"40 Under 40" Emerging Leaders Award Honors Barry Kendall

Commonweal Institute Executive Director Barry Kendall and Retreat Director Mirit Cohen with San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 gave all of us here at the Commonweal Institute an opportunity to celebrate the acheivements of Barry Kendall and all of his hard work forging the path for the progressive movement. The New Leaders Council's annual "40 Under 40" Awards honor young, innovative and dedicated progressive leaders throughout the nation, and this year Dr. Kendall was selected as an award recipient! Be sure to check the NLC website to see the impressive list of award winners.

Ten of this year's recipients are based in the San Francisco Bay area, and a miniature awards ceremony was held for them at Orson's, a SOMA restaurant and hotspot. The evening was packed with youthful and upbeat energy as well over 100 people gathered to celebrate their co-workers, their organizations, and each other. Some of the notable attendees included Jose Cisneros, Treasuer of the City and County of San Francisco, as well as the Commonweal Institute's very own Dave Johnson and Patrick O'Heffernan. Some of the all-star awardees from the Bay Area include Mary Rickles, Director, Communications and Media for Netroots Nation and Democracy for America, Chris Balme, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Spark, and Ben Tulchin, Founder and Principal of Tulchin Research.

Umayyah Cable, Commonweal Institute's Media and Communications intern and a photographer in her own right, was on hand to document the event. We hope you enjoy the photos of this celebratory affair!

Barry with Mary Rickles of Netroots Nation and company.

Barry and Mirit after the ceremony.