The 2023 Norman Vincent Peale Awards
Celebrating Mental and Spiritual Health
Last October, Blanton-Peale Institute & Counseling Center hosted the 2023 Norman Vincent Peale Awards for Positive Thinking. This annual event, a key fundraiser and celebration of our mission, raised critical funds in support of Blanton-Peale’s urgent work to provide mental health care to people throughout New York City and to raise up the next generation of mental health professionals.
We were thrilled to honor two extraordinary supporters and advocates of mental health: Dr. Ashwin Vasan, New York City’s Commissioner of Health, and Lauren McGill, goddaughter of our co-founder Dr. Smiley Blanton.
Honoring…
About the Awards
Dr. Peale, after whom the awards are named, founded Blanton-Peale, along with Dr. Smiley Blanton. The value he placed on positive thinking is in Blanton-Peale’s DNA and that’s what the awards celebrate. These tumultuous times have increased the urgency of Blanton-Peale’s promise to deliver affordable and accessible, holistic, and culturally-responsive mental health care to people throughout New York City. We are all recognizing the vital importance of mental health care and the Norman Vincent Peale Awards recognize individuals who exemplify the spirit of positive thinking that guided the founding of Blanton-Peale that is thriving today more than ever.
Thank You to Our Supporters!
Leaders
Betty and David Harris
David (Sandy) Pearson
Benefactors
Lauren McGill
Jim and Natalie Venetos
Champions
Shari Brink and Judy Kramer
Earth Therapeutics, The Kang Family
Peale Foundation
John and Eleanor Rorer
Barbara and Sebastian Scripps
Scholars
Drs. Stephanie and Larry Bailey
Guideposts Associates, John Temple
Jerome Link
Julia Ritchie and Michael Hoff
Supporters
Josh Averbach
Beverly Bartlett
Lisa Blum and Susan Rodriguez
Michael and Tena Bos
Emily Brewer
Dorothy Brink
Della Britton
Martha Brookshire
Susan Wilson Bynum
John Catlett
Mary V.T. Cattan
Janice Cechony
Jane and David Dobbins
Alec Drummond
Kate Dunn and James Ellis
Joanne Ebersbach
Marcia Fingal
Inga M. Fingal
Jody Flaco and Jeffery Steinman
Emily Frieze-Kemeny
Anne Gray and Steve White
Ronald and Sharon Grelsamer
Mohamed Hack
Keith Henry
Friends
Elizabeth Peale Allen
Meg Armstrong and Gregory Lozier
S. Axelrod Co
Stephanie and Larry Bailey
Jacky Beshar
Marble Collegiate Church
Elise J. Brown Ph.D.
Susan Wilson Bynum
Colleen Codey and Ed Hughes
William Critzman
Kathryn Doppelt
Drucker Associates, LLC
Iberedem and Jennifer Ekure
Margaret Everett
Laurie Ferguson
Theodore M. Gregory
John M. Griem Jr.
Renee House and Richard Ruch
Michael Higgins
James M. Holmes
Mark D. Hostetter
Velibor Ivanic
Tracey Eve Johnson
Emma Jordan-Simpson
William Kinn and Jean Mulligan-Kinn
Erik Kolbell
Ed and Susan Kwan
Sarah Landy
Mike Lembo
Dana Lerner and Richard Stock
Brian Lewis
Beeca Lin
Diana Villarnovo Lopez
Josephine Matala
Helen Monsees and Bob Sixta
Linda Mortenson
William Naughton
Kevin Nelson
William R. Nye
Reggie Parker
Marian Patterson
Adriana Payne
Robert M. Pesce
Laura Pires-Hester
Sasha Quinton
Friends (cont.)
Cheryl Jagow
Pamela Jones
Casey and Mary Kemper
David Landy and Judith L. Krusell
Colin Laughlin and Jake Taylor-Laughlin
William and Hwain Lee
Brian Lewis
Lisa Margosian
Nicholas Martini Foundation
Alice B. Owens
Lydia Peale
Cliff and Pepper Peale
Theodore T. Platz
Wesley Spencer
Lisa Temple
Christine Thomas and Denny Denniston
Duane Wall
Robert and Susan Wei
Patricia E White
Gayle Robinson
Sally Rogers
Barbara Sagan
Mary Beth Sasso
Steve Schall
Jean E. Singer and Jonathan Wetchler
Linda A Stesney and Marun Jazbik
Amy Stokes
Gregory J. Sutterlin
Clare and Jerry Thomas
Adriene Thorne
Alice Thurston
Helen Thurston
Pamela Tinkham
Donna Trombetta
Kora Vaughs
Peter Venetos
Jeff Waddle and Lorna Renner-Waddle
Kelsanah Wade
Anastasia Wahl
Gregory and Linda Walker
Charlene Wang
Urs S. Weber and Lori Soderholm-Weber
Linda and Ben Wetchler
Karen White
James J. Wisecup
Gerri Yoshida
Brett and Carol Younger
Previous Awardees Include
- Dr. Yung Duk Kim, Leader in Korean-American business & nonprofit communities in NYC
- Dr. Lisa Miller, Research scholar on spirituality in psychology
- Joe Namath, Legendary quarterback
- LinkedIn, Leader in Corporate Mindfulness
- Korean American Association of Greater New York, Leader in Korean American Advocacy
- FDNY EMS, One of the Country’s Largest and Most Highly Skilled Emergency Response Units
- Keyon Dooling, Former 12-Year NBA Player
- Aetna, a CVS Health business, Leader in Corporate Mindfulness
- Ron Powers, New York Times Bestselling Author
- Eileen Fisher, Fashion Icon & Change-Maker
- Drs. William & Hwain Lee, Philanthropists
- Aiyoung Choi, Entrepreneur, Mentor & Advocate
- James Earl Jones, Actor
- Colin Powell, Politician
- Sunny Kang, Philanthropist
