Best Activist/Watchdog/Nonprofit Leader

1. Patti Radle (Tie)
Inner City Development, Co-Director, 1300 Chihuahua, (210) 224-7239, innercitydevelopment.org

Graciela Sanchez
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Director, 922 San Pedro, (210) 228-0201, esperanzacenter.org

Named last year a "Peace Laureate" by one neighborhood group, Patti Radle's been fighting for the Westside for decades. Elected to the SAISD board last year, Patti, along husband Rod Radle, co-direct Inner City Development, a nonprofit giving needy families emergency food and clothing since the early '70s. A former District 5 Councilwoman, Patti also serves as vice chairwoman for the Haven for Hope board, is a member of SA2020's steering committee, and is a founding member of San Anto Cultural Arts. Also with a heart deep in the Westside (and beyond), Graciela Sánchez knows how to pick a fight. Her Esperanza, born in the late '80s, has advocated for the poor and marginalized since its founding, sparking protests, petitions, and righteous indignation throughout its years. When right-wing Christian groups in the late '90s, angered at the Esperanza's gay and lesbian film festival, got the City of San Antonio to pull the organization's funding, Sanchez took the battle to court. The Esperanza's eventual victory has been cheered as a pivotal win for arts organizations ever since. A later fight spearheaded by Esperanza, but joined by numerous organizations, forced the city to modify its parade ordinance to help keep the streets open to all her boisterous children.

2. TC Calvert (Tie)
Neighborhood First Alliance

Lanny Sinkin
Solar San Antonio, 118 Broadway, Ste 621, (210) 354-0236, solarsanantonio.org

3. Gordon Hartman (Tie)
Gordon Hartman Family Foundation, 1202 W Bitters, Bldg 1, Ste 1200, (210) 493-2811, hartmansa.org

Richard Rosen
Magik Theatre, 420 S Alamo, (210) 227-2751