Dublin Honors 2022 Citizens Of The Year

DUBLIN, CA - Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez and the Dublin City Council announced the 2022 winners of the Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Organization of the Year, Mayor’s Award, and Mayor’s Legacy Award.

The awards honor people and organizations who have made significant contributions to enhance the quality of life in Dublin over the past year. Recipients will be recognized at the March 21 council meeting. The Organization of the Year will receive $500, and $300 will be given to nonprofits selected by the Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year. The winner of the Mayor’s Award and Mayor’s Legacy Award will receive a cash prize of $200 to their nonprofit of choice.

The winners are as follows:

2022 Citizen of the Year: Kristin Speck

Speck is the chair of the Parks and Community Services of Commission, a trustee of the Dublin Unified School District Board, president of the Briarhill Swim Team, and a member of the Wells Middle School Band Executive Board. She helped usher in the new Don Biddle Community Park, helped draw the new DUSD trustee boundaries, helped sew and repair band uniforms, and helped recruit new volunteers for the Briarhill Swim Club and streamline administrative processes.

2022 Organization of the Year: Above & Beyond Leadership and Education (ABLE)

ABLE is a 501c3 student organization dedicated to making the community a better place. Over the past year, the group participated in a number of projects, including:

• The Race Amity Festival
• Multiple litter cleanups
• Spreading awareness about ocean pollution
• Tutoring more than 50 students in math, English, sports, and study skills
• A number of community food and toy drives, including a $500 donation to Ukraine.
• Volunteering at Dublin events and providing free water and drinks to service staff and police officers.

2022 Young Citizen of the Year: Yashas Shashidhara

Yashas is the environmental advocacy lead of the Dublin Mayor’s Council who has participated in a number of community service initiatives, including:

• Organizing and promoting a battery drive that collected over 1000 pounds of batteries.
• Helped create a startup called My Alcohol Story, which helps provide an anonymous digital platform for teens struggling with alcohol addiction.
• Taught classes at Cottonwood Creek School in biomedical sciences
• Collaborated on Demarlogix, a skin-disease diagnosis app.

2022 Mayor’s Award:

The Mayor’s Award is presented to someone that Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez believes has worked tirelessly on behalf of the community. The 2022 recipient is Katie Cheng, a student board member on the Dublin Unified School District Board. She helped found Project Dear Students, which gathers letters from educators all over the country to share with and inspire students. She is also chair of the Curriculum Committee at the California Student Board member Association, vice president of the Speech and Debate Club and California Scholarship Federation, Treasurer of the Model United Nations Club, and founder of DHS’s first magazine.

2022 Mayor’s Legacy Award:

The Mayor’s Legacy Award honors someone who has shown a long-term commitment to improving life in Dublin. The 2022 recipient is Erik Bertelson, the director of the Wells Middle School jazz band.

See here for more information and to learn about all of the nominees.