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KINDNESS AWARDS
Dear Friends,
Sunday Friends is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 Silicon Valley Kindness Awards, honoring individuals and organizations whose courage, compassion, leadership, commitment, and revolutionary kindness are helping create meaningful change throughout our region.
The awards were presented on September 18 at Adobe Headquarters as part of our Inside Poverty & Kindness Awards event, bringing together community leaders, nonprofit professionals, educators, business leaders, philanthropists, volunteers, and changemakers committed to building a more connected and caring Silicon Valley.
We are deeply grateful for the contributions of this year’s honorees and proud to celebrate the many ways they are putting revolutionary kindness in action.
BUSINESS AWARD
KeyPoint Credit Union
Founded nearly 50 years ago in Silicon Valley, KeyPoint Credit Union is a member-owned, not-for-profit institution committed to financial well-being. Through financial solutions, education, and nonprofit partnerships, KeyPoint helps individuals, families, and communities build stronger futures.
Technical Builders, Inc.
Technical Builders, Inc. is a Bay Area commercial general contractor serving life science, healthcare, corporate, and other sectors. Beyond construction, TBI strengthens local communities through charitable giving, volunteerism, and partnerships that support meaningful, lasting impact.
CIVIC AWARD
Supervisor Betty Duong
Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong represents District 2, including East San José, downtown San José, Alum Rock, and the East Foothills. Her civic leadership focuses on strengthening families, neighborhoods, and opportunities throughout Santa Clara County.
Vice Mayor Pam Foley
Pam Foley has more than two decades of public service, including six years on the San José City Council and service as Vice Mayor since 2025. Previously, she served 14 years as a trustee for San José Unified School District.
EDUCATION AWARD
Juan Cruz
Juan Cruz has served as Superintendent of the Franklin-McKinley School District since 2015. A first-generation college graduate and longtime San José educator, he has held teaching and leadership positions throughout his career, with degrees from San José State University.
Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton
Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at San José State University and Director of Teaching Social Action. His program equips faculty and students to pursue community and policy change and has trained more than 500 faculty members across the country and internationally.
PHILANTHROPY AWARD
Sobrato Philanthropies
Sobrato Philanthropies is a multi-generational family philanthropy dedicated to expanding opportunity and strengthening communities in Silicon Valley and beyond. Through long-term partnerships and investments, it supports efforts that promote stability, opportunity, and well-being for individuals and families.
VOLUNTEER AWARD
Shiven Pamu
Shiven Pamu, a Monta Vista High School student, founded Next Gen Seniors to help older adults build confidence with technology and stay connected. Through interactive lessons and games, he creates meaningful intergenerational connections while helping bridge the digital divide.
Alexis Steen, MBA
Alexis Steen is a banking executive, nonprofit founder, author, and community leader. As Founder and CEO of Financial Literacy for All, Inc., she works to make financial education accessible to children and families while serving several Silicon Valley organizations.
Congratulations to all of our 2026 Silicon Valley Kindness Award recipients!
With gratitude,
Sunday Friends
Inside Poverty
The day begins with Inside Poverty, an immersive program exploring the realities of poverty through the direct experiences of community members, alongside local and international leaders working to create meaningful change.
Through conversation and dialogue, we will explore asset-based approaches that recognize lived experience as valuable expertise. Rather than focusing only on what families need, the program asks us to consider what becomes possible when we also recognize their knowledge, strengths, relationships, and leadership.
Meet Our Speakers
LaVonda Baldwin is an Executive Coach who partners with high-capacity leaders and teams to expand what they believe is possible—and what they are willing to pursue. A former U.S. diplomat and nonprofit executive, she brings more than a decade of leadership experience in complex, high-stakes environments.
Darcie Green, Executive Director, Latinas Contra Cancer, leads an organization working to support individuals, families, and communities affected by cancer while addressing the health inequities that can limit access to care. Her perspective brings an important understanding of how health, opportunity, and community well-being are interconnected.
Zelica Rodriguez-Deams, Director of Thriving Communities at SOBRATO Philanthropies, leads a team implementing place-based strategies across East San Jose and North Fair Oaks in Redwood City. Her work focuses on strengthening communities by bringing people, organizations, and resources together around locally identified priorities.
International Voices
We are especially pleased to welcome two international leaders whose work offers valuable perspectives on community development and social change beyond Silicon Valley.
Lee Griffiths, Trainer & Consultant, Jeder Institute, specializes in Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and participatory community leadership. His work explores how communities can build on their existing strengths, relationships, knowledge, and resources to create lasting change.
Marcos Arturo Leyva Madrid, Director, Servicios para una Educación Alternativa (EDUCA), Oaxaca, Mexico, is the longtime director of EDUCA, one of Oaxaca's respected civil society organizations focused on democracy, social participation, and community development. His experience offers an important perspective on how communities can organize, participate, and develop solutions rooted in local knowledge and leadership.
Special Guest
Supervisor Betty Duong is the Santa Clara County Supervisor, District 2 including East San José and parts of downtown San José, Alum Rock, and the East Foothills. Her participation brings a civic leadership perspective to the conversation about strengthening families, neighborhoods, and opportunity across our region.
Silicon Valley Kindness Awards
Following Inside Poverty, we will celebrate the 2026 Silicon Valley Kindness Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations whose compassion, leadership, generosity, and commitment are helping create meaningful change throughout our region.
This is more than a day of presentations. It is an opportunity to step outside our individual organizations and sectors, hear from people with different experiences, and consider what we might learn from one another.
Whether your work is in community development, philanthropy, education, business, government, or the nonprofit sector, we hope you will join us for a day of thoughtful conversation, new perspectives, meaningful connections, and a celebration of revolutionary kindness in action.
Please register by September 10. ($40 per person / $280 table of 8)
2024
