2009 Ralph B. Atkinson Award Winner

The Atkinson Award, named for the distinguished civil rights advocate Ralph B. Atkinson, is presented each year to a local advocate for civil liberties. The Reverends Jeff Kohn, Richard Leslie, Jon Perez, and Greg Ward have been chosen as the 2009 recipients for their tireless work for marriage equality and equal rights for all.

The Reverend Jeff Kohn was born near Chicago and grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, where his father was head of the geography department. He received a BA in Comparative Religion from the University of Iowa, an MA in Religion and Health from U of I, and an MDiv from the General Theological Seminary (Episcopal) in New York City. He was ordained Deacon and Priest in 1975. He has served congregations in Iowa, Good Shepherd Salinas, and St. James Monterey. He worked for eight years for Interim, Inc., a local non-profit agency providing housing and rehab services to the severely mentally ill. He was a counselor, helped start the dual diagnosis program, and directed a Day Program. He is currently working on a PhD in Depth Psychology for Pacifica Graduate Institute of Santa Barbara with a dissertation topic on "The Soul of a Place." A member of the ACLU, Reverend Kohn is particularly interested in equal rights and non-discrimination issues.

The Reverend Richard B. Leslie, a native of Los Gatos, is a graduate of the University of Santa Clara and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. He served as a Field Artillery officer in the United States Army, principally in northern Germany. He was ordained a Priest in May, 1978, and has served parishes in San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Fremont. He is currently Pastor of St. Mary's by the Sea Episcopal Church in Pacific Grove. He and his wife Kathy are the parents of five children and three grandchildren. He is an active clergy member of "Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action" (COPA), an organization consisting of congregations, churches, and nonprofit groups working to improve healthcare, housing, community safety, and economic development in our communities. St. Mary's Church offers direct help to poor and homeless people by distributing food, supplies, bus tickets, and emergency funds each week. Reverend Leslie has been a courageous advocate for equality for same sex couples.

The Reverend Jon Perez is an Episcopal Priest, serving as the Vicar for Epiphany Lutheran and Episcopal Church. He comes to the Episcopal Church after a career in the corporate and non-profit worlds. His congregation is the largest social service facilitator in Marina. The congregation is known for its blend of ethnic and cultural diversity. Along with serving at Epiphany, he is one of the Campus Chaplains at CSUMB and is club advisor of the Peace Alliance Club and the Out and About Club, a GLBT Student Club. Reverend Perez also serves a national office in the Episcopal Church, as a member of Lutheran Episcopal Coordinating Committee, overseeing the relationship between the ELCA Lutheran Church and Episcopal Church.

The Reverend Greg Ward is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula. During his fifteen year career in the ministry he worked for four years on interfaith dialogue and Marriage Equality in Toronto, Canada; he worked for eight years on reproductive rights, racial justice, and clarifying the boundaries between church and state in Atlanta, Georgia; and he's worked for the last two years on Marriage Equality, racial justice, violence prevention, and water as a human right here on the Monterey Peninsula. Reverend Ward is married to Liz Ward who is a local activist on all these issues.