{"id":3262,"date":"2021-03-02T13:18:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T13:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/?p=3262"},"modified":"2022-05-16T11:11:57","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T11:11:57","slug":"integrity-icon-philly-awards-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/integrity-icon-philly-awards-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrity Icon Philly Awards Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

We celebrated the public servants named the first-ever heroes of high integrity in Philly\u2014and the country. See why they are role models for all of us.<\/span><\/h2>\n

BY <\/span>JESSICA BLATT PRESS<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

What is Integrity? To the five local heroes<\/a>\u00a0we\u00a0honored on Friday night<\/a> as the first-ever Integrity Icons in Philadelphia\u2014and the country\u2014it means many things, all of them inspiring.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n
\u201cIntegrity is not something you do, it\u2019s who you are,\u201d said\u00a0Richard Gordon IV<\/a>, the principal at Paul Robeson High School. Gordon, who was also named\u00a0Principal of the Year<\/a> for 2020, shared that his earliest model of integrity was his mother, Cecilia Watkins. In the wake of Gordon\u2019s father being incarcerated, she woke up at 5 am every day to make sure Gordon and his younger brother arrived at their New Jersey school on time.\u201cShe was committed to her children and willing to sacrifice for the greater good. So I learned about that integrity, that commitment, that sacrifice you\u2019re willing to make for someone else to ensure that they are able to have a better life and have a better station. To be able to live with that example in my early formative years is something that I\u2019ve always carried with me, and it\u2019s always been the motivating factor for why I do the things I do when it comes to education,\u201d he said.Gordon was the top vote-getter in the contest\u2014run by The Citizen and D.C.-based\u00a0Accountability Lab<\/a>\u2014making him the people\u2019s choice for the public servant in Philly who goes well above and beyond his job description to do what\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntegrity is not something you do, it\u2019s who you are,\u201d said Richard Gordon IV, the principal at Paul Robeson High School.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He was joined for the virtual event by his four fellow 2020 Integrity Icons:\u00a0Dr. Ruth Abaya<\/a>, CHOP pediatric E.R. doctor and public health manager;\u00a0Carlos Aponte<\/a>, high school history teacher and founder of We Love Philly;\u00a0Thomas Quinn<\/a>, high school social studies teacher and organizer of Philly Youth Vote; and\u00a0Shaquita A. Smith<\/a>, social studies curriculum specialist for the School District of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

The event was\u00a0emceed by<\/a>\u00a0WURD Radio\u2019s Syreeta Martin, with\u00a0a rousing welcome song<\/a> performed by the Garden State and PA State girl choirs, and a special congratulatory message<\/a>\u00a0from Eagles center\u00a0Jason Kelce<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Citizen\u2019 partners for the contest and Friday\u2019s event included United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, SEAMAAC, WURD, Fitler Club and Harrison Foundation. Khadijah Ford, owner of Sugarluxe<\/a>\u00a0by Babycakes, provided\u00a0celebratory cookie trophies<\/a>\u00a0for the winners.<\/p>\n

The Citizen and Accountability Lab\u00a0launched the country\u2019s first\u00a0<\/a>Integrity Icon contest last February, with a citywide call for nominations of publicly paid workers who demonstrate the highest integrity in their professional and personal lives. (Accountability Lab currently operates Integrity Icon in 10 other countries, with three more sites scheduled to debut in the near future.)<\/p>\n

The contest was put on hiatus for a few months after Covid hit, then relaunched in the fall. After sifting through dozens of nominations, a panel of judges narrowed the list to the\u00a0four educators and one health hero<\/a>. We made short videos about each and called for a public vote again to decide on the people\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n

The judges themselves were selected for their high integrity and deep commitment to Philadelphia: Ellen Kaplan, the recently retired chief integrity officer for the City of Philadelphia; Andy Toy, development, communications, and community development director at\u00a0SEAMAAC<\/a>; Michael O\u2019Bryan, urban innovation fellow at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation; and Martin, of WURD.<\/p>\n

\n