Our Awardees
Community Leader of the Year
Stew Edelstein | Former Executive Director, Universities at Shady Grove
Stew Edelstein retired as the Executive Director of the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the University System of Maryland in October 2020. Under his leadership, he strengthened collaborations between USG, Montgomery College, and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), including ACES (Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success), which has enabled many MCPS graduates from diverse backgrounds to obtain baccalaureate degrees. Stew served on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and received its Visionary Award. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Worksource Montgomery, the Montgomery County Advisory Board of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, the Board of Directors of Identity, Inc, a nonprofit serving Latino youth and families. and is a member of Montgomery Moving Forward, a collective action group advocating for systemic change in early care and education in the county. He received his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.
Educator of the Year
Shebra Evans | President-District 4, MCPS Board of Education
Mrs. Shebra L. Evans was elected to second four-year term on November 3, 2020. She previously served a second term as president of the Board of Education. She is the chairperson of the Board 's Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Committee and is a member of the Board's Policy Management Committee.
Mrs. Evans serves on the Maryland Association of Boards of Education's Board of Directors and the Policies and Procedures Committee. In addition, she has served in numerous volunteer leadership roles with the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), including vice president of Educational Issues, vice president of Programs, recording secretary-delegate assembly, and Wheaton Cluster coordinator. Mrs. Evans also was active in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent’s Operating Budget Group and Math Exam Work Group. She also was co-leader of the African American Student Achievement Group. Mrs. Evans received the Distinguished Advocate for Healthful Living Award in 2019 from the Society of Health and Physical Educators.
In addition to Mrs. Evans’ volunteer education activities, she also has served as the vice chair of Fiscal Responsibility for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - Theta Omega Omega Chapter, as a Board member for Big Learning, Inc., as well as been involved with the YMCA – Youth & Family Services Advocacy Committee.
Mrs. Evans has worked as a financial analyst in the cable and energy industry since 1996. She received a degree in Economics and Finance from Tennessee State University. She has two children who attend MCPS.
Business Leader of the Year
Greg Smith | Senior Vice President/Regional Manager at M&T Bank
Greg Smith is the regional manager for M&T Bank’s DC/Suburban MD business banking group. His team of 16 relationship managers and three team leaders is responsible for supporting all of M&T’s small business customers (up to $30 million in revenue) in DC, Prince George’s, and Montgomery counties. From an industry niche standpoint, Greg also manages a team that works with over 500 government contracting clients in the Greater Washington/Chesapeake markets. Since joining the bank in 2004, Greg has held various sales and management positions in the retail bank and in the business banking division.
Greg has a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from the Smith School of Business at University of Maryland. He lives in Kensington, MD with his wife and three kids under the age of 6.