The 5 Winners of the 2019 Route Fifty Navigator Awards
Connecting state and local government leaders
Here are the teams and individuals we are honoring for tackling challenging problems and coming up with innovative solutions.
SAN ANTONIO — Route Fifty is excited to announce the five winners of the 2019 Navigator Awards, which honor excellence in state and local government.
During a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas at the National League of Cities’ City Summit, we celebrated the previously announced 50 Navigator Awards finalists, along with the winners in each of five categories. Selected from hundreds of nominations—sent in by readers impressed by projects across this country—these individuals and teams tackled challenging problems with innovative solutions and delivered results.
Here are our winners for 2019.
The Electeds: Tobias Read, Oregon treasurer, for OregonSaves, the state’s retirement program for residents without employer-based plans.
The Leaders: Durham Expunction and Restoration Program, led by Ryan Smith, the city’s innovation team director, Judge Josephine Kerr Davis, Judge Amanda Maris, and District Attorney Satana Deberry. This program identifies people eligible for restoration of a suspended or revoked driver’s license, wipes away old traffic charges and works on license restoration.
The Next Generation: Scott Sellers, city manager of Kyle, Texas, for creating the “Manager in Residence Program,” which establishes a talent pipeline of college students to city government management positions.
Tech Innovators: Rachel Riley, Rob Hill and Paula J. Dennison for developing the Simple Planning Tool for planners and emergency managers to assess the local, long-term climate risks in Oklahoma communities. Riley is the deputy director of the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, while Hill and Dennison work for the city of Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The Allies: Hester Street, a nonprofit led by executive director Betsy MacLean, that works with municipalities in New York and the state Attorney General’s office on more equitable code enforcement.
Congrats to all our winners and finalists!
Alisha Powell Gillis is a senior editor at Route Fifty.
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