LINCOLN (SNR) – Katie Patrick, executive director of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska, was one of seven recipients of the 2022 Young Lincoln Leader Awards (YLLA), honoring the outstanding contributions to the Lincoln community.
The award ceremony was held Sept. 29 at Robber’s Cave during YP Week, an annual celebration of young professionals in Lincoln.
Individuals between the ages of 21 and 40 were nominated for a YLLA in six categories. Patrick was chosen “Young Nonprofit Professional of the Year.”
Patrick was CSS regional director from March 2019 to July 2021, when she was named executive director. She is the first woman, wife, mother and lay person to lead the organization.
She was nominated by Nicole Simon, a Lincoln businesswoman and member of the board of directors for Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska (CSS). In her nomination, she said she was inspired by Patrick’s “calm demeanor, focused vision, and above all, her determination to help the poor and marginalized in Lincoln and elsewhere.”
Simon pointed out that Patrick oversees a $6 million budget, a $3.5 million renovation and expansion of the CSS Lincoln headquarters that starts this fall, has a staff of 75 statewide, and is mother of 8-month-old twins.
“CSS serves people of all faiths across 24,000 square miles of southern Nebraska, with outreach centers in Lincoln, Auburn, Hastings, and Imperial,” Simon explained. “She has helped to assemble a staff that is doing remarkable things to help others find hope in the good life, while managing a $6 million budget for the first time in the nearly 100-year-old history of CSS.”
As examples of Patrick’s work, Simon described many, including the CSS client-choice food market; local partnerships to provide nutritional guidance for clients and breakfast to the homeless and plans for a future community garden; St. Gianna Women’s Homes for survivors of domestic violence and crisis pregnancies; on-site counseling and group therapy, financial literacy classes, and self-care and family well-being opportunities.
Simon pointed out that Patrick oversaw and participated in the resettlement of 134 Afghan refugees, plus more than 50 refugees from Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ukraine, as well as immigration legal services.
“Katie encouraged and led staff toward partnerships with other non-profits to provide wrap-around-services to better serve people in need,” Simon said.
An external nominating committee of seven leaders in business, nonprofits, public service and education assembled to evaluate and select the finalists and winners in the seven categories.
“It was an honor to receive the Young Nonprofit Professional of the Year Award from Lincoln YPG alongside some truly impressive men and women,” Patrick said. “I am privileged to lead the incredibly talented and dedicated staff that we have at Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska, where every day Christ invites us to encounter the poor and vulnerable. Every day, we get to inspire hope and love in all people of all walks of life and we get to love them the way Christ loves us.”
Other YP Week events included inspiring speakers, discussion panels, workshops and networking opportunities to celebrate the talent, insight and energy of young professionals in Lincoln. With more than 1,500 members, the Lincoln Young Professionals group is one of the largest in the country.
The other award recipients were Mike Smith, Rabble Mill/The Bay, Young Professional of the Year; Jazari Kual, Kualdom Creations, Young Citizen of the Year; Angela Garbacz, Goldenrod Pastries, Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Tut Kailech, NeighborWorks Lincoln, Emerging Leader of the Year; Nathan Hé, Nebraska Alumni Association, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence; and Lutz, Next Generation Workplace.
