The Alliance of Eastside Agencies (AEA), a professional membership organization of human service providers, will honor Kirkland Councilwoman, among others, at its ninth annual awards luncheon being held at noon on June 12 at Bear Creek Country Club.

Keynote speakers will be David Bley and Marie Sauter of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who will speak about the impact that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have on development.

Award recipients in seven categories were chosen from several nominated by Eastside human service providers. Each has made outstanding contributions to health and human services in East King County.

Walen will be honored as the Elected Official of the Year.

Elected in 2009, Walen was nominated for her support of a variety of non-profits from Evergreen Hospital and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation to KITH (Kirkland Interfaith Transitions in Housing) and animal rescue organizations.

She was also instrumental in passing a city ordinance to allow section 8 voucher holders to compete for housing units equally with those utilizing other sources of income to pay their rent.

Eila Studivant,  a volunteer for Youth Eastside Services, will be recognized as Youth Volunteer of the Year.

Eila was nominated for her work with Youth Eastside Services’ anti-bullying program. As an ambassador in the PEACE (Peers Educating And Coaching Empathy) program, she gave up her lunch and recess two days a week for four weeks to learn how to be a peer leader.

She then went to classrooms and helped educate others on ways to stop bullying and help build a stronger community. As she transitioned into middle school, Eila continued to make others aware of the harm bullying can cause.

Art Mabbott will be honored as Volunteer of the Year.

Mabbott has dedicated his retirement to helping youth in need. He started volunteering for Friends of Youth (FOY) by involving his church as a dinner donor at the emergency shelter for young adults.

More recently, he became trained as an on-call volunteer with the Safe Place program, learning how to accompany FOY staff on calls responding to youth in crisis. He even recruited his wife, MaryAnn, to volunteer. Both are dedicated and excellent ambassadors at all of FOY events. Mabbott’s unceasing advocacy for youth is inspirational.

Danny Hanson, a staff member with Youth Eastside Services, will be honored as Non-profit Staff of the Year.

Hanson stands out for his exemplary work to address the issue of violence in our community. He helped develop and stewards an effective anti-bullying program for local schools.

The program called PEACE (Peers Educating And Coaching Empathy) is unique in that it focuses on training young people in the elementary schools to be “ambassadors,” teaching other students to identify, resist and actively work to eliminate bullying. In 2012 this model reached 13 schools, impacting over 430 young people.

Mimi Siegel, executive director of Kindering Center, will be honored with the Legacy Award.

Since 1978, Siegel has dedicated her career to Kindering, the Bellevue-based neurodevelopmental center helping infants and children with special needs. The largest and most comprehensive program in the Northwest, Kindering offers comprehensive early intervention and family-centered services.

As executive director, Siegel has led Kindering, founded by five Bellevue-area mothers, into a nationally renowned program. Today, Kindering supports over 3,500 infants, toddlers and their families annually.

In addition, the Snoqualmie Valley Alliance Church will be recognized as the Faith Organization of the Year, and CFO Selections will be honored as Business of the Year.

“The AEA is pleased to honor members of the community who have played a significant role in supporting human services in East King County. This year we were happy to have a Legacy recipient, someone who has truly made a mark in the world of non-profit human services providers,” said AEA Co-Chair David Downing, who is also associate director at Youth Eastside Services. “All of the individuals and organizations being awarded help make the Eastside a better place to live and work.”

More information and reservations are available at AEAawardsLuncheon.eventbrite.com.