A capacity crowd filled the 2009 Boulder Community Builder Awards Luncheon on Friday, October 16th as ADL’s Boulder Steering Committee honored Carmen Atilano, Administrator of the Boulder Office of Human Rights, and Rabbi Deborah Ruth Bronstein of Congregation Har HaShem.

Ms. Atilano has held her position for the last 16 years. Under her leadership, the Boulder Office of Human Rights has seen ground-breaking accomplishments, including the establishment of the City’s Immigrant Advisory Committee, the inclusion of transgender people in the City’s Human Rights Ordinance, and the establishment of Boulder’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, the largest annual celebration of diverse communities in the city. Rabbi Bronstein has served as Rabbi at Congregation Har HaShem for 15 years and has been a leading voice in the Jewish social justice movement.  She has been active in issues related to homelessness and chronic mental illness and in promoting diversity within the public school system.  Through her 2004 Rosh Hashanah sermon, she inspired her congregation to become a nationally recognized model of humanitarian action in addressing the suffering in Southern Sudan and the genocide in Darfur.

Honorary chairs who spoke to the crowd included U.S. Representative Jared Polis, Colorado State Senate President Brandon Shaffer, and Boulder Mayor Matt Applebaum.  Other luncheon highlights included an address from an ADL No Place for Hate® student leader.

This year’s event is partially underwritten by generous sponsors, including: Premier Sponsor Sloat & Nicholson, P.C., Attorneys at Law and by the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, Crist Mortuary, Congregation Har HaShem, the Boulder Jewish Community Foundation and other anonymous funders.