Presenters join honorees for RPA’s annual Celebrate the Tri-State, October 17th, 2024

NEW YORK, NY — SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 — Each fall Regional Plan Association (RPA) hosts the Celebrate the Tri-State benefit, bringing together civic, business, public and elected leaders to recognize outstanding contributors to the region’s public realm and support RPA’s work. This year’s awardees include Google’s St. John’s Terminal for Project of the Year, Jim Johnson, CEO of Trinity Church for the Above and Beyond award, which honors an RPA board member whose efforts on behalf of the organization and impact on the region have been exemplary, and Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), for her outstanding leadership of New York State’s clean energy transition.

Congressman Daniel Goldman to Present Project of the Year to Google

Congressman Dan Goldman of New York’s 10th District is an attorney who, before running for office, served as lead counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He has written about, and provided expert analysis on, significant topics ranging from criminal justice reform to the Special Counsel’s investigation. In law school, Goldman contributed to Michelle Alexander’s seminal book, The New Jim Crow, which addresses the inequalities in our criminal justice system.

Congressman Goldman currently serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, the House Oversight Committee, and the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. He has distinguished himself as a leader on issues including offshore-wind investment, gun safety, and affordable housing. He is also leading efforts to revitalize the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, having helped New York secure a $163.6 million mega grant from the USDOT and serving as Chair of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force.

Honoring Google

Project of the Year honorees represent a diversity of projects that embody the reimagination and revitalization of our communities. In celebrating Google’s St. John’s Terminal, RPA is showcasing the company’s more than twenty-year investment in New York City which has restored dynamism and vibrancy to industrial neighborhoods and set the standard for forward-thinking, adaptive redevelopment. Google’s commitment to economic opportunity and community engagement, sustainability, and the highest standards for workplace design have resulted in projects where iconic office space retail development, and public and community spaces are inextricably woven together to create resilient destinations.

Leah C. Johnson to Present Above and Beyond Award to Jim Johnson

Serving as Executive Vice President and Chief of Communications, Marketing, and Advocacy Officer at Lincoln Center for Performing Arts since 2019, Leah C. Johnson helped steer the cultural institution through the COVID crisis and is at the nexus of its ongoing transformation into a cultural and civic organization where all are welcome. She led the communications campaign for the opening of the reimagined David Geffen Hall; is helping expand audiences through new, accessible ticketing models and deep community engagement practices; and leads the Legacies of San Juan Hill project as part of an ongoing commitment to providing platforms for artists, scholars, and historians to uplift the people, arts, and culture of the San Juan Hill neighborhood. Leah sits on numerous boards, including NYC Tourism + Conventions, the Museum of the City of New York, and New York Public Radio. Early in her career, she served as Director of Public Affairs at Kings County Hospital, Press Secretary for Mayor David Dinkins Reelection campaign, and Deputy Director for Communications for the Clinton-Gore ​’92 NYC Coordinated Campaign.

Honoring Jim Johnson

For most of his career, RPA Vice Chairman Jim Johnson, has advanced major efforts to promote the common good through his life’s work as an attorney, public servant, and community leader. As Board Chair of the Brennan Center for Justice, he was a staunch advocate for voting rights across the country, including personally representing classes of voters and potential voters in several cases in Florida and Colorado. He also launched efforts to bring together law enforcement leaders to reduce crime and incarceration. In New Jersey, Jim led the state’s Advisory Committee on Police Standards, spearheading efforts to eliminate racial profiling by the State Troopers with a legislative package that received strong bipartisan support. During the worst and most lethal days of the pandemic, he served as Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, the largest municipal law department in the country. In that role, he provided guidance to all of the city agencies and the Mayor during that time of crisis. Jim currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Trinity Church, which has had centuries of impact in New York City and around the world.

To learn more about this year’s award presenters and winners, please join us at our gala, Celebrating the Tri-State on October 17th, 2024. Tickets and as well as more information can be found here.

About Regional Plan Association

Regional Plan Association (RPA) is an independent, non-profit organization that conducts research, planning, and advocacy to expand economic opportunity, environmental resiliency, improved health, and better quality of life in the New York metropolitan area. Since the 1920s, RPA has produced four landmark plans for the region. The most recent was released in November 2017. For more information, please visit www.rpa.org.

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