At the Urban League’s 2009 “Champions of Diversity Awards” (in partnership with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry) the League announced the entrance of its new CEO, Josh Dixon. Dixon describes himself as a Lancaster City native through and through—a graduate of both McCaskey and Franklin & Marshall College. His interest in this position at the Urban League was born purely out his commitment to the values of the organization.

One reason that Dixon was selected to fill this role was his savvy in financial matters. The bulk of his professional career has been spent working in the insurance industry, as he helped a local company thrive from one small Lancaster location to several nationwide. In his speech before guests of the event, Dixon discussed funding as the primary challenge facing the League and emphasized the importance of growing partnerships with other local organizations on a similar mission.

As reported by NewsLanc, the Urban League has recently experienced a painful decrease in funding that has forced the organization to shrink its office staff to a mere five employees. Furthermore, until now, the League has been operating for several months without a CEO.

Also at the event, awards were granted to three regional “Champions of Diversity” for their efforts to break down barriers of discrimination and promote values of diversity in their respective communities.

Those recognized included the Lancaster YWCA, for “working with the community at large to use our collective power to eliminate racism…through a variety of activities”; David Smith, for his work with Good Schools PA, “a statewide network of citizens who are informed and mobilized in support of public education”; and Monica Dixon, for creating an employee diversity program for Hershey Entertainment Resorts “that represents a blueprint for like organizations.”