THANK YOU!
Together, we provided Ken with a week he will never forget and we raised more than $35,000 for the Albany Damien Center.

​Honoring and Celebrating Mr. Ken Screven
​    The Albany Damien Center is thrilled to have celebrated the 70th birthday of Mr. Ken Screven, retired CBS6 News Capital Bureau Chief and first African American male on local TV news, and to have honored him with the 2020 Hero Award for his never-ending commitment to educating and advocating for all people. 
    During his 38-year broadcasting career, Ken brought life and emotional connection to the stories he told and always represented the issues, and people impacted by them, in an honest and moving way. In retirement, through his popular Albany Times Union blog, active social media following and personal appearances, Ken uses his voice to speak intelligently to the issues impacting all of us and to advocate for social change.
​    Ken is a 2009 Citizen Action Jim Perry Progressive Leadership Award recipient and the In Our Own Voices 2018 Community Advocate honoree.

How the Event Came to Be

Look Back - the Week's Highlights

Friends and Family Pay Tribute to Ken

NYS Assemblymembers John McDonald and Patricia Fahy Honor Ken

City of Albany Mayor, Kathy Sheehan Honors Ken

Ken's friend, Paul, reads an essay written by Ken

You can Watch the Virtual Event Recording on our Facebook Page by Clicking Here

A Message from Barbara Smith, Honorary Committee Chairperson.

   ​Barbara Smith is an author, activist, and independent scholar who has played a groundbreaking role in opening up a national cultural and political dialogue about the intersections of race, class, sexuality, and gender.  She was among the first to define an African American women’s literary tradition and to build Black women’s studies and Black feminism in the United States.  She has been politically active in many movements for social justice since the 1960s.
   She was a cofounder of the Combahee River Collective in 1975 and of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1981, the first U. S. publisher for women of color to reach a wide national audience.  She served two terms as a member of the City Council in Albany, New York from 2006 to 2013.  In 2005 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Honorary Committee
(As of September 15, 2020)​


Carol Lee Anderson
Gary Guenther and Maria Blanchard
Senator Neil Breslin
​Kim Brown
​Jeffrey and Kimberly Bryant
Kevin Burns
​Gloria DeSole and Meredith Butler
​Rae Clark
​George Clifford
Gretchen Guenther-Collins and Kristen Collins
Honorable Richard Conti, City of Albany Common Council
​Todd A. Cramer
Sharon Couch Debonis
Stephen J. Jankowski and Steven P. deRouville
Victor and Mary DeSantis
Douglas Manion and Peter DeWitt
Johanna A. Dooley
​Marilyn and Peter Douglas
William Faragon
David Fenton
Douglas Fish
Gerard Golden
Judy Disco and Barbara Goldstein
Perry James Junjulas and Bishop Tony Green
Susan Ungerman and Allan Greenberg
​​Paul Gustafson
William Karchner
Jane Junjulas
Jose Morales
​Jeffrey Nichols and Jeffrey McCain
Honorable John. T. McDonald III, NYS Assembly
​Lillian Moy
Michael Murphy
Dan O'Connell
Bobbi Palma
Leslie Phelan
​Gwen Wright and Geri Pomerantz
​Kirkham R. Cornwell, Jr. and Claire Pospisil
Lynn Dunning-Vaughn and Libby Post 
​Bill Lawrence and R. Alan Ray
​Michael DeVall and Betty Rutland
Earl and Rosetta Screven
Mayor Kathy Sheehan, City of Albany
Kenneth Strickler
​Peg Stucky
​James Fleming and Lawrence Waite
Lisa Wloch

Thank You to Our 2020 Sponsors!

Platinum Sponsor:
Silver Sponsor:
Bronze Sponsors:
​Advocate Sponsors:

Ms. Eileen Rea