Pictured left to right: Carl Howell, CEO Community Teamwork, Vanna Howards, State Representative, and Honorees Lenis Perez, Merrimack Valley YMCA, Sophy Theam, Enterprise Bank, Joe Hungler, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell
Lowell – Community Teamwork (CTI) recently recognized three local leaders as the 2025 Champions of Community Action at their annual Spring Celebration which took place on May 15th at the Andover Country Club.
More than 300 people joined the festivities to celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s honorees and help to raise funds for to support Community Teamwork’s efforts to build emergency temporary housing for women facing housing insecurity in our community.
The Champions of Community Action award was established in 2022 to recognize individuals who support and uphold the mission of community action to uplift those in need.
“These individuals act as a “catalyst for change” in our community,” said Carl Howell, CEO, Community Teamwork. “These are the people in our community who are working tirelessly and, in many ways, behind the scenes to ensure all individuals and families have equal access to housing, education and upward mobility.”
This year’s honorees included:
Joe Hungler, Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell
Leniz Perez, Associate Executive Director, Merrimack Valley YMCA
Sophy Theam, Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, and Executive Vice President, Enterprise Bank
Previous Champions of Community Action include, Bobby and Aleksandra Tugbiyele, Pam and Jim Houlares, Bill Lipchitz, Stacey Thompson, Cathy Mercado, Richard Chavez, Vlad Saldana, Sue Kim, Richard Howe, Tom Golden and Paul Cohen.
