Changemaker of the Year

The Changemaker of the Year (previously the Civic Leader of the Year) honors a young Granite Stater who, through their actions, has affected positive change in New Hampshire or their corner of it.

2022 Winner

Joseph is the Smart Justice Campaign Manager at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire. ACLU of New Hampshire

Through this role Joseph works to transform and improve criminal justice in New Hampshire. He is focused on finding effective, productive, and fair solutions to ending mass incarceration including personal reform.

These issues are very personal to Joseph as he was incarcerated. His experience with the criminal justice system motivated him to seek change and reform in the rehabilitative process that incarcerated people undergo.

2020 Winner

Martin Toe is the co-founder of Change for Concord, a diverse group of young adults who are working together to improve the quality of list for young people in the Concord community. Martin’s vision has been to lift up the community that he is in and inspire the people around him to achieve their goals and make a difference. While leading Change for Concord, Martin has served as the Grassroots Organizer Intern for the American Friends Service Committee where he organized “Know Your Rights” training, a Civics Academy, and a delegation of young adults that traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate with our congressional delegation for immigrant rights. In addition, he coordinated a successful campaign to ensure that young adults would have free access to the new Concord Community Center for community-building events. Martin’s goal is to help Concord be a more inclusive and accessible community.

2019 Winner

Cecilia Ulibarri is the co-founder of Positive Street Art, a non-profit arts and culture organization whose mission is to inspire passion for urban arts in a productive way and to build stronger communities through educational workshops, community events, and artistic services. Cecilia is also the Constituent Services & Cultural Affairs Coordinator for the City of Nashua Mayor’s office where she works with the city government, private agencies, and citizens to address questions and issues throughout the wide array of cultural communities in the Greater Nashua area. On top of Cecilia’s responsibilities at the Mayor’s office and with Positive Street Art, she finds time to volunteer as a crisis intervention advocate volunteer for bridges, an agency committed to helping survivors and victims of domestic and sexual violence and is the Director of Programs and Events for the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce. Cecilia’s three nominations are a testament to the amazing impact she is making on the Nashua community.

2018 Winner

Sarah Wrightsman is the Community Engagement Coordinator at New Hampshire Housing. Prior to joining the team at New Hampshire Housing, Wrightsman was Executive Director of the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast and the Housing Coordinator for the Regional Economic Development Center, which serves southern New Hampshire.

Wrightsman is a graduate of Leadership Seacoast’s class of 2019 and Leadership New Hampshire’s Class of 2021. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Wrightsman was selected for the Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty list in 2020, and featured in New Hampshire Magazine’s 2019 “It List,” named a “10 to Watch” winner by Seacoast Media Group and Catapult Seacoast, and named “Civic Leader of the Year” by Stay Work Play and NH Public Radio in 2018.

A resident of Newmarket, Wrightsman is the co-host and co-founder of the New Hampshire-based podcast, Creative Guts.

2017 Winner

George Hansel is the owner of Filtrine Manufacturing Company. George is dedicated to making the Monadnock region a great place to stay, work, and play. He serves on the Keene City Council as one of the youngest city councilors elected in Keene’s history being a key instigator, pushing city staff to become more developer-friendly, and encouraging policies that realize the community vision. This effort has contributed to a marked surge of new development in Keene, with over $100M dollars of new construction slated for 2017. George has made significant contributions to several public health initiatives. A non-profit he started is currently developing two revolutionary websites that will help connect kids with behavioral health issues to the resources they need. In 2015, he was named a Business Monadnock Magazine “trendsetter,” and in 2017, was honored as one of the Union Leader’s “40 under Forty”.

2016 Winner

Arnold Mikolo is a team leader with the Manchester Immigration Integration Initiative, also known as Welcoming Manchester. His involvement with two other nonprofit organizations, the New American Africans and the Congolese Community of New Hampshire, has showcased his passion for building an immigrant-friendly community within the Queen City. During the judging process, it was recognized that Arnold’s work with these organizations has influenced change for those that are new to the community – allowing those that are new to the area to have a voice when it is needed most. As his nominator said, Arnold has a “servant’s heart and a strategist’s mind” and he is someone that is “humble, curious, and always seeking ways to improve his knowledge and his efforts.”

