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The award will be presented at a public event in Central Vermont on October 9. For more information or to submit a nomination, visit vermontcf.org/conhoganaward.
The Vermont Community Foundation was established in 1986 as an enduring source of philanthropic support for Vermont communities. A family of more than 900 funds, foundations, and supporting organizations, the Foundation makes it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love. The Community Foundation and its partners put more than $60 million annually to work in Vermont communities and beyond. The heart of its work is closing the opportunity gap—the divide that leaves too many Vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. The Community Foundation envisions Vermont at its best—where everyone can build a bright, secure future. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information.