Laguna Niguel Resident Vivian Clecak Receives First Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Award for Nonprofit Sector

Ernst and Young announced that Vivian Clecak, co-founder and CEO of the Irvine-based nonprofit Human Options, received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 Award in the category of Social Responsibility, Nonprofit - the first year the nonprofit category was awarded.  Clecak was selected by an independent panel of judges and recognized at a special gala event at the St. Regis Resort on June 4, 2014.

Now in its 28th year, the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of The Year™ Award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Upon receiving the award, Clecak said, “I am grateful to Linda Schilling for this nomination and while I am extremely honored, this award truly belongs to the entire Human Options family for their years of caring and dedication.  Everything we have accomplished is a product of our community and while I am proud to have been there at the very beginning, I’m more proud to continue our work of creating safety, healing and a way forward for victims of domestic violence.”

As an award winner, Clecak is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 15, 2014. The awards are the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum®, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Ernst and Young has previously honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc., and Mindy Grossman of HSN. Recent US national winners include Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani; and 2013 winner Hamid Moghadam, CEO and Chairman of Prologis.

About EY Entrepreneur of The Year™:

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About Human Options:

The mission of Human Options is to provide safe haven and life changing programs to help abused women, their children and families rebuild their lives, while working with the community to break the cycle of domestic violence. Now in its 33rd year, Human Options provides a full continuum of services to stop the violence – from prevention and early intervention programs to emergency shelter and long-term transitional housing.  Over 20,000 clients are served annually and independent academic research consistently verifies that 90% of their residential clients continue to be violence free one year or more after graduating from the program.

For further information about Human Options call 949.737.5242 or visit www.humanoptions.org.

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