JAF Selection Process
The Deadline to submit a nomination is March 1, 2021.
An unlimited number of people may be nominated from each district. One (1) person from each of the 13 districts, SOAR, and USW staff will be chosen for a regional award. These winners will be chosen by the selection board. Each regional winner is awarded with a cash prize of $500.00 to go towards their charitable cause. A national winner will be chosen from the 15 regional winners by the Board of Selectors. The national winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000 for their cause and he or she will have the opportunity to attend the Jefferson Awards National Ceremonies in Washington D.C. Nominees are evaluated based on soon-to-be published Scoring Guidelines.
USW Board of Selectors
Sylvia Dallas
Sylvia Dallas was born and raised in Carlisle, PA. She has a BA from Denison University in Ohio with a major in French and a M.ED. from Temple University in Philadelphia. She taught English as a Second Language at Temple and high school French outside of Philadelphia and in Harrisburg. Dallas served on the boards of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (where she is still on the scholarship committee), The Sewickley YMCA, the Samaritan Counseling Center (where she was President for a year), the Session of the Sewickley Presbyterian Church (where she chaired the nominating committee for 6 years). She is currently the Secretary of the Board of Directors to the Center for Hope in Ambridge, PA
Helen Fallon
Helen Fallon is a professor and Honors Program director at Point Park University and a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette part-time copy editor. She leads reporting and leadership apprenticeships for high school students for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Fallon is a member and officer of the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh and Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. Her past volunteer activities include the Adonai Project, a mentoring project for African-American males; sixth grade mentor for the United Way; The Consortium for Public Education, McKeesport; and Pennsylvania School Press Association.
Jodi Klebick
As the Pittsburgh Regional Executive Director of the Jefferson Awards Foundation since 2013, she enjoys working with the USW, Champion volunteers & youth leaders across the Pittsburgh region and across the country. As a volunteer, she is a Co-Founder of the Silk Screen Asian Festival and Co-Founder of the Downtown Art Gallery Association & Gallery Crawl. She currently serves as Public Relations Chair for the local American Society of Civil Engineers and has volunteered for numerous nonprofits including Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, Women in Film & Media, and many others.
Jim Coleman
Jim coleman retired form the Steelworkers after 39 years of work, 15 of those years in Communications and New Media at USW Headquarters. Presently, Coleman does volunteer community service and is active with his church.
Reverand Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee recently retired from First Energy Corp. He is a Senior Pastor of Lifeway Christian Fellowship. Lee is also a board member to the Beaver County Minority Coalition and IBEW Delegate to the Beaver Lawrence County Labor Council. Lee assisted the USW in conducting townhall meetings in the Beaver County area and has delivered invocations at multiple USW Conventions.