A Bowling Green activist will receive a Community Advocacy Award for fostering change through community organizing.

Beatriz Maya is receiving a 2022 Community Advocacy Award for her endless pursuit of empowering immigrants, refugees, farmworkers, and the Latinx community.

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc., Legal Aid of Western Ohio Inc. and the Toledo Bar Association Pro Bono Legal Services Program will honor Maya, two others and an organization for their extraordinary service to people living in poverty in Northwest Ohio.

The awards will be presented during the Access to Justice Awards Dinner on May 12 at the Pinnacle in Maumee.

The event, which is attended by over 500 guests each year, is led by the Northwest Ohio legal community with proceeds to support legal services in our region. A sponsor and VIP reception will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a public reception at 6:30 p.m., and the dinner and awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

Maya’s advocacy began decades ago when she worked for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, bringing education and justice to migrant farmworkers.

She is the founder of La Conexion (founded in 2013), a nonprofit comprised of Latinx residents of Northwest Ohio who come together to bring unity, voice, representation, and advance the rights of the growing Latinx community in the area.

Maya was also instrumental in forming the Northwest Ohio Immigrant Rights Network in 2019. The network of advocates and allies is comprised of immigrant-based organizations, advocacy groups, and individuals acting in solidarity with our immigrant community to build humane, just, inclusive, safe, equitable, and welcoming communities for everyone.

David L. Beckwith is receiving an award posthumously for his contributions as a community organizer for more than 50 years. Beckwith’s local organizing efforts began in 1981 when he assumed the role of director of the East Toledo Community Organization, focusing on housing and neighborhood issues, including the environment and economic development.

The 2022 Public Interest Law Award recipient is James Nooney, Sr., a member of Eastman & Smith and Toledo-area attorney who has been practicing law for 54 years. Nooney regularly takes on a variety of pro bono cases, including tort defense, and has most recently been helping TBA’s Pro Bono Program assist clients with the paperwork for guardianships.

Dana Incorporated is the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Service Award. The company and its people have a long history of service to legal aid and the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Toledo.

The keynote speaker is the Honorable Glenda Hatchett, Georgia’s first African American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court and former head of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country.

Those looking to be inspired by this year’s keynote speaker and award recipients can purchase individual tickets and sponsorships online at https://bit.ly/2022_A2JToledo.

For more information, contact Carmen Vega-Perez at ABLE: 419-930-2515 or [email protected].

ABLE & LAWO: Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc. and Legal Aid of Western Ohio Inc. are non-profit regional law firms that provide high-quality legal assistance in civil matters to help eligible low-income individuals and groups in western Ohio achieve self-reliance, and equal justice and economic opportunity.