CarlLa Horton was raised on the west side of Chicago in a family deeply affected by domestic violence, poverty, and sexual abuse and asserts that this experience led her on a life journey dedicated to social change. CarlLa left Chicago for California in 1975. While working in the Women’s Career Development Program at the YWCA of Hollywood, she joined with colleagues to raise funds to establish Rosasharon, the first domestic violence shelter in Los Angeles. She traveled to New York in the summer of 1977, accepting a three-month assignment to 

Over the next 15 years, CarlLa served in myriad roles - as an organizer with New Jersey Citizen Action, a Congressional Campaign Manager, Executive Director of a disability rights organization guiding them from a social service to advocacy model, Deputy Executive Director of the Rockland Community Action Council, and Executive Director of the Paterson Interfaith Community Organization. During this period, she earned her graduate degree at Bernard Baruch College/CUNY, graduating first in her executive MPA class.

Then CarlLa saw an ad in the New York Times for Executive Director of a domestic violence agency in Westchester County. CarlLa accepted the appointment as Executive Director of Hope’s Door in 1997 and continues to serve in that role 28 years later. Under her leadership, the agency greatly expanded its scope, enhancing, adding, and collaborating on programs.

These included the Love Shouldn’t Hurt teen dating abuse initiative; the Next Step Economic Empowerment Program; Hope’s Door Ossining; the Family Justice Center in White Plains; the Westchester County Domestic Violence High Risk Team, and the Hope’s Door Legal Center. Most recently CarlLa accepted an appointment to the Executive Board for the Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence (STRIVE) program in Yonkers and Mount Vernon.

While CarlLa is well-known as an advocate and activist in the domestic violence community, serving with the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Advisory Council, and the Westchester County Domestic Violence Council, she is also recognized for her advocacy with member organizations of the Westchester Women’s Agenda and Nonprofit Westchester. She has advocated for affordable and low-income housing, health care, reproductive rights, the NYS ERA, childcare, Head Start, immigrant rights, excluded workers, striking nurses, voting rights, pay equity, and contract reform, among other work she describes as a reflection of her anti-racist, social justice, and feminist principles.

Jeremy Christopher Kohomban, PhD, is the President and CEO of The Children’s Village and the President of Harlem Dowling—two organizations founded in the early 1800s that serve over 30,000 children and families. 

Jeremy is a leading national advocate for reforms that prioritize family support over the use of family separation interventions. He was a primary contributor to the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, which brought about the 

 greatest advances to the field in over four decades. And, under Jeremy’s leadership, The Children’s Village, the nation’s oldest—and once the largest—children’s residential treatment center, has been transformed into a national model for community-embedded family support. 

Jeremy is outspoken in his recognition of the social justice antecedents that drive the foster care and juvenile justice systems, and in the belief that every child, regardless of age, deserves a family.

In a testament to Jeremy’s work, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called The Children’s Village “one of the exemplary primary prevention efforts operating in urban and rural jurisdictions across the country.” He was invited to partner with the Federal Children’s Bureau to showcase The Children’s Village’s family-focused efforts.  During his tenure, The Children’s Village was recognized with the Gold Prize from the New York Community Trust-New York Magazine’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards, the U.S. Congressional Coalition Angels in Adoption Award, the Child Welfare League of America Exemplary Innovative Leadership Award, and the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities’ Samuel Gerson Nordlinger Leadership Award.

Jeremy serves as a Trustee of Save the Children, a Trustee for the Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), and ArtsWestchester. He is also a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s child welfare initiative and serves as a reviewer for the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Jeremy was appointed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to the Commission on Community Reinvestment and the Closure of Riker's Island, and by New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to the New Arrivals Strategy Team to evaluate and identify solutions to improve supportive services for immigrants who arrived in New York City.

He is a graduate of Emporia State University, Kansas, holds a Master's from Long Island University, New York, a PhD from the School for Business and Leadership at Regent University, Virginia, and a LittD (Honorary Doctor of Letters) from Mercy College, New York.

914United is being honored for their dedication to empowering dual-impacted and at-risk youth to break free from cycles of violence, incarceration, and systemic injustice. Through a structured, mentorship-based model, they offer critical resources, transformative programming, and safe spaces designed to foster resilience, personal growth, and long-term success.

What sets 914United apart is their frontline approach to violence prevention and reentry support. Their mentors—many of whom are formerly incarcerated individuals—leverage their lived experience to build authentic, one-on-one relationships with youth. These mentors serve not only as guides, but as living proof that change is possible.

914 United has and continues to champion preventative services, community healing, and transformative justice—working every day to ensure that every young person in Westchester County has the opportunity to realize their full potential and lead a life of purpose.

Westchester Parks Foundation is being honored for their work that inspires public engagement and ensures long-term sustainability of over 18,000 acres of cherished parks, trails, and open spaces. Through impactful programs, community events, and strategic investments, they strengthen the connection between 

parks and people — creating stewards, promoting wellness, and preserving green space for future generations. Together with public and private partners, they enhance access, foster pride, and encourage all residents to experience, care for, and celebrate their parks. Of note, is their Trails Without Limits program which provides people with mobility disabilities and related concerns with the opportunity to explore Westchester County Parks trails using specially designed all-terrain Trackchairs or handcycles, at no cost.