Since 2017, RISE San Diego has honored local leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion through the annual Inclusive Leadership in Action (ILIA) Awards.

Each year, RISE seeks nominations from the community of individuals and organizations that are doing the work to make a real difference in the San Diego region. ILIA honorees are selected from these nominations and then announced and celebrated in October at the RISE ILIA Awards event. The awards recognize community members and organizations across eight award categories:

Honors an individual who has shown dedication and action to address and support a community’s ability to come together to combat or resist adverse circumstances. It recognizes the work of fostering adaptation, growth, and resiliency within communities to more readily respond to and recover from problems together.
Honors an individual who has shown dedication and action to make real, sustainable, and systemic change through the creation of innovative programs, policy, platforms, or partnerships. It recognizes the work of assisting the community’s ability to thrive in areas such as education, social enterprise, health and wellness, or advocacy.
Honors an individual who has shown dedication and action in shifting the culture of organizations and communities alike. It recognizes the effort of guiding groups to face a new challenge, disrupt outdated or harmful norms, and become more reflective and responsive to the needs of the communities they serve.
Honoring an individual between the ages of 16 and 25, it recognizes the voices of young adults who have shown dedication and action within their communities and are growing into their roles as action-driven thought leaders.
Honors an individual who has shown dedication and action in fostering spaces of healing and compassion for others. It recognizes the commitment to restorative practices delivered with grace, empathy, and a strong ethic of care in support of diverse community groups.
Honors an organization that has shown dedication and action to confronting challenges and spearheading opportunities to support and uplift San Diegans in meaningful and impactful ways. It recognizes the efforts of organizations and their teams to deliver exceptional programming and services for the communities they serve.
Honors an individual who has been an advocate and champion for under-served or marginalized communities. It recognizes advocacy in words and in action to bring about meaningful change for the people. The award is named in honor of the late Anthony M. Medina, a RISE Urban Leadership Fellow (‘18) and ILIA award recipient (‘19), who founded People’s Legal Services to provide free and low-cost legal support to underserved communities.
An internally nominated and selected award, this honors an individual or organization/group whose commitment to the community is represented in both its deeds and words. It recognizes those that actively and continuously support organizations and community groups leaning into the work of systemic change in communities across San Diego County. The award is named in honor of the Legler Benbough Foundation, which believed in RISE by providing seed funding to grow the organization and has continued to be one of its strongest supporters.