The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership has honored five of the state’s most dedicated and impactful leaders with the 2021 Flinn-Brown Awards.
The five winning Flinn-Brown Fellows include statewide and local office holders and leaders in higher education, economic development, and city government. The Fellows received their awards Nov. 12 during the annual 2021 Flinn-Brown Convention at the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
This is the fourth cohort of Flinn-Brown Award recipients, which were first honored in 2017.
Superior Mayor Mila Besich was awarded the Arizona Champion Central Arizona award.
Besich showed tremendous leadership during the Telegraph Fire. She was in constant communication with the public about their safety and the efforts to combat the fire. Besich also took leadership and public-policy steps regarding resources for the community and efforts to mitigate fires. Besich continues to be a champion for rural towns and highlights their uniqueness and charm to help protect the livelihood of rural Arizona. She is also a consistent contributor to Flinn-Brown news and panel discussions.
The other winners were: Lea Marquez Peterson (Jack Jewett Award); Paul Brierley (Network Builder Award); Joanne Keene (Arizona Champion Northern Arizona); and Mignonne Hollis (Arizona Champion Southern Arizona).
The 2021 Flinn-Brown award winners were nominated by their peers and selected by the Flinn-Brown Fellows Council — nine Fellows that assist in the center’s planning and programming, promote the statewide Flinn-Brown Network, and help recruit future Flinn-Brown Fellows.
The Jack Jewett Award is named for the retired Flinn Foundation President and CEO, who led the organization from 2009 through 2017 and envisioned the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership.
The 2020 Flinn-Brown Fellows completed the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy in October. There are now nearly 400 Fellows in the Flinn-Brown Network.