Champions of Change

The best ideas come from the American people. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a part to play.

All across the country, ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. Every week, we will invite these Champions of Change to the White House to share their ideas to win the future.

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Champions of Change: Lions Club International

The White House honors eleven members as Champions of Change for devoting their time and effort to communities across the country.


Brad Baker

Brad Baker is the CEO of Mid-South Lions Sight and Hearing Service, Inc., an organization that provides comprehensive sight and hearing care to individuals in need from Arkansas, Mississippi,...

Dr. Paul Berman

Dr. Paul Berman of Hillsdale, N.J., is the founder and senior global clinical adviser of Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes, a program in 80 countries and more than 45 states...

Mike Buscemi

Mike Buscemi has a more than 30-year history of positive youth development that led to the creation of Lions Quest, a comprehensive life skills program that has served more than 12 million...

Karla N. Harris

Karla N. Harris is an active member of the South Milwaukee Lions Club whose public relations efforts and volunteer work has raised the profile of the organization in her area and internationally....

Robert W. Massof

Robert W. Massof is a professor of ophthalmology and neuroscience and the founder and director of the Lions Vision Research and Rehabilitation Center, a division of the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye...

Nadine Nishioka

Nadine Nishioka organizes environmental projects within her area with a focus on protecting the environment and beautifying the community. Although she is visually impaired, Nishioka does not let...

Maria Emee M. Nisnisan

Maria Emee M. Nisnisan provides health care to underprivileged populations and demonstrates how families can serve their communities together. She was instrumental in chartering a family Lions...

Laura Rieg

Laura Rieg of Portsmouth, Va., provides early childhood development opportunities for needy families. As a member of the Portsmouth Children First Lions Club, the early development special...

Douglas D. Rodenbeck

Douglas D. Rodenbeck has been active in youth development for decades, serving as the chairperson of a Leo club initiative that built family suites at the St. Joe Regional Medical Center Burn Unit...

Debbie Whittlesey

Debbie Whittlesey is extensively involved with relief and rebuilding efforts in Joplin, Mo., following the devastating F-5 tornado in May of 2011. A resident of nearby Lebanon, Mo., Lions in...

Gregory L. Jeffrey

Gregory L. Jeffrey leads annual medical missions to Latin America to improve the lives of thousands of residents in need. Each trip to Honduras and El Salvador requires one year of planning and a...

Champions Blog Posts

  • September 27, 2012 at 4:48 PM EDT

    Connecting Communities

    Michele Hovet is the Deputy City Manager for the City of Arvada, Colorado. Michele believes that with technology and innovative public servants, anything is possible. She sees technology as a catalyst for innovation, and strives to connect her community through OpenColorado, a community asset she helped found for all local government data in Colorado.

  • September 27, 2012 at 4:04 PM EDT

    Entrepreneurial Local Governments -- A Catalyst for Collaboration and Innovation

    Rob White is the Director of Economic Development for the City of Livermore and the Interim CEO of the i-GATE Innovation Hub, a broad super-regional partnership that is focused on Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories/CA as economic engines. In his role as Economic Developer, Rob works across sectors and regions to translate the entrepreneurial ecosystem present in Silicon Valley into a living network of government advocacy, research collaboration, and industry investment.

  • September 27, 2012 at 3:48 PM EDT

    Government as a Connector

    Doug Matthews is the Chief Communications Director of Austin, Texas, working to define "government as a connector." In the past two years, Doug has helped launch one of the largest municipal open source websites in the nation, including a portal for open data, and a partnership with Code for America.

  • September 27, 2012 at 3:41 PM EDT

    Ensuring Local Budget Choices Are Understood

    Mary Bunting is the City Manager of Hampton, Virginia, working to make her city's budget a much less intimidating issue and more participatory process. With help from a lot of people, Mary decided to engage residents with the budget by using an aggressive outreach program of large public gatherings—including adding instant polling technology that allowed every person to voice an opinion on every issue and immediately see the group polling result.

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