Zulma Zabala, our Senior Fellow, Community & Racial Equity and is the winner of the 2023 John A. Yankey Outstanding MNO Teacher of the Year Award! The Case Western Reserve University Masters of Nonprofits Organizations commencement award honors outstanding teaching, as nominated by students.  

“This professor is a tremendous addition to the MNO faculty! I did not approach her Nonprofit Ethics course with much interest, initially, but she proved me wrong in the first class. She brings tremendous enthusiasm and many years of experience, and maintained an atmosphere of respect which allowed each student who wanted to contribute an opportunity to express their opinion. I appreciate her bringing that topic to life for me in a way I did not anticipate and have recommended her classes to many other students.” 

  I appreciate her bringing that topic to life for me in a way I did not anticipate and have recommended her classes to many other students.

“This professor is incredibly engaging, authentic, and has such deep knowledge of the non-profit sector.” 

At a ceremony on Friday, May 19 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, Zulma accepted her award and later shared her gracious reflections. 

“I’m so very deeply honored by this recognition, especially because it comes from the students! I love teaching very much! I have only served in the nonprofit sector and I cannot imagine this life journey without service being part of it!   

The passion, and light I see in students eager to serve once they have felt that the lessons have become clear and substantial enough to equip them for service, is indeed the greatest outcome!

Zulma continued, “We know the work can be challenging, and the deeper we service it can be difficult to acknowledge and quantify the impact one makes. The passion, and light I see in students eager to serve once they have felt that the lessons have become clear and substantial enough to equip them for service, is indeed the greatest outcome!” 

Join us in congratulating Zulma in this honor!