You might recognize the name “Pinky” as a familiar character in Kevin Hancock’s 2015 book titled Not For Sale: Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse. Well, today we are excited to share a bit more about this amazing woman as she is being honored with the Cushing Niles Dolbeare Lifetime Service Award at the end of March! This award is named after NLIHC’s (National Low Income Housing Coalition) founder. One of the leading experts on federal housing policy and the housing circumstances of low income people, Ms. Dolbeare was widely known as the godmother of the affordable housing advocacy movement. The award is presented at NLIHC’s Annual Housing Leadership Awards Reception.
This Year’s Cushing Niles Dolbeare Lifetime Service Award Honoree: Emma “Pinky” Clifford
Emma “Pinky” Clifford will receive the Dolbeare Lifetime Service Award, named for NLIHC’s founder Cushing Niles Dolbeare, a true pioneer of the affordable housing movement. Ms. Clifford will receive the award for her many years of leadership and dedication on behalf of Native Americans and her tireless work to secure decent, safe, and affordable homes for the lowest income people living on Pine Ridge Reservation.
“Having worked with Pinky on a variety of home ownership initiatives on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the better part of a decade I can say that she is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. In a community overflowing with needs Pinky is always helping the people she meets in both big and small ways. From giving out mittens and gloves in the winter to children, to building new homes and spreading the opportunity of home ownership, Pinky is a life-force of goodwill. She has connected her remote community to the larger world in countless ways bringing resources and a shared sense of humanity to all she touches at Pine Ridge. At the center of the Lakota medicine wheel lives a Seventh Power which represents the innate beauty and potential of an individual human spirit. Pinky is a living example of the difference a single human being can make in a place where ‘getting things done’ can seem overwhelming. I am blessed to call Pinky a friend and I’m so pleased that she is receiving this well-deserved recognition and thanks.”
– Kevin Hancock, President, Hancock Lumber
Congratulations, Pinky, on this honor! Thank you for all you do everyday–your kindness and contributions are felt near and far, and have served as a source of inspiration for many of us here at Hancock Lumber learning about you through Kevin’s story.