Civic Leadership Award: CFSA is honoring Marla Franco, assistant vice provost for Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives at the University of Arizona, as the recipient of the Civic Leadership Award. The award honors members of the community who have gone above and beyond to make Southern Arizona a more inclusive and welcoming place to live. These nominees must inspire others through either their work, volunteerism or advocacy efforts with diverse or underrepresented communities. Franco led efforts toward the UA becoming federally recognized as an HSI in 2018. She is the recent founder of the AZ HSI Consortium, aimed at fostering partnerships and leveraging resources across all 16 HSIs in Arizona, and cofounder of the STEM in HSI Working Group, aimed at bringing greater equity in STEM at HSIs. During the pandemic, Franco lead distribution efforts of $2.3 million in CARES Act Funding, prioritizing aid for the campus food pantry, increasing laptop and hotspot lending inventory, reinvesting in on-campus student employment, and supporting technology access and college outreach to Native Nations.
TCI Wealth Advisors: TCI Wealth Advisors received the 2021 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award. This award recognizes engaged workplace cultures. This is the second consecutive year TCI Wealth Advisors has been named a winner. In a year filled with unprecedented challenges ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest to political polarization, Gallup found that TCI Wealth Advisors has shown exceptional resilience and support for their employee base.