2015 Winner

Bryan Bouchard is a full-time faculty member at SNHU in the Accountancy and Taxation department. He is a Certified Management Accountant. He also owns a portfolio of residential and commercial properties located throughout New Hampshire. Bryan is very involved in the community. He is a board member for Easterseals NH where he serves as chair of the Fiscal Committee. Bryan also serves on the board of the NH Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants, on the Community Advisory Board of the Palace Theatre, and on the Financial Careers Committee of the NH Society of Certified Public Accountants. A current resident of Manchester, Bryan was also named to the 2012 class of “40 Under Forty” by the Manchester Union Leader. At SNHU he was awarded the 2018 Excellence in Advising Award, the 2016 Student Affairs Faculty Partner Award, the 2012 Student Organization Advisor of the Year award, and the 2010 Excellence in Teaching Awar

2014 Winner

Laura is a teacher, mentor, coach, and lifelong volunteer.  She teaches high school social studies and advises the Rotary Interact Service Club which focuses on helping both locally and internationally.  She started the “we are the change expo” in her district, giving students the opportunity to learn about their community through service to others. Laura also teaches night courses to non-traditional learners. 

She is a Gold Award recipient through Girl Scouts of America, the co-founder of Hunger and Homelessness Week at Plymouth State University; is an Americorp alumni who helped build the Global Village for Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, Georgia; and is the co-founder of the Faith, Hope, and Love Foundation whose mission is to help children and youth suffering from hunger and homelessness. Laura is the co-founder of a community fundraiser called Lakes Region Dancing with the Stars which has donated over $100,000 to the region. She is the co-founder of the Spirit of Hope and Kindness Awards, which honor children and youth for their kindness and for doing good. Laura also started a Lakes Region sock drive that occurs every fall to benefit local agencies.

She is a former Circle Girl mentor, Girl Scout leader, Girls on the Run coach, ambassador for Girls Who Hike NH,  and past president of the Plymouth State Alumni Association. She has served on numerous boards throughout the region, including New Beginnings Domestic Violence Shelter, Remedial Herstory, and Habitat for Humanity. She participated in the Million Pibble March in Washington D.C. to raise awareness about laws that discriminate on the basis of dog breed.

Since 2012, she has been a  blogger for Stay Work Play NH, each month she features people and agencies doing good throughout the state.  She is currently a board member for the Faith, Hope and Love Foundation. 

Laura enjoys being engaged in her community through volunteering.  Throughout the year, she helps out with numerous outreaches such as Hands Across the Table, The Greater Meredith Fishing Derby, The Lakes Region Children’s Auction, Honor Flight New England and she supports organizations that empower women, those that help children, those that help Veterans and those that work toward ending human trafficking. 

Laura believes that love, kindness, and gratitude can transform lives.

2013 Winners

Mary Goldthwaite-Gagne is an artist and educator who has worked at ConVal High School since 2007. Eric Gagne is the programming director of Nova Arts in Keene, NH, and has managed Toadstool Sounds at the Toadstool Bookshop for over 20 years. Together in 2008, they founded the events: The Thing in the Spring and Broke: The Affordable Arts Fair. In 2012 they established the 501c3 The Glass Museum and assembled a Board of Directors to help them produce accessible and affordable arts events in the Monadnock Region. The COVID 19 pandemic interrupted programming in 2020, and The Glass Museum presented their last event “Long Live the Thing” in September 2021. Nova Arts will present the first Thing in the Spring located in Keene, NH in May 2022.

2012 Winner

Pamela is a recipient of a Kennedy School fellowship, was named one of the 40 Under 40 by the Union Leader, and received two distinguished awards from Business NH Magazine. She has served on the boards of the Coos County Family Health Services and the Androscoggin Valley Hospital, among others. She has a deep commitment to the health and well-being of NH’s North Country and currently serves as Chair of the Local Grants Committee for the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund. In her application she stated,

2011 Winner

Amanda Grappone Osmer is the fourth generation of her family to help operate Grappone Automotive in Bow, NH. Her passion is helping to uncover those things which stand in the way of the team's personal and professional potential, allowing for true growth. She lives in Sanbornton with her husband, a high school sports coach, their three teenagers, and their dogs and chickens