Emerging Leader Award

PIMA COUNTY- Andrés Cano, Special Staff Assistant to Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías, was named the 2016 Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Awards Emerging Leader on July 21st. The award was given by the Center for the Future of Arizona. Cano is the first Latino award recipient, as well as the youngest, since the awards were founded in 2011.The Gabe Zimmerman Public Service Awards are named in honor of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Gifford’s director of community outreach, who lost his life on January 8, 2011 while serving the citizens of Arizona.

“The Emerging Leader award recognizes a public servant with the potential to impact Arizona’s future for generations to come and who does so with constituent-centric attitude illustrated through energy, compassion, and modeling behavior for other young leaders to follow,” said Lattie F. Coor, Chairman and CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona.

Chicanos Por La Causa Vice President Magdalena Verdugo nominated Cano. “As an aide to Supervisor Elías, Andrés helps shape local policies and initiatives that ultimately affect more than 1 million residents,” Verdugo wrote in her nomination. “He does this while seamlessly advocating for District 5 constituents one by one, ensuring that those in need have the resources and ability to prosper.”

Cano, 24, oversees District 5’s community relations and outreach. “Andrés is a trusted advisor who has demonstrated compassion and genuine care for the well-being of all Pima County residents,” said Supervisor Elías. “His public service is just beginning.”

Cano gives of his time and energy to various community initiatives that enhance quality of life in Southern Arizona. For three years, Cano led and expanded a multi-agency effort to prevent HIV transmission in Southern Arizona’s Latino families. He is Chair of the Legislative District 3 Democratic Committee, Vice Chair of the Planned Parenthood Arizona Board of Directors, and is one of 10 national recipients of the Human Rights Campaign’s inaugural HIV360 Fellowship Program.