WASHINGTON-Nina Smith, executive director of GoodWeave USA, has been named a recipient of The Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman 2012 EXCEL Award, which recognizes and spotlights outstanding leadership among Washington-area nonprofit chief executives.
“It’s wonderful to get affirmation of a job well done, including for our dedicated and talented team of staff and board,” said Smith, who launched GoodWeave’s U.S. organization in 2000. “More importantly, this is a great opportunity to shed light on the almost invisible problem of child slavery.” GoodWeave is an international nonprofit working to end exploitative child labor in the rug industry in India, Nepal and Afghanistan, and almost eight million child-labor-free carpets bearing the GoodWeave label have been sold worldwide since the organization’s inception in India in 1994, the organization said.
Award winners receive a $5,000 professional development account to use in their role as their organization’s chief executive. In addition, the winning organization receives a $2,000 grant to provide professional development opportunities for staff members.
This is the eighth year for this competition, and the seventh year that the Bethesda-based accounting firm Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman has sponsored the award.
“Our 2012 honorees exemplify the reason that excellence in nonprofit leadership is so important—with it, organizations and those they support, can thrive,” said Glen O’Gilvie, CEO, The Center for Nonprofit Advancement. “We are privileged to recognize these leaders today and look forward to sharing their innovative practices and strategies to ignite and support leadership excellence throughout our region.”